2 dogs not getting along

[Jewel]

Hi we have now 2 dogs our oldest is 4yrs and is a collie/lab our new puppy is about 6mnths and is houndx we think she is collie lab & maybe pitbull we got her from New Orleans from the Katrina storm....anyhow the oldest has always played kind of rough she loves playing but doesn't always know when to stop...things were going okay...then the oldest had an allergic reation or something (not totally sure what) her nose & chest was swollen, she was vomiting and not eating sooo our vet put her on prednisone....this wasn't good she ended up attacking the puppy several times and we could tell that the older dog didn't care for the puppy anymore....we asked the vet if the meds would cause this they didn't think so but I'm pretty sure it did this happened a couple of weeks ago....we still have the older dog on a leash and separate both dogs in the house by gates....we have recently tried a muzzle on the older dog but the puppy is still to scared to get close to the older dog.
Is there anything anyone could suggest or help me with????
Sincerly
Jewel

[Rottielover]

if you have 2 females together be prepared to have them seperated for along time. If not forever. The best mix would have been getting a male with your female. Your female feels her house is threatened. And well, yes it has in some aspects. They will fight to see who is alpha. Which if you ever seen to females fight, it is not a pretty sight.
Is your young dog spayed yet ?, is your older one.
It could be the medication, but most likely it is the lively hood with owning 2 females

[Prin]

The older one might have felt vulnerable being ill and on meds. Maybe being weaker, she had to assert her dominance on the younger one clearly, so that despite the vulnerability, the younger wouldn't test her. Do they fight all the time now? Or was it just when she was sick?

[Prin]

Oh and female/female households can work, you just have to be 100% without a doubt the alpha of the household. Male/female pairings don't guarantee a happy home either.

[gottahavepets]

You may need to help show both dogs the pack order in the house. I feed the cats first, they rule the house and it's on my way out to the kitchen. Next all the people get fed, starting with me. The dog is the last to eat, she's the lowest in the pack order. The fish even get stuff added to their tanks before she gets fed! Also I go out the door before Nikki for walks and she doesn't initiate petting, I decide. Using these examples I would keep the dogs separated but where they can see each other, be sure to feed the older dog first, then the puppy and take the older one out first before taking the new one. When you are handing out treats and pets, do the same thing. The puppy needs to learn her place and the older dog may need reassurance that the new puppy hasn't taken her place.

[Mahealani770]

Wow, I didn't even realize how important it was to show my male Pom, the pack order of the house. I've been so wrapped up in house-breaking and neutering issues with this little guy. There are only myself, my partner and the dog. When he first came to us he would sit and stand behind us constantly. To the point where we couldn't see him or find him most of the time. It was so silly to us, but maybe that was something he learned in his previous owner's house. He is a rescue dog and was abandoned so we are trying to break a lot of strange habits that Nicky has. We have no idea what he has been through so he is very unpredictable.
I leave his food and water down all the time so that he can get to when he wants to. I do this becaus he's a finickey (spelling?) eater/drinker. But I guess I should be "giving" him his food and water? Also, he won't go out of the door before us, but we ask him or lead him out first so that we can close and lock the door. Should we not do it that way?
Also, before my partner got a job, she was home with him constantly so I'm sure that Nicky became attached to her pretty quickly, and when she is holding Nicky and I come near, he growls at me. He is very protective with her. I am the one who brought Nicky home so for him to be aggressive towards me, it kinda hurts. How can I establish that I am the alpha female?
Thanks,
Mahealani

[gottahavepets]

Here is a good link for learning about how to be alpha,
http://www.sonic.net/~cdlcruz/GPCC/library/alpha.htm
I will not claim to have written or even found it on my own, it was originally posted by another member, but when I read it I realized that it was something that we had already started with Nikki, it is a very useful tool when dealing with aggression in dogs. It explains where some of the behaviours come from and what can be done to correct them.

When I get to the door I tell Nikki to "WAIT", then I open the door and step through, then tell her "COME", or "OK" which is her release command. I used treats and positive reinforcement while teaching her this and she can do it when I don't have the leash on her or the kids are taking her out. This prevents her from bounding away and pulling me down the stairs as well as shows her who's in charge.

