Expert: Alan J Turner, SATS LL1 - 12/4/2006

Question
I have a 14 month old bull mastif cross rotweiller dog(Reuben) and a 6 year old cavalier king charles bitch (Tilly). I have had Tilly since she was a puppy and have recently rescued Reuben - we got him at 6 months old.  He is a lovely dog but the problem I have is that he is bullying Tilly.  He is playfully jumping on her, nipping her and running away and standing in front of her to stop her moving.  On walks he is even worse and I often have to put him on the lead as he keeps knocking her over.  I have brought a high pitched dog alarm which I have tried using but he just ignors it.  I have tried shouting NO but he takes no notice.  At home I can just about keep him under control but on a walk because it usually happens when he is not close enough to get hold of.  (I have tried throwing the lead at him but he just thinks this is a game and does it all the more).  I would love them to get on together but I feel Tilly will never like him if he carries on behaving like this. I would be very grateful for any advise.

Answer
Dear karen,
Thanks for the question. Teach both dogs how to walk nicely on lead- teach one dog at a time. Once they both learn how to walk nicely, you can take them both- but ask another person to go with you the first few times so you don't have to handle two dogs at once.

Or take them for private walks and leave one dog at home.

You should teach each dog a few simple behaviors. Buy the book, Feeling Outnumbered? How to Manage and Enjoy Your Multi-Dog Household. (Paperback)

Happy Training!
AT
by Karen B. London, Patricia B. McConnell