4.5 month old AA - behavior problems?
This post is mainly about my 4.5 mo AA, Chiaki. I welcome opinions and suggestions as to dealing with some of his behavior that worries me. I thought it would be best to deal with this now before it becomes something much more serious. This is the first time I have owned two dogs at the same time, and I'm unsure whether I'm handling this properly. I'm going to list the "instances" :
(1) I was at a puppy class, and a German Shepherd puppy comes over to sniff Chiaki. Chiaki calmly accepts the sniff and sniffs back. After a while the German Shepherd puppy jumped at Chiaki in play and he snapped (the air). Another time the German Shepard puppy pawed at Chiaki and Chi snapped again. Is this a sign of dog aggression? How should I deal with this? If he is just doing a passing sniff with any dog, he is calm and well-behaved, he's only snapped at the other puppy. Do you think he snapped a the puppy because the trainer (who pretty much equals the "Treat Giving Friendly Man") was there and he was being possessive?
(2) Ryo, my Shiba is on the small side (only 18lbs!). When Chiaki plays with her he gets quite rough sometimes and startles her- this usually happens when he chases her and mounts her from behind or runs into her (which must hurt). Other times when they play Ryo mouths his leg and he'll flop down on the grass and mouth her back. He doesn't make noise when playing with her, but Ryo will always make growling/snarling sounds. Is this normal play between dogs? How should I deal with the Shiba's noises - is it something I should worry about? When he mounts her (to hump) I pull him off with a AAHT sound - is this okay or is there a better way to break it up?
(3) Ryo went to drink from Chiaki's water bowl, and he went over and snapped at her. This happened before when I gave them treats too. Lately he hasn't done this as I've been keeping a closer watch when there is food/his water involved. Is there a good way to get him to "share" willingly or is it better to just keep watch and keep food/water separate? He doesn't seem to get possessive with his toys.
(4) When I go to give Ryo pets/affection in the backyard, Chiaki will come rushing over and push himself between Ryo and myself or bowl her out of the way. I ignore him when he does this, but Ryo gets startled, and now when I approach Ryo outside she avoids me because she's wary of Chiaki. This is horrible and I feel so bad. I'm not sure how to deal with this as ignoring doesn't seem to have done much. Any suggestions how to deal with this? Should I ask someone to give him treats while I give Ryo pets - do you think that would lessen his urge to intervene?
(5) Ryo seems to be possessive over the couch. Whenever she gets on it and Chiaki comes near, she'll start with this escalated growling/snarling. Should I just put her down on the floor each time she makes a noise? If I put her on the floor, Chiaki is more than likely to come over and want to play - is that still okay? It's a bit tiresome because once she starts scolding him, Chiaki will chime in with his complaining grumble. Ha ha, I didn't think having two dogs would mean having 1000 times the noise. Ryo was the quietest dog, I can count the number of times she's barked on one hand, but whenever she's with Chiaki, it's like a totally different dog. Is this normal? When Ryo plays with other dogs she likes, she won't growl/snarl, but she'll make this soft yipping sound. She doesn't make that sound with Chiaki...
It's funny though, because sometimes Ryo will snarl/growl for a bit then they start kissing, then the cycle repeats. I'm just wondering if anyone else has dogs that do this?
I'll list some good things about Chiaki to even out the troubles : He's extremely loving and seems happy-go-lucky. He's so friendly with people - he loves them and the attention he gets. He's tolerant and lets me pull out the clumps of dirt stuck to his belly hairs and let me give him hugs (had to get him used to it). There are many more little things that I love about him, but this post is already getting too long.
Also I would like to hear any overall evaluations about my boy's temperament and potential problems. Thank you for any help! I'm sorry for the long post and thankyou if you bothered to read it all!
(1) I was at a puppy class, and a German Shepherd puppy comes over to sniff Chiaki. Chiaki calmly accepts the sniff and sniffs back. After a while the German Shepherd puppy jumped at Chiaki in play and he snapped (the air). Another time the German Shepard puppy pawed at Chiaki and Chi snapped again. Is this a sign of dog aggression? How should I deal with this? If he is just doing a passing sniff with any dog, he is calm and well-behaved, he's only snapped at the other puppy. Do you think he snapped a the puppy because the trainer (who pretty much equals the "Treat Giving Friendly Man") was there and he was being possessive?
