Nik
Well-Known Member
Kahlua had been the dominant dog in our home since the first day we brought her home when she was a tiny puppy and Diesel the much bigger brother at 2 years old.
Diesel has no problem being submissive to her dominant and as a result our home has been very peaceful.
Kahlua has also had a couple doggy play date experiences that have gone well including with a friends female german shephard. The german shephard also had a submissive personality and they played well together.
The only issue we ever ran into was with my dads dog when kahlua and his dog Prudence were both puppies. They displayed some aggression towards each other over a toy. The toy was removed and things were
Calm afterwards and they just avoided one another with Diesel and prudence playing nicely.
My dad asked us recently if we could dog sit for him so we said we would have to try a play date first and if all the dogs are okay together then sure.
It did not go well.
The second he brought prudence over her and Kahlua both immediately reacted and threw themselves at each other with snarls etc. For her part it seemed kahlua was not trying to injure but was trying to assert dominance. My dads dog on the otherhand was trying to injure. We were right there and separated them quickly but not before kahlua got a cut on her cheek.
Prudence kept struggling to attack. Kahlua allowed herself to be pulled away and was happy to go inside away from it all.
So we decided to see how diesel and prudence did. Diesel pretty much ignored her and went to greet my dad. Prudence then launched herself at diesel who tried to run from her and roll over and did not fight back. She managed to rip his ear pretty badly before we could pull her off. No stitches needed but it was quite bloody.
After that we brought diesel in and let my dad know we could not dog sit for him.
I have no doubt after the visit that my dads dog has dog aggression issues. He said that the trainer he just started going to wont even allow him into group classes until he gets a muzzle and apparently she has people aggression too (though not with me as i was able to pet her and ruffle her ears, kiss her face etc to my dads surprise). He told us after that she had attacked other people and he has even had to talk to animal control about her due to complaints. So clearly his dog needs some work and has issues.
But... kahlua also was definitely an instigator. Despite how quickly everything went down I am pretty sure Kahlua growled first. She did lunge and that is what started the first incident.
I have never had an issue with kahlua and any other dog. But we also havent been exposed to many other dogs and all the other dogs she has been around have been submissive.
Was this an alpha female on alpha female issue? Was it a specific personality conflict? Was it because neither kahlua nor prudence are fixed? In other words I am very concerned about whether this is a sign that dog aggression will be an issue for Kahlua going forward.
Diesel behaved admirably and was an angel despite the attack on him. But I have no doubt that Kahlua would never have backed down if we hadnt separated and put her away. The only good thing I did see in kahlua is that she was willing and cooperative with us pulling her away and she was eager to go inside and be done with the incident.
In any case I signed Kahlua up for some formal lessons. Her first few lessons will be private and I will discuss the incident with our new trainer. He came highly recommended and I have no doubt he is well equipped to help us figure this out.
His first meeting with Kahlua went extemely well and he was very surprised and happy with how much she already knows remarking on the good strong foundation we have given her. He is going to help us with her fear of weird noises, solidify her training in high distraction environments and also help us with scent work, agility training and prep for the cgc test. After her first few sessions diesel will be joining her with him so we can solidify and bomb proof his training also
In the meantime in the after math of yesterdays fights I have been lavishing attention and love on both and lots of training in the backyard. Both are happily snoring at my side as I write this because I exhausted them with all the work.
The injuries to both are also healing up nicely. Kahluas was minor and closed up quickly. Diesels is closed now but i am keeping a close eye on it.
Here are some pics that the new trainer took of kahlua on their first meeting.
Diesel has no problem being submissive to her dominant and as a result our home has been very peaceful.
Kahlua has also had a couple doggy play date experiences that have gone well including with a friends female german shephard. The german shephard also had a submissive personality and they played well together.
The only issue we ever ran into was with my dads dog when kahlua and his dog Prudence were both puppies. They displayed some aggression towards each other over a toy. The toy was removed and things were
Calm afterwards and they just avoided one another with Diesel and prudence playing nicely.
My dad asked us recently if we could dog sit for him so we said we would have to try a play date first and if all the dogs are okay together then sure.
It did not go well.
The second he brought prudence over her and Kahlua both immediately reacted and threw themselves at each other with snarls etc. For her part it seemed kahlua was not trying to injure but was trying to assert dominance. My dads dog on the otherhand was trying to injure. We were right there and separated them quickly but not before kahlua got a cut on her cheek.
Prudence kept struggling to attack. Kahlua allowed herself to be pulled away and was happy to go inside away from it all.
So we decided to see how diesel and prudence did. Diesel pretty much ignored her and went to greet my dad. Prudence then launched herself at diesel who tried to run from her and roll over and did not fight back. She managed to rip his ear pretty badly before we could pull her off. No stitches needed but it was quite bloody.
After that we brought diesel in and let my dad know we could not dog sit for him.
I have no doubt after the visit that my dads dog has dog aggression issues. He said that the trainer he just started going to wont even allow him into group classes until he gets a muzzle and apparently she has people aggression too (though not with me as i was able to pet her and ruffle her ears, kiss her face etc to my dads surprise). He told us after that she had attacked other people and he has even had to talk to animal control about her due to complaints. So clearly his dog needs some work and has issues.
But... kahlua also was definitely an instigator. Despite how quickly everything went down I am pretty sure Kahlua growled first. She did lunge and that is what started the first incident.
I have never had an issue with kahlua and any other dog. But we also havent been exposed to many other dogs and all the other dogs she has been around have been submissive.
Was this an alpha female on alpha female issue? Was it a specific personality conflict? Was it because neither kahlua nor prudence are fixed? In other words I am very concerned about whether this is a sign that dog aggression will be an issue for Kahlua going forward.
Diesel behaved admirably and was an angel despite the attack on him. But I have no doubt that Kahlua would never have backed down if we hadnt separated and put her away. The only good thing I did see in kahlua is that she was willing and cooperative with us pulling her away and she was eager to go inside and be done with the incident.
In any case I signed Kahlua up for some formal lessons. Her first few lessons will be private and I will discuss the incident with our new trainer. He came highly recommended and I have no doubt he is well equipped to help us figure this out.
His first meeting with Kahlua went extemely well and he was very surprised and happy with how much she already knows remarking on the good strong foundation we have given her. He is going to help us with her fear of weird noises, solidify her training in high distraction environments and also help us with scent work, agility training and prep for the cgc test. After her first few sessions diesel will be joining her with him so we can solidify and bomb proof his training also
In the meantime in the after math of yesterdays fights I have been lavishing attention and love on both and lots of training in the backyard. Both are happily snoring at my side as I write this because I exhausted them with all the work.
The injuries to both are also healing up nicely. Kahluas was minor and closed up quickly. Diesels is closed now but i am keeping a close eye on it.
Here are some pics that the new trainer took of kahlua on their first meeting.