Expert: Jill Connor, Ph.D. - 4/10/2008

Question
Hi,
we have 5 canines they are BJ, large hound dog, 70 pounds,
Buddy, Chow mix, 70 pound, Emma, pink nosed pit 55 pounds,
Tasha, spaniel mix 45 pounds, and Russell, terrier, 10 pounds.  My problem is Emma has attacked Buddy now 3 times, twice while we were preparing their morning food and once when Buddy was getting out of the pool after he fell in.  We feed them in crates, I normally feed them from the smallest to the largest.  This morning my daughter put food in all the bowls and made Emma wait in the hallway until she had fixed everyone's food.  She then let in the 2 dogs from outside and Emma proceded to attack Buddy.  He was injured during the attack this is the first time she has injured him.  I don't know what I am doing wrong and how can I correct this behaviour?
Thank you,
Cathy

Answer
Your dogs are clearly out of control, especially your Pit.  A multiple dog household requires an experienced, fair, strong hand.  Your Pit has begun to use Buddy as an "omega"..meaning, she will punish him for any perceived threat, including being too close to her food, showing any behavior she doesn't understand (such as climbing out of the pool), etc.  Your daughter should not be feeding these dogs.  At this point they require a single caregiver who is studying canine psychology and who is actively using positive reinforcement training on EVERY DOG SEPARATELY.  Your dogs should ALL be earning their meals at the same time by performing a simple obedience maneuver, but they are FAR from prepared at this point.  Your Pit clearly has a rank opportunism thing going with the other dogs and might begin to include her human pack members in this behavior.

If you feel unable to acquire information without assistance, find a credentialed dog behavior expert (NOT a DOG TRAINER!) who can evaluate rank among your dogs and teach you how to establish psychological dominance.  If you think you can handle the task yourself, go to karen pryor's web site to learn about positive reinforcement training AND purchase Paul Owen's book "The Dog Whisperer" (NOT Cesar Milan!!)  Meanwhile, protect Buddy by confining your Pit in another room AWAY from the other dogs when it is mealtime.  Also, don't feed your dogs only once a day; this escalates the resource guarding behavior and other problems because the dogs are far too hungry.  Establish two firm meal times, morning and late afternoon, and allow the dogs ten minutes to finish their meals.  Do NOT feed the Pit with the other dogs until you have established a secure obedience routine that all dogs can perform together.  This will most likely take at least two months.  When you DO reintroduce her to feeding with the rest, keep a strong house tab (leash) on her and do NOT allow her to interfere with the other dogs in any way.  While the dogs are interacting at other times, observe her very closely.  Don't tolerate any aggression she might show to the other dogs.  Physical punishment is absolutely not acceptable and you do have to be careful not to promote another dog over her in rank while attempting to protect the other dog, but you cannot tolerate (as the actual pack leader) random aggression among your pack members.