Expert: Sandra Case, MEd, CPDT - 10/21/2008

Question
This past week I adopted a golden retreiver(GR)rescue dog, female 18 months old. She is very sweet but seeminly affection starved. She is now the 3rd GR dog in my household. The others are a 10yr old , female GR and a 5 yr old male GR. The new girl has been demanding all my attention and jumping in front of the others when it comes to my attention. She's very puppy like.  My male is getting upset. She has pushed her way into his spot on the bed,(I've tryed to make them share or have her lay on her dog bed with no luck, she's very hyper.) She also pushes her way in front of him when it is time to be pet. His reaction for the most part is to walk away with an attitude and not bodily face us anymore. But.. He has also snarled and growled at her esp. when she invades his "Personal Bodyspace". I tell him NO you be nice as I pull her away. As for the Girls, the new one has tried to steal a snack out of my older females mouth and they had somewhat of a spat barking teethy stuff. I pulled them apart. That's been the only issue with the girls so far. Otherwise my 10yr old female will just boss her way in for affection and the new girl will back off. My older female is def. the independent one of the group. What Im looking for Is the 18 month old just being Rude, affection starved, or trying to gain dominance? I have been putting her in her crate for 30mins or so a day in order to give my male some individual attention. He is used to being the center of attention. Does this seem to be a bad situation. Or will some good advice that I can follow make this work. Loving all 3 of them and will do what it takes to make this harmonious. thanks.

Answer
Why would you correct your male for growling when she invaded his space? He's right. She's rude and pushy! I would start her in a good obedience class immediately, and start doing "Nothing In Life Is Free" for everything ( http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm ) If your male is very level headed and not tended to going overboard, (note: I would first get an in-person professional opinion and evaluation on this) I would not only not tell nim "no" but I'd stand back and let him teach her manners. This is ONLY if he is very appropriate with other dogs, and I wouldn't suggest allowing it between the two females at all. Bitch wars are an ugly thing, and I'd go to almost any length to avoid hard feelings between two females who have to live together. But sometimes an appropriate older dog of the opposite sex can set boundaries much more effectively than the human can. I would look for nothing more that a ferocious toothy display. If it is turning into actual body bites, that's not a good thing. But sometimes proper discipline can look "scary" to us humans but be 100% understandable to the other dog. I would also simply not allow her to push other dogs out of the way or steal their treats. I would take her to a time out for that sort of behavior. Sandy Case BFA, MEd CPDT www.positivelycanine.com