The one dog not being fixed is definitely the reason for the aggression. Get the 1 dog fixed ASAP then attempt reintroduction this may mean contacting an animal behaviorist for help.
My lab mix is unable to move her tail. She seems to be very uncomfortable. She was boarded this past week and I am unsure about any injuries. If it persists I do plan on taking her to vet. Are there any things I can do for her comfort?
My brother just returned from his mission a few days ago. While he was gone we adopted a border collie mix puppy, she’s now around a year and a half years old.
She has interacted with people at the park and gets along with most family members when visiting at their place. This her first time having a someone she doesn’t know at home like this, usually have her away from visitors.
She is not getting a long with my brother, she’s constantly barking at him. When he offers one of her favorite treats she tries to hide behind someone she trusts or she runs down and hides in the basement. My brother is getting really frustrated with her.
Expecting that this is going to take a while. Hoping that she gets used to him/desensitized to him over the next few weeks. Any advice would be appreciated.
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6 Years Old
Mixed Breed
My dog is female
6 years old
Mixed breed
Mixed breed. About 8 months old. Noticeably less active over last 24 hours. Presently can barely stay awake and seems to have chest congestion. No money for a vet. What can we do to help him?
One of them is a pit bull black lab mix, and the other is a pit bull rottweiler mix who is also fixed but the pit lab is not, not sure if this is relevant or not.
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Dawn Ferara, DVM -
PK Dennis Dr. Dawn is correct – you must get the second dog neutered, and even then you need to keep these dogs apart (so they can’t even see each other!) for several weeks afterward. This gives time for the testosterone to work its way out of the new neutered dog’s system.
Then, get the help of a professional behaviorist to reintroduce these two dogs – don’t attempt it yourself because they now have a history of aggression and will associate this aggression with each other. You need someone that can read the tiny signs a dog gives when they are uncomfortable with another dog. Even your own fear of something bad happening can trigger aggression between these two, so find a way to get help. If nothing else, contact your local SPCA and tell them your situation – and ask if they have someone that can help you, maybe a volunteer or a trainer that will help at a reduced cost. Explain that you are trying to avoid having to re-home one of the dogs and maybe they can help in some way.
Good luck – and don’t wait to get that boy neutered!
Someone left their jack russell terrier (Jaz) on my street two days ago and I took her in. I currently have a 5 year old pitbull mixed with a chihuaha(Taco) taco is little bit bigger than Jaz. Every time Jaz sees taco Jaz snaps and growls at her. We give them both attention I don’t think it’s a dominance or jealousy issue because taco doesn’t fight back, Jaz would wait for taco to be vulnerable and then try and bite her. For example today we took them both walking both were fine and we both went inside and taco looks at me not paying attention to Jaz and then jaz tried to bite Tacos leg. Taco stays with me and i have jaz in a room she listens good with everything. she doesnt leave her room even if we leave the door open and she doesnt have a leash on. She just cant be around taco. I’m not sure what to do or what’s wrong, we want to train Jaz so she can be part of our family. Any suggestions?
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PK Dennis This is MOST definitely a dominance issue! Jaz is telling Taco that Jaz is the person in charge of this new house! And while Taco may not be fighting back, Jaz is going to continue this behavior until she is satisfied that Taco understands the situation. It is your job to help them get on an even keel. Is Taco a male or female? Jaz is more likely to settle down with a male (females tend to rule the house and males usually let them).You need to go back to square one. Put Jaz in a room where Taco can not see Jaz. This could be a guest bathroom, or mud room, etc. You want a closed door between the 2 dogs for the next 3-4 days. Give each dog their own time with you – but separately. This allows each dog to become familiar with the smell of the other dog. They get to know each other this way – but without any confrontation.
