"sibling" rivalry

Hi arader and ciara's mom

Problems with dominance order are common when introducing a new dog, I hope the tips below will soon help you sort out your little dog packs:

[B]Organising a dog pack[/B]
Just as it is important for your dog to know where it stands in the pack order in relation to humans it is also important that each dog in a multi-dog household knows where it stands in the pack in relation to others. You can use the basic principles of alpha dog training to sort this out too.

In a wild dog pack the dominant pack member controls :

-access to food

-access to favoured or important areas

-any interactions with lower pack members

-access to favoured items such as toys

You want the order of your pack to be; you, other people, (other pets such as cats), and then your dogs in order of calmness, age and/or size. The exact order of the dogs shouldn’t matter too much as long as you pick one and stick to it. In general however calmer, older dogs are better as dominant. Aggressive or overly excitable dogs should be placed lowest in the pack.

In order to show each dog its position in the pack you and your whole family can take advantage of the keys points of dominance in the following ways.

1) All dogs must eat after all people at every meal and should never get treats from the table. When it is time to feed the dogs ask them all to sit and give the dominant dog its bowl first and then a little while after give the next most dominant dog it’s bowl and so on.

2) The dogs should never walk through doors before you. A good way to practice this is to walk around the house and make them sit at each doorway and wait. Similarly the most dominant dog should always be taken in or out of the car or house first and then the next most dominant etc.

3) If you intend to allow access to areas such as beds or couches first access should go to the most dominant dog. If you have an aggressive dog (which will therefore be lowest in the pack) do not allow it access to such places.

4) When you arrive home completely ignore the dogs for 15 minutes. Don't look at them, talk to them or pat them. After this go to them one at a time in order of dominance and give them some quiet attention only as long as they are relaxed and calm.

5) Give first access to prized items such as toys to the more dominant dog and then later to the others in dominance order.

This may seem unfair or like favouritism but remember the dog pack is not the same as the human family and non-pack leaders are familiar with such controlled access by their dominant pack mates.

I hope this helps you both and if you have any further questions don't hesitate to ask.
All the best,

Hi again aradar,
If sanders refuses to take the dominant position and your new dog continues to not be aggressive towards him or hurt him then it is probably best to leave them to it. I would continue to give sanders time with you alone and try and give both dogs an hour or two apart each day so that they maintain a sense of independence from each other. This will help prevent any anxiety later when the dogs are separated for whatever reason such as one is at the vet etc.

Corby is still young and will be approaching her teenage months in a while, things may get a little more difficult during this period as she tries to test the boundaries both with you and with sanders however once she is past this she should calm down a bit and both dogs should settle into a comfortable relationship.

All the best,