[snow62]

My husband and I have 4 rescue dogs. 1 black lab at 17 yrs old, 1 husky at 10, beagle/lab at 10 and a 4 yr old husky is the newest addition.
All our dogs get along and dont have many issue but the 4 yr old ( Tink is her name) has a problem. Lainey ( beagle/lab mix) was chewing on a bone. the other piece of the bone was several steps away. Lainey is the shortest. Tink proceeds to attack her over the bone. Much to our surprise our short squabby little dog defended herself quite well until we got over there to break it up. Tink has this over anything in the yard. She has already claimed domain over the 17 yr old who has had it for years. I personally want to find the dog another home where she is the only dog. Her food bowl, we can take away without issue but let one of the other dogs get close ( except to 10 yr old husky who has a way of control on tink) she defends her bowl. She has gotten so bad at feeding time, we have to sit outside so the Blackie (17 yr old) can eat his meal. She will run him off his bowl, then defend hers should he get in it. This dog has some issues and we would prefer to correct them but i'm beginning to wonder if it's possible to correct.
Please, any ideas on something else we can do. She will sit until the bowl is down, she submits to us at any given time, it's objects.. bones, bowls, food bowls, sticks.. anything in the yard she believes is hers. We are running out of options here. We did have to tend to some blood on laineys ear after we broke up the fight but my concern is this: is this just a taste of whats coming in the future. She's a beautiful dog but she is not a pack dog at all.
the other 3 get along and clean each others faces and share.. not tink.
Help!!

[Lara's mom]

I'm not an expert in these things but, seeing that you have one very senior dog, I would give rehoming the aggressive one some thought. Your senior should be allowed to enjoy his/her remaining time with you without the stress that comes when dogs don't get along. Also, I'd be concerned about the little one getting hurt if the aggression escalates. Just my personal opinion though...

[Todd]

It's a hard call. You want your senior dog to be able to live the final years of life peacefully, but at 17 years old you never know how long he has left. It sounds like you aggressive dog has possessive aggression, which is difficult to control and correct because it is instinctual. In the wild, wolves must fight to keep their share of the food so your dog is instrinctually picking up on this characteristic in a sense. Your dog is possessive over her food and her toys, bones, etc. When your aggressive dog starts to challenge or go at another dog firmly yell "leave it" and even consider blowing a blowhorn, bottle with pennies in it, etc. Something that will startle the dog and hopefully stop her. In some cases this could startle her and induce further aggression, so in this case you would stop immediately and not try again. When she complies have her sit and use positive reinforcement as well with treats, but away from the other dog because this will also cause possessiveness (take her quickly away at least 10-15 feet then reward with treat. This is all I can think of. You could also try spraying him with a water bottle or something. You also need to be sure YOU are the alpha of even the aggressive dog so she will listen to you.

Dog Owner's Guide: The alpha factor (DON'T use the alpha exercises it lists which involve anything physical like using the alpha role. This is very controversial and especially something you don't do with an aggressive dog)

If things don't clear up and improve in the next couple iof weeks consider rehoming the dog, maybe even temporarily until your senior passes away. Good luck. A professional trainer may also be helpful.

[Yogi]

The problem when working rescues is that you must ensure that the ones you bring in are compatible with others. A Husky is simply a high prey driven breed prone to over possessiveness and should not be in the mix. No matter what you do at this point in reality outside of crating the dog to feed it, and avoiding the treats when all are out you are stuck in this predicament outside of finding a home where it is primarily the only dog. I have rescued for over 50 years and learned my lesson years ago. My current rescues are are compatible breeds where this type of possessive behavior is short lived.

[gambler-girl]

what if you remove all toys and feed her seperately, will she still fight? at other times if yes you may have to find another home if she hates the other dogs

if it is not that bad and she is just dominant then feed her first and give her attention first then go to the other dogs, this will reinforce the higherarkie and stabelize the pack. You can not think like a person you have to think like a dog.

GG

[Todd]

Originally Posted by Yogi

The problem when working rescues is that you must ensure that the ones you bring in are compatible with others. A Husky is simply a high prey driven breed prone to over possessiveness and should not be in the mix. No matter what you do at this point in reality outside of crating the dog to feed it, and avoiding the treats when all are out you are stuck in this predicament outside of finding a home where it is primarily the only dog. I have rescued for over 50 years and learned my lesson years ago. My current rescues are are compatible breeds where this type of possessive behavior is short lived.

Yogi, you make a very good point about the huskey having a high prey drive with the smaller dog. For some reason when I originally read the thread I was thinking the small dog was the aggresser. This changes things a bit but this is still an instinctual problem so there isn't much else different to try.

[Yogi]

Originally Posted by Todd

Yogi, you make a very good point about the huskey having a high prey drive with the smaller dog. For some reason when I originally read the thread I was thinking the small dog was the aggresser. This changes things a bit but this is still an instinctual problem so there isn't much else different to try.

