Behavioral issues


Melissa98409

New Member
Hi,

We have taken in a 4 year old miniature doxie named Rosie. I want to start by saying she is the sweetest little dog in the world and we enjoy having her. She used to be an only dog and for reasons not related to her in anyway, her former owners decided to find her a new home...that's where we come in. Her new house consists of cats and a 2 year old chihuahua. We've had her for roughly 3 weeks, maybe even a month.

Daily visitors to the home are a 9 month old GSD and a 9 year old Pit/Lab mix. Rosie is basically fine with everyone in her house (she chases cats, but....they're smart...the jump up on something and problem solved), and the pit/lab, however, she hates, with probably every ounce of her being, the GSD.

My GSD is actually afraid of her. Funny I know, however, we need to correct Ms. Rosie's attitude towards the GSD or she is going to have to find another new home. She barks incessantly at him and lunges at him and we're afraid that he's gong to step on her or something as he is trying to get away from her and she will get hurt. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to correct this kind of behavior? We've tried bitter apple, but that just sent her into a big drama filled depression and we keep the GSD on leash in the house so that we can make sure she is safe. What else can we do?

I know this is long, but any and all suggestions would be appreciated. We would love to keep Rosie as a valued member of our family, but we're at a loss of what to do for her.
 

Lupita

New Member
It's impossible to say why she hates the GSD, since you adopted her as an adult, but the important thing is to get her to like or at least tolerate him.
Spraying bitter apple or scolding her when the GSD is around will only make her fear him more (her reaction to him is likely fear-based)
My suggestion would be to keep her in a nice, safe place (her crate or dog bed in another room) when the GSD arrives and give her a treat she can work on like a Kong or long-lasting chew. Let her associate his arrival with security and enjoyment.
Then, when the GSD is calm and settled (laying down on the floor with a human to supervise him) you can bring Rosie out and let her see him. But keep her as far from him as she needs to stay calm (not barking) and don't force her to approach him. As soon as she notices the GSD, give her a treat. Keep the treats very tiny so you can give her lots of them. Every time she looks at him, reward her. If she gets too focused on him, starts barking, getting tense or taking the treats roughly, move farther away from the GSD and work from there.
This would be a really good time to practice her name attention and focus on
you. When she looks at the other dog, say her name in a high, happy voice then reward her when she gives you eye contact.
The key is to have your Doxie come to view that GSD as a signal for good things coming from you. Work slowly, and don't assume that because she was fine by the end of one session she'll be good with him the next day-it may take weeks for her to feel more comfortable.
 

Melissa98409

New Member
Thanks for your suggestion. We have done something similar to what you suggest. We figured out that what she was doing was guarding her things from the GSD. Especially her den. So, we took her things out of the room when my guys were there. She still hates the GSD, but has learned to ignore him most of the time.

I appreciate your suggestion and we have been giving her little treats to occupy her when she gets particularly noisy. She has calmed down quite a bit though. I think part of it was that she just needed to find her place in the pack.
 

Nell

Member
Lupita has given you some very good advice. They both need to have positive reinforcement, punishment will only make the situation worse.

The only other thing I would suggest is if you can walk them together, do you have someone who can walk the GSD while you walk your dachshund? you need to walk forward positively and could even start with one a little behind the other to begin with, the aim is to get them walking side by side eventually both moving forward confident in each others company. When they are walked together they will be less focussed on each other and it will help to reinforce that good things happen when they are together.
 
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