Aggression with other family dog

[Margie]

Hi All,

I'm totally new to this site. Just decided to look around. My dog Oliver started barking ferociously at our other dog. NOW I need you help.

Oliver is 10 months old. We brought him home on Valentine's day. Yes, we did a bad thing, we got him from a pet store. Shame, shame. The puppies that we saw online were just to darn expensive, with shipping and everything. He was just darling. Nice disposition. Let you pat him while he was eating. Not aggresive with the children. He loved Boffo. Boffo loved Oliver. Great companions. Oliver kind of re-energized Boffo. Boffo, is 10 years old. Boffo is a large (42 lbs) sheltie. He is very docile and just the sweetest thing. We have a very large back yard so both dogs get lots of excercise.

I think we made a mistake by letting Oliver sleep on our bed at night. Boffo always slept on a rug in the bedroom. When Oliver stopped having accidents, we let him out of his crate and after awhile let him sleep on top of the covers with us.

That went on for about a month. no more. We don't do it anymore. "Alpha Dog"

syndrome????

About 6 weeks ago Boffo got an infection from fleas. He had a weeping sore, a strip of hair-loss just above his tail. Well, that did it. Just at random, Oliver would charge Boffo. Tail wagging but teeth bared and really frightening bark! Jumped on him, bit his ears, anything he could get ahold of. Now, they often wrestle, in a friendly way. Boffo just cowers! He runs, tries to hide. Sometimes he won't even come in the house if Oliver is standing in the doorway. (I read the other post about the doorway, very interesting). Oliver even chased Boffo around the corner of our bed, and under the bed. It was awful. I was not afraid to seperate them, with my foot (leg) or hand. Neither dog has bitten on purpose. I just feel bad for Boffo! The wierd thing is....it's not all the time. Just this afternoon ( a few minutes ago) Boffo was lying down by the couch, wanted to get up, Oliver just charged him!!!

Okay, I think you've got the gist. Any suggestions? Tips? Is this the Alpha dog thing? HELP!!!!

Thank you very much,

Margie

E

[MikeC]

Hi Margie, welcome to the Forum,

I am assuming that Oliver is a Cairn, correct? This agressive behaviour did not begin until Boffo had the sores which Oliver could sense and view as an infirmity, thus possibly giving him the opportunity to assert himself over what he sees as an elderly, infirmed housemate. This behaviour however, really does not fall into the Cairn characteristic. They are usually very good around other dogs. You may want to seperate them until Boffo is over his skin problems. It will help him from being stressed and not being able to heal. If the behaviour on Olivers part still continues, you may want to consult your Vet. Good luck, and keep us informed.

MikeC

[Margie]

Hi Mike,

Thankx for the welcome! Yes, Oliver is a Carin. All nineteen adorable pounds of him. Doggone him! If I didn't have the Sheltie, Oliver would be the perfect dog.

But.....Loyalty......

Thankx for the tip about being infirmed. Didn't think about that. Boffo is totally healed now. They play very well most of the time. Brought Boffo back!! He's a "youngin' " again! Sometimes though, Boffo doesn't want to walk past. I think he doesn't want to deal with what might happen.

I will check with the vet though, good suggestion. I will keep ya informed. Thank you for repling!!

Margie

[Guest abbycairn]

Hi Margie,

Mike is right, Oliver is not exhibiting a dog characteristic, he's exhibit an all-dog characteristic. He's now a young, nearly adult dog and he no longer has the typical reserved behaviour that is characteristic of puppies in their relationship with adult dogs. (Although their behaviour may not look "reserved", in dog language, it is!)

Oliver has figured out that Boffo is submissive and he's feeling his oats. You need to watch them together and pop Oliver in his crate when he looks like he's going to go over the top. I would also never leave them alone together, unless Oliver is crated.

If Oliver does not settle over the next couple of months then unfortunately you need to make the decision about whether you are prepared to supervise them at all times, or even keep them apart, or if you need to rehome Oliver somewhere where he an be an only dog.

Stacey

[toomanypaws]

I had a rescue male cairn named Kato that was from a puppy mill. He got extremely agressive towards my Lab, Thor and attacked him several times. I feared for Kato's safety when Thor started fighting back and once put his paw on Kato's back and mouth around his throat as if to tell Kato to knock it off. I was also afraid of my daughter getting in the middle of the two should a fight break out. I found Kato another home. It was hard giving him up it was harder keeping the Lab and him separate outside. I even tried separating them w/ a fence but Kato attacked my Lab through the fence and barked constantly. After my experience w/ a male, I thought I'd try a female being I still desperately wanted a cairn and females have been fine with Thor.