Penny's Jealous!!

[Mrs.F]

Maggie's doing well at obedience classes, but Penny's nose is out of joint. During the first class, my daughter took Penny for a walk on the logging road and shared a Slim Jim with her while we were gone - 2 of Penny's favorite things. Penny was fine on the walk, but as soon as they got back to the house she was restless and kept walking around and sniffing toys, food, etc. When we got home, she growled and barked at Maggie until poor Mags rolled over on her back. She was very bossy - almost mean - to Maggie all evening. For the second class I took both dogs. Penny likes to ride in the car and the weather is certainly mild enough that I didn't have to worry about her staying in the car. She chewed on her Nylabone and took a snooze - not a peep out of her during class (she really loves the car!) but then she growled and barked and was not going to let Maggie in after class! She was particularly dominant with Maggie for the rest of the evening and into the next day. Tuesday night I took Maggie to class and my husband took Penny and the kids to McDonald's in our other vehicle. This was a pre-planned trip but Penny was invited to tag along /ubb/smilies/smile.gif Maggie and I got home first and everything was fine and dandy - Penny came in tail wagging and ready to play.
I guess Penny must feel that Maggie is usurping HER position by going somewhere with me, but it's going to happen sometimes! Penny goes alone with me at least once a week - to the nursing home, school etc.
Can any one tell me the best way to handle this? I've pretty much stayed out of Penny and Maggie's relationship - but I'm not sure if that's the best way to deal with this issue. Our next class is Friday night - do I bring Penny, arrange for her to be entertained, or just leave her snoozing on the couch as if it's no big deal? /ubb/smilies/confused.gif

[This message has been edited by Mrs.F (edited May 24, 2000).]

[Penny's Aunt]

This may just be a passing phase, but maybe if you tried to get her to associate your training lessons with Maggie as a good thing, she will react differently.

Maybe you could try bringing Maggie home, then taking Penny for a short ride. See if she will associate training with the following ride FOR HER.

This is just off the top of my head, but it's cheap & simple.

[Mark]

Hi Heidi,

We have dealt with a similar situation with the addition of Top Spin, our Catahoula. The severity was not bad for us because he was the newbie to the pack instead of the established "top dog" and with Catahoula's being so directly related to wolves their pack instincts are very strong. Those instincts exist in all dogs nonetheless. I read a recent post on the Catahoula board within which there are many applicable ideas. Since Duck Butter and Masse are mother and daughter we really had no problem there, and Duck Butter is "top dog". Since getting Top Spin we have learned the importance and differences in the pack hierarchy and have found that there can be no question that the Alpha is us humans, Duck Butter is top dog and the other 2 are pack members (equals). In the post I mention the Catahoula is top dog with a GreyHound already there . . . then they add another GreyHound and the Catahoula exercises his authority mercilessly to the newbie. Similarly, "mean" to the GreyHound. If it is "out of hand", as the Alpha you really can't stay out of it completely.

The following is a COPY/PASTE of the answer from an expert on the Catahoula board to the person asking for help on the Catahoula/Greyhound scenario.

begin

Posted by DieWeasels (Sheila Como) on May 23, 2000 at 12:48:32:

In Reply to: Catahoula/Grayhound compatability? posted by John Hoinowski on May 22, 2000 at 20:22:21:

Normally I'd say, put them both on a good lead and a pinch collar then let them get the snarling and snapping out of their systems ... if it is going to settle that fast and if
you don't mind a few scratches to dogs and if you have full control ... alright, it's a dumb idea. :-) Works on my dogs (not catahoulas) though.
Greyhounds cut too easily anyway and he's probably being quite passive and inoffensive anyway.

The best thing I can say, is take a look at how you are treating your three. Are you giving the new dog lots of attention, greeting it first, babying it to make it feel welcome?
If you are, stop that or do it when your other two can't see.

You need to reassure the catahoula that it still has the same status it had before the second greyhound arrived. I'm assuming the catahoula was your 'top' dog, but in any
case, you should be greeting dog one first, then dog two, finally the new dog. Feed them in the same order. If the new dog does something to offend the catahoula, correct
the new dog first, then tell the catahoula to cool it.

