RE: Help with agression

[Rose Tierney]

Hi,
When Doppo chased after the setter was he being aggressive or sexual? Was
there any vocalisation on his part? Studly behaviour on the part of young
males is usually a rush in and a jamming of his nose under her flanks or
crotch to which a female will object in a few differing ways. A mature
experienced male will posture and strut and plant his ears on the back of
his head, chatter his teeth and then try his luck, Doppo is being a
teenager with no class! Is there a possibility that she might be coming in
heat or recently had a heat? If she is a young bitch with no prior
experience of sexual overtures she might well present the cringeing cur
image but if she is showing teeth and making noise her next step will be to
snap at him and get in his face. If she is spayed then he is being
dominant for the pack and might well bully her as she has no rank but
normally intact bitches do have status and it is a maladjusted intact male
that attacks them. I would suggest you and another person walk these two
dogs on leash and without making a big issue just insist he remember when
on leash he belongs to you, the bitch needs elevation in status so she
should be encouraged to relax and enjoy time with you one on one. When
introducing them off leash again actually leave a long leash attached to
both in the event there is a serious fight, which I doubt, he sounds like
he is just being obnoxious and if you can let her settle into the household
and the new humans in her life she will soon have the confidence to sort
him out:-) Love quarrels between dogs sound nasty and the bitch can fly
into the dog but keep your distance, he'll get the message but you do need
to let her settle down and recognise her new home as her own.

Rose T.

Re: Help with agression

[Simone G de Lima]

Thanks Rose, Thanks Eileen

Last night, one more nice long walk, came home with everyone happy and
relaxed and then, all of a sudden he was at her again. (I was getting dishes
into the dishwasher and noticed I had one to my right and one to my left,
and was thinking how peaceful they looked. : (
She just gets into a corner , cowers but bares her teeth. He actually goes
at her but does not draw any blood, but it looks dangerous enough for my
intervention since she cries. Eileen, I´ve handled no intervention in
skirmishes where the fight looks even, but how do I deal with one much
larger dog cornering a smaller, more fragile dog in a corner and her crying?
I´m afraid I won´t see the blood until it´s too late!

 But this morning they met and were fine. Just hung out together, looking
somewhat tense but no growling or squirmishes or anyhting. And they chose to
be together in a large yard.

I´m still confused.

Rose wrote:
 It does sound rather like he doesn't like her, is there any chance that
you
 can find her a quiet home where she would be the only dog.

The other option right now is a home with many more dogs! And she has become
very attached to me...




She sounds like
 she has no real dog social skills and your boy is not getting a good feed
 back from her.

She ignores/ is ignored by my other dogs.Would that mean no dog skills?

 If finding her another home is not an option then keep her
 separate from him for a while, once he is neutered it will take three to
 six months for his testosterone levels to fully subside and at his current
 age they would be very high. They are when they are
nagers:-(( 

OK, I´ll see how long I can keep them separate.

I would
 be inclined to leave her intact for a while and let her relax 

That makes sense. I´ve spoken to her vet and cancelled the appointment for now.


. You must do more obedience work with your boy, he is sounding
 wilful and not listening. You must be the leading bitch in your household
 of dogs, it's imp
erative:-)


Ok, Thanks for pulling my ear! I´ll get into that obedience mode.

 Good luck
Thank you so much and I´ll let you know how it goes
Simone