Doggy question

[Tonya]

Hiya...so, we've combined households. We have my male and my boyfriends two female huskies. Anywho, one of the girls puts the B in bitch. My bf spoiled her to death since she was a pup so she's very jealous and deffinately alpha.

So here is the problem. We cannot give the other dogs attention in front of her. We cannot even be around the other dogs in front of her. Everytime, she starts her whole dominance thing with them and they come close to fighting.

I would like to solve this problem. I believe the correct way is to reprimand the other two dogs. To reinforce that she is alpha and they need to back off. I will normally say to the dog being bullied "No, go lay down!" Then the near fight dissolves.

Am I correct?

[borzoimom]

okay try this= give her something to do- even if just tell her to sit, pet her first, but make sure she stays in a sit. Pet her first, give cookies first, but attention to the others is in the sit so she has a job to do.. and praise her for sitting with your words as you pet the other ..

[Glacier]

If they were my dogs, all three of them would be going on a Nothing In Life is Free program right now. They would all be working for everything. No pets, no food, no treats ect until they did something. Sit before they eat, quiet before you pet them ect. They all need to learn that the humans are the boss of them. I never reinforce one of my dogs as the alpha. I am the boss of all them. Their own pack order is irrelavant to me and has no influence on how I treat them. You and your boyfriend are the bosses and their current behavior is unacceptable. (well, it would be in my pack). Dogs are much happier and show less behavior problems when they have a benevolent human leader who sets clear, consistent rules and boundaries for them.

She's not an alpha dog, she's just a bitch(not in any negative sense of that word)! A true alpha almost never resorts to aggression to prove their dominance. They just are dominant and for the most part other dogs accept it as a fact without question. Even in wolf packs, lower ranking dogs submit voluntarily to their alpha. If a wolf uses force, it's lethal. A "Beta Bully" uses aggression to gain dominance and other dogs won't tolerate it for long.

Sibes are often same sex aggressive so you've got another potential problem in having two females together. If they actually decide to fight, you've got a huge problem. Females will fight until they kill each other and if you break them up before that point, they will hold a grudge and have to be seperated for good. A bitch fight is a dangerous thing!

Patricia McConnell has written two excellent booklets that you might find helpful. (I use mine all the time!). They are short, cheap, easy to read and full of effective strategies. The books are called "Leader of the Pack" and "Managing your Multi-dog Household". You can get them both on dogwise.com

[dab_20]

I agree with both the posts made above. The NILIF program may do wonders for her. She is not the alpha dog. Dogs do not think of an aggresive dog as their leader. They think of them as an unstable member of the 'pack'.

I really do not have much advice other then what Glacier said. Hope it works for you!

[bckrazy]

I don't really have time to give advice... but I missed you, Tonya! =) hope youre doing good.

[caseysmom]

Casey goes off on Bubba occasionally, I totally discourage this. Like Glacier said I am the leader not them.

[Tonya]

Good advice. Thank you all. :)