This is the problem with rescuing and fostering dogs. It is first essential to know the breeds before hand. In this case the wrong mix.
Treating or favoring one over another is not the solution since the Husky is the new one in the house it has not earned alpha status over the other dogs but is only trying to. If one is not qualified to deal with this than best that the dog be placed in another home or the OP needs to exert their will over the Husky til it learns and understands its place. The unfortunate problem is that many dogs that come through rescue or shelters come with baggage that many times you do not see til later.

[Todd]

Originally Posted by Yogi

This is the problem with rescuing and fostering dogs. It is first essential to know the breeds before hand. In this case the wrong mix.
Treating or favoring one over another is not the solution since the Husky is the new one in the house it has not earned alpha status over the other dogs but is only trying to. If one is not qualified to deal with this than best that the dog be placed in another home or the OP needs to exert their will over the Husky til it learns and understands its place. The unfortunate problem is that many dogs that come through rescue or shelters come with baggage that many times you do not see til later.

I agree. Some shelters will let you take dogs home for a week or so as a trail, which I personally would recommend to see how things go. It's hard to let go of them I would assume but it is only the right thing to do in the best interest of the dog and the one who wishes to adopt as well.

[Lara's mom]

You are so right!!! When I was involved with rescue, it was of the emergency kind. I never had so many that I had those kinds of issues. Unless my rescues were sick, they only stayed for a few days and were adopted.

[snow62]

we've had several rescue dogs that were just fine and lived well under our care. There is plenty of exercise both in the yard and out and we have a 10 yr old huskey who came from a much worse situation than Tink did. Tink was simply boxed up in small apartments with owners who didn't have the time to invest in walking and things they need. We are aware of the needs of huskys hence the reason we are usually the first ones to take them. Icee, the 10 yr old husky was abandoned behind a bar in Tenn for 2 yrs before she was rescued. She has adapted well and with no problems. Tink, the subject of the thread, is 4 yrs old with lots of energy. We spend quite a bit of time running her with a ball and other things that dogs require. If you remove the issues over bones and toys, she would pass for the perfect dog.

We did, however, try another approach. we doubled her food. there was no aggression over the bowls, she wasn't fighting the senior dog ( Blackie) for his bowl and when treats were given later in the day, she was content with her own bone. So we may have hit the nail on the head.

Tink has many wonderful qualities. We simply needed to resolve the last issue at hand and that was the hordeing of food. We will give her sufficient time to learn but also keep close watch on Blackie since he is 17 yrs old and not quite at the age to fight for anything. All the replies have been helpful and rehoming her is a last resort should all our attempts end in failure. She learned well in the year she has been here and obey basic commands. So we will continue to add to her food bowl and "fill her up" so there is no need for her to horde all the food. I will certainly let you know how it works. The hard part for us is keeping in mind we have a toddler in a senior citizens home lol and that does make the day interesting!

Thanks for all the ideas!!

[Todd]

Originally Posted by snow62

we've had several rescue dogs that were just fine and lived well under our care. There is plenty of exercise both in the yard and out and we have a 10 yr old huskey who came from a much worse situation than Tink did. Tink was simply boxed up in small apartments with owners who didn't have the time to invest in walking and things they need. We are aware of the needs of huskys hence the reason we are usually the first ones to take them. Icee, the 10 yr old husky was abandoned behind a bar in Tenn for 2 yrs before she was rescued. She has adapted well and with no problems. Tink, the subject of the thread, is 4 yrs old with lots of energy. We spend quite a bit of time running her with a ball and other things that dogs require. If you remove the issues over bones and toys, she would pass for the perfect dog.

We did, however, try another approach. we doubled her food. there was no aggression over the bowls, she wasn't fighting the senior dog ( Blackie) for his bowl and when treats were given later in the day, she was content with her own bone. So we may have hit the nail on the head.

Tink has many wonderful qualities. We simply needed to resolve the last issue at hand and that was the hordeing of food. We will give her sufficient time to learn but also keep close watch on Blackie since he is 17 yrs old and not quite at the age to fight for anything. All the replies have been helpful and rehoming her is a last resort should all our attempts end in failure. She learned well in the year she has been here and obey basic commands. So we will continue to add to her food bowl and "fill her up" so there is no need for her to horde all the food. I will certainly let you know how it works. The hard part for us is keeping in mind we have a toddler in a senior citizens home lol and that does make the day interesting!

Thanks for all the ideas!!

Just make sure the dog doesn't get overweight because that can obviously cause health problems. WIth plenty of exercise that shouldn't be a huge problem though. You'll be able to tell.

