HELP REQUIRED PLEASE

[Enid]

[marcella]

I agree Barry, if he's being aggressive a short sharp correction is what he needs. But if it is just that he's running about at your feet and barking etc then ignoring him may be the way to go.

[Claire/Mark]

[Ashley]

If Holly is misbehaving, I find it hard to ignore her so I tend to give a correction, usually "HEY!!!". I tried ignoring her, but sometimes that makes me more stressed as I can see her out of the corner of my eye, and she begins to grate on my last nerve!!!!!
Often she can tell if i am really angry and she just toddles in to her crate and keeps out of my road until I invite her over.

I can only imagine how frustrating it is for you Claire! Wanting to tear your hair out sometimes?!

I'm not sure about the two dogs and pack order situation that Enid mentioned, since I have not (as yet ) had that experience! However, I am sure I read somewhere that it is best to leave them to sort it out amongst themselves, and act accordingly once the dogs have sorted out the pack order between the pair (or more) of them.

I'm sure someone else will know better than me though, although i'd like to know for future reference too
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Ashley with Holly & Murphy.
I hope to one day be as great as my dog thinks I am right now!!

[Enid]

[Barry]

[Enid]

It was easy in our situation, Barry. Mandy was dominant from the moment she set foot through the door, even though she was 12 weeks old and Jodie was 3+ years!! Fortunately, that suited Jodie just fine!

I guess there will be those on the forum who have more experience than I do when it comes to a situation of "sorting out" the pack order because I believe that it is quite an important thing to establish. Perhaps John can help us here?
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"My little dog - a heartbeat at my feet" - Edith Wharton

[marcella]

John is away all week in Darlington ...........

Anyway, Enid is right. Within the household Barry, yes humans are pack leader but within the doggy ranks they too establish their own pack order. When we got Murphy Diesel cornered him and barked for 45 minutes in his face and then walked off and Murphy never questioned him again ................ until Murphy was 2 years old! By then Murphy realised he was bigger, stronger and faster and decided that the pack order required adjusting. There was always wee growls etc until Murphy decided to sort it out fair and square and pinned Diesel to the floor. Murphy took the top spot from then on.
It is easier when one dog is more dominant than the other or they will forever bicker. If it's not immediately apparent what you do is treat one of the dogs as top dog, i.e. perhaps giving them a treat first, guestures like that means more to the dogs. They find their place.

Could be that Mylo, who is a very dominant dog is feeling the pressure a bit and trying to establish his place as pack leader.

[Barry]

[marcella]

only if we need to Barry.

[Emma*]

Skye is my dominant dog but i still do everything together feeding walking, treats.

I try not to favour either dog and let them sort it out. Although since being in season i have had to pull Skye up twice regarding food with Lady.
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Happiness is being loved by 2 Great Danes

[Claire/Mark]

God I feel even more confused now as they don't seem to have decided who is top dog yet!! who would I then make top dog??? should this be Mylo as he has been in the house longer and we have had him since a puppy etc etc etc

[Lisa/Colin]

We are going through a bit of pack order adjustment at the moment too.
Hektor (Great Dane) is now 7 months and just about double Ollies (Boxer) size. It was very clear up to now who top dog was and I carried that through with feeding etc but things are changing. Hektor now with his size and strength is intimidating Ollie at every turn to the point where it now is practically impossible to walk them together and I'm constantly dragging Hektor off Ollie. Most of the time he is just playing but he can get really rough, and Ollie is an 11 year old and I'm really feeling sorry for him.
I'm not sure if now I should be feeding Hektor first and just give in to the inevitable. I kind of wish I'd got a puppy a few years ago when Ollie was a bit more sprightly...

[Lindy]

oh the joys another tip for any aggressive behavior is the one I use to dominate my two and show them I'm boss and that is to make them lie down and I then sit r stand over them until I can physically see the relax and accept my dominance. As for the alpha thing Dora and Lizzy went through a wee stage a few months back and have settle down at the moment Dora is the boss but they are very evenly matched in weight and strength so it really depends on who is feeling confident enough to challenge the other. It's maybe too soon to figure it out see as you have only had Tara a few weeks it will get easier.

[Claire/Mark]