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dog aggression
I own a labrador retriever currently and I just got a new puppy. The problem is that my lab is very aggressive towards the new puppy. She growls when it comes near her and if threatened enough she will attempt to bite the puppy. What can I do to keep my dog from doing this?
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You didn't mention the age of the labrado or new puppy, oe what breed of pup, but the labrador is the Alpha dog and has been all it's life.
The new puppy is a threat to the Apha. There are diffenrent orders for each in a pack. Alpha the leader and Omega the last of the chain. Thr lsb id maintaing his her Alpha stance and reminfding the pup it's an Omega-low dog.
The one and only thing you can do is keep them speparated in differet rooms closed off when not closely supervised.
When you come home from work let the lab out first. Love him, give him attention, feed him, walk him outside. Once the attention is over, bring in the puppy, holding it. Love the puppy and let the lab watch, and maybe the lab will come over to you and the puppy to investigate. Let the lab smell the puppy head to toe.
Sit down on the floor with the puppy and let the lab get familiar with him. Watch closely that he doesn't bite or attack the puppy suddenly.
Do this every night and off and on on weekends.
Introduce new playtoys that does not belong to either dog, making it neutral. A ball is good. See if they will play with your coaching.
Good luck.
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First of all, you need to be calm and in control always when dealing with animals. If your dog respects and listens to you, you will be able to handle this situation.
Dogs need boundaries. They need leaders. When a dog is not submissive to his owner, it runs the house and lead to aggression with humans and other animals.
You will need to try to acclimate your lab to the new puppy. Try putting the lab on his leash when he is interacting with the puppy. Every time the lab growls and just barely begins to show aggression, correct him by tugging on his leash or using a command. Some make a Shhhh type of sound others use a snap or vocal noise. It is whatever you feel comfortable with.
The most important thing is that your lab understands that aggression is not allowed. Try putting in a calm and relaxed state. Wait until he is calm and laying down and then introduce the puppy. Continue the corrections and make sure that you never pet him or give him a good boy unless he is in a calm state. If you pet him while he is excited or touch him when he is aggressive, that is only reinforcing that mind set. I would recommend the phone book and calling and talking ro emailing some dog trainers in your area. Most of them are willing to talk, and can give you other helpful tips. You can also pick up some material from Cesar Milan by googling him.
Good luck and remember to stay calm and in control.
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This sounds a lot like my situation now with a new puppy and resident dog. The BIGGEST mistake you are making is putting the puppy and lab together without both being on a leash so neither can nip at eachother.
The resident dog doesn't like the little dog because he/she has come in and taken over its territory and in the dog's mind it's rranking in your family. More or less the dog is confused and resentful of you and the fact the little dog is getting more attention right now.
Another big mistake is to try and get them together in your house without both being leashed. This prevents the snapping and the puppy nipping at the big dog as you can pull them away from eachother easily.
Look at the older dog if he/she looks stressed and doesn't want a thing to do with the puppy don't put them together. The fact he/she is snapping usually means "I've had enough of him/her bothering me" It's a signal to remove the other dog.
When you bring them together you need to do it for only 5 minutes at a time and stop until the bigger dog learns to tolerate the little dog.
It's imperative that you do not have these sessions inside our home or on areas of your property where the big dog thinks he's king and in control of. Take them to a neutral area like the park to become aquainted.
If the older dog keeps up with the snapping put him on a muzzle when the little dog is out until he quiets down and accepts him. You also need to praise the older dog for goof behavior or yell "no" when he tries to snap etc and send him away.
My lab/beagle is now into week 8 or 9 with our new pug/schitzu cross. The older dog was reacting exactly like your lab was. Now she can be in the same room day/night with the little dog sleeping in its pen without worry.
when we bring the puppy out she will sniff him and go about her business until you start petting the pup. It's at that time one of us holds her leash and pets her and she quiets down.
Ocassionally she might snap at him but when she does we put the dog away or takeher upstairs to be alone. We don't let them run free yet as the young dog likes to chase the bigger one and we don't want them to step on eachother.
Other than that my dog has learned to accept the new dog. She's gone from nervous pacing, snapping, agression and slobbering to being able to be in the same room.
Also, make sure the puppy never touches the bigger dog's bed, toys, water, supper bowl. This can lead to problems with jealousy and agression. A dog's bed, toys, bowl are to it like your most prized possesion is to you.
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I am sorry to say this, but nothing. If your dog thinks the puppy is a threaat to her dominance, she will be fierce with it. After a while, she will start to get along with the puppy better. My dog is having the same problem with the puppy we just got, but she is quickly getting use to it because now he is as big a she is, and is going to be twice as big as she is when he is full grown. It is going to be scary, but your dogs need some time together where an adult can watch them (I say an adult because I don't know how old you are). Just try not to let the older dog hurt the younger dog, but let her maintane dominance. There is a difference between dominance and aggraession, and she sounds more like domanince to me. I could be wrong, but that is what I think. Just remember you need to give the older dog more attention than the puppy so she remembers that she is still important. Hope this helps.
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