This will sound strange, but if the greyhound has done nothing to offend but the catahoula is still going off. Call the catahoula by name and ask it "What are you doing?"
Make sure you pitch your voice like a question. (A dog may not know the words, but by the tone a dog will understand that you (the pack leader) find her behavior curious
and that you see no reason for the bad attitude. Try this once or twice. If the growling continues, try to call her away from the other dog. Keep escalating until you reach a
level of firmness that stops the growling, but don't do something that would lower the catahoula's status in front of the other dog. (You can yell, throw small objects and
even take the catahoula out of the room, but nothing much worse.)

Ignore the greyhound except for in the beginning when you might want to ask "What are you doing?" and go check the greyhound like you are looking to see what is so
upsetting. Act puzzled that you don't find anything wrong, then ask the catahoula again what the problem is. Don't lavish attention on the greyhound. You are aiming for a
'but of course there is a third dog here' attitude. Do not try to calm the catahoula by petting and praising "oh you poor thing, we still love you" That will actually reward the
bad behavior.

This is sort of a soft way to try to resolve things. It may or may not work depending on how jealous/threatened the catahoula is. I just can't imagine a greyhound being a
threat to anything other than your affections and attention. Once the catahoula sees that there is still plenty of food and you still value her the same, things out to settle
down. (but not always :-)

end

I gleaned some good information from this post and I hope you did too.

Mark

[Mrs.F]

Last night was Maggie's class night again, and I was forced to do NOTHING special for Penny - hubby was working late and both teens were out enjoying the beautiful spring weather. It was too warm for me to be comfortable leaving Penny in the car during class, so I said good bye, popped her in the "playpen" with a treat and off Maggie and I went.
I had every intention of taking Penny for a ride (alone) when we got home from class, as Penny's Aunt suggested), but lo and behold - when we came in she was THRILLED to see us!
I gave her the usual 'hello - I missed you, you wonderful girl' routine, took both dogs outside, distributed the treats (Maggie still needs that extra reinforcement to help her remember to go OUTSIDE!) and sacked out on the couch with both dogs. Not a bit of bossiness, barking, etc. /ubb/smilies/confused.gif
I don't know if it was a fluke, if Penny just decided to live with the situation, or if I was encouraging jealousy those other nights by feeling guilty and arranging for "special" attention for Penny.
At any rate, I'm a happy dachsie Mom today!
Heidi /ubb/smilies/bounce.gif

[Penny's Aunt]

Somehow I get the feeling that your two little girls spend their time alone planning how to drive Mom crazy.

[loving two dachsie's]

Heidi,

I now how you feel, with Bailey being the newest addition and learning the ropes around here my Ginger cops an attitude some days.

She seem to really like Bailey, but when she gets in that " moomy, only play with me mood" she tends to give Bailey the cold shoulder, and if he tries to play with her toys she snaps at him.

Needless to say, our lives have been a bt of a whirlwind since Bailey arrived, but we love it and know that they have each other as companions for life/ubb/smilies/smile.gif

Linda

[Mrs.F]

Yes Linda, knowing that Penny & Maggie will have each other for company for a long, long, time made it much easier as they worked out the kinks in their relationship. I felt rather guilty because I'd done everything in my power to convince Penny that the world revolves around her - why wouldn't she be jealous when I suddenly brought home some competition! (I have no guarantee that the kinks are all worked out yet - but I believe in being optimistic! /ubb/smilies/smile.gif )

Maggie was at the vet's all day Friday having
some teeth extracted and when I brought her home she was still pretty woozy from the anesthesia. Penny was amazingly attentive - did not want to leave her side for a minute. The 2 snuggled up together on my lap on the couch and went to sleep. When I got up to start supper, Penny followed me into the kitchen, but Maggie just gave a pitiful little whine and in an instant Penny was back on the couch snuggled up with her again! I'm not sure if she missed her during the day and wanted to reassure herself that Maggie wasn't going anywhere without her again, or if it was real compassion due to Maggie's discomfort! /ubb/smilies/love.gif

Heidi

[Dolly's Mom]

Hope Maggie is feeling better after having her dental work done. Ahhhhhh! Sounds like
Penny really missed her! My Dolly and Maddie really love each other too and we often find them snuggled up close to each other.

Sandi

[WOTANSMUTTI]

/ubb/smilies/love.gif

Those sweet little dachsies always know when those around them <FONT COLOR="Red">really</FONT c>needs them. That's what I call love!