[molly-moo]

Hi,

I have three English Springer Spaniels. Daisy is 5 and Molly & Lucy are 2 years old - they are litter buddies. They are very obedient dogs but lately Molly is sometimes bullying Lucy. It doesnt really happen when my partner is there (he is the master of the house) but when it's just me or if we visit my parents she gets very jealous if the other two are getting our attnetion and she can be quite snappy with them. If she's sat on my knee and one of the other dogs comes over her heccles go up, her eyes go really wide and she'll just have a little snack at them. Sometimes she blocks their way with her body and is just genrally unfriendly. At other times she is loving towards them and not a problem. Does anyone have suggestions of how I can stop this?

Thanks :-)

[cigwyllt]

Welcome to the forum - good to have another UK bod on here - I'm in West Wales

I don't want to alarm you but you really do have to take control of this situation right now because often if two bitches (and litter sisters are the worst combination) really take against each other they can fight to the death.

What condition are they in - are all or any of them spayed?

What do you do when Molly is being stroppy? Can you describe an incident from start to finish? What you do when she snaps, how you react immediately, what happens next?

You say your husband is very much in charge. Can you work more with them - individually would be best. Build up a bond with each of them so that they respect you.

[Todd]

I agree. You need to become the alpha as well as the master of the home.

Alpha Boot Camp

[reeskujo]

This can happen often when the dog does not see you as the alpha and instead thinks that instead of the dog belonging to you that you belong to them..

Dogs that exhibit that kind of behavior should not be allowede to sit on your lap,sleep in your bed or be allowede on the furniture..This gives them the impression that they are either equal to or above you..

Then when the other dogs want your attention or come near you since she thinks she's alpha over you in her mind she's simply claiming what's hers...

My Husky was very much like that..In fact if she was sleeping on the bed with my Akita or on the furniture and we told her to get down she would growl..So for quite a long time she was not aloud on the bed or furniture until she got the point that we were in charge..Mind you we had our Akita for several yrs before we got her and he always slept on the bed if we weren't in it or it was just me and he always laid on the couch with me with no problem and even though we weren't allowing her to he was still allowed,

you however aquired all of your dogs at the same time so I would suggest if they are allowed to do these things they are all made to stop to prevent any kind of jealousy issues with Molly.

[molly-moo]

Evening,

Thank you for all of your replys! This is the first time I've used a forum and it's nice that there are people out there who will take the time to help you.

In responce to cigwyllt's questions, Molly and Lucy (two year olds) have not been spayed. Do you think this would help? They are otherwise in a healthy condition. Molly isnt as active as the other two dogs but she gets the same amount of exercise. we live on a farm so they are walked numerous times a day. Daisy the 5 year old springer has been spayed.

As for an example of something that has happened...last night I was stood in the kitchen and Molly was stood next to me. Lucy started to walk towards me and molly first blocked her way with her body and then had a little go at her. I dont think she exactly 'snacks' at her where her teeth come into contact with Lucy but she quickly jolts her head towards her in a very unfriendly mannor. Lucy usually retreats. As soon as I saw it happen i told Molly no and put her outside (this is the first time I have tried this) and left her for five minutes. I'm ashamed to say I've no idea if this is the right thing to do or not!!?? I've tried smacking her nose, saying no in a really loud voice and nothing semas to prevent her from doing it again. 5 seconds later she has forgotton she has been told off and carrys on as though nothing has happened.

Todd I've just printed off your alpha boot camp link and it looks really good. I've only scimmed through it cos I'm supposed to be working :-) but i'll take it home tonight and see what I can put into practice.

And reeskujo you're definetly right that Molly sees me as beloning to her as well as the other way around - not good I know! Now I've got a bit of support and guidence though hopefully I can start fixing it!

Thanks again for all your comments, Claire

[DoggieVogue]

I have the same issue with my mini dachshund. I didn't do the best job asserting myself as the alpha, so when my other dog (yellow lab) comes near me my little one snips at her! It's not all the time, just sometimes. I can't get her to stop either. It's like she's guarding her property from the other dog. I should try the alpha link as well. Thanks for your help! Good luck to both of us I guess

[Todd]

Originally Posted by molly-moo

Evening,

Thank you for all of your replys! This is the first time I've used a forum and it's nice that there are people out there who will take the time to help you.

In responce to cigwyllt's questions, Molly and Lucy (two year olds) have not been spayed. Do you think this would help? They are otherwise in a healthy condition. Molly isnt as active as the other two dogs but she gets the same amount of exercise. we live on a farm so they are walked numerous times a day. Daisy the 5 year old springer has been spayed.

As for an example of something that has happened...last night I was stood in the kitchen and Molly was stood next to me. Lucy started to walk towards me and molly first blocked her way with her body and then had a little go at her. I dont think she exactly 'snacks' at her where her teeth come into contact with Lucy but she quickly jolts her head towards her in a very unfriendly mannor. Lucy usually retreats. As soon as I saw it happen i told Molly no and put her outside (this is the first time I have tried this) and left her for five minutes. I'm ashamed to say I've no idea if this is the right thing to do or not!!?? I've tried smacking her nose, saying no in a really loud voice and nothing semas to prevent her from doing it again. 5 seconds later she has forgotton she has been told off and carrys on as though nothing has happened.

Todd I've just printed off your alpha boot camp link and it looks really good. I've only scimmed through it cos I'm supposed to be working :-) but i'll take it home tonight and see what I can put into practice.

And reeskujo you're definetly right that Molly sees me as beloning to her as well as the other way around - not good I know! Now I've got a bit of support and guidence though hopefully I can start fixing it!

Thanks again for all your comments, Claire

Yes DEF get all the dogs fixed. This may not put an end to the issue 100% but it should help A LOT. Could even stop the behavior all together. You still need to be the alpha but fixing all the dogs will help a lot because unaltered dogs have certain hormones and such that can make them more prone to aggressiveness among other things.

[millsandbones]

Try ignoring molly when she tries to snap at others. And yes, i agree with other posters, spaying may help in behavior modification.

[DoggieVogue]

I'd agree that spaying should help control the behavior somewhat. But probably won't solve it completely!

[Nomester]

I agree with everybody else, Molly is probably fighting for the position of 'Alpha Dog', have you tried spraying her with water, some little dogs don't like that.

All the best.
Nomester

[reeskujo]

Originally Posted by Nomester

I agree with everybody else, Molly is probably fighting for the position of 'Alpha Dog', have you tried spraying her with water, some little dogs don't like that.

All the best.
Nomester

using a spray bottle with water is a great idea....I've used it often in my training classes and with my own dogs with great results!