Gracie tore into Beanie today!!! HELP!

[lute]

earlier today Gracie was chewing on a pig ear when she spotted a toy. she ran off and started playin with the toy. Beanie had been watching her chew on the ear and once she left he grabbed it and started chewin.

about 5 mins later Gracie comes back and just starts tearing into Beanie!:eek: she's got Beanie by the neck and is shaking him. he's so freaked out he's peeing all over himself.:( i grab Gracie and put her in her crate and then go over Beanie, who is scared shitless and shaking. the only thing she did was pull out a patch of hair, so no trips to the vet.

i always knew Gracie hated Beanie having ANY food. she thinks it all belongs to her. when i give them both cookies i have to hold Gracie back from grabbing Beanie's out of his mouth. today it went a little too far and next time Beanie could actually get hurt. then Gracie will have to go.:( what can i do to make Gracie not be so food crazy? i need them to only be able to have cookies and rawhides in the same room. they eat seperatly because they eat two differet foods and Gracie would eat hers and his.
any help would be GREAT!

sorry for the long story.

[Kfamr]

Why do you have to have them eat cookies and rawhides in the same room?

It may be that they'll always have to be seperated around food, that's just how some dogs are.

Kiara and Nala have to be seperated when they have bones - Nala did a similar thing to Kiara.

[petslover]

I don't have any advice, but it sounds like a bad day for our dogs. I hope you the best on everything.

[lute]

Originally posted by Kfamr
Why do you have to have them eat cookies and rawhides in the same room?

It may be that they'll always have to be seperated around food, that's just how some dogs are.

Kiara and Nala have to be seperated when they have bones - Nala did a similar thing to Kiara.

they don't HAVE to be in the same room, but it would make life tons easier because Gracie would have to be in her crate when eating rawhides(she hates that) because Beanie won't eat or chew without me next to him. it's weird. i can't be gone from the house for anymore then 2-3 days becasue Beanie won't eat. he won't take treats or food from anyone. he's like this because when we got him he was with me 24/7 and i fed him out of my hand. he's very dependant on me and only me.

[K9soul]

I am sure there are folks here who will be able to offer much better advice than I, since I have not really had serious rivalry to deal with before with my dogs, but I do find it very sad that you are already stating that "Gracie will have to go" when there are preventative measures that can be taken. When getting a new pup in a home with an older dog already there, these situations need to be expected and have plans made for what to do if/when they occur.

[lute]

Originally posted by K9soul
I do find it very sad that you are already stating that "Gracie will have to go" when there are preventative measures that can be taken. When getting a new pup in a home with an older dog already there, these situations need to be expected and have plans made for what to do if/when they occur.
i'm fully aware of this, but i live in my parents house and they say that if Beanie ever gets seriously hurt she's going back to the breeder.

[Kfamr]

Well, if it comes down to it, would you rather life have a few bumps or have to get rid of Gracie?

I'm sure Gracie would get used to chewing in her crate.

I put Nala in my room, on her dog bed, when she gets a bone - Kiara gets to stay in the livingroom. Nala used to HATE being locked up in my room but now whenever I touch a rawhide she goes running into my room and lays down on her bed.

[Glacier]

Kay beat me to my first question! It might make life easier, but it's very possible that Gracie will never learn to eat around other animals, especially high value treats and bones. I don't buy pigs ears anymore. Pigs ears are a guarenteed fight around here!

Most of my dogs can eat with each other, but I have several who simply can't. Kayleigh eats alone. She'd kill another dog for looking at her bowl. Preacher eats in the porch, Hobo eats in the kitchen, Pingo eats on the futon, Paxil eats on her bed. When I feed Goldie, I physically stand between her and Ozzy until she's done. Frankly, keeping two dogs separate would be easy. Try making sure 21 eat without a fight!

Being food protective also tends to be a fairly common trait among huskies. It's a large part of why most mushers keep their dogs on chains--they can't fight over the food bowl and the vet bills are much lower.

