Wednesday, March 28, 2007

 

Aggression?!

Hi everypup, me Malechai here. It seems in the last month that I have been changing. It doesn't take much to "set me off" anymore. It used to be that I would take Macie's "crap" all day long, not so much anymore. We just turned a year old this month so I'm not sure if that's part of what's going on or not. For instance, last week we got into it over, I don't even know what & the next thing I know, the lady is ripping us apart & I have a big chunk missing out of the back of my right front leg & I had bit a hole all the way thru Macie's ear & gave her a bloody eye. Again, I don't even know why we got into it, there was no toy or anything around to fight over. It really freaked our lady out though. We have always played rough, we call it fightclub, but we have NEVER drawn blood on one another. Then, just yesterday, we were out in the yard helping the lady scoop poop & there were a couple of bones out there that we had been working on, I had gotten up & left mine to go help so Macie went over to see if I left anything tasty on it & boy did I tear into her again. So of course, here comes the lady, rips us apart again & this time I actually tried to bite her when she went to take the bones away, not smart on my part. As you all can imagine, I got in trouble AGAIN. I really didn't mean to snap at the lady, Macie was still sitting there eyeballin' my bone though, what was a boy to do?! So I'm just wondering if any of you older male dogs can tell me whats happening? Is this like a "coming of age" thing, are we now going to try & establish dominance? I also WILL NOT tolerate Macie trying to hump me anymore, it used to be kinda funny, now, not so much. Since we are the only ones of our kind around here, we really don't know what to expect as we get older, hopefully this is just a "phase", I don't like getting in trouble all the time but I like Macie trying to be the boss of me even less! Any thoughts & words of wisdom from our older "pack members" would sure be appreciated! Meanwhile, I'm going to go lay down & work on my self control (per the ladies request).
Comments:
Oh no! Mom and Dad read your blog as an indication of what Steve and I will be doing in about six months. Now you've got Mom freaked out that we're going to be all bloody one day. I don't have any good advice for you, and as you know, Steve and I have been having our problems too. But it's usually mean snapping at him instead of the other way around. I hope you get some good advice so we can learn from it too!

Kat
 
Kat, it started off that way here, alot of times the female is the dominate one, however, I have grown quite a bit & have figured out that I am alot bigger than her, therefore it only makes since that I would be the leader! You don't even want to know what one of the dog trainers suggestions was for us, it wasn't good, he said our lady should start thinking about which one of us she wants to keep. Of course, she has decided that he's an idiot! Alot of Husky owners have more than 1 with no problem. So we think this will pass (as soon as Macie gets it in her head that I AM the boss of her). Maybe you guys won't have the same issues, you already seem to have more "manners" than we did at your age. Tell your Mom not to worry, it will all be fine, this is what happens when humans have more than 1 dog. Our Mom was just looking for any suggetions to help the situation along, not trying to freak anyone out.
Non-Aggresive Face Licks, Malechai
 
Hey Malechai,
My mom found this link on the internet. It doesn't suggest giving a dog away, so I thought I'd show you. It talks about the best way for an owner to reinforce the roles that you and Macie work out and the best ways to break up your fights.
http://www.sniksnak.com/doghealth/aggression2.html

Steve
 
Hey guys, it is pretty common to run into trouble during the adolescent phase (1-2 years) which is why we get so many dogs coming into rescue during that range. I would suggest that your mom pick up all your toys and treats so you do not have anything to fuss about until you two sort out your differences. She should also spend some one-on-one time with each of you every week practicing the skills you learned in training class. That helps her establish herself, not one of you, as the leader and it gives you each personal attention. You can find information online about the "nothing in life is free" method, which just means that you have to work for your living. Good luck.
-Magnum
 
Hi Malechai,
I am so sorry to hear you and Macie are fighting, I hope you two work things out and that neither of you gets hurt, Puppy Kisses, Sooky
 
This same thing happened when mom got Samuel, and Abby was already a couple years older. As he grew up, he decided he was in charge, but Abby had always been up till then. They would play rough, but then Sam would get VERY aggressive with her and there were a few fights. Once, Abby ended up with 14 stitches in her mouth because they fought over some food.

Now, because I am new, and only 2-ish, and am kinda a bully (so I'm told) the humans have learned that the toys stay picked up and out of the way, unless there is supervised play, with one of us at a time. When we are given chewy's if one of us starts to get growly over it, the human woman will come over and take it away from the one being nasty. All the chewy's are also picked up at bedtime, so there are no fights when the humans are sleeping (learned that lesson not too long ago when I bit Abby in the head and she had to get stitches).

Another thing the human woman did when Kelsey lived with her and him and Sam didn't get along was to do an alpha roll on the one who started being bossy.(but never during a fight) She would get on top of him on her elbows and knees, almost putting her body weight on him, and hold him down, so that he was in a submissive position. It works like the alpha wolf putting the omega in the submissive position. It tells him that YOU are in charge, not him. It worked for Sam and Kelsey, so that when mom barked orders at them they would listen, cuz they knew she was the alpha.

Good luck! And, don't give up. You will grow out of it once pack order is established. And unfortunately, sometimes some blood shed does happen before it's worked out. I think those of us with multiple dogs have experienced a trip or two to the ER vet!

Holly
 
Yep, you both blew it and now your human woman should take away ALL of your toys and treats. Everything, kiss it good-bye, no more, cya!

Expect to get NOTHING until you earn it, expect to get NO LOVE unless you both are, and expect to be yelled at if either of you give each other the evil eye.

That happened to us here when Sammy (back when he had a spone) and gimpy mutatoe Loki got into it over a dirt clump. A DIRT CLUMP!

We have no toys, we have no bones, we have NOTHING, because I think they're mine (and they are) Sam thinks they are his (no they aren't) and Loki is a butthead.

Meeshka
(I yearn to gut a squeeky toy)
 
Hey roo two!
Pack dynamics .... not always easy! Especially when you're just coming into your own self, so to roo.
The other Sibes (and Holly) have given you some great advice. I'm going to tell you what I just wrote on Steve and Kat's blog, a couple rules to keep in mind:
#1. Both of you must listen to the bipeds and STOP fighting when they tell you to.
#2. Macie is in charge. She's the girl. So she is.
OK... so that over-simplifies things a bit, but it's normal that you guys are doing this. But yes, no more stuff around to argue over (toys, bones, food) and when the bipeds tell you ENOUGH, then you must stop. We don't want anypup to get hurt.
Tail wags,
Storm
 
You two have gotta chill out, okay ! No more fighting ! Peace and love, and all that sorta stuff :-)

Love
Opy
 
Ouchie. I hope you 2 are ok.

~ fufu
 
Thank roo all for the feedback! Taking away all of our stuff kinda sucks but we've not been fighting anymore (for now). Our lady has been doing some one on one training with us as well & a hole lot of putting us in submissive positions when things get a little heated & not letting us snip, fight or growl at each other. Guess she really is the boss of us! Hey, we had to try & see if just maybe we could be the boss, woowoo! At least we know she would never get rid of us over a few squabbles! We'll woo at you all soon. Kind Licks, M&M
 
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- Husky Bloggers Ring Manager -
 
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