One Month And Fighting

Question: "It has been 1 month since we brought our new dog Grant home! The good news is that Grant has really come out of his shell. However, he is also testing boundaries. Our dog Bella and he have scuffled over food and, more seriously, a toy. No blood was shed, but it was loud and scared me. I didn't think this would be an issue with such a (seemingly) submissive dog, and one of the opposite sex!! Grant is still very leery of my husband—Grant won't come to Peter, and still freaks out when Peter walks him. What do you recommend?"

Answer: You may have two middle-ranking dogs who are trying to figure out who is in control. The best thing for both dogs to understand is that you are the leader, not either of them. This means that all the food, toys and resources are yours, not theirs. The best way to demonstrate this is through doing dominance work with the dogs. Practice Down and Stay while there are controlled distractions in the dogs' environment. Do a lot of obedience work, making sure that they learn to pause before reacting. Practice a lot of "Give" and "Take" to work with possession. Make sure that both dogs are physically lower than you (off the couch and beds).

A wonderful way to teach attention is with a treat in your hand. Work with one dog at a time. Put the treat in a closed hand and allow the dog to sniff and/or lick. Don't say anything to encourage him or her to look at you; just wait. In time the dog will look at you. This teaches the dog that when he wants something, he needs to look to you. You want them to look to you for the answers.

In regards to Grant and Peter, have Peter hand-feed Grant as often as possible. The more that Grant understands that he gets what he needs from Peter, the better. Some dogs are very sensitive to how we move. It is far better, for men especially, to approach in an arch and to bend at the knees instead of at the waist. We want our dogs to understand that we do not intend for our approach to be seen as a threat and, therefore, there is no reason to be defensive. At times, though, the animal instinct of "fight or flight" takes over. We, therefore, want to help our dogs stay our thoughtful companions instead of reactive animals.

I do want to mention that a dog can behave very differently with people and other dogs. This means a dog who is nervous (or has submissive tendencies) around humans can gain false confidence through bullying other dogs. It is similar to a bully on the playground. Many look for an easy fight to feel better about some sort of insecurity. The answer here is to solve the source of the problem.

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