(2) Ryo, my Shiba is on the small side (only 18lbs!). When Chiaki plays with her he gets quite rough sometimes and startles her- this usually happens when he chases her and mounts her from behind or runs into her (which must hurt). Other times when they play Ryo mouths his leg and he'll flop down on the grass and mouth her back. He doesn't make noise when playing with her, but Ryo will always make growling/snarling sounds. Is this normal play between dogs? How should I deal with the Shiba's noises - is it something I should worry about? When he mounts her (to hump) I pull him off with a AAHT sound - is this okay or is there a better way to break it up?
(3) Ryo went to drink from Chiaki's water bowl, and he went over and snapped at her. This happened before when I gave them treats too. Lately he hasn't done this as I've been keeping a closer watch when there is food/his water involved. Is there a good way to get him to "share" willingly or is it better to just keep watch and keep food/water separate? He doesn't seem to get possessive with his toys.
(4) When I go to give Ryo pets/affection in the backyard, Chiaki will come rushing over and push himself between Ryo and myself or bowl her out of the way. I ignore him when he does this, but Ryo gets startled, and now when I approach Ryo outside she avoids me because she's wary of Chiaki. This is horrible and I feel so bad. I'm not sure how to deal with this as ignoring doesn't seem to have done much. Any suggestions how to deal with this? Should I ask someone to give him treats while I give Ryo pets - do you think that would lessen his urge to intervene?
(5) Ryo seems to be possessive over the couch. Whenever she gets on it and Chiaki comes near, she'll start with this escalated growling/snarling. Should I just put her down on the floor each time she makes a noise? If I put her on the floor, Chiaki is more than likely to come over and want to play - is that still okay? It's a bit tiresome because once she starts scolding him, Chiaki will chime in with his complaining grumble. Ha ha, I didn't think having two dogs would mean having 1000 times the noise. Ryo was the quietest dog, I can count the number of times she's barked on one hand, but whenever she's with Chiaki, it's like a totally different dog. Is this normal? When Ryo plays with other dogs she likes, she won't growl/snarl, but she'll make this soft yipping sound. She doesn't make that sound with Chiaki...
It's funny though, because sometimes Ryo will snarl/growl for a bit then they start kissing, then the cycle repeats. I'm just wondering if anyone else has dogs that do this? I'll list some good things about Chiaki to even out the troubles : He's extremely loving and seems happy-go-lucky. He's so friendly with people - he loves them and the attention he gets. He's tolerant and lets me pull out the clumps of dirt stuck to his belly hairs and let me give him hugs (had to get him used to it). There are many more little things that I love about him, but this post is already getting too long.
Also I would like to hear any overall evaluations about my boy's temperament and potential problems. Thank you for any help! I'm sorry for the long post and thankyou if you bothered to read it all!
Comments
1) If the snapping at other dogs is uncalled for, vocally correct him with "A-AH." When he sniffs nicely and is polite make sure to praise and reward him.
2) If he's hurting your Shiba and she's not correcting him or he's not getting it, correct him and if he's still persistent remove him from the room and crate him for a minute or two, then let him get back to playing. My male Kai sometimes plays really rough with my Shikoku and doesn't take a hint that she doesn't want to play, so I have to separate him or I interrupt their play with a fun training session (practice old and new tricks).
3) Goro use to be a major food and toy hog, so we had to work with him with sharing. If he showed any possessive attitude towards something when ChoCho approached him I would take it away from him, tell her lick or chew on it for a while and then return it to him. If he wanted to steal something from ChoCho I would correct him and say "that's ChoCho's). It helps a ton that he knows commands like "leave it", "drop it", and "wait." If I'm giving them a super smelly awesome chew I crate so they are not tempted to steal from each other.
4) Teach him "wait" and have him wait until you're done giving your Shiba love. When we come home Goro is super excited to see us and will some times jump on ChoCho to stop her from getting love. At this point I have my husband hold him while I say hi to her and then we trade.
5) Like I said about the treats or toys, remove it if they start being possessive. A couch is a little big for that so have her get off if she's being all growling about your Akita approaching it or you while you're on it.
