PLZ I NEED HELP!!! I have 2 dogs that stopped getting along?

Question

i have had a golden retreiver for 8 years, a lhasa apso for 2 years. the dogs have gotten along and played games a lot. we moved to a new house and bought a maltese that we have had for about 1 year. the golden retreiver plays with the maltese. so does the lhasa apso. but never at the same time. the golden retreiver and lhasa apso stopped playing together about 6 months ago. the lhasa apso will growl at the golden retreiver for no reason sometime and bite our golden too. the lhasa apso will especially growl at the golden retreiver when we call the golden retreivers name. PLEASE HELP!!!!

Answer 1

It would seem that there may be a bit of a jealousy thing going on - I think personally you should have let the dogs settle into their new home before bringing in another dog as it has made them territorial.
When you move home dogs have to get used to all new smells and surroundings and as such things should be kept as "normal" as possible - ie keep to their eating/excercise routine to make the move as stress-free as possible. Once they have settled in and are more familiar with their new home then you can start to make further changes - such as bringing in a new friend.
It would seem that the lhasa and retriever have stopped being friends and feel that they are competeing for your attention/affection, they will be fine with the maltese as it is new but would perhaps be blaming each other for the move and arrival of the maltese.
You need to encourage them to get along again - take them both out together and have one sit either side of you on the sofa for some "together" time - you need to show them that things are ok and that there is no need to be "at" one another.
Just show them that they are all getting treated the same and they will hopefully come round and settle down to how they used to be.
Just keep trying !

Answer 2

Its a dominance issue.
Any change in the home upsets the pecking order, so moving house and introducing a new dog has caused your dogs to re arrange the pecking order.
The Lhasa is trying to be top dog - no surprises there, its typical of the breed!
The Lhasa and the labv can no longer play happil;y together because they are too close in the pecking order and the Lhasa is trying to assert himself as boss.
The Lab and the Maltese can play because neither of them is going for top dog status so they have no quarrel.
I'm guessing the pecking order needs to be;
Lhasa as boss.
Lab second.
Maltese third.

You need to help them settle this. If the Lab is male, have him neutered. When you feed them, put the Lhasa's food down first, then the Labs, then the Maltese.
Give the Lhasa slightly more attention and be a biot off hand with the LAb.

Things will soon settle down once the new structure is established, help them along and be patient - and remember, you always have to be top dog no matter what the Lhasa thinks!

Answer 3

I have a brown and a black lab. Both are the same age 2 year old and have lived together nearly all there life. One day i was in the kitchen and both flew at each other, they were both on there back legs teeth showing, very scary. Well i got such a fright, i opened the back door and they both went outside after a few moments they settled down and went in different directions. I called the my pet insurance company who have a free advise service. She told me to put them outside when this is happening as they need to sort it out themselves, i do this every time now and it works they go outside and it seems to stop almost right away. Keep an eye on them tho, just in case. I feel if i shout at them i just makes them worst. Before this happened both dogs were equally domineering with both going to get there food at the same time ect but now i have noticed the black one will go for everything first and the brown will follow. The fighting only happens now once id say every 6 months, when the black one is needing brought down a peg or to. I know how you must be feeling as its not nice seeing you lovely cute pets turn in to a monsters, teeth showing ect but stay with it and what ever you do dont get in between them when they are fighting. Cheers Lisa

Answer 4

Do your dogs have a pack order. If not you need to instate one. We have allways gone on who we have had the longest/oldest, but it differs with dominant dogs around. Sit down with everyone in your house and decide which of your dogs is the most dominant, 2nd most dominant etc. Everyone in the house must agree to this and enforce it. When giving treats/feeding/putting leads on etc do it in the pack order - most dominant first, and back up the dominant dog when they tell another pack member below them off. It sounds a lot like the dogs are fighting for dominance and you need to strictly enforce a pack order. This will take some time to get established, but it's worth it. Also consider ensure that you take each dog aside every day and give them some personal time, just you and one dog, it could be that they are fighting for attention and need some space from each other. If this sort of thing doesn't work, try getting a behaviourist in as they can observe the dogs interact and get a really good idea of whats going on, and will have dealt with many similar cases. Good Luck