Territorial Agression

[tigerlily46514]

I really think, that in time, these two dogs WILL find their way with each other, i do. I could be wrong, but it could just be the adjustment thing of new dog in my house kinda thing..

It might be easier, to teach Chance an alternate behavior, and REWARD that, rather than punish him.
One option might be:
'Go to your MAT'. It's fine if Chance has frozen kongs, chewbones, etc, and puppy can't be allowed to approach Chance if he is on his mat, and if Chance corrects the pup for coming into his space, is a good chance that the JR is right.
Of course, keeping a JR on a mat for very long, is not sustainable solution , but, it *might* be something to consider doing briefly just to interrupt escalations....make sure Chance sees his mat as "best place in the world" and NEVER ever send Chance to his mat as a punishment, or he will hate that mat.
Reward him HEAVILY for being on his mat.

only first few minutes are about one way to teach "go to your mat", rest of video is advanced stuff.

 

[jackienmutts]

"The only reason we think its real agression is because there was an incident where I was standing in the yard with Remi and Chance found a way outside and bolted for him. He pushed Remi to ground and latched on to his neck and even after Remi yelped and tried to get away but chance wouldn't let go. I tried to pull him away and nothing worked. I had to practical open his jaw myself. There was no broken skin, and Remi still likes Chance"

As hideous as that whole scene must have been, there was no broken skin. If Chance had truly intended to harm Remi, there most likely would have been broken skin, possibly punctures, and more. It's possible Chance finally saw a chance to get to that little trouble maker and just give him a piece of his mind. The fact that Chance inhibited his bite speaks volume of intent. Was it pretty? Absolutely not. But apparently Chance felt it was necessary. Please sit down with your roommate and have a heart to heart talk, maybe even let her/him read this thread. It's important that Chance has an opportunity to "just be Chance" - without Remi always around (as cute as he is) -- and the same is true, Remi should be allowed to "just be Remi" without Chance always right there. If Chance knows he has to deal with this puppy, but he also knows the humans have his back (so to speak), and that you'll help him out if things get too much, and give him frequent breaks from this little spit-fire, he'll most likely (over time) grow more tolerant of Remi -- and of course, this should happen as Remi matures, also.

Also lots of good suggestions as far as teaching lots of alternate behaviors to both dogs. Keep working with them, and hopefully one day you'll be able to work them together.

Tigerlily brought up a good point. If Chance is reprimanded constantly for *whatever* when Remi is around, Chance will build up bad feelings about Remi. Every time that darn Remi is around, I get yelled at - I can't stand him! Make a real effort to get in some fun play sessions (or something) with both dogs together, and instead of reprimanding Chance if things go wrong, just separate the dogs with a baby gate, and say ok, so that didn't go well, where did we (humans) let it go wrong, and how can we improve it for next time? I don't mean to make it sound easy, just trying to take some blame off the dogs (and not put it on you, don't get me wrong) -- just taking pressure off, while you try to revamp, rethink, and figure out like with Chance and Remi.

 

[jackienmutts]

Last few words above: figure out LIFE with Chance and Remi. Sorry - tried to edit that 3 times and it wouldn't let me correct it (??) - anyway, had to note this cuz it just made no sense. I'll blame it on the hour ... bedtime.

 

[Amateur]

Yes Jackie makes sense ... we use to cheer Hank on ( the big guy) to take the little runt down a peg or two ( even though she was just a puppy) because she was just so brutal on him. He adores her and their play is rough and sounds like she's ripping his throat out but its all good.

 

[Mr-Remington]

One option might be:
'Go to your MAT'. It's fine if Chance has frozen kongs, chewbones, etc, and puppy can't be allowed to approach Chance if he is on his mat, and if Chance corrects the pup for coming into his space, is a good chance that the JR is right.
Of course, keeping a JR on a mat for very long, is not sustainable solution , but, it *might* be something to consider doing briefly just to interrupt escalations....make sure Chance sees his mat as "best place in the world" and NEVER ever send Chance to his mat as a punishment, or he will hate that mat.
Reward him HEAVILY for being on his mat.

only first few minutes are about one way to teach "go to your mat", rest of video is advanced stuff.

