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new 1yo rescue attacking 13yo blind dog

482 views 7 replies 3 participants last post by  Toedtoes 
#1 ·
Currently have a 13yo female Shih Tzu/Jack Russel. Our senior dog is very sweet and has never shown the slightest aggression against other dogs/people/children; she easily gets along with strangers and is a very loving dog. Originally there were 2 other small dogs (Shih Tzu and a pom/maltese) but they have since passed away. Our senior dog has been alone about a year and has gone almost completely blind in that time.

We decided to add another dog and recently adopted a new 1yo female Shih Tzu/mix to our household. Not much info is known but she was found stray, very matted and very thin.

The little pup was friendly and affectionate. The new pair walk fine together and move around the house with no problems, however they don’t really interact a lot as our senior dog is slow and blind and doesn’t care much for playing around these days and besides her couple short walks and the stroll to the food bowl she spends the bulk of her time in someone’s lap sleeping.

Everything was fine until suddenly the pup starting lunging at our senior. We spend our evenings on the bed watching TV with senior between us. Tried to include the new pup but after a while she eventually nips at senior. There is no food or toys on the bed so I was guessing Jealousy, but she is also getting aggressive when senior goes near the pups crate.

A lot of it is senior walking right at her and unable to see her to read her cues to back off.

We pull her away and correct her, sometimes banishing her to the foot of the bed or even off it. After a while she will crawl back over friendly and lay down only to nip again.

I suppose we have been spoiled that all new dogs in the past got along with another fairly quickly.
Not entirely sure what else we could be doing. We walk them together, feed them together (separate bowls), reward them together and try to show affection evenly between them.

The pup is Crated at night next to the bed and senior sleeps on the bed, which may be part of the jealousy though the pup seems to like being in the crate and goes in there if spooked during the day.

It's only been a few weeks but we wonder if there is something else we could be doing or just hope in time they get use to each other.
 
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#2 ·
First, you are punishing her for having feelings. You don't want to punish her for being jealous because that just makes her more jealous.

IMO, by making so much effort to "even out" the playing field, you actually blurred the lines.

In this case separation to some extent is needed. I like baby gates. Make sure you switch out who spends time with you. This prevents the senior from from wandering into the puppy's personal bubble space.

Try teaching the puppy to stay on a mat. When spending time on the bed, instead of putting them between you, put them on either side. Use the mat to teach the puppy to stay in one spot.

Also, I would reduce the access to the crate. The puppy is resource guarding it, so you want to take it out of the equation when the senior dog is roaming around. And if she is routinely hiding in it, she is not learning to handle new or "scary" experiences. It's one thing if the experience is uncontrollable (like lightning), but for controllable stuff (vacuum, visitors, etc) you want to help teach them not to be afraid rather then let them always run from it.
 
#3 ·
Honestly, I'd suggest an almost totally separate existence for these dogs. Your blind, senior dog does NOT need any additional stress or turmoil in her life, so (imo) it is your job to reduce that as close to zero as possible.

Walking them together? Fine. Allowing them to wander around the house (as long as there are no resources to guard) Probably OK. Feed them separately. If the senior sleeps on your bed, that's fine, but.... New dog is crated, or required to lay on a mat on the side. (It's actually more than fine if different dogs have different rules) Work on 'taking turns' with treats (each dog only gets to have what is followed by you cueing them with their individual name) Limit the ability of the senior dog to wander into the personal space of the new dog - then you will have nothing to 'correct' in the new one's behavior, and - more importantly - she will have NO issue with the senior dog to think she has to 'deal with'. I agree with strong 'mat/place' training. This is one additional component of the dogs living together, but fully separate, lives in the same home.

I would absolutely NOT suggest limiting the new dog's access to her crate, especially if that is her 'safe spot'. To do so & make her "deal" with things in the environment she finds scary is flooding & not really teaching her to deal with them, but simply letting her know she has NO recourse when the world is overwhelming & she just needs to shut down. Never a good idea.
 
#4 ·
I would absolutely NOT suggest limiting the new dog's access to her crate, especially if that is her 'safe spot'. To do so & make her "deal" with things in the environment she finds scary is flooding & not really teaching her to deal with them, but simply letting her know she has NO recourse when the world is overwhelming & she just needs to shut down. Never a good idea.
It's not about just making the dog deal with stuff, it's about TEACHING them that things are not scary. It's part of socializing a dog - teaching them that daily life isn't scary. If a dog is always running away from stuff then they never learn it's not scary. A crate shouldn't be about just avoiding life - it needs to be used as a tool to help the dog adjust to life.

Would you let your child hide in his room because the blender is scary? Or would you teach him that the blender is nothing to be afraid of? Of course you wouldn't just throw him in the kitchen and expect him to deal with it. But you wouldn't let him just avoid blenders his whole life either. You would work with him so he would no longer find the blender scary.
 
#6 ·
By just allowing your dog to run and hide, you are not doing anything to help him overcome his fear. The crate isn't the solution to the problem. You have to actually work with the dog.

Sure, there are some dogs who cannot overcome a fear. And in those cases, what you are saying is correct. But many of those dogs have developed such an extreme fear because they were never taught to NOT fear the noise or object. If you work with the dog early on, you can eliminate or at least reduce the level of fear. If you just let the dog run and hide, you aren't teaching them anything and are reinforcing the fear.

The point is, you have to do more than simply let the dog run and hide. This is a one year old dog getting "spooked during the day". This is not a dog with a phobia - this is a very young dog who is learning to live in a home. Not working with the dog to help it learn how to live without fearing new things will result in nothing but a phobic dog.
 
#7 ·
I never said not to work with the dog. Actually, I stated that CC/DS should be done for specific triggers. This type of systematic be-mod should always be done with the dog under threshold & NEVER under any sort of force or flooding. If a dog has a 'safe spot' (a crate or where/what ever) removing his access to that place is 'forcing' the dog. You have removed his ability to create additional space needed to feel better/safe. When choice is removed the dog loses control of the situation & this will NOT help fears get better.

Why is it so wrong that a 'spooked' dog be allowed to go to a safe spot, observe at that distance & be allowed the opportunity to choose to explore whatever was scary on his own time/terms? This won't "reinforce" the fear. Actually, as an emotion, fear can not be reinforced. It's not a behavior, again, it's an emotion.

Yes, work with the dog to help them feel better & less afraid of things in their environment, but current experts in the field of dog behavior agree that access to a safe place is step #1 in helping dogs overcome challenges. Work at the dog's pace, give choice (do not limit it) Letting a dog take refuge in his crate occasionally is not going to produce phobias.
 
#8 ·
Dogs don't need crates. Dogs have spent their entire existence without them. It's only been in the last 10-20 years that "crate training" has been used on a daily basis for a pet dog.

My point is that a crate is not necessary for the well-being of a dog. Using it as a replacement for training is actually detrimental to the dog.

In the case of the OP, spending more effort to work with the dog on what "scares" him in the house during the day is far more beneficial than just letting him run and hide in the crate.
 
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