Sunday, August 2, 2009

can any one tell me about pecking order in dogs? how it works and will they fight?!?

i have had my 1 yr old male black lab cross for a few months and just bought a 3 yr old collie cross girl, they dont fight as such but i dont think they like each other, will they get on soon? any advice please? also they didnt meet on nutral teratory, is this a problem? my dog has been castrated but the female hasnt been nutered if that helps! thanx!
Answers:
Most likely the female (older) dog will,for now ,be the more dominant of the two. When your lab begins to reach adulthood there may be a 'power struggle then. The best way to avoid or minimize a dominance issue between the dogs,*Is to CLEARLY establish yourself as the top dog or alpha dog. If there is any squabbling between them , break it up and discipline them both. As the Alpha dog ,you say "Who fights and when".When you have two dogs, there may always be some argument between them ,but usually it becomes "A SHOW" rather than a real fight. Watch "The Dog Whisperer" on the national geographic channel. Cesar Millan often discusses the importance of the Pack leader.
get the female neutered immediately. it will definitely help. the alpha dog (top dog) should always be you.
You mean you just bought a new dog straight into an established dogs territory? WOW! not something I would do and not just from the possible fighting point of view, your poor lab must feel like he's had his nose pushed out, %26 by an older dog no less, poor thing!
You should always introduce strange dogs on neutral ground! If it had been a puppy it wouldn't have been so bad. I'm not surprised you are having teething problems, please be careful!
unneutered females are exactly what that are in the dictionary.when the female establishes her terroritory things will calm down one of the other will be alpha as long as they know you are the boss to them.
your black lab is jealous of your collie,think about it he was your baby all by himself,then you brought another dog into his home and showed him you loved her to .you will have to be pack leader now and make a fuss of him first every time and put her second in everything you do then see if there is a difference you should have let them meet in a park or something .your fault really but the above may help you.And don't forget not all dogs like each other they are the same as humans.Just be firm with them time and Patience will help. good luck
You'll have to leave them now to see who is top dog they'll work it out there selves.
You'll have to give your black lab alot of fuss bless him, and the same for your new dog,good luck with them.
Generally dogs and bitches don麓t fight too much although there is always the personality of each one to consider. The lab should really be the dominant one as he is there first and also he is male (although in some cases the female can be more dominant if the male is weak willed).. I wouldn麓t worry too much about it now if they are not fighting.. later on there may be a fight or two and this may have to happen to establish whos the boss, just make sure you stop it before any of them gets seriously injured.. usually one of them will back down first before that happens.. one very important thing though.YOU must be the boss of both dogs otherwise things will get out of control. but chances are both dogs will work things out alone and will be happy living together as they will be company. (PS don麓t worry about the female not being neutered as this will make no difference to a castrated dog.. and one more thing. feed them seperately as most fights start over food and the dominant one will take it all leaving the other starving)
good luck!!
need to get the girl fixed. this will help. but there is ALWAYS a pecking order. watch your dogs. see who backs down first! she who eats first. you never want to mess with this. the alfa should always be pet first, feed first exc. if you leave the order the way it is spouse to be, there will be little fighting. if you try to change this, it will cause lots of trouble!! the alfa is not always the male!! the one who eats first and never backs done is in charge of the two!
It will take some time for them to get use to one another, let them do it on their own terms, and DO spend equal time with each of them. A lot of time jealous side can kick in and then you may have some problems. I had the same problem when I brought my new puppy home, my older dog wanted nothing to do with him. After awhile they started to play and spend more time together, but it did take a couple of weeks. Now they are completely inseperable and eat from the same bowls and chew on the same bones. The older dog is a pit bull and actually protects the Lab. But at first we thought it would never work, and it worked out perfectly. I would have the female spayed it will help cut down on some of the dominance issues.
In a dog pack there is an Alpha male and female. They control the other pack members movements, breeding and food. Domesticated dogs do not see us as humans or masters rather they should see you as the Alpha. You control their movements, their socializing, and their food. You are a member of the pack and you should be the alpha. That is one reason obedience is very important, if the dog perceives himself as the alpha you will have countless problems you do not want. As far as your dogs go they are pack members but have different hierarchy. Some dogs by nature are more dominant than others and that is present as puppies. Having your pet fixed cuts own on a great deal of aggression, they lose that drive ( to mate). When a dog "humps" a dog or even a person its not really a sexual thing it is a dominance thing.
hmm. In normal heirachy a female is always dominant over a male. A neutered animal is always subeservient as is a younger one. So given that your first dog is a younger neutered male, then he will be lower in the pecking order than the new female one. I would have her neutered too if you can as some females can get very moody when they are in season. If she IS dominant, you can avoid fights by accepting her position and make sure you feed, fuss, and walk her first and the boy dog last. That sounds mean but it isn't since your boy dog will be happy in his position and start to get anxious if you treat him first since the female will then have to punish him to restablish her heirachy. I have 6 dogs at present and have had up to 14. As long as they all recognise that I am the pack leader and I make the decisions, I am happy to accept whatever order they have decided for themselves and as such I have complete harmony. I can empty a sack of raw beef bones in the yard and nobody fights, tries to steal or defends their bone because they know that I won't tolerate fighting. So they all get on and take a bone and go off to eat it in peace.
Pack heirachy is fascinating and complicated and doesn't stay the same. If a dog is sick or gets old, their status may decrease.

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