Help with Shiba Alpha dog!

savvyravensavvyraven
edited June 2008 in Shiba Inu (柴犬)
Hi everyone! I am new to this forum and have an 11 yr old male Shiba that I have had since he was 7 weeks old. He is well trained and a wonderful companion. I will try to be brief on the strange issue I am having with him. I moved in with my boyfriend about a year and a half ago. He had 2 cats which Jengo (my Shiba) actually got along with for the most part. We introduced him to a male 4 month old Shepherd mix that we were considering adopting last August. They got along just fine and have been living well since. Sadly, one of our kitties passed and the other kitty has been a little mopey and the other dogs have been sad, so we rescued a female 4 month old mixed breed. Everyone loves her, but Jengo. For some reason, he will stand over her when she is clearly being submissive and does the Shiba Shriek until someone breaks it up. He never is aggressive with her or tries to bit her, he just shrieks at her. How is the best way to correct this issue. I have never seen him react like this before. He has been around many dogs of different sexes before and has never done this. I've heard about Shibas being gender aggressive, but he is fine with our male. Both males are fixed, but she is not yet. Could this be the issue? Or maybe he senses that she is more independent than the shepherd? Any help would be great.

Comments

  • BradA1878BradA1878
    edited November -1
    Welcome to the forum!

    That's an interesting situation you described - Shiba can be so odd. I mean really, standing over her and shrieking, that's just kinda silly.

    Anyway, how old is the female? Maybe he is stating ownership of her? Or maybe h just not sure how to act with an unaltered female around... Do you know if she has been in heat yet?

    Is the shepherd mix around when he does this?

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  • BradA1878BradA1878
    edited November -1
    Our dogs only do the Shiba scream when they are in pain - but I know several Shibas on this forum do it our of excitement... maybe he is just super stoked to have a girl dog in the house?

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  • tsukitsunetsukitsune
    edited November -1
    has he been inhibiting his bite with her?
    Our female will stand over our male and sort of shiba snarl/shriek (best description i've got) but its total alpha play. She wants to be above him always, even during play, and will stand over him, shrill and they will play that way.

    our shibas have a different scream for: a. pain, b. excitement, c. battle cry, d. put me down now (gives stink eye)
    so its kinda hard to say without seeing what happens before and after!!
  • savvyravensavvyraven
    edited November -1
    I tried to describe it as best I could. She's only 3.5 months, so I don't believe she's been in heat. I've thought about just misreading it and thinking that he's just trying to play with her, but her reaction is one of "scared and unsure". So I took his as a dominant gesture. Since it's only been a few days, maybe I'll just let it go a few more days and see if it works itself out. She is a pretty confident little thing. Maybe he's sensing he met his match ;)

    Thanks for all the help! I'll post a pic of him soon. Hopefully with the other two all smiling and in love.
  • scarletscarlet
    edited November -1
    I think Jengo is just trying to show her he's boss 'cause he knows eventually she will be the true boss.

    I wouldn't worry about it, and probably wouldn't even correct it. They will correct it themselves.
  • tsukitsunetsukitsune
    edited November -1
    as long as he is inhibiting his bite, maybe thats just them getting used to one another.. it takes a good month or so to really see what sort of pack dynamic will come out of having three dogs. Brad told me that - with three dogs, you now have a pack. Everything changes! Its so interesting to watch it all.
    And maybe thats all it is - she might become alpha, our newest dog assumed alpha very fast in our home - there were subtle signs but overall we see the difference between all 3 dogs now.
  • dlrobertsdlroberts
    edited November -1
    That is an odd one. I've never heard of that behavior before.

    When he stands over her, does he show teeth? Does he direct the shriek toward her or does he look around when he does it? I could imagine he is trying to get your attention because he isn't sure what she's doing. Or maybe he's trying to invite play? I don't know, that just weird. :-)

    Please post pics!
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