One of my dogs has started ganging up on my older dog... please help I dont know what to do!?

Question

I have a labrador retriever and a dachshund. Our dachshund is 8 years old and our lab is only 3 yrs old. Lately my lab will run up to my dachshund and corner her and growl while my dashshund cowers down and then my lab will growl more and then start attacking her!

This is extremely strange because they have always gotten along good and my lab is so sweet with humans. I just need to know what is going on and what I can do to stop her. I don't want to get rid of her because she was a stray and we took her in when she was 6 months old. I dont want to add to the population of dogs who dont have homes. I just wont do that. I need to know how to correct this behavior because she hasn't injured my dachshund badly but i am afraid one day she might. please give me your suggestions.

Answer 1

I had this problem with my dogs. The younger one tried to establish dominance too. So what I did, and it worked, is: I always greeted the older dog first, then the younger one. The older dog gets her food first, then the younger. This really works. The older dog is smaller too. Hope it works for you.

Answer 2

Take control! If you had kids, you wouldn't let one constantly harass and beat up the other, would you?

Put the Lab on a leash at all times and give her hell if she even looks cross-eyed at the Doxie. Do at least 15 minute a day of obedience training with the lab and make sure she's getting a strenuous thirty minute run every day - a lot of aggression and obnoxious behavior comes from pent up energy. Make the Lab do long down-stays near the Dachshund.

I'd also suggest reading some really good books on training. Try not to do it randomly - there are a lot of bad books out there also! These are some of my favorites and you can get them on Amazon.com
What All Good Dogs Should Know - Volhard
Good Owners, Great Dogs - Brian Kilcommins
Dog Tricks : Eighty-Eight Challenging Activities for Your Dog from World-Class Trainers by Haggerty and Benjamin
Don't Shoot the Dog - Pryor
Training Your Dog: The Step by Step Method - Volhard
Dog Problems - Benjamin
Cesar's Way - Cesar Millan

Also, watch the Dog Whisperer on the National Geographic Channel. Cesar Millan is the best trainer I've ever seen on TV.

Answer 3

Somehow the order of your pack has changed-for some reason the lab feels that he/she is more dominate than your Daxie(maybe because of his/her age)and is trying to exert that dominance.You can help right this problem by only petting the daxie first ,feed her/him first/play with first and re exert the dominance for that dog. Sometimes this happens if maybe the older dog is getting sick or something else has changed in the household like you've moved or even as simple as getting a new boyfriend or job.Routines are important and reinforce that as well.I would personally have both pets health examined by your vet as well,in case something is going on with the lab.If everything is fine then start the re-ordering of your pack-gently ignore the lab and pay special attention to the Daxie and it should right the problem in about a month until then do not leave them alone unsupervised and another good trick is keep the leash on the younger dog(under supervision) and when she is going after the smaller one you can give a short correction of the leash and say No!

Answer 4

You need to find a professional behavior consultant. Do NOT take advice via the internet. Someone needs to come in and evaluate your situation and ask you a slew of questions.

From a Canine Behaivorist's point of view, it sounds odd and very abnormal, especially if the Dachshund is cowering. This is the Dachshund showing signs that it isn't going to do harm yet the Lab still attacks. This is not normal.

My first advice is to get a full Thyroid panel done (Hypothyroidism can cause "sudden" aggression) as well as a full blood panel and Addison's Disease test. Make sure it is not medical before you call a professional. It will cost money but you have to make sure that is the case when sudden aggression comes up.

from Stacy
unleasheddogs.com

Answer 5

Be stern and consistent with your lab and protect your dachsund. I know that sounds obvious, but that's pretty much all you can do. Your lab isn't being mean, just taking an "alpha" role over the elder. The elder does sometimes get hurt in these things, in nature, but it doesn't sound like your dachshund is going to fight back so he or she should be okay. One other thing, sometimes an animal will become more aggressive if it senses the other is ill. I would take the dachshund in for a checkup when you get a chance, just to feel better about that.

Answer 6

When the previously dominant dog gets older, the younger dog percieves weakness, and the delicate social heriarchy is disrupted. In most households, the dogs will work out a new order amongst themselves in two weeks or so, and everything will go back to normal. In some situations though, the older dog will not step down, and serious injury or ongoing fights can result. Keep an eye on the older dog especially, to see that he is not injured, and if the fights to not resolve in a couple weeks, the dogs may have to have seperate rooms/ feeding times, (depending on what issues they are fighting over).

Answer 7

The lab may be just asserting dominance, a normal thing for dogs and not generally dangerous.

Put two or more dogs together and among them, they will decide who is the boss ("alpha"). This will generally start within minutes of their first meeting, and can carry on for days or longer. Sometimes one dog will challenge another dog, as in, when one dog is getting feeble and the other sees his chance - maybe the case in your situation.

The boss gets certain privileges, and if he (or she, I'll just say he) feels that one of the others is challenging his dominance, he will act extremely aggressive toward the other one to reassert himself. That behavior can include growling, snapping, seemingly biting, and mounting.

So long as the dachsund does not appear injured, I would let it run its course. If there are significant injuries, you'll need to bring them to a vet for evaluation.

Best of success.

Answer 8

She may be sensing that there is something wrong with your older pet. First I would consult your vet and make sure there are no medical issues then call an obedience trainer. Many trainers have a lot of experience in "taming" aggressive behavior.

Answer 9

MEDICINE FOR HE COULD GET SCARED OF THAT DOG