Space Aggression?

[Guest BlackandTan]

How do you handle a case of space aggression.... If Senko wasnt muzzled I think she would have probably bitten Gary because he wouldnt leave her alone??? How long does this usually last with "NEW" to a home dog?

[Riverhound]

We've had Brees since December, and Joe still gets very cranky at times. We kept muzzles on for about a month, and very slowly started leaving them off sometimes. I don't think Joe's likely to actually bite now, but I'm not sure, and we still try to keep her at a reasonable distance when he's grouchy. On the other hand, they love to play chase in the yard and bounce around the living room together, and he adores sniffing her butt! They have no problems drinking out of the same bowl, and very surprisingly out of the same dish. (Which we discourage, but seems to keep happening!) They'll each halfheartedly guard a toy from the other, while sorta wanting to play together. Bully sticks and pig ears have to be supervised carefully. They take turns for people food very nicely. Riding in the minivan is a problem, because Brees likes to pace around and Joe wants to lay down -- so gets stepped on and grumpy. When we get where we're going though, he uses her as a headrest!

 

So the answer is: I really don't know how to handle space aggression. It's a pain when they act like bratty children, especially when they enjoy each other so much of the time. But that's what siblings do, right?!?!

[Batmom]

If Senko wasnt muzzled I think she would have probably bitten Gary because he wouldnt leave her alone??? How long does this usually last with "NEW" to a home dog?

 

Probably not space aggression at all, if he was being a pest (what was he doing?).

 

Most times things settle within a week or two.

 

Here we muzzle everybody when we can't supervise, until we're reasonably sure the dogs listen politely to one another.

[TheFullHouse]

What Jey said. If he's makinga pest of himself she's going to correct him. He should start to respond to her correction and back off soon.

[Guest BlackandTan]

OK Thanks for the input, and she will just have to stay muzzled a while longer, Until i feel she is trustworthy... I wish she would treat everybody else in the house like she treats me. Daddys little girl

[Guest BrianRke]

These things usually have a way of working themselves out. Dogs are much better than humans at conflict resolution

[kudzu]

.... If Senko wasnt muzzled I think she would have probably bitten Gary because he wouldnt leave her alone???

Can you elaborate on what was going on? What was each dog doing at the time & what else was going on? Your phrasing makes me think that Gary needs to learn to back off if his efforts are rebuffed but perhaps that isn't what you meant.

 

Space aggression is thankfully not something I've had to deal with so I usually don't have much to contribute there. I have had a dog would was more reactive & would snark a lot sooner than many when another dog is being a pest and "wouldnt leave her alone". While I did work with her to build up more tolerance of such things, in our house it is the pest who is considered the instigator. Positive redirection & rewarding for being non-pesky go a long way to improving things. At the same time rewarding the more reactive dog anytime the pest is nearby certainly helped her view his presence as a more positive thing.

[MaryJane]

Hard to tell what was happening when you had the incident but, I would not just muzzle Senko, I think that Gary also needs to be muzzled if he was acting up (you might just want to muzzle all the dogs). Muzzling just Senko does not leave her any way to protect herself if both the other dogs decide to gang up on her.

[Guest BlackandTan]

From what I could see alls Gary was doing was walking right next to her to the kitchen... Maybe he nuzzled her in a way she did not like??? Dinner was being cooked....

[TheFullHouse]

Some females tend to be a little bossy. My little 54lb. Bebe is the biggest boss in the house. She doesn't hesitate one minute to put someone in their place if they tick her off. Her favorite game, lay on the bed right inside the bedroom door and as every other dog enters the bedroom past her, jump up and bark growl in their face. I'm usually letting the dogs out and Mike isn't paying attention at that point but I hear her and yell at her to come to me. I don't allow her to do that to the other dogs. That's how some females can be.

 

I think you girl, being new, is trying to establish her place within the pack. I would muzzle all the dogs until you can be reasonably sure that they are getting along with no snarling or snapping. Usually what happens is one of the males will have their fill of her pushiness and will argue back with her and put her in her place. Once that happens things usually settle down. It's really easy for things to escalate and a fight break out so muzzling one leaves that dog unable to protect itself. I would definitely separate her from the boys when you're not at home or muzzle all three for everyone's safety.

[Guest BlackandTan]

Right now she is crated when nobody is around.. I watched her tonight Gary was simply standing next to her and she got mad.. snarled and snapped luckily all were muzzled. He just walks away when she does stuff like this... Also she was on the couch and DIago came within a few feet of her and the same thing happened.. They argue over the couch all the time but usually its because their butts are touching and Diago gets mad...

It was a very easy trasition when DIago came in to the home and Im just wondering if this is all normal still? Or if maybe she needs to be a only dog in a home???

[TheFullHouse]

I have two that still do that and one that is crate aggressive and yells at anybody who walks by his crate. Mine have gotten a lot better oner the years but every now and again they'll give a warning bark to one of the others who get a little to close for comfort.

 

I would ban her from the couch for now. Move her dog bed to a corner, out of the normal walking path through the house so the boys don't have to walk past her. Once she feels secure, most of that will stop. She's very new to the family and has to learn to trust you all.

[Guest BlackandTan]

Sounds like a plan... Im somewhat ssuming its the same with the cats... If they walk by she growls but she wont go near them... She runs or freezes and stares at the floor if they are too close and nothing in between them..

[Guest noblescout40]

I could use some advice. I've had my greyhound, Bear, since last May. He is 4 years old and I have 2 other female greyhounds. My partner likes to pet Bear when he is on his bed before we go to sleep. He's always been a little growly and we've tried to not bother him while he's asleep. But lately it seems it's getting a little worse and he will snap at her when he's on his bed when she goes to pet him while he's fully awake. Is there a way to break him of this? My partner loves to get down and pet the greyhounds on their level, but Bear is unpredictable in his reaction.

 

 

Thanks,

Kate

[TheFullHouse]

First rule with a new greyhound, never bother them on when they are on their bed. Greyhounds have never had to share "their" space before. Especially when they are sleeping. Your hound is communicating to you that touching him while he's on his bed is making him uncomfortable. Give it some more time, some hounds take a long time to reach a level of trust where they are comfortable being touched while on their beds.

[JenniferS]

One thing I would mention, is some greyhounds never outgrow it. It can be monitored, but never completely "cured" with some dogs. My first boy Quiet Man was never 100% trustworthy sharing space with hounds or humans. He definitely got better over the years, but he was never a dog a I could cuddle with, leave alone with children, etc. There was only one other greyhound that came along which was my next boy Murphy who I could trust him around alone. That was just who he was, and I learned to live with it and manage it.

[Guest noblescout40]

One thing I would mention, is some greyhounds never outgrow it. It can be monitored, but never completely "cured" with some dogs. My first boy Quiet Man was never 100% trustworthy sharing space with hounds or humans. He definitely got better over the years, but he was never a dog a I could cuddle with, leave alone with children, etc. There was only one other greyhound that came along which was my next boy Murphy who I could trust him around alone. That was just who he was, and I learned to live with it and manage it.

Thanks. We are trying to manage it. Right now, when we approach him when he's on his bed, we just give him a treat. Trying to make it a positive experience. We've backed off on trying to pet him when he's on his bed for now. It makes me kind of sad that he's like that, but we do have 2 females that don't have space issues. And Bear is a good dog in other respects--so we'll focus on that. This is just the first time we've run across this. Will have to adjust our thinking/behavior!!