On the 4th day, pick up all toys, balls, bones, and put them up out of reach of the dogs (and keep them up for the time being – this prevents fights over these resources. The toys belong to you, and the dogs only get access to them while you are there to monitor things). Then take the dogs on a long walk together – put leashes on them and then right out the door, don’t allow them to sniff each other or anything – just “let’s GO – walking here!”. By the end of the walk they should be more comfortable with each other.For the next few weeks keep a short leash on Jaz at all times – let her drag it around the house and yard (I like to attache the leash to a harness for this). This allows you to step on the leash or pick it up to get Jaz away from Taco. Monitor their activities and head Jaz off at the pass when she is paying too much attention to Taco – you might want to teach Jaz ‘leave it’ and tell her to ‘leave it’ when she is looking at Taco, etc.If the days of separation, and then the walk don’t solve the problem you will need to find a behaviorist or trainer that can come to your home and work with you – after all, Jaz is a terrier, and a Russell to boot. My experience is that Russell’s can be very challenging!Other ways to fix in Jaz’s mind that she is not in control of the house is by not allowing her up on any furniture. Taco can be up, but not Jaz for the foreseeable future. Not on the sofa or especially the beds. Control food – make Jaz work for every meal and treat by sitting nicely, or by doing a trick. She also has to sit nicely to get access to any toy, and she can only play with the toy with you – when you are done playing the toy needs to go back up out of reach/sight.These are the things I do with fosters when they come to my home – some respond quickly, others take months to decide they will settle into my pack. Give things a good 4 to 5 weeks before you give up on this girl!, but get some help if you feel things are not improving.Good luck! -
Erica Bowlen Thank you! They are both female. Taco is spayed and Jaz is not we are taking her to the vet soon to get her spayed.
He…
Sorry if this seems to ramble. I just have a lot on my mind.
He has already broken and melted my heart. I am a teacher and will actually be off work for the next 6 weeks to train, play, and “mother” the little guy. I think I have convinced my mother to watch him for the first couple of months when school starts to help him settle in because he is so young. Our best guess is that he is a lab mix. He will probably be medium to large in size.
I know that socialization is so important for a pup of this age. What can I do to help him?
I keep crying and my anxiety about the next 6 months is very high. My worries make it hard to sleep even when the little guy is sleeping. I’m so sad for him and I just want to make sure that he is a happy, healthy puppy. The shelters around here are overwhelmed and I refuse to leave the little guy. Euthanasia rates are pretty high.
He will eventually be an indoor/outdoor dog. I won’t be comfortable with this, though, until he is older. That is why I’m going to pay my mom to watch him. I will be gone from 7-3:30 and my man works from 7:30-5. On days with inclement weather, my fella would be able to come home and let him in or out. We have a large fenced in back yard with plenty of shady areas. I live in a rural area with very kind neighbors so I am not worried about anyone messing with him. I live in East Tennessee where there is rarely an extreme temperature; however, I’m also looking into adding a doggie door, too.
Here is what I have done so far:
(1) He has a lifestyle crate (with the partition to make it smaller for now) that is attached to a large playpen in our kitchen. He sleeps in this crate at night. I’ve been sleeping on a couch next to it at night to take him out when he wakes. This is generally every 2 hrs.
(2) I’ve taken him to the vet. They dewormed him and gave him a flea treatment that is appropriate for a little guy under 5Lbs.
(3) I take him out to potty every time he wakes up from sleeping. He has only had 3 accidents in 3.5 days. I clean up his mess well so as not to leave a smell and take him out anyway. I DO NOT scold such a young pup but rather just take him out and set him in the grass each time.
What can I do to ensure this little guy has a great adolescence? Especially considering he is off to a rough start?
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Katlyn Rose It will probably take a little while to potty train him because he is so young. To socialize him you can take him on walks and play with him and get him toys to play with. Puppies are resiliant so even though he has had a rough start just give him a loving home and play with him and make sure he is happy and he will be fine into adolescence. I hope you and your new puppy the best!
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Sarah Simpson Thanks for the encouragement! I had a torturous few day where I didn’t know if I should keep him or take him to the shelter. Many people on the internet acted like it was inhumane to have a dog if you couldn’t keep him indoors 24/7 and be with him most of the time; however, the lady at the shelter showed me all the cute pups there and told me that many don’t make it out. I refuse to give up on him! I’m not rich and I don’t have the resources to put him in a daycare every day but I do have a very comfortable and large home with a privacy fence. I have lots of love in my heart and no children, as well.
I plan to use the next 6 weeks to get him into the routine of our household. My mother won’t be able to help out because she takes care of my grandmother but my man is gonna arrange to drive 40 minutes here and 40 minutes back on his lunch to check on little man.
We are looking at collar activated doggie doors currently but he will be too young for that at first. I found a really cool solar paneled fan that can attach to a doghouse and “heated flooring” options for winter. I can’t believe this stuff exists! Who knew a dog could have a climate controlled doghouse?!?
Again, I really appreciate the supportive comments while I was panicking about what to do. 🙂
I Have A 3 Week Old Kitten Whos Mother Died So She Has Been…
Please help!
