April 22, 2011

We have 7 dogs that get along except for our chow-mix who will fight with our golden. What should I do?

Full Question:
I know you will think I am insane, but...

My girlfriend and I have 7 dogs, we have a pack obviously. The dogs are: a 12 year male golden, a 10 female golden, a 10 year female lab, a 6 year female golden, a 6 year female golden/chow, a 5 year female golden, and a 2 year male golden. All of the dogs are spayed and neutered. Some of these (the older 3 & the 5 year old) we raised from pups of 8 weeks. The others were dogs that we adopted from rescue groups. The dogs generally get along fine, they play together, sleep together, eat together, etc. The oldest male generally runs the show, and the others respect that. The trouble is the golden/chow and the 5 year old. The golden/chow spent the majority of her formative years alone locked in a small room. She has been a bit possessive since we got her. She will set up confrontations by taking a toy and laying near it and guarding it from any dog that comes near by growling. We have assumed that she is unhappy with her status in the pack and does this in an effort to force her dominance. Naturally we do not let her get away with this and we take the item from her, reprimand her, and make her move from whatever space she is in.

A couple times this kind of display escalated into the golden/chow snapping at one of the other dogs before we could step in. These were not true fights, put more like shows of dominance, she would grab the other dog with her teeth, but there would no blood, no wounds, just a lot of growling. At some point the 5 year old golden decided she had had enough of this and she fought back, the result was a trip to the emergency vet and stitches for the golden/chow. Since then there have perhaps 6-7 incidences that have resulted in bites, blood, and a great deal of screaming on our part. What happens now is that at the first sign of any aggression on the chows part, the 5 year old attacks her ferociously, locking on to her ear or neck. And of course the rest of the pack chimes in with barking. And now the 6 year golden has begun to attack the chow too. The result is a three dog fight. We have tried the wheelbarrow thing with no success. Once these dogs are locked on to each other having their hind legs in the air does nothing.

My girlfriend and I have each been bit a couple times trying to break up these fights, and I don't really care about that as much as I care about the dogs injuring each other. These dogs still play together, happily! They run and chase and play beg each other, dig holes, and sleep together, and then BOOM! Do you have any suggestions? I cannot get rid of the chow mix. She will be killed if she winds up in a shelter and I can't do that. All of these dogs have sweet temperaments, but obviously there is friction. Is there any hope?

Thanks for listening, even if you have no advice!
Kelly
Ed
Ed Ed's Answer:
You have created a dog pack. You are not about to rewrite genetic codes of pack behavior that goes back thousands of years. These dogs are going to determine their own pecking order, and with some dogs this is going to mean fighting to settle the answer of who is top dog or who is second top dog.

Either find a new home for some of these dogs or build a dog kennel. There is no golden bullet to fix your problem. Common sense dictates that 7 dogs do not live as one happy family - that's a pipe dream. Read my articles about dominant dogs and dog fights.

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Expert Dog Trainer Cindy Rhodes
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