Expert: Alan J Turner, SATS LL1 - 5/22/2007

Question
We have 6 dogs in our family. Three Golden Retrievers, Nana is 5, Lucy is almost 2 and Annie is also almost 2. The other three are Shih Tzu's, Beans and Mocha are sisters and are 5 and Coco is Mochas daughter and is 9 months old. Both Lucy and Annie both had litters within 3 days of eachother 6 months ago. Since then Lucy has been fighting with Annie and has attacked her 5-6 times. Lucy is obviously the dominant female in the "pack" and Annie is obviously the "low man on the totum pole" in the pack. Lucy has attacked Mocha and Beans, our Shih Tzu's in the last 6 months also. When this first started we kept Lucy apart from the other dogs except for Nana and 3 seperate times have integrated Lucy back with all of the dogs and things went ok for awhile and then Lucy will just suddenly attack one of them, especially Annie. Lucy and Annie are not blood related sisters but they happen to be 3 days apart in age and we adopted both of them at the same time. Lucy is normally a very loving and sweet natured dog. We are torn up over this and have wondered if we should find Lucy a new home to ensure the safety of our other dogs but are afraid to give her to another family for fear she will be agressive with another dog in a new family. We love Lucy very much, she is our 13 year old daughter's pet and our daughter is completely sick over this as we are too. Please give us some advice, we have asked our Vet and explained the situation to him and he says to keep Lucy apart from all of the other dogs. We don't want to have to alienate Lucy forever, not only do we feel that will create more problems and jealousy but it's not healthy for our family.

We really need advice and do not know of a Animal Behavior Specialist in Oregon that could help. We really need HELP!  

Answer
Dear Julia,
Thanks for the questions.

If the dogs are not trained, you'll need to teach them some basic behaviors before you can solve the problem. Sit, down and go-to-place are some that will come in handy.

Long-term management is a tough road, I agree it's not much of a life to be sequestered.

There are many good trainers in Oregon, perhaps one is close to you. Go to http://apdt.com to search for a certified trainer. They should have the knowledge to help you.

I wish I could give you some specific advice, but this topic warrants a book, not a message board answer. If you want to try and fix it yourself, buy the book - Feeling Outnumbered? How to Manage and Enjoy a Multi-Dog Household by Patricia B McConnell.


Good Luck!
AT

http://howsbentley.com