passive aggresive

Question
My family has a four year old walker/beagle mix.  We adopted her at five months of age for my younger brother.  I have a 12 year old beagle.  A few months after we adopted the walkerX she started testing her limits with my beagle.  Now, two years later, it has become a problem.  My beagle no longer cares to put the walkerX in her place, and the walkerX has become a aggressive.


Specifically, the walkerX is very loving and will do anything for attention, but if my beagle gets a toy or attention she doesn't get she can be quite jealous and has even lashed out.  Second, the walkerX has recently started attacking the beagle when she has been disciplined for acting out.

I am at a loss to fix the problem and am worried about my beagle.

Answer
You are quite justified in being concerned about your beagle; I would make sure that they are never left loose together when no one is around to supervise them. I have seen this before when one of the dogs in the pack get old (or sick) and the others in the pack gang up and try to eliminate the old dog. I have not heard of this with only two dogs, but the behavior is still the same. In their mind, old dogs are a drain on the pack's resources and need to be driven away or killed.

It sounds like your beagle was once alpha to the mix, and the mix now thinks it is time to take down the beagle, who is apparently ready to step down from the position of "top dog" in the house. I suspect the problem is that the family is still supporting the beagle as the alpha dog and that is causing confusion between the two.

I have also seen a dog get a correction and then pass that along to another dog in the pack. They are basically reinforcing their place in the pack hierarchy.

Start supporting the mix as the alpha dog in the house and see if that doesn't stop her behavior with the beagle. Give her everything first. Pet her first, give her the toy first, feed her first, etc., and you should see a change in her behavior.