April 12, 2011
Our son brought a new “rescue” dog into our home. It’s very aggressive with our existing house dog whenever we show the old house dog any affection. What can we do?
Full Question:
I have question I hope you can answer for me. Our college-aged son adopted from a shelter a 2-year-old Kelpie and Australian Shepherd mix (I think). Anyway it is very evident the previous owners abused this dog. It hides from the newspaper when it is rolled up and it will run away from any balls etc. The problem is the dog is now living with us because our son is in an apartment in a large city with a new job that requires him to be gone 10 hours or so. The dog is well behaved except for the fact that he is very jealous of our dog. He does not like us to even acknowledge our dog. Finally, the question id how can we change his behavior without causing any trauma to him since he has had previous bad experiences?Thank you for any help.
Ed's Answer:
You can solve this problem with training. Read what I have written about the proper steps of Basic Dog Obedience. Do not think you are going to solve this problem without going through a correction phase - this is simply not going to happen. Corrections are never given with a rolled up newspaper so you will not be causing a similar problem. You need to work with a prong collar and sound dog training principles. The dog should wear the prong collar in the house with an 18 inch street leash to drag around (this allows you a handle for a correction). You can see these items on my web site.
The dog needs to learn that it is 100% inappropriate to show any kind of aggression towards your other dog. The dog needs to respect your commands more than it wants to fight with your other dog. Dogs are pack animals and always find comfort in settling their packing order in the pack. In this case you are settling it for the dogs.
The dog needs to learn that it is 100% inappropriate to show any kind of aggression towards your other dog. The dog needs to respect your commands more than it wants to fight with your other dog. Dogs are pack animals and always find comfort in settling their packing order in the pack. In this case you are settling it for the dogs.
100% (2 out of 2)
respondents found this answer helpful
Can't find what you're looking for?