Who's Alpha??????
 I dont want them hurting eachother and they are so crazy for getting the only attention that if you try to spend a minute with one the other one runs over and starts the figtht all over again..............how long does it take for one for them to back down and even more important how long does it take for them to accept others in the household showing one attention without causing caios??? 
Any adivise or words of experience would be appreciated  |
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| Hi,
Without seeing the girls interact first hand, it's kind of hard to make a definate comment but here goes from the info from your post. It appears both do want the top position, and if one had been submissive they would have naturally let the other be in the Alpha. In your case that's not happening and here's some possible reasons why. It's usually the older female or pre existing dog in the household that takes over the leadership but sounds like Maggie just isn't willing to be submissive and wants the alpha role too. (Dominance and aggression are two different things.) An alpha role, whether you have two dogs or a hundred , one always had to emerge as the leader and sounds as if neither want to relenquish it to the other. You also have introduced a female and so there is apt to be more spats between them. Generally dogs like people have a code of law in which the males don't attack the females. Males will fight amongst other males, females with females. However, just like people some dogs break the code. In your case, it's made a bit more difficult with two females.  Me who has three males in the house and even after 9 months is trying to find peace. :O)
Not to scare you as a week is still early, and sometimes rescues take a few weeks to settle in. My situation too is a bit different as my older dog is aged 15 and was not happy with a new rescue sibling. Merlin the one in the middle emerged as Alpha, the old one Blue and Panda are both submissive and gave up the role easily - however these two are still trying to see who gets second position. Neither would dare to challenge Merlin but often challenge each other. Merlin usually does not interfere but lets them do their growlies and if he walks between them, neither will get upset at Merlin. Like watching one saying ..okay break it up! Back to what you are dealing with: It's hard to watch but trust me on this it will subside and a week is still not that much time for these girls to have worked out their roles. You are dealing with two of the same sex (always harder to first get along as they compete more) and the ages of your girls. 7-9 month old puppies are fair game to all the other dogs at an offleash dog park, and I'll explain why in the next paragraph. Again, it's a dog's code of law for all dogs not to attack puppies but to discipline them (which is different. You have possibly the role of your older one (Molly?) diciplining Maggie but Maggie is emerging from puppyhood and is not taking it. (sorta like an unruly teenager). Molly herself is only emerging from her teens. The reason I mention the age 7-9 months is they are emerging from pups into dogs and for some reason this age is crutial amongst social order. At an offleash park others whom heirachy is somewhat precarious , those of ages 12-15 months will pick on the younger ones. The reason being, as I said their roles are somewhat precarious and they want to make sure those younger stay below them in terms of ranks. I was interested in what was happening at our own dog park as it seemed to occur with the teen dogs and for some reason those dogs aged around 7-9 months. I found a book in the library which explained what was going on as I wrote above. That's why I suspect that the ages of your girls also contribute to what's going on in your house. A tired dog is a good dog. If you allow the girls to have fun with each other and share adventures it will lead to much quicker bonding. I don't mean leaving them both in the back yard and letting them deal with it. I mean taking both the girls to a lake, park, beach...etc...let them have fun with each other but not vying from attention from you. Take away possible triggers like food or toys which may be something that causes jealousy. Feed them in seperate room or way across from each other if another room is not available. Good Luck to you! Marianne and the boys |
| Someone here, at the forum, said that they only pet Dog 1 with their right hand and only pet Dog 2 with their left and that seems to settle the battle for human attention. Dog 1 always goes right and Dog 2 always goes left. I thought that that was a pretty good solution to one of the situations. |
| I also just got a new oes, from Rescue. Max and Him seem to get along, but there are those tense moments, and I have to step between them or give them a firm NO. They did nip, but they both do it, and when one whimpers, they stop and look at each other for a moment. I would give it some time. |
For us is a continuing battle. Sofa would love to be the Alpha and Lennon is not giving away that position, so we still have "Exchange of Ideas" from time to time, no harm done, but lots of growling and fur flying all over the living room. We've grown used to it because it's more a display of power than any attemp to harm each other.... Try telling that to a visiting relative   
I guess your dogs need to figure that out on their own, just make sure they are not really harming each other. Every time we bring a foster dog at home is the same thing, but usually within one or 2 weeks things go back to normal, hang in there! |
| You've gotten some great advice, to which there is not much I can add, other than I feel Molly will eventually emerge as alpha.
I would let them sort it out for the most part, but if you really feel it is getting out of control, I would suggest crating both. Not as a punishment, give them a treat for going in the crate and something to play with or chew on, and it gives them a break from each other, and gives you a break from them. You could also "help" Molly become alpha, by feeding her first, petting her first etc.... Alpha always eats first and gets attention first, and if you are trying too hard to ensure both get equal attention, they may be confused as to who should do what and when. Good luck!  |
| Ditto Willowsprite's comments, you can help the Alpha situation. ALWAYS Molly gets firsts: greetings, pets, food, treats. Make each sit---remember boot camp rules---then Molly first, then the new kid. You are the benevolent dictator.......you allow your charges a certain latitude for growlies, etc, but be ready to step in and show your authority when blood letting is about to occur. |
| I'll agree to Willowsprite and SheepieBoss' comments. It's healthy that you let sort things out by themselves, and you may push a little to turn one into the official Alpha with feeding and petting, etc. first (We've dome it and it works to a certain extent), but you must keep a close eye on them.
A certain degree of growling and tug wars are OK, but teeth baring or biting must be totally out of the question. Excercise your authority if you feel like things get out of control or they are hrting each other. |
thank you all for your wonderful advise. I also called my breeder and asked for solutions and ways to help them sort it out. I am sure in the end it will all work out but I just want the ability to be able to love them up without them wanting to fight for every kiss or pat 
I think rescue remedy is definatley on the shopping list this week. |
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