How to get them to share

I have begun noticing that my girls are not the best at sharing despite my grandest efforts to show that they both have the EXACT same thing and that their sister does not have the better of the two. Ein has the mentality of "what's mine is mine, what's hers is mine, and what I don't even know exists is mine!" She will happily chew on her toy and then notice that Copper is doing the same and she immediately goes to Copper and rolls on her back and whines and grunts. Copper on the other hand will begin growling or barking anytime she feels Ein is too close to her and her treat. I have tried nipping this behavior in the butt by gently grabbing her muzzle and telling her No, or if she continues giving her a time out in a bathroom so she realizes that aggression and growling are unacceptable behaviors.

I have even gotten to the point where I will sit between them and hold the rawhide so when one goes for the other toy I can just switch them, but it is getting old fast.

Has anybody else dealt with this and have a way that they have found that promotes peace and happy toy time in their house? At this point I am willing to give most anything a go since I know Copper will be teething soon and I would prefer her jaws to be locked on a toy rather than my furniture.

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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on April 27, 2013 at 11:55am

They always want the toy/bone that the other one has. Once I got antlers for each of my three and they all ended up waiting for the oldest to be done with his. Before the afternoon was done the dog lowest on the totem pole was happily laying with all three antlers and not even chewing on them. As long as there is no fighting I leave them be, I would have made Ein move away from Copper since Copper had it first. If you fear there will be a fight, I would suggest taking it all away. Do not punish either dog as you are in charge of treats not them. Check out Nothing In Life Is Free for more suggestions. I don't really think it would be in a dog's nature to actually share out of the goodnest of their heart as we try to teach our children. I have seen older dogs allow this with a puppy but eventually they will expect the pup to realize that they must wait until the first dog is done before taking something. You may leash a dog that is being too pushy so you can make them leave the other dog alone.

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Permalink Reply by Anna Morelli on April 27, 2013 at 5:02pm

It sounds like your puppies are very young as you say they are not yet teething. From what you describe Ein seems the more submissive and, it seems to me, that she is acting towards Copper as she would with the mother dog, showing submission to get food or access to whatever the mother dog has and Copper, who is the more dominant and not the mother dog, is having none of that! I would stop Ein from getting close to Copper when she has a toy or food. A stern "Ein, get out of there!" and maybe a hand clap, should do, or you could simply call her to you at a distance from Copper and reward her for coming BEFORE she gets too close to Copper. Animals understand personal space and Ein has to learn what Copper's personal space is under those circumstances. Copper should not be scolded, she is not initiating aggressive behavior, just setting limits. if you set those limits by not allowing the incidents to develop in the first place, she may not need to do it herself by growling.

They will have to work out pack order issues, but you need to be seen as the one in charge. If anything seems to create more of a problem, get rid of it. As Bev says, sharing is not in the nature of dogs, though some are more tolerant than others.