puppy bullying older dog

Question
Hi I'VE RECENTLY NOTICED MY NINE MONTH FEMALE GOLDEN RETRIEVER WON'T ALLOW MY SEVEN YEAR OLD FEMALE WESTIE NEAR HER FOOD BOWL WHICH IS FAIR. NOW I SEE SHE WON'T LET HER PLAY WITH TOYS OR DRINK OUT OF THE WATER BOWL THAT THEY SHARE. OTHERWISE THEY GET ON EXTREMELY WELL THE PUP ADORED MY WESTIE UNTIL NOW I'M GOING ON HOLIDAY AND HAD BOOKED THEM IN TO SHARE A KENNELL BUT I'M WONDERING IF THIS IS A VERY BAD IDEA? THIS HAS ALL STARTED AROUND TWO WEEKS AGO THE WESTIE IS A REAL HOUSE DOG AND THE GOLDEN IS DOING HER BEST TO BE THE SAME THEY ARE BOTH EXTREMELY PLACID AND GENTLE EVEN WITH OUR YOUNG CHILDREN AND I'M ALWAYS VERY CAREFUL TO GIVE ATTENTION TO THE OLDER DOG FIRST ALSO THEY DO UNDERSTAND THAT I'M IN CHARGE AND ARE REALLY VERY OBEDIENT

Answer

Hi Geraldine,

It is extremely common for there the be aggression issues between two female dogs. Just for future reference, a male and a female dog (both altered) has a much higher chance that the dogs will live peacefully with one another. Now that your Golden isn't as much as a puppy as she was, it's not totally surprising that there are some behavioral issues emerging with your other dog. Sometimes, it can help if both dogs are spayed, but sometimes spaying has no baring on the problem.

You should separate your two dogs at mealtime, and getting a second water bowl is probably a good idea. Don't let the one dog steal the other dogs toys. You want to eliminate the situations that are causing friction, rather than letting this progress to the point where fights might break out. The same goes for stop feeding them treat when they are together. No food, no treats, no chew items like rawhide, pig's ears, cow hooves etc.. This food taps into deep survival instincts in dogs, and will cause fights even between dogs not otherwise likely to fight. Don't put them in situations where they are even thinking about competing for food!

It can help to practice "Nothing In Life Is Free" with both of your dogs, so they really understand who is setting the household rules, and who must be obeyed. You can read more about "NILIF" here:

http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm

I can't say if your dogs would be okay sharing a space at the kennel or not, since I don't know your dogs. If you are questioning this, you probably already have a feeling that it might not be the wisest thing. Perhaps separating them at the kennel but asking the kennel staff to allow your two dogs to have daily supervised playtime together is a better solution. Better safe than sorry!

Best of luck,

Patti