We have a 6 year old female Lhasa (Cricket) that is very well behaved, loves people, etc. We now have a 4-1/2 month old male Lhasa (Riley). He is very socialized and the two dogs got along great from the beginning with one exception - feeding time.
Cricket eats slowly and Riley inhales. When Riley is finished, he sticks his head in Cricket's bowl while she's eating and this causes a fight. They are both on their hind legs, growling, snapping and biting. We pick the puppy up and he starts the aggression towards us. And sometimes when we pick him up in other situations, he growls and snaps.
We have tried putting him on his side and holding him down until he cools off, but he goes right back for the food. So now we've just resorted to feeding them separately. But they do the same thing over fresh bones. I'm afraid that if we had a guest that dropped some food on the floor, the result would be the same.
Help! I would appreciate any suggestions you may have to offer.
P.S. Two other smaller issues with the puppy:
1. He tries to eat his feces. We are giving him tablets that are supposed to make is taste bad, but this doesn't seem to work very well. I've heard he will grow out of this, but it's pretty disgusting. Instead of having him go in his exercise pen, I am now keeping him on a lease when he goes so I can get him away from it quickly.
2. He won't make eye contact with me when I hold him on my lap. Whether he's on his back or belly, he just turns his head away. He seems to like to sleep on my lap, but won't look at me.
Thanks so much.