Chance knows 'Bed' which is his crate. He knows if he is in there then Remi wont be around, Remi is not allowed in there for any reason at all! So he has a get away. In fact if at anytime he is uncomfortable or scared that's where he goes. And I of course intend to keep that a Chance only spot.

 

[Mr-Remington]

Jackienmutts- We have been giving them time away from each other now that I got some advice from this forum. We are doing our best, as you and tigerlilly said, to help Chance see Remi as a good thing. I give Chance treats, and praise him when he is playful or even around the puppy. It seems to be working. He looks to be alot happier towards us and the pup. That may also be because when he growls and nips Remi we don't correct him anymore. So he sees it as a get out jail free card.

 

[Mr-Remington]

I also showed my roommate the thread, and she knows believes any and every dog we see has the right to bite my puppy to 'put him in his place.' She even told some friends that were visiting to allow their dog to chase attempt to fight Remi (teeth and all) Just because Remi is younger. Needless to say I jump in fast. Clearly the dogs should stay my responsibility.

 

[Mr-Remington]

Yes Jackie makes sense ... we use to cheer Hank on ( the big guy) to take the little runt down a peg or two ( even though she was just a puppy) because she was just so brutal on him. He adores her and their play is rough and sounds like she's ripping his throat out but its all good.

I did that with chance last night Poor thing was getting attacked by Remi and wasn't in the mood to play. Remi got a warning bite and just walked away! Its amazing that he's starting to understand when enough is enough.

 

[tigerlily46514]

SO GREAT to hear you are all making progress! WOW! Kudos to you all!! YAY!! Keep up the good work!!

 

[Amateur]

Sometimes I think we humans are too quick to jump in and "fix" things when dogs would have worked it out long ago.

It sounds as though with a little observation and understanding you are geting on the right track for both dogs .... excellent job.

 

[Mr-Remington]

Thank you both!

 

[jackienmutts]

It does sound like you're doing a good job of now understanding what may be going on between your pups. Sometimes we get too close to a situation and need to step back and sometimes ask what others might see. And especially with puppies, it's hard cuz it's natural to want to protect them from all danger, and just cuddle them up. I'm glad your roommate has a better understanding, but you can show her my post right now -- this isn't free reign to bring over every dog in the neighborhood to beat up on Remi! It sounds like Chance is doing a good job, and Remi is now learning some good manners and 'dogspeak'. Takes time and patience. Remember Remi is a baby, you don't want him traumatized by any dog, by accident. It's fine to interact with dogs, but you don't want bad stuff happening (if avoidable) at his young age, while he's still learning good doggie manners, how to interact politely, etc. You keep doing what you're doing, cuz it definitely sounds like you're on the right track. So happy to hear that both dogs sound happier now - and your posts sound happier too.

 

[Fiestars]

I had the same sort of problem when I first got Olly.
Kiara was 2 years old and Olly was 8 weeks (both JRTs).
She was never an aggressive dog but didnt like Olly trying invade her space so would growl and snarl at him as a warning.
My friends and family would panic and just make things worse but they were fine with just me at home with them as i trusted Kiara not to cause any harm to him so let her have her say.
I never kept them in seperate rooms, so they were almost forced to deal with it.
After a few weeks, i set up a web cam so i could go outside for a few minutes at a time and leave them alone together to test the water while still being able to keep an eye on them.
Once they'd been alone for a few minutes, she actually cuddled into him and went to sleep!
Since then on they have been inseperable!
They both know where they stand with each other and what they are and arent allowed to do.
So let them do their thing and dont panic, and only step in if absolutely necessary.
Thats what I did anyway, hope it helps x