[gambler-girl]

Originally Posted by Yogi

This is the problem with rescuing and fostering dogs. It is first essential to know the breeds before hand. In this case the wrong mix.
Treating or favoring one over another is not the solution since the Husky is the new one in the house it has not earned alpha status over the other dogs but is only trying to. If one is not qualified to deal with this than best that the dog be placed in another home or the OP needs to exert their will over the Husky til it learns and understands its place. The unfortunate problem is that many dogs that come through rescue or shelters come with baggage that many times you do not see til later.

I resectfully disagree with you, the OP said the new dog has taken over top spot. By not reinforcing it you are causing upset. Just because the OP would like the old dog on top it is not OP to choose. When you get 3 or more dogs a different dynamic developes. I had a girl just like her by the sounds of it. The alpha before her was quite but strong, after she passed the other was inwaiting for the position as she always wanted the job but didn't mess with older dog who died suddenly. By respecting the packs wishes had no fights for leadership ever and I had 6 adult dogs in a small house. The new alpha was not a soft leader but very respectful of me. If the OP keeps this girl he will probably develope a great freind but a high maintance one.


what do you mean by exerting your will? how would you do this?

GG

[snow62]

tink has enough energy to pull a dog sled by herself.

we are by no means new to dogs and may be new to this site. not new to dogs. we are not the type to think "how cute!" slap down 300 bucks for a pup and regret it later. 3 of our dogs we have have been looked at, checked out, visited and reviewed for lack of a better term.
Icee, the 10 yr old husky is the only one taken in with a little less looking. she was in dire straits and although she had been fostered in a home, they fostered her to a laundry room not big enough to sneeze in let alone hold a 90 lb husky. yes, i said 90 lbs. shes not the slim greyhound look ..she's huge and over eating is not an issue here. shes built different and her paperwork is listed as 100% siberian husky/white eyes. shes just larger then normal. Tink, however, has the typical greyhound build and runs faster then a ball can be thrown.
overeating is slim here since they only get fed once a day with 1 treat in the afternoon.. we will see how this works.

[Yogi]

Originally Posted by gambler-girl

I resectfully disagree with you, the OP said the new dog has taken over top spot. By not reinforcing it you are causing upset. Just because the OP would like the old dog on top it is not OP to choose. When you get 3 or more dogs a different dynamic developes. I had a girl just like her by the sounds of it. The alpha before her was quite but strong, after she passed the other was inwaiting for the position as she always wanted the job but didn't mess with older dog who died suddenly. By respecting the packs wishes had no fights for leadership ever and I had 6 adult dogs in a small house. The new alpha was not a soft leader but very respectful of me. If the OP keeps this girl he will probably develope a great freind but a high maintance one.


what do you mean by exerting your will? how would you do this?

GG

I have to disagree, you obviously do not have the experience or years I have in dealing with multiple dogs. Otherwise you would already know that there can be only one alpha and you had better be it. I have taken in many alpha dogs over the years that initially attempted to impose their status on existing members only to be corrected by me. These dogs have ranged in age and all have learned they are not the alpha in my house. I currently have 25 dogs, not one is an alpha. The pecking order is one that is not even noticed. They are kept apart and crated during their feeding which is common when multiple dogs are involved and should be anyway to offer peace and quiet to their feeding. On the rare occasion where there is any bickering it only takes a yell from me to stop them instantly. This comes with experience and years of having multiple dogs. There is no room for any other alpha but the owner. If one is not prepared to handle this than they should not have multiple dogs.

[gambler-girl]

Originally Posted by Yogi

I have to disagree, you obviously do not have the experience or years I have in dealing with multiple dogs. Otherwise you would already know that there can be only one alpha and you had better be it. I have taken in many alpha dogs over the years that initially attempted to impose their status on existing members only to be corrected by me. These dogs have ranged in age and all have learned they are not the alpha in my house. I currently have 25 dogs, not one is an alpha. The pecking order is one that is not even noticed. They are kept apart and crated during their feeding which is common when multiple dogs are involved and should be anyway to offer peace and quiet to their feeding. On the rare occasion where there is any bickering it only takes a yell from me to stop them instantly. This comes with experience and years of having multiple dogs. There is no room for any other alpha but the owner. If one is not prepared to handle this than they should not have multiple dogs.

Why so hostile?

Just because I manage my dogs differently then you, doesn't mean I don't have multiple dogs or know what I am talking about. I thought this site is about discussing dogs with dog lovers. If you really have 25 dogs in your house I would love to hear/discuss how you manage them?

I come in peace

GG

[snow62]

a simple question that required a simple answer and possibly mutiple answers has gone way over the beginning question. it's way out of hand at this point and i agree with ginger , its a forum not a boxing match.

besides, since we doubled tinks food she has calmed down and hasnt shown any more agression towards our senior and his bowl.

finally, thank you for all the wonderful ideas and this will be the last time i post on this forum.

have a wonderful day and enjoy your dogs.