Help me!! (terrier, biting, noise, dominant) - Dogs - - City-Data Forum

aspy0680 · 10-26-2008, 01:58 PM

My husband and I have a rat terrier and she has gotten into 3 or 4 fights with my mother in law's dog. Her dog is very fragile too because of her back. What should we do?

SXMGirl · 10-26-2008, 02:04 PM

Separate them and reintroduce them gradually and hope that works. It is probably just a dominance issue. I have found that younger dogs usually respect the older dog, but every pet is different. Do you live with your MIL? If so, you will probably have to keep your dog in your bedroom until the conflict stops.

aspy0680 · 10-26-2008, 02:09 PM

k..Will try that. Yes, we do. Madison likes to instigate the fights. We'll just keep them separated though. Thanks for your help!

Viralmd · 10-26-2008, 02:11 PM

Terriers can be quite feisty. If your mother-in-law's dog is fragile and doesn't get along with your terrier do NOT leave them together. EVER. Terriers have jaws of steel, as you probably know, since they were bred to hunt vermin. Once they latch on, they never let go.

aspy0680 · 10-26-2008, 02:14 PM

Yes, abby is quite feisty! Yeah now wherever I go Abby goes with me.

Thank you

heydade · 10-26-2008, 02:54 PM

give her some ativan

aspy0680 · 10-26-2008, 03:27 PM

will do

ReturningWest · 10-26-2008, 03:44 PM

You want to find a dog trainer who can help you work with these issues and until you do keep the dogs seperated.

Woof Woof Woof! · 10-26-2008, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aspy0680

My husband and I have a rat terrier and she has gotten into 3 or 4 fights with my mother in law's dog. Her dog is very fragile too because of her back. What should we do?

Well, first of all, how bad are the fights? Just because they are making a lot of noise and one is squealing does not mean that your dog is hurting the other dog. She may just be "terrorizing" it as a way to be dominant.

Second, WHEN are they getting into fights? My guess is that your rat terrier is trying to put the other dog in its place, and this is probably happening around moments when she feels threatened. For example, you are feeding them too close together. Or petting the other dog or playing with the other dog at the wrong time.

Your rat terrier is the ALPHA, and you need to respect that. That means, feed her first, pet her first, and let her have the prime spot on the couch. Dogs are NOT diplomatic. They have a heirarchy, and we humans need to honor that.

Perfect example: We have two female dogs in my house. One is mine, and the other belongs to my house mate. I take care of both dogs most of the time, because my housemate is gone a lot.

Initially, the two dogs would get into fights once a week. Now I do not let the other dog in the kitchen when my dog is eating. I do not pet the other dog. Basically, I ignore the other dog completely and it is not ever allowed in my room. Since my dog is clearly TOP dog in the house, no more fights.

My guess is that normally your dog Abby has you all to herself. And then suddenly you are paying attention to this other dog. Maybe you are even trying to be fair and treat them both equally. Forget that. Abby is your dog. You may need to ignore the other dog completely.

Woofers

aspy0680 · 10-27-2008, 06:53 PM

The fights weren't that bad. there was some growling and some biting. Yes, at one point we did have her to ourself then we moved in together. After that Abby began to become more upset. We tried to even out the attention by giving it to all 3 dogs. But we will focus on Abby.

Thanks for you help