Doggie hassles

[reynardo]

Basil and Cuton were, we thought, getting on.

Then Basil went from being territorial over his own food to attacking Cuton when he was feeding. At first Basil would gulp his food then head over to Cuton, often snatching the last morsel as Cuton was a little slower.

Last night, though, Basil ruddy well went for Cuton straight up when I put a treat in their separate bowls. Went for his neck in full-on street-fighting style, and Cuton just fled inside and bolted upstairs. I scolded Basil as well as I could, but the damage was done. Then I went up to Cuton and cuddled him lots, as he was trembling with fear.

Today, Cuton wouldn't come downstairs. He lurked upstairs for ages, not even coming down when I tried to lure him with food. He piddled on the upstairs carpet (not a great issue - that carpet is already ugly as sin - but it's so unlike him).

So I gave Cuton a huge cuddle, made him a special little plate of food (including bacon!), locked Basil in the downstairs loo, and carefully carried Cuton downstairs. He snatched one mouthful of food and headed back up again.

Crap.

I took the food upstairs and let him have it there. But I don't want to be cleaning up after Cuton, so with the aid of a couple of treats I lured him downstairs.

And he made it to the last step, snatched the treat and scurried back up again.

Damn.

One more set of treats, and I had him back down on the ground floor. At this point I decided to give love and cuddles, and brought Cuton over to the couch where I sat him on my lap and cuddled him muchly. Basil sniffed around then headed outside, and Cuton seemed to relax a little, and slipped off the couch to curl up on a mat on the floor.

Basil came by, and they regarded each other, then Cuton headed out to the lounge room, where he's on his beanbag.

So.

For a few days, I think we'll feed them separately, (as in one upstairs and one downstairs), and give Cuton lots of love (and Basil too), but teach Basil that he has to wait for his food.

Then we'll feed them at opposite ends of the patio, and keep an eye out for Basil's food-raiding habits. Hopefully that'll help.

And they'll both get lots of cuddles.

But if that doesn't work, then we can't keep Basil. Not if he's bullying Cuton.

Any dog owners with ideas?

Comments

[silverblue.livejournal.com]

It's a bit early yet to get rid of Basil, I think, try:
http://www.pets.ca/dogs/articles/dogs-canine-rivalry-dog-fighting/
http://www.chowwelfare.com/cciw/fighting.htm

What it sounds like, really, is that Cuton isn't able to be the dominant dog - he may have to accept being submissive to Basil. It won't harm him if he's in that position, though. Since Cuton's never been in a pack with other dogs, he's probably not working out some of the cues and so forth, whereas Basil might have more experience.

Basil doesn't seem to be highly aggressive from when I saw him - he's probably decided that he has a chance of taking Cuton's place in the hierarchy. If he does that and the aggression stops, you're pretty much golden. If Cuton wins overall, it's fine too. It's if they're equally matched that you've got an ongoing problem...

[(Anonymous)]

Also, from watching Cesar...bites and nips are pretty standard actions, to be honest, even a bit of brawling. Something to be controlled, but they're a normal part of it all. It's if it continues it's the issue, or if it involves dogs outside the pack.

One thing he did do that really controlled fighting was using a short leash on both animals and sitting them right near one another when whatever was in contention was there. The moment there was any aggression from either dog? A quick jerk (NOT hard enough to choke, just a sharp tug) and a firm 'NO!' to break them out of it. Then he'd let the dominant dog eat first, and that seemed to fix things.

[verylisa.livejournal.com]

All I can think of is the stuff Cesar (the dog whisperer) says about pack leaders and dominance. Basil is attempting to assert his dominance and become the pack leader, and the humans (as the actual pack leaders) have to make sure Basil understands that he's not the boss. Calm and assertive and all that. I get it when Cesar demonstrates it, but it's not always easy to put into practice.

[(Anonymous)]

Squirt bottle or noisemaker; interrupt them at any sign of aggression. You want to make it clear that you and Lederhosen are in charge of the pack. And feeding them separately is probably a good idea.

It's a different species thing, but both times we've introduced a new cat to a preexisting cat, we've had the 'newcomer eats everything possible' scenario for a good while until they sort things out. I think it's a territorial grab.

[panacea1.livejournal.com]

Oh, and that was me, bastard thing has logged me off again.

[frou-frou.livejournal.com]

I only know about cats, but firstly: has Basil lived with other pets before? I agree that he's trying to establish his dominance but by fussing over Cuton isn't going to necessarily help as you haven't mentioned disciplining Basil.

Consistency can often work well: maintain the usual routine, if Basil (who's the one causing the problem) misbehaves, perhaps put him outside without his dinner. That way Cuton can still enjoy his dinner in the usual place. I would avoid feeding him upstairs, because it's like you're giving in to Basil and later you'll have to move Cuton's dish downstairs at some point (it can't be good to that for ever).

So basically, I think you should focus on rejecting Basil's bad behaviour rather than cuddling Cuton and trying to convince him all is well, because it's not and it won't be - Basil's behaviour is the one you need to change.

I hope this works out because Basil is sounding like he's a one pet household dog - which seems to be the reason many pets end up in pounds sadly, because they don't mix well.

[lederhosen.livejournal.com]

has Basil lived with other pets before?

We don't know. He was brought into the Lost Dogs' Home as a stray, aged about eight, with no history.