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.

Share This

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.

Share This

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.

Share This