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Post by lewis99 on May 25, 2014 18:33:48 GMT
Hello I have a male Jack Russell crossed with a dachound that we have had for a year now. Lovely cute dog but recently our other female dog had died (Labrador). Those two never fighted with each other. Because of this we have a new dog now (labradoodle, had her for 3 months). She is a harmless dog with no bad bone in her body.
Both dogs play with each other and bit each others ears in a friendly way but when there is food around the JR starts to growl/snarl and then starts to show his teeth fully. He then always starts attacking the labradoodle? ** it is always after they eat their dog food** The labradoodle does nothing but goes on top of him (to calm him down I suppose?). We obviously thought it was over food but now it can happen anytime. The labradoodle has hurt her paw twice over the 3 months we've had her and the JR has hurt a human finger once too (may have been accendental when fighting?).
The JR used to be so lovely and cute, he still is nearly all the time but this fighting is progressing and it needs to stop I think. I don't want to sell him.
Many thanks and hope someone can help.
I know its alot of writing but im sorry
Kind regards
P.s I've heard that the growling is a sign of fear and warning to go away. He only growls at dogs atm, mainly the labradoodle, probably because there always together.
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Post by caz2golden on May 25, 2014 18:55:54 GMT
Sorry I am not going to be much help as my two dogs dont fight but I have always controlled situations to prevent escalation where I thought a problem could arise.
I would split the dogs whenever you are preparing food, when you feed them and if need be for a short while after food if this is when most of the issues occur.
Food is a resource and sounds like the JRX is getting possessive / protective of this resource.
Unsure if the standing over is to calm the JRX, could be the opposite! Others on here know more about behavior and will hopefully advise on this.
Did you get the labradoodle as a puppy or an adult?
If a puppy that would make her about 6 months and hitting point when other dogs no longer see her as a puppy which is typical point when problems start to occur.
Yes growling etc can be fear driven. However it can escalate into aggression so needs to be worked on.
Have you considered getting a professionals advice? A good dog trainer should be able to help.
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Post by lewis99 on May 25, 2014 19:00:19 GMT
Yesthanks for the reply. The new dog is 10 moths old now and got her at 6-7 months. The JR is 1 year old. we were thinking about professional help but I've heard that is expensive, and really I cannot afford that?
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Post by lewis99 on May 25, 2014 19:08:40 GMT
Pic of dogs:(playing together)https://www.dropbox.com/s/elq109l5mz2fa5q/IMAG0030.jpg
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Post by orpheous87 on May 25, 2014 20:29:36 GMT
I can sympathise with you lewis99 as we also have a JRT (that we believe is crossed with a dachshund) and he is very similar. We have two other dogs and the JRT will start fights over food - whether it's his or not! However, he also does it over toys. All I can really say is the same as caz2golden. Keep the dogs separate at meal times and remove food bowls as soon as the dogs are done eating. This stops the problem of one dog trying to go to the other's bowl and having a fight break out. How recently did your old dog die? It could be that the JRT still misses her and isn't happy about the Labradoodle being in the house now. Sorry, I'm not much help as our situation is slightly different - we keep the dogs separate at mealtimes and when they have chews etc. and don't have the problems much now. Hopefully it will be as easy as this for you. |
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Post by alfiemummy on May 25, 2014 21:23:30 GMT
My dog can also be a bit of a nightmare around resources. We only have 1 dog but I'm looking after another for this weekend - we have had to be very strict with mealtimes. I know from past experiences that my dog will defend his bowl from another dog, and will also push another dog out of the way to get to theirs, which of course will often start a fight.
I haven't allowed this to happen, I have fed him in his usual spot and shut him in, feeding the other dog in a separate room. When they are finished I pick the bowls up immediately as even sniffing around the empty bowl will likely cause problems. Thankfully the dog I'm looking after is very old so isn't interested in toys although she is extremely into her food so we have had to be very careful. If in doubt we keep them well separated.
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Post by BorderTerrier on May 29, 2014 10:34:53 GMT
The behaviour around food is most likely possessive aggression over the food. Are you feeding the two dogs together or separately? If the answer is together, try feeding them in separate rooms where they can both eat in peace alone and do not have access to each other in order to become aggressive.
Professional advice doesn't have to always be an expensive behaviourist; do you take your dogs to a training centre? If so, you could ask the trainer, or you could always call or pop into your vet and ask them what they think.
HTH
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Post by charlottte on Jun 2, 2014 8:26:39 GMT
Professional help from a qualified behaviourist is usually between £30-£50 for a session (1-2 hours usually).
But for resource guarding between dogs I'd manage if possible as it can be difficult to work with. Feed separately and remove food as been said is your best bet
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