Lou

Mom24doggies i really agree with the parent-child thing. I totally feel like Lou is my child!! I treat hear and love her like she is :-)

I do not have kids (yet) but if I did, it would be like the military in mah house!! LOL until they totally "got it" then I'd start being more chillaxed.... Hahaha

first i had a plant it didnt die, now I have Lou, maybe one day real children LOL :-)


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[IMG] Something very interesting out the window... by Louthespoo, on Flickr[/IMG]
Lou & Apollo - my perfect wonderful spectacular magnificent poodles!!!!

Ms Stella

Sorry to hear you are encountering some bumps in the road!

1) I would, of course, never leave them unattended together..

2) keep Stella on a leash, dragging it, while outside with Carley so you can correct her easily.

3) I would also make her work for everything..pets, food, sitting on furniture (if you do that)

4) Groom her a lot..that really creates a bond, trust and establishes your leadership.

5) I would also not try to roll her on the ground..violence begets violence. I would personally would not hesitate to be loud, strong toned, and grab her scruff or muzzle and give her a good talking to :-) but that is me..if you are nervous about it or uncomfortable with it and try to be very assertive a dog will sense that and its a good way to escate things more for the dog.

6) I would also get a can of pet corrector to keep around and use sparingly..but use whenever she starts to go for Carley..one little spray and it will get her attention..to listen to you.

7) One last thought..Dont walk them together by yourself untill this issue is worked out..it could turn really bad fast!!

8) Best wishes!! You can do this :-)

Specman

I agree that training alone is a good thing. We recently added a dog, a 1-1/2 year old female of unknown mix that weighed 25 lbs. compared to Max who is 14 lbs. She has tried to dominate Max since she moved in. I have seen this with other female dogs that I have own. We have worked to correct her and I was getting very frustrated with the situation.

Recently they seemed to have worked things out and spend much less time fighting. Hopefully your dogs will also come to an understanding as the become more familiar with each other. I feel your pain. Max is sensitive and a little naive, and it was difficult to see him intimidated. They now seem to enjoy each others company.

Carley's Mom

I know I should walk Stella alone, but I find that so hard unless Carley has already walked or I have someone with me to take her ... Yesterday, my husband went and walked Carley, today I took them both. We had a very good walk, both times.

I never let them walk beside one another and I never took my eyes off Stella. I reminded myself of some of my sister's untight friends walking their bully dogs... I used to make fun of them... but gosh, they had control...lol

I caught Stella the minute she reacted to something , chipmuck ect and I put a stop to it . I also got a pinch collar for her. She is keeping me on my toes, but we will get there.

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Pluto

Careful with that pinch collar. It can trigger reactions in an already somewhat dog agressive dog, since they feel something clamping on their neck.

Be careful not be get to intense about it. If you are already tense she will sense it and carry that same behavior through. Focus on being focused, aware and having something in mind to ask her to do.

I get that the breeders suggestion is a little old school. But I will say that one of the first thing my trainer had us do was lay our dogs down by basically smashing them with our body (while being cuddley, not growling or agressive). It taught the dogs while they they were still young and malluable that the "person" can do whatever they want with the dogs body. If she is not listening to your down command, I would feel 100% comfortable laying her down yourself to reinforce it. Once again, it doesn't need to be agressive, rolling, fast, you can just calmly "smash" your dog to the ground in a dogpile.

Lou

indeed - the lay them down thing, just like you said it (I said something along those lines on my post above, explaining how how I have been doing it.)

I agree, but......
I'm no expert.... and I started that with my puppy day 1, I don't know how it would work with an adult and/or aggressive dog, and I have to be in the right state of mind too... it's just focused, I can't take it personally or let it make me mad, and just be FIRM/CONFIDENT/ASSERTIVE... I don't always succeed at being in the right mode, but I try to get myself under control before I take her out. I try hard to remember not to take it personally (get unsettled emotionally) , It's a dog. (no matter how much I feel like she is my kid)

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[IMG] Something very interesting out the window... by Louthespoo, on Flickr[/IMG]
Lou & Apollo - my perfect wonderful spectacular magnificent poodles!!!!