Food and water is a personal issue, my pets don't get their food free all day, water yes food no, this way I know how much they're eating and can adjust if I need to. Also the food is fresher this way, it doesn't go stale sitting there for days on end. It can encourage a picky dog to eat more if it's not always available. Nikki's food dish is in the dining room near the table, it's a small house, I have only so much room, this way she sees the rest of us eat and then she gets hers. She may or may not eat it all at once, but she knows she eats after we do. She also knows better than to beg, if she begs she gets nothing from our plates when we are done, if she lays down like a good girl, then we save little bits of good stuff for her. Water must be out all the time, dogs need to drink and stay hydrated.

You need to be the one who takes over training, start with easy things like 'sit' and 'come' and 'stay', reward him with small easy to chew treats and lots of "GOOD BOY!", this is the positive reinforcement, corrections at this stage may set back your progress, try to end each session on a success, even if that means it's a really short session, I'd start with no more than 5 minutes and take it from there. Be sure to be the one feeding him, and if your partner can, have her take a step back for awhile, this will help the dog to realize who is in charge. When you decide to pet him, you initiate it, and ask your partner to deny him pets for a bit, or to at least wait until you've done the petting first. You go through the door first, you get to eat first, all these things can help you show your dog who's the alpha. It is possible to share this position, but right now your dog thinks he's the alpha!

Start with that. Hope this made sense, there are other's here who know more about this than I do, there are great books out there about positive reinforcement and alpha training, my library has a really good one but I can't remember the name of it or the author, I will head over there and see if I can find it. When I do I'll post it here, it was a great book when I first got Nikki, full of amazing stories of rescued dogs and their re-training. Most dogs wind up in shelters due to poor training, but they can be taught, and they can be very good dogs, they just need someone who cares to show them the way.

[coppperbelle]

On two different occasions I have had two females at one time. The first was a golden and a very dominant standard poodle. They never fought.
More recently I had a 10 year old golden and adopted a 6 month old golden. In the beginning they fought a few times. All the fights were over toys and when I yelled they immediatley stopped. The fights were mostly noise and neither was ever hurt.
As mentioned it is important to respect your older dog by feeding him before the pup. Same goes for when you give treats. The older dog should have a place where he can go to get away from the puppy.

[Georgiapeaches]

Everyone is giving great advice!

And that's awsome of you for rescuing the youngest!
Okay, I'm going to be the one to point this out.
You got a dog that may be mixed with pitbull from NO after Hurricane Katrina.
I notice you live in Kitchener. PLEASE be careful, there is Breed Specific Legislation in effect in Kitchener, Ontario, banning pitbulls or anything that resembles a pitbull, period!!
Kitchener's BSL trumps Ontario's bsl as it is has harsher restrictions.
Is she registered with the city???

Here is a website started by people who fought the city of Kitchener, trying to prove their dog was not a pitbull and won: It has some useful info, http://www.savinglily.com/

[Mahealani770]

Wow, thank you so much for taking the time to type all of that for me! lol
I really appreciate all of that wonderful information you gave me and I can't wait to get home and get started with Nicky!
Thanks again,
Mahealani

[Jewel]

Thank -you for all your replies. I am a new user and still trying to figure where to go for this arena. Yes both females are neutered & both dogs are registered we got the new puppy from the Humane society...they went down and brought alot of dogs back...they told us she was a hound x we are speculating on rest by her looks a girl who works with me owns a pitbull and saw some resemblance to her dog.
We still keep them apart 99% of the time however we are trying the muzzle on the older dog and putting them together. They seem to enjoy for awhile then the older one has had enough so we separate and take the muzzle off. The puppy is still very cautious around the older dog especially when coming back into the house the puppy makes sure the older one is gone which sometimes means that I have to show the puppy that I have the older one on the leash leave the door open and walk the older dog away so that the puppy sees me walking away with her.
Yes they fought before but not like she did when she was on the prednisone. You could see a difference in her attitude to the puppy.