cthyreno: Our 5 mo old doxie is very aggressive (fights)and jealous of our 3 mo doxie. How do I go about keeping peace?
We purchase a doxie one month ago and it has been established from our vet that she was abused physically and mentally by the cleaning person at the pet shop (every thing from slapping her from her food (we have had a horrible time getting her to eat), teasing her and physical slaps and pulling of her little ears, the Good Lord only knows what else as she is terrified of MEN (which includes my husbad and it breaks his heart). One of my husbands clients gave us a 3 mo doxie, and she is adorable . . . the problem is that our 5 mo. old is jealous and has at times been to aggresive with her, which means actually getting her down around the neck and fighting. I find this totally disturbing, how can I rectify this and still let the 5 mo. know she is toally loved.
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Answer by novel_kennels
I'm so sorry to hear about the history on your puppy. That's the bad thing about pet shops. Finding a breeder that personally cares for each dog, and sells it directly from their home, is a much better way to go.
It sounds like there are quite a few issues going on, but let's make sure that the puppies are actually "fighting" and not just playing like puppies do. I have two puppies about the same age as yours, 2.5 mos and 4.5 mos. They routinely run, jump, knock each other over, bite each other in the ears and on the neck, growl and bark at each other. It's ALL playing. Very occasionally, one or the other will play too rough, and a different "I mean it" growl will come out. Then they get separated for a bit, until they calm back down. That always works. They're just puppies and they are learning from each other what is appropriate play and what is too rough. It's best to let them learn that now when they are small.
You must also make sure that they know that you are the leader. And you will want to decide which pup is next on the hierarchy ladder. All dog packs have a hierarchy, and each dog has a specific place on that ladder of order. I have 5 dogs and they have an order, and I acknowledge that order to keep the peace in the house. The "Top" dog gets to eat first, gets to go out the door first, gets petted first, gets the treat first, etc. But you must remember, you are actually the TOP top dog, and so you should go out all doors first, you should eat your meals before them, etc.
Hopefully, treating them one above the other will help your older doxie understand that you know that she is higher up on the ladder. She will then stop trying so hard to instill her dominance over the younger dog. That should create some peace.
Good Luck!!
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