We asked you for some of your biggest doggy behavior problems, and you delivered! Then we presented those challenges to Gabriella Ravani, elite San Diego dog trainer, for her expert opinion. You can read about Gabriella in our first post of this series.
Question:
“I have a 12 year old golden retriever and now have a 1 year old golden retriever, both females. The younger golden has started dominating the older dog, brushing her out of the way and exhibiting basic dominant behavior. She also will jump on the older dog who is getting old and frail. I am afraid she is hurting the older dog and is stressing her out. How do I stop this?”
Answer:
First, determine if the younger one is being aggressive or just pushy.
If she is truly being aggressive: it will be better to separate them when you are not directly supervising and enlist a reward-based trainer to help you work on the girls’ relationship.
If you feel she is just being a little pushy: you can teach the young one to back up away from the older one to get rubs and treats. Redirect the young one when she is heading over to pester or harass the older girl, and definitely get the young one into some kind of reward based training program, basic obedience or a sport, to constructively channel her youthful energy. Or send her to a well run doggie day care a couple of times a week to tire her out!
Do be sure to separate her from the older girl when you are not around to make sure the older girl is not being pestered or annoyed.
If you would like us to ask Gabriella a more detailed solution to this problem, as in what are some specific things you can try, please contact us via our contact form and we will be happy to dig deeper.
Photo: Amy Chin
Other articles in this series:
Introduction to our Dog Training Expert (Part 1 of 7)
Jumping Wheatens (Part 2 of 7)
Kid Hating Miniature Schnauzer (Part 3 of 7)
Prevent Dog from Barking When Home Alone (Part 5 of 7)
Dog is OCD for Tennis Balls (Part 6 of 7)
Dog Using House as Bathroom When Cold or Rainy (Part 7 of 7)
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