You have an additional problem---Beanie is a little dog. Huskies as a rule are not good with little dogs, or any smaller furred critter. As Gracie matures, that trait may become more evident. Personally, I wouldn't leave them alone unsupervised ever, even for short periods of time.

She's at the easiest stage for a husky puppy now. Most of the purebred puppy rescues I've worked with have been dumped between 9 months and a year old, when they hit the acting out teenager stage. That stage lasts anywhere from 6 months to the rest of their lives. Muskwa will be 8 this year, he's still in it! If you aren't prepared to do some serious work with her, you should consider calling her breeder now, while she's still a cute little furball. She'll be much easier for the breeder to rehome at this age.

[lute]

it's not a problem keeping them separated when i give rawhides, but i just wondered if there was a way i could train Gracie to not be so food crazy. since there's not i'll keep them separated. it's not that big a deal to keep Gracie in her crate while she has a rawhide or treat.

i'm looking forward to Gracie's "teen phaze" i've got plenty of siberian help here. i don't think it's anything i can't handle.;)

thanks for the help.:D

[Glacier]

You might want to call her breeder anyway--not about returning her, but just for advice! A good breeder will help you deal with any issue throughout the dog's life.

shaking head in disbelief looking forward to that stage! that stage is why we don't do puppies anymore! It's been almost six years since a puppy lived here! The last one was Earle! And you'll have the added bonus of Gracie not being spayed (you're planning to show her right?) She's adorable, but I don't envy you at all! I look forward to hearing the stories though!:D

[cyber-sibes]

When Star was Gracie's age, she was very protective of her food too - and ravenous! As she grew up, her food protecting lessened, she got to the point she'd leave her food alone for days. Actually, it was having another dog there that got her to eat more regularly.
I don't know about pigs ears (gave Star one once, she buried it)
but I don't let my dogs have rawhide anything because they WILL fight over itl
Huskies are wonderful dogs...yeah, they may be a bit more work than some breeds, but I think it's worth it! Hang in there with Gracie.

[LuckiLab03]

Calling a behaviorist would be good, but I'll just say what I would try.. I'm not saying to do it, I'm just looking at it from a Riley standpoint.


I think a lot of dogs can be that way around food. Since Riley was a dominant puppy we've been careful about how we've introduced her to food. I don't know if this will apply to other dogs, but it might be worth a shot.

Whenever Riley has a bone, a chewy, a cowhoof, or any other snack she loves, she'll take it and run when we go near. Now we have her on a leash in the house and we'll go up to her and play "my bone... your bone.. my bone, etc" We'll hold it and pretend like we're eating it, then give it back and do it again. She is a lot better about it now.

When she eats her dogfood she'll eat it fast but when someone goes near she will smash her face in the bottom of the bowl because she thinks we are going to take it. Today I went up to her and she did it and I pulled her off her dogfood and made her sit and wait for about 30 seconds.

If Riley had this problem with another dog in the house, I'd try a few different things (and this is me). I'd let the other dog chew a bone or whatever and hold Riley down so she saw them eating it. I'd just feel out how she is reacting to beanie with the food. Maybe give her a chewy (and hold her close with a leash) and then throw it to beanie. If she lunges at him, I'd pull her back, hold her down, say NO and give her a spank if she lunges in a mean way, not a puppy way (I'm not an expert on multiple dogs, but I know Riley has a dominant personalitiy and we get tough on her.. thats what i would do for riley).

Gracie is still a puppy so you can probably break this behavior if you address it quickly. Try to handle her food as much as you can so she is not so possessive of it. My uncle now has 4 dogs, one is a young puppy. They don't even keep toys or doggy snacks in the house because they get possessive too.

But if you try anything with them together, make sure Gracie is on a leash.

