Help! Our corgi is being terrible to our relatives' dog! - MyCorgi.com2024-03-29T11:50:14Zhttp://mycorgi.com/forum/topics/help-our-corgi-is-being-terrible-to-our-relatives-dog?commentId=1150197%3AComment%3A1830505&feed=yes&xn_auth=no"When a submissive dog owns t…tag:mycorgi.com,2013-12-27:1150197:Comment:18311492013-12-27T23:27:52.315ZHollyhttp://mycorgi.com/profile/Holly128
<p>"When a submissive dog owns the house but a more dominant dog is brought in and does not live there, there is social imbalance."</p>
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<p>I think that is an excellent point. I also think a submissive dog can become dog aggressive due to anxiety but being sympathetic without being accepting of unacceptable behaviors may train them to manage interactions in more appropriate fashion. All of the comments make some great points. It can be scary to experience this behavior, but I am sure it…</p>
<p>"When a submissive dog owns the house but a more dominant dog is brought in and does not live there, there is social imbalance."</p>
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<p>I think that is an excellent point. I also think a submissive dog can become dog aggressive due to anxiety but being sympathetic without being accepting of unacceptable behaviors may train them to manage interactions in more appropriate fashion. All of the comments make some great points. It can be scary to experience this behavior, but I am sure it is common in large, high-excitement settings.</p> I had a similar embarrassing…tag:mycorgi.com,2013-12-27:1150197:Comment:18311442013-12-27T23:18:15.800ZHollyhttp://mycorgi.com/profile/Holly128
<p>I had a similar embarrassing experience this year at our large family Christmas gathering. My corgi, Sully, is very submissive and gentle as well as laid-back, almost to the point of a coma. Still, in the past few days she acted out by growling and barking at any animal who was getting attention from one of the people she considered her own "special people." There were four cats and one very large, gentle yellow lab in attendance and Sully hates too lose her special spot with one of my young…</p>
<p>I had a similar embarrassing experience this year at our large family Christmas gathering. My corgi, Sully, is very submissive and gentle as well as laid-back, almost to the point of a coma. Still, in the past few days she acted out by growling and barking at any animal who was getting attention from one of the people she considered her own "special people." There were four cats and one very large, gentle yellow lab in attendance and Sully hates too lose her special spot with one of my young granddaughters, either of my son-in-laws, and one of my friends. She REALLY hates to see another animal getting attention from me, but she knows better than to complain openly at least.</p>
<p>It is horrifying to see her lunge at a small kitten for example, but she is smart enough to avoid confrontation with the larger, more aggressive cats. She managed to make some progress with the lab because my daughter and son-in-law were willing to let them "work it out" but it was stressful to watch the toy sharing issues and potential food issues regarding which animal eats which food out of which bowl. This is the second time I have witnessed this issue. Both times were when the yellow lab was involved, but it seems more like an issue of Sully having anxiety over losing favor and hierarchy in the family. I react as instantly and as firmly as possible. I said "NO!" and put her in lock down (the bathroom) for a few minutes. She was allowed to come out but was supervised and sent back if necessary. The resource guarding about food and toys is unacceptable (in my mind) so she was fed, and not allowed to "take it" without my permission as a reminder of her status. I tried not to keep her on the leash as it only adds to her anxiety and slows the adjustment, but growling, barking, and especially lunging are never allowed and I want that to be VERY clear so I restrained her at times. I do think the message is getting through, but I am lucky my family seems to understand, though I am not sure everyone really gets why I feel the need to stomp this behavior out immediately and why I am so harsh with this "sweet little dog." I do think she can be taught to stop this behavior, but I think it is resource guarding that may require some animal behavioral consultation to manage effectively. I feel like we really made some progress, but lack of socialization with other dogs has made family gatherings a bit stressful, especially if some people inadvertently reinforce negative dog behaviors from the "cute" little corgi. I hope you can nip this in the bud. As Anna wrote, it is unprovoked aggression, but the dog may have felt provoked and justified. That doesn't mean it is EVER acceptable. I do think it can be stopped if caught early and dealt with swiftly, effectively and consistently. I personally think that dogs that are "not good with other dogs, pets, people, etc." just need to be trained and socialized, but I am NOT an expert. I don't think avoiding situations is the best solution though. I hope it works out well for you as time passes. It is sad and embarrassing but a written training plan for proper socialization might help if the anxiety level is high on future events. Just my unprofessional opinion of course. Good luck!</p> @ Beth, all your points are w…tag:mycorgi.com,2013-12-27:1150197:Comment:18310042013-12-27T17:53:20.433ZAnna Morellihttp://mycorgi.com/profile/AnnaMorelli
