My nine month old golden is very well behaved and mellow. But recently, a friend left his dog (a chow mixed) with me. They seem to be getting along fine but 2 nights ago, the chow was guarding her toy and my golden was trying to get close to her and they ended up in a big fight that I had to pull them apart. But today, my golden bit the chow's eye and it was bleeding. My friend took her to the vet but what am I supposed to do to stop his aggressive behavior? He is the most friendly thing ever, but the girl is pretty protective of her stuff. Its usually her who initiates fights and my golden is mellow and gets along with everyone. The chow would even bite little kids who attempt to bite her and isn't very friendly with other dogs. But he has released all of his anger out on her today. What can I do to stop this kind of behavior so it doesn't happen again?
2007-04-30 12:55:10 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Dogs
He does go to obedience school, he's even at level 2. He's smart and knows the commands.
2007-04-30 13:00:20 · update #1
First not all dogs get along together. Seeing as the Golden put up with the Chow invading his space and claiming his toys then you should never have these two together again. It is remarkable the Golden put up with the Chow for as long as he did. I can almost guarantee the golden was not the aggressor in this at all. It would be out of the normal temperament for him to do this. All it take is for the wrong look from one dog to start something. I seriously doubt he was taking out his aggression out on the Chow. I think the chow gave him a aggressive look or posture and your dog had to react or be the chow may have been the one to bite first.
I personally don't think you need to worry about this to much. It is wonderful your going on for further training this will help you understand the traits of your dog better.
In all my years with raising Golden's and training them I have never seen the Golden be the aggressor in any mishaps.
2007-04-30 13:20:10 · answer #1 · answered by ♥Golden gal♥ 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your dog is obedience trained and I suppose well socialized. From the limited information you present I would think this is an alpha squabble. It occurred in your dog's territory over a toy (also territory) and was (to you) an out of the blue event. The dogs are very close in their alpha drives. This means neither dog backed down and submitted. A good behaviorist could observe the dogs and see that both were not submitting to each other and foresaw a problem. This type of situation is rare as usually one dog's alpha drive is less than the others and it will back down from a fight. There isn't anything that you can do as it is instinctive behavior and not learned behavior. Instinctive behavior although not entirely impossible to correct is best corrected by avoidance.
2007-04-30 13:20:45 · answer #2 · answered by DaveSFV 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your dog was in a situation that he didn't know how to handle and it escalated way beyond his control. These dogs should have been separated before it got to this point. Once these 2 dogs had a fight, there's no question it would happen again if they were together.
If your dog is dog friendly with other dogs, and with people, I don't think you need to worry about him. This behaviour is totally out of character for a golden - he was defending himself and it turned aggressive.
Does he socialize at dog parks? Does he got to obedience and get along with dogs there? If yes, then just keep him away from this chow - I don't think they'll ever get along, at least not unsupervised and not if there's toys or food involved.
2007-04-30 13:01:27 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Lose the chow. It is teaching your dog bad habits and you can do without it. You can also do without the lawsuit that you will be hit with if the chow bites someone else. Take it back to your friend...it is invading your dog's space and you can't blame your dog for not liking it. Your dog is letting the chow know who is the boss but if you don't want it to happen send the chow home....they aren't very smart.
2007-04-30 13:07:11 · answer #4 · answered by dragonrider707 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Although your dog did the biting, I believe it was really the other dog at fault. Your friend will probably claim that your dog is terrible, while over-looking the fact that her dog needs serious training. Any dog that over-protective is a problem.
What you need to do is keep a better eye on your dog and be in charge at all times. If he wants her toy, he's trying to be the dominant one and she wasn't having it. In other words, your dog feels he's equal to or higher in rank than she is in your little "pack". As a result, there is fighting. One dog needs to be more submissive. If it's not her, then it has to be your dog. So whenever your Golden tries to take a toy, control the situation - stop him, give him a command to "leave it" and to come to you. He has to know that you, as the alpha, do not approve of his behavior.
If your friend is still speaking to you, I recommend you telling her to take her dog to training as well. Both dogs need more work, but at least you are on the right path.
Good luck!
2007-04-30 13:06:02 · answer #5 · answered by doctoru2 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
i agree, this behavior is totally out of character for goldens, i have had two over the years and never were they agressive, even with my kids as babies crawling all over them and pulling ears and tails. no biting ever. one of the goldens we had was already 7 years old when we got him and i had him around all three of my kids at the time they were all under the age of four. not once did i worry about that dog being around the kids. yours may have been defending himself or you.
2007-04-30 13:09:56 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
try to go obedience school
2007-04-30 12:58:32 · answer #7 · answered by lovepets 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