[isabels0311]

I recently just adopted a new pitbull and I currently already have one... But I have a problem my male dog keeps attacking the new dog usually about food but its just not fair to her and I don't want to get rid of her does anyone have any advice?

[labman]

The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts. Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at Raising Your Dog with the Monks of New Skete For more on being top dog, see Establishing and Keeping Alpha Position, Letting your dog know you are the boss

[RubyPitbull]

Isabel, it is not a good sign that your male is food aggressive. You do need to be a strong leader when dealing with pitbulls, so please review what labman has posted for you.

Are you feeding them at the same time? Are you feeding her first? Please explain what you do at feeding time and what each dog is doing, so that I have a better understanding of what exactly is going on.

[labman]

Somehow this didn't get pasted in. Does anybody else lose stuff not and then? At least my computer hang on to snippets of text and I can recover them. Being spelling and typing impaired, I have to run everything through spell check before posting.

The keeper of the kibble is a powerful position. In less than 4 weeks I will have another new puppy to feed along with my older dog, Aster. Aster knows the rules, this will be the fifth invader since she came back to live with us 4 years ago. They want to eat? They sit until I put the food dishes down. If they jump up before the dish touches the floor, the dish goes back up. I can continue the dance longer than they can. Once both dishes are on the floor, I stand between them until the first one is finished. She is then put outside until the other finishes. Could be more complicated this year as we may have Holly too for a few days.

It is rare for a male to attack a female except in play. If it actually is an attack, he must have missed his early dog socialization. Post back with more details on these attacks.

[Ninji]

The next time the male attacks the new dog put the female out of the room and come back and put your male in a down stay and make him stay. When his hips relax go open the door for the other dog. You can command the male to down stay but should not talk to either dog if you can help it, especially don't coddle the female while the male is watching or listening. If your male shows aggression to the female again go through the same routine until the male ignores her. Give her a few weeks in the house after this and they will be the best of friends.

[Alty]

The next time the male attacks the new dog put the female out of the room and come back and put your male in a down stay and make him stay. When his hips relax go open the door for the other dog. You can command the male to down stay but should not talk to either dog if you can help it, especially don't coddle the female while the male is watching or listening. If your male shows agression to the female again go through the same routine until the male ignores her. Give her a few weeks in the house after this and they will be the best of friends.

Ninji, you're posted 4 times and all on old threads. Please check the dates before you post.

By posting on an old thread you're bumping it to the top. The thread is left active because it's simply too hard to close all old threads and just in case the OP returns with more info. It's great to read old threads but please refrain from posting on them.

There are many newer threads that require attention.

Thank you.

[Fr_Chuck]

Did this poster just search for old posts

Closed again