<p>@ Beth, all your points are well taken, however he is "dog aggressive" right now, the future remains to be seen. Dog bullies, much like human bullies, will choose to aggress weaker individuals and may look perfectly fine in situations where others seem stronger or more in charge than they are. There are however, as you say, too many moving parts to this picture to predict the future. One thing I'm sure of, if he's not been neutered, this aggravates his tendencies.</p>
<p>@ Beth, all your points are well taken, however he is "dog aggressive" right now, the future remains to be seen. Dog bullies, much like human bullies, will choose to aggress weaker individuals and may look perfectly fine in situations where others seem stronger or more in charge than they are. There are however, as you say, too many moving parts to this picture to predict the future. One thing I'm sure of, if he's not been neutered, this aggravates his tendencies.</p> Anna, the thing is we don't k…tag:mycorgi.com,2013-12-27:1150197:Comment:18310522013-12-27T17:07:12.391ZBethhttp://mycorgi.com/profile/Beth306
Anna, the thing is we don't know how the dogs were introduced or managed. When I brought Maddie into the house, the two dogs were not allowed unsupervised together for weeks. We did not play with high-value toys. We separated them at feeding. Normally you don't introduce two dogs to a household by just putting them together and expecting them to work it out.<br />
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Since they are staying there on holiday, I doubt the dogs had enough time to be properly introduced. Throw in a bunch of people excited…
Anna, the thing is we don't know how the dogs were introduced or managed. When I brought Maddie into the house, the two dogs were not allowed unsupervised together for weeks. We did not play with high-value toys. We separated them at feeding. Normally you don't introduce two dogs to a household by just putting them together and expecting them to work it out.<br />
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Since they are staying there on holiday, I doubt the dogs had enough time to be properly introduced. Throw in a bunch of people excited for the holidays (who also don't normally live together, and so there is no clear line of command among the humans either) and this can happen with many dogs. Forcing dogs to handle exciting situations in confined quarters will often lead to squabbles. Boxers are sweet but often clumsy and not very aware of where they are in space; there is probably more to this picture as to what is going on between the dogs than is being noticed.<br />
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When a submissive dog owns the house but a more dominant dog is brought in and does not live there, there is social imbalance. It MAY mean the dog is "dog aggressive" but certainly doesn't have to mean that. @ Beth, what Sarah described…tag:mycorgi.com,2013-12-27:1150197:Comment:18308842013-12-27T16:43:25.321ZAnna Morellihttp://mycorgi.com/profile/AnnaMorelli
<p>@ Beth, what Sarah described is overt, unprovoked aggression towards a submissive dog. Although I agree it is not a reflection on her training, as she had no clue before this came up that he would behave that way, it is a reflection on his temperament, personality and obedience. Obedience training and maturing could possibly correct this ( Sarah has not yet answered my question on whether Henry is neutered or not ) but some dogs are genetically more dog aggressive and stay that way. These…</p>
<p>@ Beth, what Sarah described is overt, unprovoked aggression towards a submissive dog. Although I agree it is not a reflection on her training, as she had no clue before this came up that he would behave that way, it is a reflection on his temperament, personality and obedience. Obedience training and maturing could possibly correct this ( Sarah has not yet answered my question on whether Henry is neutered or not ) but some dogs are genetically more dog aggressive and stay that way. These dogs need to be managed properly by knowing which situations they can be asked to function in and which are not appropriate for them.</p> Honestly, I wouldn't take thi…tag:mycorgi.com,2013-12-27:1150197:Comment:18310462013-12-27T15:13:52.886ZBethhttp://mycorgi.com/profile/Beth306
Honestly, I wouldn't take this incident as a reflection on your training or his obedience. It is a lot to ask of a dog to go and stay in another dog's house and behave all the time, especially if the other dog is naturally submissive. If the two dogs were living together, your relative's dog would probably take a more submissive role. But it's her house. So the dynamic is difficult. I would just control the situation while you are there and not take it to mean anything at all about your…
