Paul,tk u for advice! I aprec. It! Evelyn

Not saying that you abuse your dog at all, but hitting is hitting, and some might think nothing of it but my dogs are “family”, and I’d never raise a hand to them.

I say skip the daycare.  Your dog is happier being at home waiting for you and spending time with your dad.  I really don’t trust vets to give advice on behavior – most of them have not been trained in this!  I would spend the time, energy, effort and money on training your dog to entertain himself at home so you can focus.

I worked out of my home for years with 2 to 7 dogs in my house.  I fenced in 4 acres of land (I know most people can’t provide that much land for their dogs) and my terriers & shelties would go in and out the dog door – hunting for chipmunks, sunning, and occasionally checking on me while I worked.  They were never disruptive to my job and if I was on the phone with a client a snap of my fingers told them to be silent.

For what you pay in daycare you could afford to have a trainer come to your house and work with you, your dad, and the dog!  Or, you could take the dog to training classes to expose him to more dogs and people (this will be even less expensive than daycare!).  Letting your dog be with his pack, and giving him a strong leader (a well trained YOU!) is going to make for a happier dog in the long run.  Believe me! 

What do dogs really want?  They want their pack, their familiar space, a strong leader, and routine.

PK

can’t afford to take her to the vet

Laura and Dr Krista are correct – he wants to be with his family!  A 5-month old puppy cannot entertain himself and neither can an adult dog without a job.  Show him that outside is a wonderful, fun place to be by being out there with him and playing games.  End the game before he is bored with it and then go inside.  Once he is an adult, will he have cattle to herd?  If not, he can get into all sorts of trouble outside alone out of boredom.  

Please stop smacking him!  He won’t understand why you are hitting him.  He needs to be shown how you want him to behave and it will take  dedicated work on your part.  Find out how long he can stay in his kennel without starting to whine, even if it is just 30 seconds.  Put him in his kennel, go out of sight and return before he starts to whine.  They praise, praise, praise!  Have a party – what a good, smart boy you are!  Continue to do this, gradually extending the separation time. 

Have both of these dogs been neutered? (I assume they are male).  If they aren’t, get them to a vet now.  Mounting is all about who is in control — not about sex.  But, having all those hormones in their bodies amps up all reactions.  

If you are making a fuss, and there is snapping and barking involved it sounds to me that the humans are not the ones in control in your life.  Both you and your boyfriend need to start working with your dogs on the basics such as down stay, sit stay, go to your bed, bring me a toy, find the ball, heel, etc.  As you gain control over the mind of your dogs you show them that humans are the ones in control and they will feel less need to show dominance to each other.  It wouldn’t hurt to find a trainer to help the four of you!

Along with this work to calm your dogs with strong leadership, your best tool might be a loaded water gun, or spray bottle.  No yelling.  No whistle.  No scolding.  Just pick up the gun/bottle and spray the mounting dog in the face.  When he dismounts he needs to be redirected: “find your ball”, “go to bed”, “bring me your toy” or “go outside” (this is why you need to teach these types of commands to your dog).  The water needs to happen so fast, and with no fanfare — it works best if the dog never figures out that YOU are the one making the water happen. Keep the guns/bottles all over the house so you can get to one in a step or two. Don’t try to drown the mounting dog, it is just on shot to his head/face to startle him and break his focus on dominating the younger dog.  It sets up the association in his mind that when he dominates the other dog, this uncomfortable and startling thing happens.  The the redirection to a toy or bed channels his mind in a better activity.

Scolding, blowing whistles, and shouting escalate the excitement — you are barking along with them in the mind of a dog.  Stop.  Be calm.  Calm, positive energy, and 15 mins of focused training 2 times per day (at least) is what is needed to improve the situation. 

Good luck.