agression and jealousy

Question
QUESTION: I evacuated from Myanmar (after the cyclone destroyed the country in May) with my 2 dogs, both taken from the street. It was extremely stressful for the dogs to take multiple flights around the world to get to the States.  In addition, I have moved twice since arriving in America.  My dog Coco, the alpha female, was a hand-me-down from another family.  I have had her for 3+ years and she has always had somewhat of a bad temperament.  Since coming to the USA things have gotten much worse with Coco.  She has become incredibly aggressive to my other dog and possessive of me.  She never relaxes; she is always on security patrol.  She won't allow my other dog to make a move, to eat, or to come near me.  She is eating much more than she ever has, is very high strung, very unpredictable, has seperation anxiety, and is extremely needy for affection.  I am very worried about her behavior.  I recently bought some natural medicine for canine calming and have begun to give it to her.  I also need to know what behavioral modifications to do to help Coco.

ANSWER: This problem cannot be adequately addressed in this venue.  In order to outline a behavior modification program for you, I would have to meet Coco, evaluate temperament, do an extensive interview with you regarding her history of training and behavior, and evaluate her interaction with your other dog.  In my opinion, Coco might require a course of medication to truncate her adrenaline response (either beta blocker or Clomicalm) and be placed on a behavior modification regimen.  Furthermore, it is only three months since the cyclone precipitated this enormous stress on you and your family.  This dog has not even begun to recover.  My extreme sympathies for everything you and your dogs have suffered in the past months; it's truly horrific.  And my congratulations that you have taken your DOGS WITH YOU in this journey when so many others would have simply dumped them.  I wish I could help you.  I do a great deal of pro bono work in person but I doubt you live in my immediate geographical area.  You need to locate a certified applied animal behaviorist AND an enlightened veterinarian who is willing to prescribe medication to help this dog.  You also need to spend quality time with your other dog, who might be falling in line behind Coco with no apparent difficulty (due to Coco's much higher rank in that dog's mind) but who is also in need of some TLC because of the recent horrible events and trauma.  Without being able to do an in person evaluation, any advice I offer here might make matters worse; this is an extremely difficult and delicate situation.  Call the veterinary college in your geographical area and ask for referral to a credentialed behaviorist and also to a veterinarian who is experienced in pharmaceutical intervention.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you so much for your sympathetic response to my email.  What we experienced in Myanmar was incredibly traumatic and stressful.  I appreciate your understanding.  I had to move mountains to get my dogs out of there but there was NEVER any doubt that I would take them with me.  I will ask my vet about the medications that you recommended.  I live in rural Texas so I think that finding a credentialed behaviorist will be difficult, but I will try.  Definitely my other dog (Jinju) is suffering from Coco's constant bullying.  I am making an effort to comfort her as well.  Thank you for your advice.

Answer
To assist your other dog, and also to assist the dog in distress, (and since you may not be able to locate a credentialed behaviorist that easily), I would like you to read some books regarding canine behavior, positive reinforcement training, and the treatment of emotional distress in dogs.  Patricia McConnell, Ph.D., has several books available; also, Karen Pryor wrote a wonderful book about positive reinforcement training some years ago, "Don't Shoot The Dog"; you can also buy John Fisher's books.  All of these are available on Amazon.  Beginning a course of positive reinforcement training for both dogs, but especially Coco, and then (after several weeks of teaching her) using one simple behavior to ask her to earn everything (food, interaction with you, etc.) will help to calm her and put you securely in charge in her mind (psychologically and emotionally.)