Marian asks:
Cn u help? My son needs to re-home his 7year old neutered cross breed medium sized dog, another family member has offered to take him however she has a golden Labrador, 2 yrs old, not neutered. neither dog is aggressive but they have not met yet. any ideas as to how they may get along and how we facilitate this in the best way possible?

Marian,
I’d take both of them to a neutral area for a first meeting and have them leashed. When I helped someone re-home a Golden Retriever in a home that already had two older Goldens, we had all three dogs come out leashed to meet in her driveway a few times. Then, she went to the new home and settled right in.

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I had a very worrying question from a reader today:

How do i know if my dog has rabies?

Many people think that rabies is something that kind of went out with Old Yeller. It isn’t. This summer, my neighbor had a raccoon with rabies on her porch. Feral cats and stray dogs can also really cause problems with rabies.

There is a list of symptoms, including the classic foaming at the mouth and odd behavior. However, if you suspect your dog has been exposed to rabies, you should get to your veterinarian immediately, even if there are no symptoms. This is especially essential if your dog is not up to date on shots.

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A reader asks:

Two weeks ago we adopted a 6 year old female border collie/spaniel mix from our local animal shelter. A month before the new dog came along we had to put our 12 year old english setter down. My husband and I thought another dog would be company for our other dog, a 12 year old female springer/brittany mix. Both dogs have been spayed. Recently these two have gotten into some nasty fights. It seems like these altercations happen when they are in close proximity of each other. My husband and I have a difficult time breaking them up and we’re wondering if there’s something we can do to stop the fighting. Both are very nice dogs and it’s only at these trying times that we wonder if we made the right decision to bring another dog into our house. Help!

It sounds like the new dog wants to become the dominant member of the pack. It can take time for them to adjust and figure out who is the alpha dog. You may need to be sure you are sending out signals that you are the ones in charge by eating first, going through doorways first, etc., which can reduce their need to worry about dominance. Also, see if the shelter is willing to offer some assistance or knows of a local behaviorist that can help you. They want things to work out as much as you do.

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Tia asks:

I have two dogs. They can smell really bad after they go outside to go to the bathroom. So I was wondering how I could teach them to go to the bathroom in a litterbox inside. Can you tell me how.

Hi Tia,
Litter box training is really simple. You need to start by buying a litter box and litter for dogs. Using cat litter box supplies is not a good idea. Once you have your supplies, set up the litter box in an out of the way area that is still easy for your dogs to access. If you have a command you give them when they go outside, such as “Go potty” you will have a built in shortcut. Place your dogs in the box one at a time and give the command. If they seem confused, try taking the litter box outside and putting it in their bathroom area and encouraging them to use it. The key is to be patient.
One final tip: Be absolutely sure that you keep your dogs’ litter box clean. They will stop using it if it is dirty, especially since they are sharing.

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A reader asks:

I have a question about my dog, I have notice my dog tear drop are red and is turn his coat red now, his paws are turn slightly red, and his private area is to. I’m wonder if my dog was bitten by something. I have a min or toy poodles and he is 1 1/2

It sounds like your little guy needs to take a trip to the vet. Tear stains are a common problem in poodles, but they are usually brownish. The reddish color could be a sign that your dog has an underlying infection of some kind. A type of yeast infection can make the tear stains red, but the fact that he is experiencing problems on both ends makes me wonder if there could be something else going on. Let me know how you make out!

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Bobbi says:

I have two male English Buklldogs, one is 19months neutered. the other is 9months not neutered.
The older of the two has been attacking the other, I tried the comamd NO loudly, my husband yells NO, I have sprayed water on them. this has no effect. I’m calling my Vet today. I’m affraid one of them is going to get seriously hurt. The 9month old is not backing down, and like I said the older one always just runs over to him and attacks.

Bobbi,
How recently did you get your second dog? If he grew up from puppyhood in your home, it is going to be harder to pinpoint the problem. Think about anything that has changed recently - a child returning to school and spending less time with her buddy, a new job, different sleeping arrangements, etc. It may also be as simple as the fact that the 9 month old dog seems like a big threat since he isn’t neutered.

Calling your vet is a good idea, since he may notice a physical problem that is causing the change in your dog’s behavior. If your dog is healthy, your vet can probably provide you with a referral to a local animal behaviorist.

