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Permalink Reply by Sam Tsang on September 17, 2010 at 12:08am

Hi Rebecca,

1. From my foster experience, most dogs do not break out of their shell and recognise the new house hirechy until 1 month, so give it time, Major and teddy will figure out the house rule and learn to live with each other.

2. Teddy is trying to figure out how to handle the new member, it is normal for him to have loose stool during this adjustment. It is a sign of stress, give it time, he'll get use to it.

3. Always associate the crate with positive experience, try feeding, playing in the crate with the door open. Only close when you leave the house or cannot supervise directly. The treat thing will change, as he establish a stronger trust and bond.

4. It is very normal for the new dog to test his boundaries, timing is everything, so establish your authority now and make sure your entire family reinforces your rules and on the same page. If you don't like him guard his toys, you'll need to reinforce which toys is okay and which is not, remove it so that it's out of reach if possible. Make sure you are firm on your rules, don't confuse them.

5. You can trade it up with food, give the command "Give", he needs to unlock his jaw in order to get the food, so when he does it, reward him and give him a pet on the head. Google NILF and reinforce it.

Give it time, good luck!

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Permalink Reply by Rebecca Marie O'Bryan on September 17, 2010 at 6:53am

Thank u sam. I have been establishing the rules and making sure he knows I'm the pack leader. Maybe I just expected to be best of friends right away, sorry bout that. When ever I have to put him in the crate I. Give him treats and a small toy. I also leave the door open and he does go in there somtimes. If it were one toy he was guarding I would just take it away but he guards all of them. He would take them all and make a pile and stand over them and guard them. It did scare me because would if a small child walked by? I could just imagine what could happen. My cats are even scared of him since jango walked up and went by him while chewing he side hits them with his body and then growls. Its only toys. Not the couch, me, or food

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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on September 17, 2010 at 12:26am

I think sam, has given great info! It will take at least 30 days.

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Permalink Reply by Tauna and Kota on September 17, 2010 at 3:08am

Agreed with Sam.

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Permalink Reply by Rebecca Marie O'Bryan on September 17, 2010 at 3:38pm

I really need some ideas on this issue...the toy guarding is starting to scare me abit. Its not so much to me but to teddy. If there's any more idea pleeeeeeeaaaasssee tell me!

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Permalink Reply by Sam Tsang on September 17, 2010 at 4:25pm

Hi Rebecca,

Could you give us more info in detail? like the very first incident, where, when, how, what was your reaction? what was Major and Teddy's reaction? What have been done so far, last incident and the end result...etc.

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Permalink Reply by Rebecca Marie O'Bryan on September 17, 2010 at 7:00pm

Sorry bout that. The 1st inncodent was when we frist brought him in. He saw a ball and he grabbed it and ran. The cats and teddy ran after him and he growled. I yelled no! The cats and teddy backed off. He stopped for a minet and then just kept doing it. He finaly dropped it and I took it. Then he found another toy and did the same thing, my husband got near and he growled but he slapped him said no and took it. Mind u we have a ton of toys so this happed with every toy. Once they were out of reach he was happy and explored and they played.

Last night was the recent one. I took them out for a walk and wanted to see how they would do. I gave major a toy and I played tug with him. And was petting him telling him good boy. He was fine until teddy came near. He bared teeth and growled. But teddy barked and sort of charged at him. After teddy did that he wasn't interested in playing. I gave it a few minets and then gave major a toy and across the room I played with teddy. Major watched and seemed interested so I gave him the other end bt he ripped it out of teddys mouth and put it on top of his other toy. I walked over to him and sat down. But when ted came by he growled. I shouted no! And he fell on his side to submiss. I took the toy and said no guarding. He started to shake but then ran to arthur. He avoided me for a bit but then came up to me and layed on his back and I petted him.

He is a wonderful loving dog. This is is only problem right now. They get along great except with toys. Even around food! Idk if its cuz he was establishing his place in the house or what but this has to stop. I do have to say a kong full of cheese fell on the floor today and all the animals went up to him and he didn't make a noise. He dropped it and let me take it too.

Is it just a matter of time and it will stop after he realizes I'm in charge or what do I have to do. He listens well and is quiet and very sweet. Just wish this would stop. Thank u!!

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Permalink Reply by Sam Tsang on September 18, 2010 at 11:54am

Hi Rebecca,

Thanks for the extra info, if I was in your situation, this is how I would handle it.

With a new addition, you and your family will need to establish clear rules. First thing with all new recruits is exercise, just like the human bootcamp, all recruits must be broken down physically first, so establish daily on leash walking with the entire pack. Remember you lead and walk the pack, you decide when to stop and where to go. Walking builds pack order and they will view you as their leader.

After you get home and everyone had their water breaks, you can spend 15 mins and do some training, dog's attention span is not very long, so keep it short. Always have the holy grail type of treats for these sessions, put one of the dogs in the rooms and train them separately if you need to, it will be easier for you to handle and keep everyone safe.

Get back to the basics, sit, laydown, doggy push ups, lay down, leave it, drop it...etc. Practice makes perfect. It is good to have a refresher course, do not treat them every time they complete a task, space out your reward, do not give out treat until they complete the task perfectly, substituting a trick with another is not acceptable, the dogs will always push the envelop and see how far they can go, be consistent.

Establish a warning "word" besides "no", since it is a very common word, I use "ar ar" or "eh?" instead of "no", that way when I have normal human conversation, my dogs don't get confuse. Whenever Major growl or even begin to "look" or fixated on an object or teddy or kitty in the wrong way, correct him immediately. say "ar ar" and clap real loud right in front of his face, break his fixation and tell him "watch me", as soon as he focus on you, say "YAY" and give him a yummy treat, timing is very crucial. This exercise is to teach major whenever he watches you and focus on your, it'll result in a positive result. Always help him to succeed, block his eye view with your body, snap your fingers, help him to reach his goal.

If the toys trigger a negative behaviour, you can either split the booty or have designated toys for them, you must make the decision for them. When a dog is enjoying his own toy / treat, they should be able to enjoy it in their own safe environment without disruption, let them enjoy it in their own crate if possible, always associate the crate with the happiest place on earth.

Shouting matches are okay, know how to distinguish a quarrel and learn how to handle a "real" fight, remember the goal is to make sure everyone is safe. So practice how you are going to reach in and retrieve in the shortest time, immediately put the other dog in a room first, then go take the other one far away from the situation. There is no need to shout "no",yell or be dramatic, remember dogs are like young kids, arguing with a kid will not get you anywhere, act like an adult and take over the situation, make the decision for them. Let them cool off on their own. When in doubt, think human relationships, there's a get to know you period, misunderstanding, compromise, communication, fights, resolution...etc. Give it time :)

Good luck!

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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on September 17, 2010 at 7:42pm

I have very little experience with rescued dogs but his behavior sounds pretty normal to me for a dog that has had his whole life pulled out from under him. I would take some baby steps such as pick up all the toys and just give him one when you are focusing on him. If you can catch him playing with a toy and not growling praise him. I would skip the negative feedback. If he has a toy and growls at the other animals take it away without ceremony. have him do something to get a toy like sit.. It will take some time for him to get a relationship with Teddy. The Dog Whisper and Victoria Stillwell have both done shows on this type of behavior. If you do not have on demand try checking their web sites.

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