Took my sweet, precious little mama's boy out to work with drive this morning...went great (except for the dropping the ball b4 being asked :crazy worked up a good sweat, came inside the house got us both a drink then let the other two dogs back in the house. At this point Levi had lain down next to the full water bowl. The other two simultaneously saunter over to get themselves a drink and the little mama's boy goes ape on both of them! Well, I made it quite clear to him that it was MY water bowl and not his. Still, I'm wondering...what gives? Is he pubescant or what? Flipping dog thinks he's Mr. Big Stuff all of a sudden. It's one thing to challenge my male (who is lame and will walk away from a fight) but he's never challenged his surrogate mama my female border collie. That right there is just suicide! A mom's work is never done!

Sounds like you've got a teenager on your hands now. And, let's face it, teens think they're immortal and they aren't always very smart (human or canine). LOL

You need to treat water like anything else-food, toy, etc. Mine would do the same thing. No way would I ever let another dog near a dog w/water, just like I wouldn't with food or a toy. Same thing. He's behaving completely normally for what he is...an adolescent GSD. No offense, but you should have seen that coming, esp. since your sweet, precious little Mama's boy had just been alone w/you (great for a boost of "I kick ass" mentality), and these jerks not only are let inside, but now they want a drink. Sheesh! In his eyes, he had every right not to allow them to drink HIS water from HIS Mom.

Not saying he IS right...just that he THINKS he's right. Rather than correct (which of course, you try first) just avoid the potential for situations like that in the future. Separation is the key. IMO, sharing bowls is a really bad idea, period.

 Quote: Jenni Williams

... IMO, sharing bowls is a really bad idea, period.

Yep.

Just eliminate the whole situation.

Taking it a little bit further: You gave him the bowl of water. Part of your job is not to allow what you give to a pack member (food, water, toy) to be taken away by another pack member.

Seriously? Don't let dogs drink out of the same bowl? Wow, not a thought that ever occured to me. I always grew up with dogs that shared water bowls. Not food bowls, that is a no brainer. This honestly suprises me. Isn't it my job to teach them this is not acceptable behavior? Is this a gsd thing? My other two share water and eat about 5 feet from each other with no issues. If my male lab oversteps his bounds, my female will let him know but I don't worry about her killing him or anything. She just sets her boundaries. HMMM..I guess I am going to have to give this issue some more thought. So, Jenni you think he came in all pumped up, feeling like a bad a@# because we were playing? I have noticed that he is getting a little "MY mommy" lately. I have to keep that in check. Sounds to me like I still have much to learn about this beautiful, intelligent, stubborn, breed, lol!

No, it's not breed-specific.

Why shouldn't your dogs feel secure in being allowed to keep what you give them?

YOU give and take -- not another dog. YOU decide what the dog has -- not another dog.


JMO.

 Quote: RobbinMann

Seriously? Not food bowls, that is a no brainer.

What's the difference? It's a resource that you provide.

Food and high-value treats are just a step up on the same principle.

I have two dogs who don't care about the water bowl. But you already had notice that this was not the case in your pack.

 Quote: robbinmann

Isn't it my job to teach them this is not acceptable behavior?

It's your job to provide for him, and to protect him, and in his eyes, the water was HIS; after all, his Mom had just given it to HIM, not the other two. You did nothing to protect his water from thievery, so he did. Does this make sense?

 Quote:

My other two share water and eat about 5 feet from each other with no issues. If my male lab oversteps his bounds, my female will let him know but I don't worry about her killing him or anything.

He is not your "other two". He is Levi. If he feels that he will have to fight for his resources, because you're not protecting him, he'll do it.

 Quote:

So, Jenni you think he came in all pumped up, feeling like a bad a@# because we were playing? I have noticed that he is getting a little "MY mommy" lately. I have to keep that in check.

I think that having you all to himself probably had him feeling pretty good, then out of nowhere, these 2 bandits come in and steal the water you just gave him. Beyond "keeping it in check", pay close attention to how you provide for/protect from. He may be acting out b/c he doesn't feel secure that you will when he's threatened in some way. My most obnoxious male gives me about 10seconds to deal with out of line dogs/people before he takes it upon himself. Levi might be feeling like he has to fight for what is his b/c you're busy trying to take him down a notch. That may not be what he needs. It's possible that it's not simple dominance, and is, in fact, a bit of insecurity that YOU can help.

Punishing him for defending himself is not going to help relations in your house. I don't buy into the whole "pack" theory b/c IMO, I am the human in charge of each and every one of those dogs, and it is I who decides who eats or does what when...not the "pack." I don't care if they love each other or are hiring contract killers behind my back, so long as they respect me. Getting along w/one another is much easier when they know that you've "got their back."

So let me get this straight...I'm to treat these guys like individuals and not promote "pack" peace? LOL! Wow, I never realized that he felt like he had to protect the water bowl when up until that very moment they had all shared the water together out of the bowl many times together. In spite of the fact that he was protective of his food I had never witnessed this same behavior with the water. It just never occured to me that it would cross over. Putting it into the perspective that Mom had just gotten HIM a bowl of water actually made more sense than anything to me. I guess if I gave one of my daughters a necklace and the other one came in and picked it up to put it on, it would elicit the same respons, kinda. No, seriously though. I guess I need to start thinking alot more like a dog in the first person than a human in the "duh" person, lol! This is very informative all the things that both you and Connie have said. Like I said, guess I have a lot more to learn than I thought. Thanks as always for your candor.

 Quote: robbinmann

..I'm to treat these guys like individuals and not promote "pack" peace?

To clarify: I wasn't saying that.

I was saying that forcing them to share bowls, leaving toys out among them ... anything like that ... is not the way to keep "pack peace."