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Nicola says she recently brought home a second dog for her son-a lab cross around 1year old. She is concerned because he and her 5 year old german shepard cross (probably crossed with a lab)

…get on fine most of the time but they will start fighting, not aggressively, as there tails are wagging and one will get the other on the floor, but they will nudge at each other and Shadow( the lab) will nibble at Minty( the german shepard) and sort of nibble at his back and ears and they do get a bit boystous they will growl as they are doing this but it doesn’t seem an aggressive growl as though they were going to attack ( or as they would if someone was at the door) is this anything to worry about and how can i stop it from happening or are they just playing, thanks

Nicola,
It sounds to me as if you have two dogs that get along just fine. They should learn to chill if you tell them to stop, though. You wouldn’t want them to knock the baby over once he starts toddling if they get too carried away and don’t see him nearby. I send my two girls outside when they start goofing off that much and they learned pretty quickly that “outside” means you better stop rough housing inside and head for the doggy door.

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Carol Miller said,

I have to female golden retrievers that I do breed with two males I also have. My youngest golden retriever tends to attack my oldest golden female at certain times. The latest attack was when I was preparing the whelping bed for my oldest golden to deliver in two weeks. The youngest female seen the bed and just attacked the pregnant mom. Could she still be remembering her birth which was about six months prior? My oldest females delivered her litter nine weeks ago. All of them but three have left for their new homes. I have completely kept all but mom away from the pups, but tried to introduce them finally to the three remaining puppies and in an instant the youngest female attacked mom. It is so ferocious. The oldest female is an angel and so obediant when I yell for them to stop she is willing to stop, but she has to protect herself. I am getting my oldest female fixed next week. Will having the youngest fixed stop this hostile behavior? There was one time I brought the youngest home from her vet check and as soon as we walked into the home she immediatly attacked the oldest female. These dogs cohabitat usually very well, but there are those times when I think the two females could kill each other. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Carol,
I’d say it is very likely that she was extremely territorial about the whelping box when she was pregnant and still has those feelings about it. Dogs change a lot when they are pregnant and their hormones go wild. That and the fact that you probably really reinforced that she was in charge of that area with the other dogs helped make her feel that she should defend that area. Fixing her certainly won’t do any harm, but you may want to talk to a behaviorist, too, especially if you continue to breed your other dog.

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Stacy asks:

Help! My Border Collie is driving me crazy. I thought she’d be a good dog for my family, but she’s so hyper and bad. Do I have a bad puppy or are they all like this?

Stacy,
I don’t think you have a bad puppy. Unfortunately, a lot of people get Border Collies as pets and then discover, as you have, that these dogs are high energy. Border Collies are working dogs and they need a job to do or they get antsy. Here is what a Border Collie is bred to do:

Without a job, your smart, active dog is just bored stiff and acting up. Luckily, if you don’t want to add sheep to your family, there is another option - agility. Learning new things and competing in agility trials is as fun and exciting to most Border Collies as herding sheep. It is also a wonderful activity for you or your older children. You’ll meet other dog lovers, end up with a well socialized dog and possibly bring home a prize.

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The post on dog aggression is getting so long that comments are pages down the blog, so I thought I’d start answering them separately and see how that works. Todd asks:

We have a female lab/beagle mix who is a definite alpha-female. We tried to socialize her with other dogs but she wouldn’t really take to it. She is the sweetest thing with people. Most of the time she is indifferent with other dogs too. We are currently dog-sitting another female lab who she has been around several times before. For the most part they just stay away from each other but two times in the past few days my dog has attacked the other dog (who is bigger) anytime she gets too close to us. There isn’t much biting but the mouths are open and the latest attack took a little fur from the other dog. Yelling “NO” did not help and the fight went on for a good 30-45 seconds. We eventually broke them up by squirting them with a water bottle. What can I do to get my dog over this possessiveness?

Todd, it sounds like your dog is protecting her people. Since this is just a short time thing, can you keep them separate? If not, I’d have one person make a fuss over her while the other person is taking care of the visitor.

You may also want to work with your dog to help her be more accepting of the visitor. Give her a command as soon as she begins to tense up and reward her with a treat when she responds. You may want to leash her so you have more control and she recognizes that she is having a training session.

If she grows more aggressive or if you are planning to be dogsitting frequently in the future, I’d ask a behaviorist to come in and give you a hand. You don’t want to return a wounded dog to its loving owner!

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