 Barked: Sun Feb 10, '13 10:25pm PST |
 | |  | | Alright, so I'm loathe to label what my dog is doing as "aggression", but honestly I can't think of any other word to describe it? I think he might be trying to play but is a bit insane... Anyways, let me explain the home situation! I have four dogs!
Bosco- 13.5 y.o male neutered APBT. (had his whole life)
Ruff- 6 y.o. male neutered Chihuahua. (rescued, only had about 6 months)
Geisel- 1 y.o. male neutered shelter special. (rescued, but fostered since 5 weeks old)
Baby Girl- 3 y.o. female spayed Yorkie mix. (rescued, only had about 3 months)
Now all of these dogs usually get along just fine, they have a few minor disputes but I tend to let them work it out on their own, and they have their own little hierarchy which seems to suit them just fine. Geisel is obviously the youngest and still quite "crazy" and often has to be corrected by the other dogs when he's getting to be a bit too much. Now this works all fine and dandy when they're indoors, it's when it's time to go outside to the bathroom that the troubles start...
I live on a large farm, my driveway is 1/3 mile away from the road, and we have no neighbors. Our yard isn't fenced, it's just backed up to fields and all the dogs know the perimeter of the yard. They're also never let outside unsupervised to ensure that no one gets an interesting whiff and starts wandering off.
Three of the dogs do perfectly well outside, but toss Geisel in the mix and all heck breaks loose...
He suddenly becomes an entirely different dog, growling, barking and all but attacking poor Bosco and Baby Girl, who do everything in their power to get away from him. Bosco has even resorted to physically holding Geisel down with his chest to get him to stop! Now I don't think he's being aggressive, but he's VERY vocal, and acts in a manner that he never does when he's indoors, lunging and biting. I'm afraid that his actions will start a fight between him and Bosco, and poor Baby Girl is only about 10lbs, so she just hides under the car! The only dog he will not act like that towards is Ruff, and because of that he's now the only one who can have potty breaks with Geisel.
We've tried leashing him when out with the other dogs, but he barks at the other dogs hysterically and refuses to go to the bathroom, not to mention that Bosco uses it as an opportunity for revenge and will actually mow him down. Geisel is a dog that is terrified of his own shadow, who leapt into my arms at the dog park to get away from a friendly Springer, and yet suddenly becomes Cujo when out in the yard with his own family members.
We're simply baffled as to the cause of this behavior and if there is any way to solve it? I mean, we don't mind letting the dogs out in shifts, but it'd be nicer if they could all play together without Geisel suddenly trying to kill the other dogs...
I don't know if it helps, but Geisel was DNA tested and came back as mostly Cairn Terrier, Siberian Husky and Border Collie (16,43% Dogo Argentino, 12.60% Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, 12.59% Sussex Spaniel, 7.70% Harrier, and 6.78% Clumber Spaniel). He also has a plethora of toys, a kitty best friend (he's more gentle with the cat than the other dogs!), and allowed to run around to his heart's content. |  |  | |  |
|
| my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals | [notify] |
0
