I have just had a really unpleasant experience with my 9mnth old cross bred bitch.

I have two other dogs, the post mand arrived and my two other dogs started having a barny with each other. The pup jumped in and started attacking one of the dogs quite badly. I reached in to get her off the dog and she immediately turned on me. I am now on the way to the docs to have some very nasty wounds dressed.

I know you should never put your hand into a fight, but she seemed to know it was me who had hold of her and was very reluctant to let go of me.

Can anyone please advise me what to do, Do i have a problem dog on my hands and if so, how can this be solved?.
At the mo. I am so upset about the situation.

That is what can happen when you have a pack, it's the risk you take when you have more than one dog

Think in this situation the puppy did not deliberately bite you, the adrenalin was running and the brain disengaged. Are the dogs male or female. If male it will probable make no difference to the relationship, if female then you may as you say have trouble on your hands. Hope your wound heals ok, and you will be able to post in more detail when you feel better.

Hi,
My pup is a bitch and the other two are dogs.

This has happened before, when the posty comes. the two dogs can sometimes set too. they don't go at it aggresively, it just sounds that way.
The last time it happened, the pup launched strainght in on the same dog and wouldn't let go, for what seemed ages. She really meant it.
This time it was me!
Why is this happening and why does she attack the same one.
And of COurse ANY ideas for what to do next time it happens?

The first thing I would do is retrain your dogs NOT to go mad when the postman comes - if there are any other triggers like this then do your best to remove them. Your dogs should not get excited when the postman arrives - it is an everyday occurance that they should be used to.

More than one dog constitutes a pack, where there are more than two dogs two will often gang up on one if over-excitement degenerates into a scrap.

If you are unable to remove the trigger of the postman coming then make sure they are separated until after he has been.

Christine

Thank you all for your help.

Kerioak,

Can you give me some tips on how best to retrain them not to go mad when the posty comes.

My oldest dog, has always barked at the postman despite lots of attempts to stop him doing so.
The middle dog, waits anxiouly every morning for the post man and doesn't seem to rest till he arrives.
And the pup has just learnt the behaviours.

Any advice on this matter will be greatly appreciated, cos this time it's gone too far.

Just to give you some more info. The two dogs (older ones) don't actually fight, it's like a boxing and growling match that lasts for seconds.
The middle aged dog is showing signs of being the top dog. Did the pup join in with the middle aged dog because she see's the older dog as the weak one out of the two.?

Most dogs bark at postmen for a simple reason: they are pup and don't know what is happening when the postman comes. They start barking because they want the postman to leave and he does! So therefore the barking helped and it is necessary to repeat this every day. And off course every day the postman leaves after barking so the dogs are successful in what they wanted to achieve.

I don't have a solution for you, but you could try asking a friend to act like he is the postman and instead of leaving after putting some mail in your mailbox he has to stay there... this could take quit a while though....

success!

have you tryed getting an external post box , that way the postman wouldnt have to come to the door and hopefully problem solved, or making sure the dogs are seperated and away from the door when the postman arrives.

maybe u could ask friends and neighbours to frequently put things through your door (or do it yourself) until it becomes boring to your dogs. Be careful you dont end up with complete mayhem though!
Good luck!

Hi Xena

You really need someone who knows what they are doing, and can see what is happening to be there with you - see if there are any local trainers who can come and help.

I am not a great believer in clicker training (for me anyway) but if your dogs are food orientated this may be one of those times it could help.

Teach each dog separately the click and treat (there is lots of info available on this on the web), then the click and treat recall. If you can then do this with them all together IF you are going to keep them together. Then get someone to come to the dog and put something though and do the recall, click (and treat ) UNTIL they learn to come to you when anyone puts something though the door.

I would separate them when you are not there though as if something triggers them off while you are out they could carry on fighting until they are worn out.

Christine

Again many thanks to all.

Gonna wait till i feel a bit happier with them before i start anything, cos the way i feel at the mo, would not help the situation one bit.

hiya, i have a similar problem. i solved it by getting a metal mail catcher to attach to the inside of the door. Ithink they just go for the noise, once they see nothing has dropped to the floor, they calm down. Also i feel my reaction also matters If I jump up to try and close hall door, my older dog clicks onto whats happening. I also try to walk dogs round about the time he comes, have explained the situation to my postman and if i have to go out early, he either gives me the mail if I see him, or my neighbour collects it for me.

Hi,

I posted about three weeks ago, about my 9 mnth old pup who attacked one of my older dogs......when the post man comes.

We have had another incident since then,

I have recently been on holiday, and left the three dogs, Two males, age 6 & 9 and female pup now 10 months in the back of the car whilst we went for something to eat. When we got back to the car, they were no longer in the back of the car, theyhad knocked down the dog guard and were all in the main part of the car, the pup no longer had her collar on. When we investigated further, the car was covered in blood and they had been fighting.

The six year old was untouched and had obviously kept out of it, the older dog and the pup had obviously been fighting again.

The pup had a cut on her cheek and the older dog had several to face, and legs.

I have left the tow older dogs on many ocassions in the car and never had any problems, it appears that the female pup has yet again decided to have a go at the older dog.

Does anyone have any idea why she has taken a dislike to the older dog? ( he is very tolerant and plays well with the pup for most of the time)

Is this something that is likely to sort itself over a period of time?
Is it likley that they will never get along?

Any ideas/thoughts or opinions would be greatly appreciated.

That could of been very nasty if you were in the car, even worse if it were moving.

Maybe its time to consider another home for your pup, some may think its harsh, but at such a young age, she does seem to be the instigator for whatever reason.
Dawn.

Sorry to say but Dawn has a point, it may be best all round :(

However, are you sure it is the young dog which is instigating this - or is she just reacting to body language from the older dog?

Were there any toys or anything in the car which could have caused a fight? I'ts just that sometimes this sort of problem can be overcome.

Is it possible that your young dog gets very excited/stressed/aggressive if people approach( or walk by maybe?) and her reaction for some reason is to attack the older dog? It could be frustration which is directed onto the older dog. I really would recommend a vet visit.

Get some blood tests etc done just to rule out any phyusical problem....sometimes a dog may only get aggrressive with one family member or dog, because of a medical problem, it doesn't always follow that the dog concerned is aggressive with everyone/every dog.

If the tests are OK, do get the vet to refer you to an experienced and reputable behaviourist, don't be afraid toask for references etc.

IMHO this would be a last resort before considering rehoming to a home without any other dogs.....

Best wishes
Lindsay

She doesn't seem to be the one that instigates it from nothing, it's always when there is a side issue. e.g. the postman arriving, my two other dogs rearing up at each other and her attacking the older one.

I have had thoughts how this may have started. My older dog gets sore legs, and if sat on etc by the others he tends to warn them off. This could have been the case. Byt what I wonder is , why does she need to retaliate in such a way.

I will never know what went on, but i really would like to give her another chance and take whatever advice possible. It has been suggested to me that she could be simply trying to assert her position on the other two dogs, is this possible?

Its certainly possible, but somehow i don't think so, as there would be problems all the time with scrapping etc - sadly, not all dogs get on though, even dogs and bitches, they can be just like people in this respect

If she has been warned off by the other dog, she may feel frightened and not understand he is just warning her off, but thinks he is attacking her if she is not too hot on dog body language. In the close confines of the car, this would have escalated.

I think you really need to see someone who is on the spot and can see what is happening and give some advice :)

Lindsay

It does seem that with bitches once they have taken a dislike and had a fight with another dog, they do not forgive, in most cases dogs (males) seem to forget even a bad fight and can get back together. Do think that in the long run you may have to rehome or at least keep the elder dog and the bitch apart. Has she had her first season yet, if not it could become worse when she does, sorry if you have said I have forgotten. Hope you sort the problem soon before one or the other do some real damage.

I think I have to agree and maybe it would be better to find a new home for her. I had similar problems, my two bitches starting attacking each other but unbeknown to us the one was in pain and gave of vibes, so the other attacked her because she was weak. She isn't in pain anymore and they are back to being best friends. Is there anything you can do to stop your older dog being in pain as this may help, if not then rehoming maybe best for the puppy as well as you.
Gina