Honestly, I wouldn't take this incident as a reflection on your training or his obedience. It is a lot to ask of a dog to go and stay in another dog's house and behave all the time, especially if the other dog is naturally submissive. If the two dogs were living together, your relative's dog would probably take a more submissive role. But it's her house. So the dynamic is difficult. I would just control the situation while you are there and not take it to mean anything at all about your training program. Just like humans, sometimes w…tag:mycorgi.com,2013-12-27:1150197:Comment:18308342013-12-27T00:52:10.931ZBarbara Oberholtzerhttp://mycorgi.com/profile/BarbaraOberholtzer
<p>Just like humans, sometimes we just don't like someone. Your corgi is still young. At the dog park my boy gets along with everyone except for two certain dogs. He must sense something that I don't understand about that dog. Also, corgis are very headstrong and wants to be the alpha dog. I also put Bailey on a leash to avoid an uncomfortable situation and to show who is really in charge.</p>
<p>Just like humans, sometimes we just don't like someone. Your corgi is still young. At the dog park my boy gets along with everyone except for two certain dogs. He must sense something that I don't understand about that dog. Also, corgis are very headstrong and wants to be the alpha dog. I also put Bailey on a leash to avoid an uncomfortable situation and to show who is really in charge.</p> Is Henry neutered?tag:mycorgi.com,2013-12-27:1150197:Comment:18309412013-12-27T00:27:53.919ZAnna Morellihttp://mycorgi.com/profile/AnnaMorelli
<p>Is Henry neutered?</p>
<p>Is Henry neutered?</p> Thanks for the advice! He's y…tag:mycorgi.com,2013-12-26:1150197:Comment:18305052013-12-26T22:43:51.152ZSarah, David & Pup Henryhttp://mycorgi.com/profile/SarahMcDonough
<p>Thanks for the advice! He's young -- 18mos -- so it's entirely reasonable he'd be having some adolescent bravado. We did keep him tired out with walks and runs and, as described, the problem behaviors were very intermittent and definitely of a herding/dominating bent. Walking them together sounds like a wonderful idea, though!</p>
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<p>He is very well socialized at the dog park and was on good behavior at a larger family gathering earlier in the year. At that event, several families…</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice! He's young -- 18mos -- so it's entirely reasonable he'd be having some adolescent bravado. We did keep him tired out with walks and runs and, as described, the problem behaviors were very intermittent and definitely of a herding/dominating bent. Walking them together sounds like a wonderful idea, though!</p>
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<p>He is very well socialized at the dog park and was on good behavior at a larger family gathering earlier in the year. At that event, several families with a total of three dogs congregated at a large house, but it wasn't the "home house" of any of the dogs, and they fell into a comfortable group very quickly. This time it was definitely Hannah's (the boxer) house, and she does broadcast weakness. We found ourselves intervening successfully but aggressively, and we felt that wasn't right. Above all, we don't want it to escalate into dog aggression, possessiveness, or disobedience. It is telling that anytime we stepped in and gave him a direct command, he obeyed and we were always able to defuse bad situations. It was only when they were unsupervised or "at loose ends" that he acted dominant towards Hannah.</p>
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<p>After we get home, though, what's the training advice for teaching him to respect us as pack leaders in any situation? We realize now that the training we thought was complete clearly isn't.</p> Leash, leash, leash! Attach t…tag:mycorgi.com,2013-12-26:1150197:Comment:18307382013-12-26T14:49:05.676ZBev Levyhttp://mycorgi.com/profile/BevLevy
<p>Leash, leash, leash! Attach the leash to yourself and let him follow you around while you are there. It is important for him to know that you are in charge of his activities. You don't say how old he is but if he is young, he may just be going through a bit of a "I am King of the World" stage and needs to see that he is not in a non-confrontational way. Being leashed to you enables you to give him love when he is behaving and corrections if he starts to act aggressive. Either way it tends to…</p>
<p>Leash, leash, leash! Attach the leash to yourself and let him follow you around while you are there. It is important for him to know that you are in charge of his activities. You don't say how old he is but if he is young, he may just be going through a bit of a "I am King of the World" stage and needs to see that he is not in a non-confrontational way. Being leashed to you enables you to give him love when he is behaving and corrections if he starts to act aggressive. Either way it tends to be instinctive to dogs to be aggressive to the weak, he needs to understand that this is not OK with you.</p>