Former Only Grey Is Being Assertive-How To Handle?

[Guest Nycelle]

This is the first of what may be many questions about integrating my new boy into a formerly one dog household. I looked back a bit and didn't see anything directly on point. If the answer is out here, can you point me to the thread? I'm trying not to be lazy, but this is a new one on me.

 

A little background-we adopted HIllary straight from the track in March. She is a shy, 56 lb velcro breed snob. Zone just came out of 10 months in foster. He was described as gentle natured (as long as you are not a cat or small dog) boy, from a home with other greys and large dogs. He came home on Wednesday.

They are supervised closely & wear muzzles when alone. She marked the first night & has given him some warning growls. Nothing agressive or dangerous and fully expected.

 

They share a water bowl well, no fighting over food, and are working on walking together on leads. Napping on seperate beds, but inching closer together.

 

Here's where it gets intersting-she has tried to mount him twice today. He has growled at her-no teeth. My concern is how do I let them sort it out? Spray her/him/both with the water gun? Try not to laugh and ignore it? I know they will work out their group dynamics eventually, but is there anything I can to to "facilitate"? Obviously, I don't care who comes out on top (no pun intended) but I don't want anyone hurt.

 

Thanks in advance-you guys always have good advice! One day I hope to be voice of experience, but today is not that day

 

-Ellen

 

 

 

 

[Guest Scouts_mom]

Generally I say "let them work it out", but mounting is excessive. I would get out the spray bottle and let them have it--that is not acceptable behaviour.

[3greytjoys]

I agree, repeated mounting behavior is concerning. Tough not seeing these incidents or knowing your girl's life history/previous dog interactions, but it's likely she's feeling very highly stressed and insecure.

 

Until both dogs successfully adjust to each other, my suggestion is to not leave these two dogs alone "freely" together in any room without 100% human supervision - even when both are muzzled. (Dogs can still bite through turnout muzzles.) Muzzle for car rides too.

 

You might try to calmly redirect your female hound's behavior in a positive manner before her stress level reaches "mounting" point. (If bad things happen when she's already highly stressed and focused on newcomer, it may increase her negative feelings towards newcomer, heightening both dogs negative behavior.) If you see her approaching newcomer to mount him, if you can do so safely - intercept her by calmly and gently guiding her away from him.

 

Make a plan in case they get into a fight: Keep a high-back chair nearby in case you need to separate dogs. (You can hold chair legs to keep yourself at safe distance, using chair back to block dogs' faces from harming each other.)

 

Initally, offer wide living space: Newcomer's bed farther away, feeding very far apart (if using crate for new boy, feeding inside crate is good for many reasons). Meal time (including prep) increases chances for problems in a new multi-dog environment. Try not to push them to co-mingle resting space too soon. Your girl isn't ready. May be helpful for resident girl to get most of your attention/rewards while being good since the intruder arrived. (Newcomer can get your attention after resident girl adjusts.) Neutral territory dog walks/activities often help acceptance. (If 2 humans available, 1 dog per handler is helpful, early on.)

 

I'm not sure if they were introduced on neutral territory upon new hound's arrival (i.e., off your dog's home property and yard), but below are a few questions to think about (no need to answer here).

 

Before resident female hound mounted newcomer hound, what do you suspect was happening through your girl's eyes? Her perceived threat, jealousy, guarding of human, favorite space, feeding area, nearby toys, etc. Remember that she could be watching and stewing well before something finally sets her off to "take action" towards the intruder.

 

Did she strictly posture mount him, or try to bite attack him during the mount? Good that he only gave a warning growl response without teeth (those times).

 

These two links re: canine body language could help you closely monitor their behavior:

http://www.aspca.org/Pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-articles/canine-body-language

(As you know, many Greyhounds' ears rest back against their head normally. Some Greyhounds "smile" when very happy too.)

 

http://www.canis.no/rugaas/onearticle.php?artid=1

 

If your girl's negative behavior continues/escalates, a professional positive method behaviorist would be recommended.

[3greytjoys]

The "leave it" command is a good one to begin practicing with your girl (with delicious rewards), if she doesn't know it yet.

Edited December 30, 2012 by 3greytjoys

[Guest PhillyPups]

They are figuring things out, she is telling him I am the boss, his growling is saying off my back. I would just give an ack ack ack when she tries to mount him. You said it only happened twice. I would seperate with babygates (I always do a new dog for a period until I feel comfortable with them) and muzzled when I would leave the house. I always muzzle mine when I leave.

 

When Deon arrived I had to do the ack ack ack everytime she would put another hounds head in her mouth. She came into an established pack and had to let them know she would take no crap. She does not start anything either. I have two females that way, and they live peacefully, knowing neither one is threatened now.

 

It is all new to both the hounds, her having another hound with her, him being in a new environment.

 

I have been told I was "paranoid" about my hounds, and I simply said thank you, but I do feel when new hounds enter the home we tend to overstress about their behaviors. They are figuring out who is who.

 

I would not let it get out of hand, she may not even try to mount him today.

 

Good luck, relax and enjoy.

[greytpups]

i just have a couple of comments. Ensure when you are correcting her that you don't use her name, rather use trigger words like leave it or off, etc. Make sure your male knows the correction is for the female mounting, not his growl which is appropriate in this situation.

