Bit My Other Dogs

[Guest Trammell]

Hi - this may be covered in other posts, so if so, please point the way

 

I have had my grey for about a year. She has been uncomfortable with cuddling, getting on the couch, things/people/animals being too close too her since she has been here. I have two other dogs, that leave her alone when she is on her bed because she communicates with growling that it isn't ok to bug her when she is on her bed. She plays occassionaly with one of my iggies, but mainly rooing, jumping, air snapping, and running around inside.

 

She has slowly started to warm up to the idea of cuddling; or rather being in the same area as something else. She does however, love to be petted and loved on. Recently she has even come up on the couch for a few moments at a time (you can tell she wants to be up there, but then she just looks uncomfortable and on edge, so she gets up and leaves to go back to her own bed)

 

She has also slowly started to show what seems to be a dislike for one of the iggies. He is the only male, so not sure if that is a factor. The iggies have their own bed on top of a chair, and when he was sitting in it she bit him. I am unsure if Penny (girl iggie) attempted to play with her, and Kingston (boy iggie), in his attempt to move, was nipped. But it was a pretty deep puncture wound. When I say she is showing a dislike, it is when he comes and sits on me, near me, or he gets up and leaves his bed to walk across the room; she growls at him, and sometimes jumps up to growl/snap at him.

 

Tonight I was sitting on the couch working, and she came and sat on the other end of the couch. Kingston came and sat next to me, which I could see immediately made her nervous. In a matter of seconds she growled, and I was already in the process of moving him to the ground (and would have then proceeded to move her too); but also at that moment Penny decided to run across Loni's (greyhound) bed. It was too much for Loni, and she jumped down and attacked Penny. Penny has several puncture wounds, and is missing a large chunk out of her rear. It happened within seconds. My thought is, she was uncomfortable and felt trapped (being on the couch near kingstone and myself); that she "lost it" when her safe spot (bed) was "taken" by Penny bolting across it.

 

I do basic obedience with Loni. She has never growled when on the couch before (she only stays for a couple of minutes). I don't correct her growling, because I thought that would be her way of communicating what she doesn't feel comfortable with. The other two are responsive to her growls. I thought the Kingston bite was a mistake, but now I'm not so sure. I use to muzzle if I left the room; but now I have her muzzled; because so much damage was done in such a short moment.

 

I have a daughter who is 7 yrs old. She does not bother Loni when she is on her bed, eating, sleeping, playing, etc. She only pets her when I supervise, and when Loni comes to ask to be petted and I am right there. I am concerned about the safety of the dogs, and my daughter. It made sense when it was just when she was lying on her bed; but I must be missing somthing (hopefully something obvious, that you will quickly point out).

 

And yes, I fully intend to contact my group for advice as well; but its late, so of course I came to you guys

 

 

[Guest grandmagrey]

Our Snowy had some of these issues with our other dogs. My daughter insisted on doing something I disagreed with. I allowed it out of desperation for behavior change and peace. When Snowy growled, a sharp, NO! Quiet! Followed by wearing her muzzle until we saw her behavior become less dominant. It did not take long..two, maybe three times and she has stopped for the most part. Sometimes we see the lip curl, along w a tiny growl. We tell her "its OK" she does respond positively and settled down. We did not use the muzzle to punish. We just told her she had to wear it till she settled down. The muzzle came off abdvtreats were given for good behavior. Good luck!

[3greytjoys]

Loni's reaction may have stemmed from fear, expanded space guarding, jealousy of the Iggys, running prey instinct, or a combination.

 

I strongly recommend not allowing Loni on any human furniture. (Luckily she's not very comfortable on the sofa yet, so it should be easy to stop that behavior now.) If she gets on the sofa, please do not attempt to grab her collar, instead happily call her off with treats, or go into another room and call her into that room for a high value treat. Please remember that trying to hook a leash on her collar if she's guarding space might force her into feeling threatened. Threatened dogs are more apt to bite.

 

Good that you are keeping Loni's muzzle on now. Although muzzles are very helpful, she could still bite through a muzzle, and/or pounce on an Iggy so supervision is important.

 

Try to place Lani's bed in a wide berth space, away from traffic paths of Iggys and/or people. Allow plenty of uninterrupted resting space. You are smart to ensure that your daughter doesn't bother or surprise Loni (or any dog) while resting. Please do not force cuddling with her. She's still showing signs of discomfort. Watch closely for subtle calming signals dogs often show when they first begin to feel discomfort (yawning, lip licking, eyes looking away, head looking away, etc.). A few guarding signals: hard stare, body stiffening, a freeze while staring at perceived threat, lip lift (not to be confused with a happy Greyhound smile).

 

Good if you're able to separate Loni and Iggys by baby-gate, or secured ex-pen for a while, and definitely separate large dog from small dogs by a secure method whenever you leave the house.

 

Good that you've been allowing Loni to growl as her communication. Sounds like the Iggys have been listening to her communication, and generally respecting her personal space. Dogs have the mind of a 2-3 year old and without seeing the circumstance with Penny, it's hard to say what Loni was thinking in that moment.

 

Most importantly, I'd recommend contacting a certified animal behaviorist who practices positive methods only (not punishment based methods).

 

(Please avoid Cesar Millan type trainers. Those methods are decades outdated and have been proven to intensify aggression.)

 

I agree to contact your group in the morning. Healing thoughts for Penny.

 

Calming Signals:

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

 

Dr. Sophia Yin

http://drsophiayin.com/resources/dog_behavior/

Edited March 13, 2013 by 3greytjoys

[greysmom]

I agree that this is probably more related to her resource guarding YOU than her "disliking" the iggies. She has a well developed "This is mine" instinct that is now extending to everything she considers her, including you and the couch and probably even air space!

 

I also second a consult with a Behaviorist. And see what your group says.

[Guest Trammell]

Thanks all - I think you are right, that she is resource gaurding me, and other items. I have emailed the group, and will let you know what they suggest. The biggest issue right now is how to separate everyone and keep them safe.

 

Separating the dogs is difficult; because both Loni and Kingston get nervous and panic when they are either crated; or otherwise separated (baby gate). I had the apartment split between the iggys and Loni because Kingston would dig through a wall if he had to in order to be free; and Loni bent the wire on a crate when we first brought her home. I had to put two baby gates up so that Loni wouldn't jump over it. She body slammed it until the baby gate fell down. I know that Loni can bite through a muzzle, or do damage with a claw, so that doesn't seem to be the solution for when I am at work (was the previous solution). I worry about the damage they will do (to themselves) if I do find a barrier that she can't knock down. I am moving into a house at the end of May; that is set up in a way that will be easier to find a solution for separating; because I will be able to put something more permanent up. However, I do need to find a solution on how to do it safely. If anyone has great ideas for that, it would be much appreciated. Penny is at the vet today, and Kingston and Loni are being "baby-sat" I am unable to pay for the dog to go to day-care every day (purchasing a house has drained me).

 

I'll follow the advice from above, not let her on furniture; if she gets up remove her with a treats, I don't try to force cuddling - so I'll keep letting her come to me for the pets/lovings. The calming signals are exactly what she does; so thankfully she is easy to read.