affenpinscher aggression

Question
QUESTION: My affen 1 y/o m has recently began attacking my 7 y/o Pom m. Neither has been aggressive before towards each other. The Affen is playful with my larger dogs and my Chihuahua, the pom is not.This usually occurs in the morning and evening when we get up and when I come home at night. The pom sleeps in my room and I have had to shut the affen out of the room now. The pom is not aggressive towards other dogs. Is this because of puberty? He is not neutered. The pom is. What should I do? Thank you, Tandalyn

ANSWER: From the description of your Pom's lack of playfulness with the other dogs in your household, I can offer the educated guess (not being able to observe any of them together and with scant input from you) that your Pom is a high ranking member of your dog pack.  High ranking members are not usually freely elicited for play by other dogs in the pack, but usually initiate it themselves.  This could ALSO mean that your Pom was not heavily socialized with other dogs as a neonate (may not have had littermates or may have been removed from them too soon) and does not know how to play with other dogs.  In either case, your Pom appears to be self segregating from your other dogs' social interaction.  The Affen is an intact male at a crucial developmental age; he is testing the "pack level" waters among your other dogs and has observed the difference in your Pom.  Greeting behaviors (as when you get out of bed and return from work) are important in pack structure: higher ranking members want to greet you FIRST, and it's not at all uncommon for a normally calm dog household to erupt into chaos at those times.  Your Affen has decided that he is of higher rank than your Pom (apparently--again, not being able to see them all in action this is an educated guess) and is behaving accordingly.  Unfortunately, you are giving him a very mixed signal by allowing the Pom to sleep IN YOUR ROOM (the prized sanctuary) while the Affen is LOCKED OUT.  It's your privilege to choose this, but it certainly doesn't appear to be helping matters with the Affen.

First: I'm assuming all your dogs are loose in the house together when you are not at home.  This might pose a serious problem if the aggression being demonstrated by your Affen toward your Pom increases.  One thing which might slightly assist this developing problem to at least abate somewhat is to have the Affenpinscher neutered.  It will take several months for testosterone levels to drop, but even in the first few weeks whatever part of this behavior is being hormonally driven should begin to lessen.  Second, you need to get some control over the general hilarity in your household upon your arrival and awakenings.  You can do this by training each dog separately, and then in sight of one another, and then together, to perform one simply obedience behavior: sit.  Use positive reinforcement training.  Dogs learn by observing one another, so as each one progresses work with them one at a time while they are all in the same room.  You can then ASK THEM ALL to "sit" if you see the level of excitement in their reactions rising too quickly.  Observe the Pom closely: he may very well be doing something to aggravate the already deteriorated relationship with the Affen.  And observe your other dogs, who should be showing substantial signs of anxiety because of this.

If you find yourself unable to manage this problem, and especially if this aggression gets even slightly worse, find a certified applied animal behaviorist (Ph.D. or DVM).  Multiple dog households can be very tricky and not everyone is equipped to deal with this.  Patricia McConnell Ph.D. has a book on just this subject which you might consider reading.

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

QUESTION: Thank you. This sounds correct. The pom suffered a broken leg at 6 weeks old and was in a cast. After that he was carried around a lot and babied. He only likes our 11 y/o fe pom, spayed, who we had before we got him. She won't play with him but he follows her everywhere. He probably would play with her but she won't. He wags his tail and faces her but she ignores him. She is the top dog of the house but the affen doesn't fight her. He tries to play but she bites and growls at him. I will get him neutered and work on the training. Should I let him in the bedroom? I've started giving him treats in the morning and at night to distract him while I carry the pom. This works sometimes. Then they calm down and don't fight.

Answer
I would NOT allow the Affen into your bedroom.  He's already full of himself as it is.  However, what I would do is not allow him to observe that the Pom sleeps there.  (And btw, the bitch really IS the top dog even in wolf packs, so your description of your female Pom really gave me a good laugh...so cute.)  The Affen is definitely soliciting top dog position and this is not tolerable to YOU (who are, no insult intended, the actual "top dog" lol.)  Confine the Affen to a comfortable space (like the kitchen, or laundry room if it has a window) with a soft bed and other good things, fifteen minutes before you retire to your room with the male Pom.  Work on his training to the point where you have a VERY SOLID response to "sit" (but use a unique word to him that the other dogs don't recognize.)  Once he has this response, institute Nothing In Life Is Free for a few months.  This means, the Affen needs to earn everything from YOU (being petted, going in/out, being fed, etc.)  This, however, must be done in an occult manner (meaning, not in the presence of the other dogs) as we do not want to disturb their natural pack structure; what we want to do is give the Affen the clear signal that you are in control in a calm, consistent manner.

Observe the body language between the male Pom and the Affen very very closely for the next few days (while you are making the appointment to have him neutered.)  Read about dog body language on the Internet (there are very subtle signals, including eye movements, head movements, etc.) and you might purchase Turid Rugaas' book on calming signals.  You need to report back to me what you observe, as your Affen might very well be a naturally higher ranking male (with or without his balls) and you have, effectively, promoted the male Pom to this position.  If this is the case, neutering alone won't help and we will need to make adjustments in the way you manage your dog household.