I don't think there's anything wrong with your Akita that obedience training can't fix. Our rule is to never bend the rules we've set. If we say it's not ok to be in the kitchen while we're cooking then it NEVER ok. We try not to go back on the rules we set with our dogs. If you help him understand that he has to share the dog water bowl then make sure when you hear him acting up that you correct vocally on the spot.
Yeah, when my Shiba yelps, he'll stop play for a moment, but then go straight back for more. Next time I'll leave the area with her if his play gets too rough. I usually let Ryo out of the area if she yelps in pain, but it might be more effective if I leave as well.
I tried the "Wait" after the first time he interrupted Ryo's affection session but I think I was too ambitious because he waited for a grand total of 2 seconds before rushing over. I probably need to do this slower...
We practice "wait" with Goro in different scenarios. When giving him his food we ask him to sit and wait until we put the bowl down and say "take it". We also use it when we're going on a walk. We tell him to sit and wait 3 feet from the door (because it's hard to open the door when he's trying to squeeze through!). And when we're going down stairs I ask him to wait on a step for me because he can pull me down.
At first we had him wait a few seconds and now he can wait in one spot while I walk around the house grabbing his leash or a treat without moving. Little by little
We use 'wait' when taking one dog out and leaving the others inside, when going out the front door when they can't go, food time, giving treats, etc.
As far as play goes, you may have to put him in a short time out. It sounds like he is getting overly excited during play and becoming 'rude' to your Shiba. If she isn't correcting him then you have to. Time out works for us most of the time. Short breaks (time out). Nothing extreme or long stretches of time just a few minutes.
We have learned that backyard play time (us + one of the dogs) has to be done individually. If we take 2 or more dogs out at the same time it is very chaotic and everyone is competing for attention. So everyone gets their own quality time outside with us and then we have group play time where they all go outside together but when they are all outside I do not try to have one on one play as it gets everyone too excited/stimulated. If one of them comes for attention I do not make a big deal about it. I scratch their ears or pet them and then lovingly tell them to go play and if they choose to stay with me they usually just lay at my feet and chew on a Kong or something. This way all of the others usually just go about their playtime. I hope this helps!
Training takes time. Remember to be consistent.... this is very important.
Item 2 is hard to tell w/out knowing more about the age and temperament of your shiba. We have always been wary of our ~12-yr-old shiba (22# of alpha male) beating up our ~8-month-old JA pup (36# of submissive female). Well, yesterday they were left home alone for an hour and my husband came home to find two puncture wounds on the shiba's face
Items 3-5 have to do with resource guarding. Our shiba has resourced guarded food and people his whole life, so we don't mix the two dog when we foresee potential for resourcing guarding => altercations, or we remove the source of conflict
Unfortunately when I went to the Puppy Class, the German Shepherd and his owner weren't there, so I wasn't able to try everyone's advice out. He did meet some other dogs when we went to the petstore - he's very good at pass and sniff, but I still want to see what made Chiaki snap, so I'm hoping that puppy comes next week.
Our neighbor recently got a (tiny!) Cocker Spaniel puppy who managed to get through the fence into our yard. Before I could catch the puppy, Chiaki (AA) was playing politely, and it was actually Ryo (Shiba) who I thought got a bit carried away.
Chiaki is getting better at sharing his water bowl! I give Chiaki lots of attention while Ryo drinks and try to distract him until she's finished. He's getting a bit better each time, he hasn't snapped at her over the water or food for a few days.
He still comes over when I give Ryo attention, so I'm trying to work on this more. They've been spending less time together in the yard and just having shorter playtimes with each other in the house. He does better in the house than outside (maybe there's just more space to get a good run up...)
I still need to work a lot more on the Ryo/couch issue, and the lack of progress is completely my fault. Sometimes I forget to put her down, or I'm juggling a laptop as well as Ryo and I just tuck her head between my arms to stop her growling. It's terrible and I really need to get into gear and be way more consistent. I'm really guilty of being lenient with Ryo (and all of my family too, it's bad). It's just that Ryo was so well-behaved and sweet, and the puppy changed up the family dynamic, so my default thought is still stuck on "Ryo is such a good girl, she doesn't do anything bad", even though I know that she's misbehaving. I think I need to recondition myself in order to be able to train Ryo better.
Again, thanks for all your help! I'll keep trying to be more consistent.