QuestionI got Zorba when he was just 10 weeks of age and have reared & trained him myself. I already owned a GSD X entire male Zuess. From about the age of 16mths Akita Zorba asserted himself top dog! 1st couple of confrontations were nasty as Zuess, now 10 yrs, had prev held this position & tried to protect it, but soon realising Zorba was by far the stronger & more dominant of the 2, He conceeded.
Over the past 3 yrs there have been occassional fights between them usually over food, empty dinner plates or toys.
The whole family learned to manage this by being careful to clear away empty plates, never leave scraps lying around and the dogs are fed in separate rooms.
This week things have changed. My GSD has become frisky & constantly tries to sniff Zorba, licks the carpets & flooring etc & on 3 occassions now Zorba has attacked Zuess each time with more & more aggression the last time ripping several holes in the older dogs face, ear and eye lid!!
It has become really difficult to predict these seemingly unprovoked attacks, more & more difficult to get Zorba off him when he latches onto his face. Normally i have complete control over Zorba but its like a black fog engulfs him, he closes me out, acts like he doesnt even know i'm there!
I have to act now as i'm finding it more & more difficult to keep them apart. Despite the attacks Zuess positively winds Zorba up!!?
My gut feeling is that this is hormonal - that there may b a bitch in season near-by, thats driving Zuess crazy and stirring macho feelings in Zorba thatr perhaps being a virgin male, Zorba doesnt even understand?
I would very much appreciate your opinion and advise please.
AnswerHi Jet,
It's great that you have obedience trained Zorba, but sometimes a trained dog isn't always a friendly dog! You can train a dog to sit, stay or lay down on command - but sometimes it's still just a dog that sits, stays, lays down... and fights.
Aggression with Akitas is the biggest issue many owners face. My first and most strongest advice is that if both dogs are not neutered, please neuter them immediately. It will certainly help to rid the dogs of aggression. Bear in mind that the first two or so weeks after both dogs being neutered may not be as peaceful as you'd hope. But it does take a good couple of weeks to for their bodies to rid of the testosterone. After then, you should notice a big change in the dogs.
It is always necessary to re-enforce your "top dog" pecking order by punishing Zorba when he fights. But remember that on the pecking order, 2nd in charge (Zorba) will always fight dogs below him - Why? Because he is still boss of them, although you are boss of him.
From what I have read, there are a few ways as to what you can do to try help to resolve such an issue, although it seems to have become quite severe.
It is always wise to punish a dog when it attacks. However, doing it the wrong way or at the wrong time will have little to no effect in resolving the dog's behaviour.
As I said earlier, Zorba is second on the pecking order - Zuess is third. The next time Zorba attacks or tries to attack, you must punish him severely. Use strong, and very aggressive words, grab him by the collar and DRAG him outside. It also helps to grab him by the scruff of the neck and hold him steady for a while, until you can SEE that he has calmed down. Make sure he knows that you do NOT allow such behaviour and I really mean MAKE SURE. By holding him by the scruff of the neck, you are acting the same way a wild dog would when enforcing his top dog status.
Study Zorba's body language. When Zuess is near, watch Zorba. Look for any signs of aggression, including eyeing, tensing, ears back, dropped head. When you see any of these signs, give a loud, low grumbling "NO!". If he ignores this, or flicks an ear toward you and goes back to his stance, GET UP and walk over to him. Grab him by the collar, another loud, low and grumbling "NO!", and drag him outside. When away from Zuess, chances are he will become happier or more playful. Go inside, reward Zuess and after that, go outside and reward Zorba.
From what it sounds, it is certainly a hormonal thing for both dogs. But that doesn't mean you should wait for this phase to pass. I will strongly advise again that you neuter both dogs. It is the one thing necessary to stop such behaviour.
