Ginger has an attitude!

[loving two dachsie's]

Hi everyone!

Looking for some advice and input. My Ginger is noe 2 years old , she has always been very independant (not as much a snuggle bunny as my Abby was)she is very sweet but kind of keeps to herself . She gets her energy around 10pm at night then she wants to play, play , play and will sllep on our laps. We adopted Bailey (he is 1) about 3 months ago, they get along fine (do the normal play, wrestle thing). The only time Ginger gets aggressive with him is when they had a pigs hoof(took that away). Sometimes when Bailey wants to play Ginger does not so she will hide under the bed (he cant fit she is 9 lbs he is 18). At night she usually starts picking on him to play (when he is most tired, and she knows it).

Getting to my point, the past 2 or 3 weeks Ginger has been a little Skitsy(for lack of a better word). She barks more then usual, especially when the kids come knocking for my son, her bark is very frantic sounding. I took her to my parents house yesterday and she clung to me. She has been to my parents before, they love her. When my mom came and sat down next to me and started petting her she warmed up a little bit.

We show her lots of love and attention, we give her a treat first, we greet her first when we come in the door (unless she stays upstairs).

Could this be a case of jealousy over Bailey, or maybe she is getting out of the "puppy stage" and acting more like an adult?

I think for the most part Bailey is a good thing for her, every since he came she eats more on schedule and goes to the bathroom outside all the time (Bailey is great at the outside bathroom thing and Ginger never was until he came) She likes walks a little more because Bailey loves his excersise. They eat together, play together ect... Bailey is a day doggy, and ginger a night owl.(she has always been a night dog)

I am sure some one on this baord will have some advice for me. Everyone here knows so much about these things, mostly through their own experiences. I just dont Ginger to feel left out, I hope this is a stage.

Linda

<font color="#00FFFF" font size="1">[This message has been edited by loving two dachsie's (edited June 20, 2000).]</font>

[Mark]

Hi Linda,

Does one of the two defer to the the other? You know, in acknowledgement that the other is "top dog" (with you as the alpha, of course). I know when we got Top Spin . . . Duck Butter acted strangely, much the same as you described. They are pack animals and need an echelon of command . . . so we let them sort it out. We knew Masse was not a contender, but would just follow whichever one was top dog. Finally one day Top Spin (80 lbs.)and Duck Butter (9 lbs.) got into it over a rawhide chewy. Duck Butter has been top dog ever since and back to her old self. She got him on the lip, but didn't break the skin. Now if he gets out of line she just shows him her teeth and he backs down, but almost all the time - get along very well.

Anyway that's what we found in a similar situation. We, like you, were tempted to just take the chewies away, but I think it worked out better this way.

I'm sure there will be other suggestions and experiences others will share and maybe this isn't exactly the same thing that's happening with your babies.

Keep us posted,

Mark

[loving two dachsie's]

Mark,

I think you hit the nail right on the head, they will have to work out their positions in the pack order. Bailey seems to be "top dog" or alpha(besides the hoomans in the family). Ginger seems to back down to him most of the time, but she seems to know when Bailey is tired and then she starts on him.

Could it be that they both are alpha, or will one eventually take the role?

The one thing I have noticed with all the fighting over chewies is that Ginger has bit Baileys lip and made him yelp out a few times (never making him bleed though) and he has never bit her, he just pretend bites, in a real playful sort of way. I read somewhere this was called "bite inhibition". When she bites him he just lays there for a few seconds(as if saying" why did you do that?) and then he plays up to her again. Ginger never bites when they wrestle play, only when there is a bone involved.

I am sure things will work out , Bailey has made so much progress in the 3 months since we adopted him. Hopefully time will take care of this too.

Thanks for your advicehttp://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/smile.gif

Linda

[Mark]

Linda,

I think if it were me, I would trot the pig hoof back out when you have time to make sure they don't actually injure each other . . . and let one of them walk away "top dog". They will both be happier after there's a "once and for all".

Even hoomans that don't know where they stand (status) in a family are unhappy. They can't both be "top dog" and will accept the results of the confrontation . . . it's hard, but don't step in too soon because nothing will have been decided.

Mark

[loving two dachsie's]

Mark,

I will take your advice, it makes sense to me. Even when Ginger gets Baileys lip he has never been really hurt. I think they will work it out in time.

Thanks again for your helphttp://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/smile.gif

Linda

[Mark]

Hi Linda,

Let me know how it goes.

Mark

[Wienergal]

Hi, Linda--

A little late getting in on this topic, but... I think Mark has a good insight into what's going on with your two doggies. It's sometimes hard to tell which dog is the dominant one; they seem to give each other signals that don't always compute with humans.

In my house, Peaches and Farfel coexisted just fine for a year after I brought Farfel home. Since Peaches was the older, she always got "first dog" treatment--her food bowl hit the floor first, she got the biscuit first, etc., etc. Then one night, out of nowhere, she trotted over to Farfel and attempted to take a chewy he was working on. And he WENT for her! What followed was a whirling ball of wieners, with Farfel growling, Peaches screaming and yelping, and me jumping up and down like an idiot, yelling, "Stop! Stop!" I finally picked up a coffee table book from the...you guessed it!...coffee table, and wacked Farfie away from Peaches. She was trembling and upset but completely unhurt (except for a cut on the thinnest part of her ear).

I was so upset--Farfel had always been the sweetest, least aggressive dog, and I thought this incident marked a change in his personality. But my vet said no, it was just time for Farfie to take over the alpha slot, and she told me to respect his position. So ever since, HE gets his food, biscuits, being lifted up into the bed, etc. first.

And what amazes me is that Peaches doesn't seem the least bit upset about it. All is well in Dogland.

I know it's really hard sometimes to let the dogs sort these things out for themselves, but what I learned from that awful experience was that all of that growling and yelping and tooth-baring is more a show of power than anything serious. Farfel had his jaws over her throat and could have hurt her, but he didn't--it clearly wasn't his intention to hurt her, just to take over her position.

Good luck!!!

[Penny's Aunt]

One thing to remember is that dog playing is very rough. A lot of people think they are fighting for real, but what they are doing is keeping up their fighting skills. This is normal dog behavior. If there's no blood, they're playing, loud though it might be.

Pigs ears: Some dogs are very possessive about their possessions. Never give just one pig ear, always one to each dog at the same time (within reason). You may have to monitor them when they have a stupendous treat like this; some dogs are just plain greedy. If one of yours is a treat thief, pick up both ears before you leave the area & put them well out of reach.

Older dogs teach younger dogs their manners. Again, if there's no blood, don't interfere.

Dogs go through some shy stages in their lives, up to about two years. Ginger may just be going through one of these right now. Don't get impatient. Don't force her to do something she doesn't want to do if it isn't really important. Give her attention, but don't lay it on with a trowel (any more than usual, anyway!).

[loving two dachsie's]

Thanks everyone for the responses.

I am going to sit back and let them do their thing. I will keep Ginger first, but will not over do it.

I will keep you all postedhttp://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/smile.gif

Linda