I have a 3 week old kitten whos mother died so she has been bottle fed , she recently starting drinking out of a bowl and when she ran out of milk i went to get more, she normally has raw goats milk but i couldnt find any anywhere so i went to pets at home and got some kitten milk instead , whilst i was there the vet suggested trying to get her to start eating food, so i got some wet food and put a small amount in her bowl and mixed it with milk, she loved it! But now she has horrible diorreha. I have taken the food away and just left the kitten milk , but im worried 🙁
My dog was breathing really hard when I got home, expresses pain towards her rear end, won’t let me touch her tail, is gassy, threw up earlier and it had a quarter of an unchewed rawhide bone in it, now she’s very lethargic, walking around in pain, her breathing is shallow and is having spasms on her bed, she’s an otherwise healthy 3 and a half year old catahoula American bulldog mix…..
I have a year old blue heeler mix who is usually pretty good with walking, and she won’t pull, but she does walk at the very end of the leash so that it’s pulled tight, but she won’t be pulling exactly. I’ve tried everything I can find online- the stop and wait method, and the one where you turn and walk away, but she’s not exactly pulling. Any advice? Thanks.
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Anonymous Work on a formal heel and reward for that specific behavior. Keep the leash short so she understands what you’re asking. In conjunction with this, I would stop dead every time she goes to the end of the lead. By continuing the walk, you’re rewarding the undesired behavior.
I am a BIG fan of tab leads for this.
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Kathryn Jefferson I think a lot of dogs enjoy having some tension in the leash because it allows them to “zone out” on the walk and enjoy sniffing around without focusing 100% on their owner. If the owner turns or slows down it is easier for the dog to immediately feel the change in the tight leash than it is for them to suddenly hit the end of a really loose leash which probably hurts their neck. In a way this makes sense because it is impossible for anyone, dog or human, to pay attention 100% of the time (think about day dreaming in school).
There are a couple of tricks you can try. One is to train the dog to walk on 2 different pieces of equipment. For example, if they have a buckle collar on they must keep a loose leash at all times (could be used for busy sidewalks, vet visits, ect) and if they have a harness on it means you are on a more casual walk and you don’t mind them leaning on the leash as long as they aren’t yanking your arm out of socket. You could also use different commands (“heel”- walk at attention by my side and “walk on”- we are just walking for enjoyment so slight pulling or sniffing around is fine). One thing nice about using commands is that you can alternate during a walk. For example, you can practice “heel” every time you cross a street and then allow the dog walk casually during the rest of the walk. Your dog will give you better attention during the heel because they know it will be over soon, as opposed to you trying to demand perfect focus for the whole walk.
If you want the dog to always walk on a loose leash when wearing its buckle collar, make sure you only put that collar on when you are mentally ready to train and have sufficient time. Don’t use it during quick walks around the block before work when you are distracted/ in a hurry and not paying attention. Start out by having the dog practice sitting for you a few times indoors for a treat. Proceed outside and as soon as you feel tension on the leash stop and wait! Don’t move at all, it helps to have your hands holding the leash at your waist so you don’t accidentally give more slack when the dog pulls. Wait for your dog to sit automatically (without a command), then give a treat, and take one step forwards. A lot of dogs will explode to the end of the leash with excitement so be ready to stop and wait again. Allow the dog to pull, jump up, bark, paw you, ect without punishment. Just wait for the sit, give a treat when they sit, and walk forwards. See how many steps you can take on a slack leash. When the leash is tight, stop and wait for the sit again. Soon the dog will be really focused on you because they are ready to sit every time you stop. Once you begin walking along on a loose leash, you can periodically reward the dog with a piece of kibble for looking up at you. Remember, reward the dog when it does something you like.
Sophia Yin has some great training videos related to this on YouTube!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2vZusiOzJg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUCl6ndLN7Q
https://drsophiayin.com/philosophy/
Ian Dunbar also has a variety of great videos on this subject.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U92mG5-V26M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkapxaexrBA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLERx9XR8pU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InJD18Zxudc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Saa13XvCdlI
http://www.dogstardaily.com/book/export/html/2131
I also recommend Grisha Stewart’s book “Behavior Adjustment Training”.
In what way is she not getting along with him? My first thought is that he calmly go about his business and not attempt to interact with her. Let the dog approach your brother for interaction. Is he wearing a ball cap, something that she’s not used to? Everyone needs to be calm and act normally.
Hello, this is perfectly normal. Dogs adapt, and it may take time. Good luck!
Thanks!
She has been getting better. She isn’t barking as much, but tends to avoid him whenever she can now. Want her to get used to being around him, but don’t want to force it. Now she usually hides downstairs or in one of the bedrooms. Gets really nervous and wants to be close to someone she knows when he is around.
She does bark and get snappy when he’s interacting with one of us, she thinks she is protecting us from him?
Slow going, but are improvements.