2 chows and one min American Eskimo. Male chow (Bruno who I posted about a few years ago) asserting dominance over other chow when responding to passers by on the road (fenced in yard). Other chow does the same to Eskimo but did not used to. Considering another behaviorist who said Bruno may be asserting dominance because we are trying to keep him at the bottom of the pack by feeding him last etc. What are your thoughts on this advice. This is a short informative post from my phone. More later.
What your describing is redirected aggression. It's created by frustration not necessarily dominance.
My JRT used to redirect on one of my Border terriers for the same reason. Someone outside the fence. Aside from this display he wouldn't dare go after the Border.
Lucky for him it was nothing more then an annoyance for the Border.
I'm trying to decide if this behaviorist can help. Her advice is to treat Bruno as Alpha among the dogs. Feed him first etc so he won't feel he needs to asert his ranking as much.
Is she correct?
Advice I received here years ago was treat him as the lowest in everything.
This didn't start until the last year or so. We adopted the other chow from a rescue 2 years ago. As she became comfortable with us she started barking at people who entered the driveway etc. Shortly after that Bruno started correcting her for butting in on his job. Shortly after that, last 6 months or so, she started doing the same to our little dog.
I figure it's not fair to the other dogs and yesterday the smaller chow REALLY scared my little guy into shock. He couldn't walk normal for about 30 minutes and threw up everything the rest of the day. Vet said he should be OK and to keep an eye on him. They've all had to stay outside as we had our floors refinished last week.
Kristel Smart Webboard User Reg: 10-03-2006
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I agree with Bob. The behaviour you are describing is more about barrier frustration/redirected aggression. I don't get that these behaviours are really about asserting rank.
I disagree with allowing a dog the alpha position, even if it is only among the other dogs. In my experience, a dog that is really of an 'alpha' temperament doesn't have to be aggressive and doesn't feel a need to keep reasserting his rank. A real 'alpha' wouldn't need to.
I would be concerned about the redirected aggression though, because it CAN lead to a genuine fight. This isn't a group of dogs that I would leave outside together unsupervised.
bob: I have a JRT mix and I am curious how you stopped the redirected aggression he was displaying against the other dog. Cody is neutered and is about 3 years old. Cody has just started this, I correct him and he stops, but I would like to stop it completely. Cody goes for the lowest in the pack Terra, she immediately submits. He gets so excited when just about anything happens that I want to nip this in the bud.
Help appreciated.
Sharon
Tracy Collins Webboard User Reg: 10-09-2008
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I agree with Randy. I don't try to reinforce some perceived pecking order among the dogs--they are all treated the same by me, and no displays of aggression among the dogs are ever allowed by me. Ever. I decide who gets along. They don't get to decide that or anything else. But what you're seeing doesn't seem like real aggression to me. It's barrier frustration that's being redirected.
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Pack hierarchy aggression
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