NW_MONTANA_BC Posted April 9, 2009 Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 Hershey seems to be the dominate female in my pack. While she has been with me for 5 years she has never had other dogs around to play with. It seems now that I have two other BC she is all ways play growling and biting them on the neck I guess in a show of dominance. Most of the time it ends up with Taffy or Codee getting hurt and or a fight. Of corse Hershey all ways wins. Now the last few days Hershey will drag the other dogs by the colar all around the room. It seems it usally starts out as play but soon ends up with Codee or Taffy getting ticked off and then the fight begins. Is this a behavior I should be allowing or should I stop it before it starts. They seem to all injoy it at first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LazyGRanch Posted April 9, 2009 Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 Hershey seems to be the dominate female in my pack. While she has been with me for 5 years she has never had other dogs around to play with. It seems now that I have two other BC she is all ways play growling and biting them on the neck I guess in a show of dominance. Most of the time it ends up with Taffy or Codee getting hurt and or a fight. Of corse Hershey all ways wins. Now the last few days Hershey will drag the other dogs by the colar all around the room. It seems it usally starts out as play but soon ends up with Codee or Taffy getting ticked off and then the fight begins. Is this a behavior I should be allowing or should I stop it before it starts. They seem to all injoy it at first. I can only speak for myself, but I wouldn't allow one of my dogs to bully and annoy the others until the others had no choice but to retaliate, especially if the bully ends up hurting them. I wouldn't put up with her dragging the others around the room by their collar, she may be "alpha", but (in my house) I am the true "alpha b!tch" (lol) and I don't tolerate bullying, and everyone knows it. The exception is when a young dog is annoying the crap out of a well socialized adult dog, who is able to discipline them appropriately with a lot of noise./teeth, but no blood or punctures. I've posted this before (I think) but my youngest was a butt head around a year old, and was annoying an adult female BC who gave him plenty of oppourtunities to "get it" (lots of teeth, "get away" warnings, etc). She was patient with him, and eventually lit into him with a lot of noise and teeth, it went on for 5 seconds, and it was over. She taught him a very good lesson about when to sotp being a PITA, something I couldn't have taught with all the time outs and "knock it off"s that I could have handed out. 3 years later he's (still) a very good "reader" of dogs and knows when to get lost. Hope this makes sense... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcburniefarm Posted April 9, 2009 Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 Perhaps take their collars off while in the house to limit her drag hold. She's not hurting them, just annoying them, and that makes the confrontation longer. It would change the dynamics of her bite....less on her end or a retaliation earned Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSmitty Posted April 9, 2009 Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 I'm thinking that since she was an only dog for so long, that Hershey is not well versed in the language of dog play. She may start off playing, but needs to learn when it gets too rough and the other dogs are trying to tell her to knock it off. When she doesn't respect their wishes to stop, that's when the fight starts. I would only allow them to play when you are there to help Hershey understand when the other dogs are saying "enough!", and at that point, redirect her to something else and give the other dogs a break. I also agree with no collars on around the house, that could be a problem and she definitely shouldn't be dragging anyone around by their collars. I've heard of accidents happening with collars getting caught on teeth and jaws and it could end very, very badly. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shetlander Posted April 9, 2009 Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 Is this a behavior I should be allowing or should I stop it before it starts. They seem to all injoy it at first. I would not allow it myself. Dogs frequently fighting or "getting hurt" (not sure what that means) is not acceptable in my house. Hershey may be the most dominant but you are not describing stable leadership. A true Alpha does not start fights or pick on other dogs. Most of the time they are above it all. These kinds of interactions can escalate into pretty ugly stuff, sometimes very quickly. I no longer buy into letting the dogs "work it out on their own" in the type of situation you describe. Our dogs are forced into packs not of their choosing with no way of leaving if things get too stressful for them. It is up to us to provide the leadership for all the dogs so they can all feel safe and secure within the structure we provide them. The others make a good point about taking off collars as a safety precaution especially if you leave the dogs together unsupervised (which I wouldn't with these dogs). I've heard about a couple of dogs that strangled and died when another dog's jaw got trapped in its collar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urge to herd Posted April 9, 2009 Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 The others all make good points. Buzz and Samantha used to drag each other down the hall way, with the most horrendous sounds coming out of them both and the thunk of skulls hitting the wall. BUT, when I called them away from it, they'd come racing to me, and then go racing back to their play, taking turns to be the dragger and the draggee. No wounds, no escalation. Do step in and re-direct. Hershey may not be able to learn to play so roughly and still be respectful of the other dogs, and even if she does, this will be a long process. Good luck, Ruth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LazyGRanch Posted April 9, 2009 Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 I would not allow it myself. Dogs frequently fighting or "getting hurt" (not sure what that means) is not acceptable in my house. Hershey may be the most dominant but you are not describing stable leadership. A true Alpha does not start fights or pick on other dogs. Most of the time they are above it all. These kinds of interactions can escalate into pretty ugly stuff, sometimes very quickly. I no longer buy into letting the dogs "work it out on their own" in the type of situation you describe. Our dogs are forced into packs not of their choosing with no way of leaving if things get too stressful for them. It is up to us to provide the leadership for all the dogs so they can all feel safe and secure within the structure we provide them. The others make a good point about taking off collars as a safety precaution especially if you leave the dogs together unsupervised (which I wouldn't with these dogs). I've heard about a couple of dogs that strangled and died when another dog's jaw got trapped in its collar. The part I bolded is something that I've forgotten about often, and I think a lot of other people do as well. My pap wears a "kick me" sign when it comes to other dogs, he just doesn't send off good signals. It's my job to keep others from ganging up on him, picking on him, etc, so he can feel secure and safe in my home. I really doubt my other dogs or my moms dogs would hurt him, but it's not fair to let them "work it out" in this situation, simply because he seems to be the little nerdy kid who everyone picks on. He seems much happier and more relaxed when he knows that I am in charge, and will protect him, and won't let anyone else gang up on him or bug him to his breaking point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NW_MONTANA_BC Posted April 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 I'm thinking that since she was an only dog for so long, that Hershey is not well versed in the language of dog play. She may start off playing, but needs to learn when it gets too rough and the other dogs are trying to tell her to knock it off. When she doesn't respect their wishes to stop, that's when the fight starts. I would only allow them to play when you are there to help Hershey understand when the other dogs are saying "enough!", and at that point, redirect her to something else and give the other dogs a break. I also agree with no collars on around the house, that could be a problem and she definitely shouldn't be dragging anyone around by their collars. I've heard of accidents happening with collars getting caught on teeth and jaws and it could end very, very badly. Good luck! Everyone has made some points I have never even thought of and I feel kind of stupid that I had not thought of some of this. I believe you are exactly right. Hershey has been my only dog and we have done everything togeather for 5 years. I don't go anyware with out her. I think she does not understand me giving attension to the other dogs, though I think she is thrilled to have doggy friends. She loves to play with them but does get too ruff. Hershey is by far more active now than I have ever seen her. She has been driving me nuts lately. I love her dearly though, and if the truth be known I wouldn't have it any other way. She does need to learn that when the other dog say enough she is to quit. She will go to her kennel (crate) on command if I tell her too. I have noticed when I tell her to go to her kennel she does so with a sad look on her face, like she has done something wrong, but the other dogs calm right down and it is peaceful again. I will take their collars off from now on.......geishhhhhh I don't want dead dogs. Point well taken. They are in seperate crate when I am at work and in differant rooms. Thanks everyone for possibility saving my dogs life Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbc1963 Posted April 10, 2009 Report Share Posted April 10, 2009 FWIW, my reactive dog (doesn't always play well with others) is EXTREMELY reactive about any dog who tries to put a head over his back or neck, or do anything that even hints at grabbing his neck in any way. While I own that Buddy is reactive and hypersensitive, I also think he's pretty astute at reading doggie body language, and fully aware of what every posture means. (For example, he never reacts when dogs are sniffing his butt - because there's no face contact and no dominance posturing in that position.) I'd say that if Buddy would immediately start a fight over something like the neck grabbing, it's probably a rude gesture even in a pack of calm, normal, laid-back dogs. My dog's grouchy and snarky, but he ain't crazy. Mary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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