raising a big pup and small pup

Question
We have a spayed 2 year old doxie and a 3 month old doxie female pup. We recently lost our 11 year old Belgian to leukemia. We adopted a female shepherd/x from a shelter who fosters them. She is bold,food and treat aggressive and plays rough w/ puppy. Can this be fixed?

Answer
Hi Chrissy

Multiple female dogs in a household can be a problem, more than having all male dogs. How well, and how soon your newly adopted shelter dog gets trained out of her aggressive tendencies depends on how well you enforce the house rules.
Although the dogs must develop their own social order, they must remember that you are still in charge. This means being fair on reprimands as well as affection. Any misbehavior, regardless of who started it, must be handled equally (and with consistency). When play gets too rough, all must be placed in a down-stay position or separated until calm is restored. Make the rules, and then back them up with necessary action.

Feed your Shepard mix separately from your other dogs, don't set up a situation where you expect a fight to break out! Always separate your new dog from the other two when you can't supervise them.

When some dogs play, it can sound like world war 3 is breaking out. The only time you need worry is when there are real signs of aggression, which looks different than play. Supervise play time, and if things look like it's getting out of hand, stop the game. Offer praise and treats when she obeys, or is re-directed to another activity. Make sure she's getting enough exercise during the day.  She might not feel like having active play with the puppy if she's had a good run or long walk.

You didn't say how long you adopted the Shepard mix, or how old she is. Enrolling in a dog obedience class would be a really good way of gaining control over her. She will earn to obey, and get socialized, while you learn how to control her.

Best of luck,

Patti