I have adopted a 3 month old female cattle dog to keep my 18 month old male kelpie X company. Everything is going really well and the play all the time. However there have been times when there have been issues, usually around feeding time. The older one often does not allow the younger one near the food bowls. I have not intervened because I understand that they have to work it out for themselves but I am wondering under what circumstances do I step in. What behaviour is considered normal?
Answers:
i had a similar situation the difference being that the second dog was brought in as a rescue.the rescue had food issues only because she was half starved and wasn't sure if each meal was her last,literally.
things have since calmed down,but i still stay in the room while they eat and if one finishes before the other and the one who did not finish walks away i pick the dish up.
i never let them eat out of one anothers dish.
as far as interfering,there will be a time of adjustment while dominance is established,but you should not let it escalate into out and out fighting.
if both your canine babies have been"fixed" it will make things go alot better as males seem to always want to dominate the females.
they both need to understand that you are the "pack leader" and that you will set boundaries for them both.
hope this helps you.
it will take some work to establish boundaries and ground rules but since you cared enough to ask the question i'm sure you are up to it.
good luck
Disagreements at diner time are normal. The older dog will try to deprive the younger dog of food. It's just a survival thing of the pack. As they get older they will accept each other. You will have your fights but when they both mature they will get along better.
See, I own pit bulls and this scenario just isn't permissible. What I've learned is that YOU have to step in and be the leader for your group. Don't let them have to make decisions about how to handle a situation. That's your responsibility.
How close are you feeding the two of them? If it's side by side, I would definitely separate them a little bit. When the older one starts getting snarky, step in with an authoritative "Nah!" If he starts to get snarky again, repeat the word, then remove him and his food from the situation. Another simpler solution, feed them in their crates.
The biggest thing we need to realize is that our dogs would much prefer that WE handle situations where decisions have to be made.They look to us for that. The more you show your dog that you can be a leader, the more they will respect you.
If either of my dogs starts getting an attitude over a toy, they lose it. Since they don't want to lose that toy, they learn to play nicely :)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment