Newsgroups: rec.pets.dogs.behavior
From: "the.longest.username.availa...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
"
<the.longest.username.availa...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
Date: 7 Jul 2006 10:58:51 -0700
Subject: Re: Alpha Males
Ok, it could be a pack standing issue or it could be dog aggression.
Both present different problems, but I am of the opinion that both can
be controlled to a safe level. My first concern is to replies that you
can never trust your dog alone with any other dog again. I disagree
with this statement, because I feel that no one should trust any dog
alone with other dogs. I don't care what breed it is, I have seen
fights between labs that most likely had deadly consequences had they
not been broken up. Even the lovable Golden Retriever has killed other
dogs before (with a little bit of research you can find several
incidents). Small breeds shouldn't be left alone either, because the
same things that can trigger a dog fight also happen with small breeds.
So, to sum up this point, no dog should ever be trusted with other
dogs alone.
Now, in regards to your problem, I still think it could be an alpha
male situation, but it could also be a dog aggression situation. The
obvious trigger to your recent problem is the dog has now reached
adulthood. I had a similar problem with my 2 year old American
Stafford****re/ Dogue de Bordeaux Mix,\ over a period of three weeks
develop an aggression problem towards strange dogs. In his case it is
a dog aggression problem, and I am training him and resocializing him
to overcome it. However, in your case I wouldn't say it is definitely
an aggression problem. There are far too many things that need to be
observed to really determine what it is. Something as simple as the
dog feeling you give too much attention to the older dog and not enough
to him can trigger an incident. So, in order to successfully keep the
two dogs together you definitely need to pay careful attention to how
the two of them are acting.
Now, the most im****tant thing you need to do, in my opinion, is
training. Training can do wonders for most problems you can encounter
with any dog. From your post it sounds like your house is the kind
where there isn't a real defined social position for the people, and
the dogs are just allowed to be dogs. This is the typical dog owning
household from what I have seen, having volunteered for several years
with an animal rescue group. The problem is, you have now got a dog
reaching maturity that, as a breed, is capable of dog aggression,
dominance, and can be very strong willed. Luckily, they are also very
eager to please their owners. What I have found to help with the
situation is very strict obedience training. Obedience training will
net several benefits. First and foremost, it will securely establish
you as the alpha member of the pack. This is very im****tant because
without this being very clear to your dog, you can not expect him to
think he must do what you tell him, when you tell him. The way to
properly establish this position is through strict, firm training where
you expect excellence and consistency. Just because you are not in a
training session, it doesn't mean he can get away with not minding your
instructions.
Another benefit of strict obedience is if you sense an incident is
about to occur, you can quickly take control of the situation with
something as simple as a sit. This is where the strict level of
obedience comes in, because a dog with strict training that is on a
sit, does not move a foot, let alone get up from the sit. Other
commands of extreme im****tance are a heel and a recall("come" or
"here"). The im****tant thing is, when you see one of your pit mix
doing one of the signs that you learn to recognize, you use the command
which you feel he performs the best.
The other main advantage to obedience training is simply how well
behaved your dog becomes once you have started the work. Little things
you didn't even notice as problems before will suddenly correct
themselves. For instance, I love lap dogs of all sizes, and I like to
be able to sit/lay on a couch with a nice warm dog by my side. My dog,
within a week of beginning strict obedience training(I had always
worked on obedience, but not strictly) stop just getting on the couch
with me. When he wants on the couch he walks up to it, and looks at
me. Now, I like having him up, but I tell him no. This is im****tant
because the couch is a status symbol, and the alpha member must invite
him up. In your case I would advise against any of your dogs on the
couch, in case you let them up, because if you control his access to
the couch and not theirs you are asking for trouble. Furthermore, if
he feels you let them up more than him, you are asking for trouble. In
my case I will invite him up later, when I am certain he has forgotten
about it, this way I still get my lap dog.
