[Dailydrool] Scuffles

[V. Tata-Phillips]

With a pack of 5 we have occasional scuffles.  No one scuffles without warning or trigger.  Hannah's trigger is food so we feed her separately.  When I get ready to prepare breakfast or dinner I tell her "Go to your roomie" and she trots into the study.  I close the door - prepare the meal for the pack and feed her separately - the others can all eat in their corners of the kitchen with no problem but Hannah has to be by herself.

 

My youngest, Pete, every now and then decides to kill Duffy who does not have a drop of alpha blood in his whole body.  Pete tenses up and starts to whine - next move is kill Duffy - Duf never fights back so I just have to pull Pete off of him.  My msg here is to know triggers and signals - Pete always makes a certain whine which turns into a growl when he is thinking about violence.  I can usually speak sharply to him or use a spray bottle and the behavior is interrupted.  This does not happen over food but over attention - Pete is closest to me and Duffy starts to try to get in on the action - I love them both separately but not these two at the same time!

 

They each have their quirks.  They each know I am the Mama Boss Alpha Bitch and they listen to me - but I have to interrupt the inappropriate behavior to avoid scuffles.  I think the name of the game is to realize they are dogs and not expect them to be people - sometimes the preparation of food or getting ready to do something really fun is just too much for them and they need to be fed/taken out/dealt with individually.  So if you hear that tell tale whine or growl get the spray bottle - admonish the whiner/growler - and don't let the problem escalate to the point there is a fight.



GinnyTata-Phillips, co-author of DOGKU, PETKU , BASSETKU and  RESKU!
\ ______ _
[ _____()*\
^         ^ 








 EMAILING FOR THE GREATER GOOD
Join me 		 	   		  
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.dailydrool.org/pipermail/dailydrool-dailydrool.org/attachments/20100103/f0447ba6/attachment.htm>