[bckrazy]

I SO agree with Glacier and Kay, and everyone. . this can be totally prevented, many many dogs are food posessive. Gracie has to go in her crate or a blocked-off room to eat or get chewies, if she hates it, she doesn't get them. She will definitely start accepting/enjoying crate time! This is especially going to be a problem with Huskies, who have HIGH PREY DRIVE. Seriously, you guys already knew about this before getting Gracie and, having a little dog, start getting used to issues with that. . :(

[IRescue452]

I don't know if this would work for a husky (somehow I have many doubts) but did you ever try teaching her the "leave it" command?

[Glacier]

Originally posted by IRescue452
I don't know if this would work for a husky (somehow I have many doubts) but did you ever try teaching her the "leave it" command?

LOL! Like so many commands, leave it works with huskies when they feel like leaving it! I teach it, but once they get into fight mode or "hey that's mine" or the infamous husky selective hearing, it's like they've never been trained a day in their lives!

lute, I just thought of something else. For breaking things up or if you can, just before Gracie starts something----buy a marine emergency air horn. They cost about 5 bucks at Wal-Mart and are loud, loud, loud. I have several of them in the house and in the yard. If the dogs get into a scrap or are acting like little jerks, quite often a couple loud blasts from the air horn gets their attention, at least long enough to stop the trouble. I know you live in an apartment, but scaring the neighbors is better than Beanie getting hurt.

[aly]

There's several things you can do to work on food aggression to humans, but it is a bit trickier when it is towards other dogs. When its with other dogs, usually the best thing is prevention. As others have said, she will learn to deal with the crate or she just won't be able to have her special treats. It is a huge concern that she is doing that, especially at such a young age. I would probably never trust them alone (unsupervised) together. You might get to that point someday, but for now I'd just plan some major preventative measures so that Beanie doesn't get hurt.. or worse :(

[LKPike]

:eek:!! Your lucky shes still a puppy! so it should be easier for you to correct it NOW. I agree with Glacier's advice :)

Poor Beanie!!! *kissies* Hows he doing??

[lute]

LKPike- Beanie's fine. he stayed away from her for the rest of the day though.

IRescue452- i did the "leave it" command from day one. she knows the command and obeys it.....about 90% of the time.lol

Glacier- i do look forward to that stage in her life. i'm home all day and i'm quite bored. when she gets destructive i have all the time and energy to deal with it. it'll be tough, but i can do it. yes, i do plan on showing her. if i didn't she would be spayed.

also, i e-mailed her breeder last night. we are prety good freinds and we are gonna plan a play day and talk.

i might try the horn. whatever works.


thanks again everyone!:D

[beeniesmom]

my doggies name is beenie too!

[luvofallhorses]

We always have to seperate Jenny and Buster from each other because of safety issues. Never would I put my dogs together in a room(Except Ginger and Rocky get along in the same room with a bone and they don't bicker with each other) I would seek help from a behaviorist. Please do not get rid of Gracie for this incident. :( If I were you, I'd seperate them from now on and go to your breeder and ask them questions about her behavior if it continues. IMO, no dog should be alone in a room with a treat together unless you know that they won't go after each other.

[anna_66]

Chiming in here too:)

Roxey isn't really possesive about her treats but very possessive about her food balls. No one gets those...period! But luckily there is never a fight about it. She's pretty mellow. Her and Bon or Huney can have treats together and there is never a word from her.

Now Bon, he's another story. We had this problem from when he was a puppy. He always wanted Huney's treats. A couple of times he even jumped on her (nothing serious though). I DO NOT let him and Huney have treats at the same time in the same room. I put him out and she stays in, and she's like Beenie..won't eat her treat unless I'm right there so I just stay in with her and Bon and Roxey go out.
I even tried putting him in his crate but as long as he's in the house Huney won't even touch her treat. She's very submissive.
So I wouldn't worry about it, just prevent it:)

Needless to say they don't get "good treats" like pigs ears or bones much;)