Another im****tant thing for you to do is observe the two dogs'
interactions, this is key to preventing it from escalating to a fight
when it is still at a controllable level. The website posted above had
a lot of valid information in this regards. Some key times to pay
attention to the two of them is whenever they are around toys, and
whenever you are paying attention to any of them. Also, I would not
feed them together, because this is to big of a trigger for fights. I
would hope you have kennels/crates for all of you dogs, and you can use
them as a good way to feed your dogs. You can feed in different rooms
if you prefer, but I personally think it is just easier to kennel them,
and then prepare their food. Don't just kennel the pit mix though,
because you will cause jealousy if you do that, so do all or none, but
they do need to be fed separately. The next im****tant thing is, feed
them in pack order. Alpha eats first and then on down the ranks in a
pack. You don't have to wait for the pit mix to finish before giving
the others their food, but you do need to give him his food first. If
you feed them in their kennel this also helps to reaffirm that their
kennel is a place of comfort and safety.
Finally, when I say strict obedience, I mean good enough that he could
pass a competitive obedience trial. I would advise against a
completely positive reinforcement method, which is the current dog
training fad. These methods work great for teach a dog tricks, but
obedience is about commands. Your pit mix must know that what you say
is law, and it must obey. If you only use positive reinforcement, you
dogs will obey you, when it is convenient for them or whenever they
feel like pleasing you. However, the im****tant time for them to obey,
is when their instinct is telling them that they need to fight with the
other dog. To do this, I use corrections which are matched to the dog.
Some dogs are soft and only need you to use a angry tone when you tell
them no. Other dogs require a physical correction for them to
understand that they must follow your commands. Again, the severity of
the correction varies by the dog. Some dogs require a simple short
jerk on the leash with a regular collar. Also, some actions of the dog
require a more severe correction than others. For instance, when you
are working your pit mix in the presence of the other dogs (shouldn't
do this until after he has learned what he is supposed to do), if he
lunges at one of the other dogs when he is supposed to be sitting, one
of your highest corrections is in order, because you need it to be
clear to him that lunging at other dogs in completely unacceptable.
But if he just moves a foot when he is supposed to be on a sit, you
only want to use a light correction initially to remind him what he is
supposed to be doing, and then reaffirm the command(say "No", light
correction, say "Sit"). If he doesn't listen to the reaffirmed
command, then a heavy correction is in order.
The most im****tant thing to remember about corrections is that you
never use a correction when he is learning a command, since he doesn't
know what he is supposed to do yet and you never use a correction when
he is confused as to what you want him to do. First off, it will cause
him to introvert and not go any further with his training, and second,
it is cruel to correct a dog that doesn't know what you want. The
first stage in training is to teach the dog, you should use things like
positive training techniques for this. Marking such as clicker
training and food work well for this, but once the dog understands what
you want you need to quickly phase them out for the new command. You
then need to work with corrections to ensure the dog always does it in
your training environment, which should be someplace quiet and alone,
free of distractions. You then need to add in distractions, such as
working in different environments, and around the other dogs as well as
strange dogs, some dogs will get confused with too many distractions,
so you again don't want to correct until you know they understand what
is expected.
I'm sure some people will be opposed to these training techniques, but
in the case of dog fights, regardless of the cause, you must get near
perfection from your dog's obedience training, and conditioning and
other positive reinforcement techniques do not give that level of
performance. I have seen many dogs which are passed at solely positive
training cl***** who only listen when food is shown, or only a certain
percentage of the time. With something this im****tant, you want the
dog to have it's butt on the ground and stay that way the second you
tell it to. The one time the dog doesn't obey could mean disaster, and
that is why you must demand perfection.
And of course, there is always the possibility that this will not work,
and he will just not listen to commands when he wants to fight the
other dog. If that is the case, then I would strongly advise putting
the dog down, I don't like rehoming dogs that had a temperament issue
that you can't correct since you just pass the problem on to them.
Just make sure you give the dog long enough to improve before making
that decision. Good luck, and if you have any specific questions I
will do my best to answer them.
Nick
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