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One dog overprotective of the other

Hi, we have a dominant 6 year old black lab and a submissive 4 year old Shepard/collie mix. We got the mix as a puppy and our lab took on the role of her big brother and protector. But he is a bit too overprotective of her.

At the dog park, he will intervene if any dog tries to play with her. If I throw the ball for her, he will chase her and push her off the path of the ball. Basically, he hates it when she has fun. He growls at other dogs and occasionally postures, but stops short of really being aggressive.

We've been taking them to daycare once a week and that has helped somewhat, but it's still an issue.

Anyone have ideas on how I can train him to be less protective of her?

Thanks!


Asked by Member 1151001 on Jan 20th 2013 Tagged overprotective, socialization in Behavior & Training
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Milly

This is a common case of lack of owner leadership (no afence) the dog is not procecting the other dog he is controlling it... you need to sort this out asap, i would suggest starting with you pretending to eat their food before you give it to them both then place the submissive dogs food down first and make the lab wait for you to pretend a bit more before he gets his... then when playing keep the lab on a leash while you play with the s/c mix 1st then play with him after he needs to learn you are boss and that it is your ruling that he must respect her but if you dont feel confident enough then hire a dog trainer as i could write a book on this hahaha hope you sort the problem as this will eventually turn to aggression... hope this helps xxx


Milly answered on 1/20/13. Helpful? Yes/Helpful: No 0 Report this answer


Wiley

Forget about dominance/submissive stuff. You need more help than you can get from internet strangers.
You have let this situation go on for 4 years. You need a certified behaviorist, not a trainer, to come and assess how you & your dogs interact, then come up with a specific behavior plan.
Pretending to eat his food is just silly & will do nothing to help what is an obviously escalating pattern of aggressive behavior.


Wiley answered on 1/21/13. Helpful? Yes/Helpful: No 1 Report this answer


Kolbe

He sounds more insecure than "dominant". You might want to post this question in the forums.


Kolbe answered on 1/21/13. Helpful? Yes/Helpful: No 1 Report this answer


Toto, CD, RN, CGC

I am with Wiley and Kolbe on this one. Pretending to eat their food and forcing one dog to submit while the other eats is a fantastic way to develop and encourage some serious resource guarding issues to add to your other problems!
I would strongly suggest a visit with a certified behaviorist to help you with this issue, an internet question and answer session is not going to cut it as observing the dogs in action is the ONLY way to get an idea what is actually happening.
Meanwhile, PLEASE do not start messing with their feeding!


Toto, CD, RN, CGC answered on 1/21/13. Helpful? Yes/Helpful: No 1 Report this answer


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