how do you cure, curtail or avoid jealousy in maltese dogs?

Question

I have 2 Maltese. Baby (my boyfriend's female Maltese) who is 1.5 yrs old moved in with me when my boyfriend moved in 6 mos. ago. About 1 mo after moving in, I got a male Maltese, Dartagnan for Baby as a companion. At the breeder's, Dartagnan was very shy & was constantly hiding under the couch when his brother & sister would want to play & chase each other. He was a scared little thing, constantly hiding in corners... so I decided to take him. Dartagnan who is now 6 mos. is constantly biting Baby or chasing her around. I can't really tell when they are playing or not. I don't hear squeals so I can't tell but it looks pretty aggressive to me. They sometimes stand on their hind legs & look like they at each other's throats... When I try to pet one, the other comes & bites the other dog or pulls my hand. Dartagnan give dirty type of glares when I call Baby to come. He stands in front of me & blocks her from coming to me. And then he comes instead of her. How do I stop this?

Answer 1

ummm... at first i wasn't sure why on earth you would choose the shy, submissive puppy out of the stock, especially when you knew he was to be a companion for another dog... but thats in the past, sadly.

obviously your dog is aggressive towards the older dog because he seeks your attention. he bonded with you and is lashing out with the other dog for your attention.

if you want to stop this bickering between the dogs, its best to show your dog that it is ok that you show attention to baby. pet your dog while petting baby... speak in a soft voice to both of them...

and seriously, stop creating the competition. if you know they are going to fight, don't call one dog over another. its just mean-spirited.

(though i have to congradulate you on at least seeking help)

Answer 2

If they are not growling and really biting each other, they are playing. Any time you have two dogs you are going to have jealousy. They are like kids, each wants all the attention.

I am assuming she has been spayed and he has been neutered?
If not, they should be as soon as possible. That will change their behavior too.

You have to pay attention to both of them at the same time. Talk to both of them, pet them both. Throw a ball and get both of them involved. There are a lot of things you can do. I wouldn't really worry about it. There will always be competition when you have more than one of anything!!

Answer 3

are they aggressive towards each other? check for swollen eyes/ ears or any 'bloodshed'?
is dartagnan aggressive when it comes to food? or do they share a bowl together?
my 2 pets 'fight' all the time...that's playing, to polish their defence skills. sometimes, my maltese (being smaller) than my ckcs (adopted 5 months ago), is quite naughty...she'll snap on my ckcs' nipple *LOL* because my maltese is 'sick' of being nibble on her ears by my ckcs during the 'fights'...
sometimes, they do escalate into somewhat more aggressive exchanges, but never got to the point that it ends up with a swollen eye/ ear or any bloodshed...
the only thing about their 'fights' is that my maltese is turning brown @ the ears' & neck >:( & not to mention, both are always wet @ the ears & neck...

if you feel that they fight too much, you may consider to bring them out twice daily for walks....

my maltese is also possessive...she makes sure we acknowledge her 1st....

Answer 4

there is not any factor, as you have been advised. you are able to desire to deal with the infested canine, and your place, and then use a preventative therapy on the two. And the fleas might desire to correctly be coming from exterior - in case you reside everywhere close to squirrels (or cats for that rely), probability is your canines will p.c.. up fleas - consequently the might desire to apply preventative therapy constantly. Bathing frequently will purely reason a pores and skin undertaking - it won't provide up the fleas.