 

Lastly, I would redirect in this situation, meaning redirect so she knows what is appropriate such as throwing a stuffy or praising her right away when she gets off him on her own. If you can intervene and redirect before she actually mounts, that may be helpful too so she learns what is appropriate behaviour.

[Finnsliz]

How is she reacting to his growls? If she was reacting appropriately to his warnings by stopping her behavior that is what you want to see happening. Good luck with the settling in period.

[Guest Nycelle]

Thank you everybody!

 

I want to make sure that all of us-me included-stay safe and that I don't confuse him when he is behaving appropriately.

 

3greytjoys-I will read those articles with my breakfast. Trying to see things through her eyes will be very helpful.Thanks for the chair idea-oither than the spray bottle, I didn't have a plan for a fight. Hope I never have to use it.( Living in Texas, I hope I never have to use my hurricane plan either, but I have one ).

 

I'm big on positive reinforcement,Jan, and try not to use her name with "bad" things. Sometimes easier said than done. I'm glad we were able to do this over a week off-all this awareness is time consuming!

 

Pat- I'm glad to hear you say that sometimes we over stress. I know I do, and wanted to reassure myself of that, while not minimizing the situation. Yep- I too have been called "paranoid". Maybe so, but I also know that in the long run it's easier to do things right in the beginning that try to unlearn behaviors.

 

Hi Liz- I haven't yet seen her react to his growls, as I have "ack acked" her into stopping. It doesn't appear that she would escalate things, but I can't be sure of that.

 

The intersting thing in all of this is that she herself has made the environment smaller. She has always gone upstairs when she is tired, stressed or justs wants to be alone-our bedroom is there and she has turned our closet into her crate. She has not attempted to go upstairs since we got home on Thursday-and he has no clue it's even up there. Believe me-that eliminated a huge stressor for me.

 

I'll check back and let you know how things are moving along.

 

Happy New Year!

[gracegirl]

Lots of long walks should also help everyone for multiple reasons.

[greysmom]

You might want to encourage her to go upstairs for a while, just to give her some space - sort of a time out (but not punishment).

 

Whenever we bring a new dog into the home, I make time every day to spend with the resident dogs one-on-one doing something they like - attention/pets, walks, car rides, nap on the bed. This gives them some private time away from the newcomer, and the reinforcement that they still have my affection/attention.

[Guest Nycelle]

Thanks Chris-

 

She is having no part of going upstairs- I think she wants to keep it her secret! I'm trying to give her private Mommy and Me time. I crated him for a bit and we went for a walk earlier.

It may be a blessing in disguise that Daddy had to go out of town for a few days. He thinks I'm a bit overprotective, but Im here alone a lot, and I think it's important that everyone knows I"m the boss.

So far today has been PG- synchronized sleeping and parallel stuffie play.

I agree Gracegirl-lots of walks- just wish it wasn't so cold!

[Jackandgrey]

You want to make having him around a good thing for Hillary. So when they are lined up, side by side, do a serial treat exercise: Saying their names and giving a treat. In other words good things happen when we are together. You want to create as many positive experiences as you can for her alone and together with him. And as long as there is no blood! let them work out a lot of their own issues. Of course you must keep them safe if you can't monitor.

[Guest Nycelle]

I like that idea, Susan!

[a_daerr]

Yep, mounting is definitely a behavior that both males and females do to establish dominance. Your female is saying, "Hey! I was here first, and I'm the boss of this place!" I probably wouldn't worry about it too much. If your male looks visibly threatened/scared, only then would I intervene.

 

P.S. There is a funny picture somewhere on GT where zombrie's Minerva is mounting her littermate Doolin in a playful way. Some greys are just more assertive than others.

[Guest Nycelle]

I will have to see if I can find that picture!

Things are getting better- incident free day yesterday. We may be - wait for it-

Over the hump!! (I crack myself up sometimes!)

[a_daerr]

Over the hump!! (I crack myself up sometimes!)

 

HA!

[a_daerr]

Here it is!

http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php/topic/287573-littermates-at-play/?hl=minerva

[Guest PhillyPups]

I have a lot of hounds and sometimes it is easier to give a loud YO - wanna see 6 grehounds play musical beds and look so cute with their ears up? It does get their attention and any inappropriate behavior sure does stop quickly.

 

Incident free day, she told him she was there first, he listened. Males for the most part are a bit more submissive than most females. Although with my 4 females, one is definitely the bossier (AnnaBanana) and they all know. She is the only one Deon won't try to challenge, and I make sure they don't as neither one will start anything, but neither will either one of them backdown. If I ever have a problem it will be them, but I stay constantly vigilant so it hopefully will not happen.

[Guest Nycelle]

Those pictures are awesome! Thanks for finding them!

 

As a native New Yorker, the value of a well timed "YO" is not lost on me! I've mothballed it since I moved here, but it might be time to dust it off.

 

*looking for Rocky on On Demand. My mouth wants to say "y'all ":)

[JJNg]

This article about humping was shared here a while back. I agree with the author that humping is more often due to excitement, over-arousal, stress, and anxiety, rather than trying to establish dominance. In your case of transition to a new dog in the home, it's likely due to stress, and I would be careful using any form of correction. Hopefully the 2 initial episodes were all, and they've already moved past that stage.