I need your thoughts and ideas

[flrpwr52]

Ari, 9 month BC, gets upset and barks and sometimes nips at Zoe, 19 month BC, or me when I touch Zoe.

I have a hard time clipping nails, cleaning ears, etc. Every time I put a leash on Zoe, Ari does this too.

 

It's not a mean bark or a hard nip, it sounds more like she wants attention or is afraid to be left out of what we are doing.

I have always taken Zoe first at everything I do because she is the oldest and the dominant one.

 

I have tried no, shhhhh, no bark, squirting water and many more, stop touching Zoe has been the only thing that works. I can't even pet Zoe when she is around.

 

I really don't want to crate her everytime I have to tend to Zoe so I'm hoping you might have some ideas.

 

Oh, and I'm the only one who can not touch Zoe in her presence.

[RaisingRiver]

Are you sure Zoe is the dominant one?

[smileyzookie]

Originally posted by RaisingRiver:

Are you sure Zoe is the dominant one?

lol you read my mind.

[Shetlander]

Originally posted by flrpwr52:

Ari, 9 month BC, gets upset and barks and sometimes nips at Zoe, 19 month BC, or me when I touch Zoe. I have tried no, shhhhh, no bark, squirting water and many more, stop touching Zoe has been the only thing that works. I can't even pet Zoe when she is around.

Ari is resource guarding you which I really feel is something you want to stop right away. I see some of this in my 10 month old Quinn, who is actually pretty submissive but gets snarky once in while about me or something he values (like the board I use to teach agility contacts).

 

I make sure that any resource guarding behavior results in the exact opposite of what the dog wants. So when Quinn crouched over the board and "protected" it from the other dogs, he was immediately placed in his crate and the other two got to go before him when I trained contacts. If a dog is on my lap or by me and tries to drive another dog off, he finds himself pushed to the floor, losing his prime real estate due to his unacceptable behavior(unacceptable to me, this is very normal behavior for dogs).

 

With Ari, you might want to try brief "time outs" into a down stay or a crate for when she resource guards you. And you may want to praise and/or even offer her treats for not trying to stop Zoe from being with you. But if she escalates around food, be careful with treating.

 

I think it's very important that our dogs understand we are the ones in charge of the resources, not them. I'm pretty strict about this because I've had resource guarding escalate into dangerous behaviors in the past. Dogs can get seriously aggressive with people as well as other animals guarding what they see as theirs. So there's close to zero tolerance in my house.

 

I will let them figure out certain things for themselves, like when two dogs want the same toy. But they don't get to say who can interact with me or other people. They don't get to decide who can be on the bed. And while I make sure they all have their space when the eat, if I'm handing out treats, no one tries to intimidate another away because again, that isn't their call. Treats are also part of my domain.

[Cheri McDonald]

I'm with Liz and the others on this. Ari sounds like the dominant one.

 

My Rob will try and resource guard me with our other two. Time outs in his crate or down stays have helped a great deal. When we first brought Briar into our home it was a problem, and at first with Buddy being added, he tried it. He soon learned I could be shared.

 

There are times when he gets a special walk or attention and that helped too.

 

When giving treats to all three, the rule is the first on their butt gets their's first. No pushing or shoving allowed to each other or me.

[flrpwr52]

I'm sure Zoe is the dominant one. She only has to look Ari's way and she's off and running.

 

I thought of resource guarding but it didn't seem like it. There is no way to get her in any type of stay when I'm touching Zoe. She is almost beside herself.

I can calm her down if I call her to me but then I'm rewarding her behavior.

 

When I have to do something with Zoe I have been putting Ari in her crate. I am also I firm believer in a zero tolerance household.

 

There are no issues about their food or anything else, just me touching Zoe.

[Shetlander]

I would work on training a down stay under increasing distractions. Until then, I'd use time outs for resource guarding (I can't think what else this behavior would be) and positive reinforcement for staying calm while you handle Zoe. Ari needs to be convinced that she is very much mistaken to think that she gets to set and enforce a no fly zone around you

 

As I said, Quinn is a pretty submissive dog but he has resource guarded me and a few other things not just with the full of hot air male Lhasa but also with the Alpha girl shelite who he very much respects. I've found a certain amount of give and take on dominance issues with my dogs. The Lhasa for example often takes over toys and the sheltie doesn't find that important enough to correct. But she is still the one ruling the roost (after me, anyway ).

 

A good book for changing unwanted behaviors is Click to Calm by Emma Parsons. It's marketed for aggressive dogs, but I've found it to be a great clicker training book for behavioral issues.