Question about my dog??

Question

I have a Old English Sheepdog, and a St. Bernard, they are both spaid, and both girls. They have been together sense they were puppies, but lately when I take them for walks (I walk them together) when my Old English Sheepdog sees another dog, and she can't get to it, she attacks my St. Bernard (who is 4 months older the more dominant one--it seems) and she growls and bites her, and my St. Bernard just sits on the ground and whipers, she just started doing this a few weeks ago...they are both very friendly and my English sheepdog is not usually like this. Does anybody know why she does it??????

she does socialize with other dogs also, and it's hard to walk them seperate because the Old English Sheepdog gets depressed when she's not with my St. Bernard, (it's weird I know) she's about a year old....

Answer 1

Simply put, it is called projection. She cant get to the other one so she goes after the one she can.I would start working with her right away on proper etiquette while on a walk. When she starts to get crappy by growling and barking at the strange dog give her the feedback that you dont approve...(HEY YOU ARE SOOOO HORRIBLE) the INSTANT she stops praise her...(Ohhh what a nice girl...) You must be immediate with both the negative and the positive so she will understand it is her behavior that you dont approve of. Not the other dogs presence. If you are prompt with this you should be reprimanding her before she ever even goes after the poor St. Bernard. Many owners will inadvertently tug the leash when a dog starts up...this actually will rile a dog up more. If not dealt with soon, you could end up dealing with a dog that suffers from leash aggression...I would not attempt any suggestions from anyone that took their info from watching the Dog Whisperer. Watching a few episodes of Home Improvement doesnt qualify you to build a house either. Many of his techniques when used improperly could get you bit...especially in your case...She is already biting at your other dog..try to shuush that and you may not like the result. Without supplementing the initial 'catch'....you will never be able to change the behavior....it will work on the short term but your dog will eventually ignore the shuush. REMEMBER GIVE YOUR GIRL IMMEDIATE FEEDBACK..GOOD OR BAD...AND YOU WILL SEE AN IMPROVEMENT!

Answer 2

Well, that behavior is not unusual in two spayed females. I have three female dogs and if they are agitated enough one will attack the other. They very rarely get into fights anymore, though.

It's a dominance issue - your Sheepdog is competing to be the first to greet, or "protect" you from the dogs you encounter. How old is she? I noticed that the fighting between my dogs started when my youngest got to be 8 months or so, and she wanted to be the alpha dog over my other two. What really helped me keep the peace was acknowledging the dominant one by feeding her first, letting her out first, etc. Also make sure that both the dogs realize you are dominant over both of them by making them sit for their food, for example.

As far as what you can do to prevent this on walks, try carrying a water bottle with you, and if your Sheepdog goes after your St. Bernard, spray her in the face. This should shock her enough to stop her from attacking. Hope this helps.

Answer 3

Your old english is taking out her frustration at not being able to get to the dog she sees on your saint bernard. You need to step in right now and put a stop to it or either she'll keep getting more aggressive or your saint is going to retaliate.

If you need help while you're working with her, get someone else to come on walks with you. You take the sheepdog and if she starts to growl even a bit, tell her no very forcefully. Put her in a sit stay and keep her there until she calms down. She needs to learn that her walk isn't happening until she behaves. Once you've made it very clear to her that this behaviour is not acceptable, I'm sure she'll stop, old english are usually pretty easy-going.

Answer 4

I think your sheepdog feels threatened by the other dogs and since she is the dominate one she is showing her dominance to the other dog but that behavior needs to be controlled. I had a similar prob with my greatdane/Australian shep (110#) so i switched to a pinch coller the trainer gave me and when i saw he was approaching another dog i made a shssshsh sound and jerked the collar until the other dog passed, it seems to work for me but took quite a few walks. The other thing is maybe at home he is not threatened at all by anyone and his dominance is not questioned, i do believe he is just feeling he has to show it when you walk him but that's when you have to show you are the dominate one not him and you do that by control at home and on walks.

Answer 5

Try walking them separately, it may be jealousy or competeing for your attention. Has the Sheepdog been socialized with other dogs except for yours? It may also be just flustration and she venting it on your other dog.

Answer 6

Sounds as though she`s got to get her frustrations out, like we do at times, you know how sometimes people get upset, and just take out their anger and frustrations on the closest person or thing near them. Like kick the car tire etc. Hit the wall "maybe".

Answer 7

Hey! Go to cesarmillaninc.com the dog whisperer!

Do u ever see him on T.V. ? He's wonderful.

Answer 8

I wish I knew the answer for you, but it almost sounds like jealousy to me.

Answer 9

it could be because your dog the one that doesn't bite is jeoulous or want's more attention from the other dog that isn't yours

Answer 10

DIS-PLACED AGGRESSION ? IF YOU CANT BITE THE ONE YOU WANT , BITE THE ONE YOUR WITH !? LOL MAYBE YOU COULD WALK THEM ONE AT A TIME FOR A WHILE?