Pet care: Dog fights don’t solve themselves

Q: I have a 1-year-old neutered German shepherd mix named Duke. He is a wonderful dog. We also have a 5-year-old female miniature schnauzer, Lily. Duke and Lily have been best friends. Two weeks ago, we rescued a 7-month-old intact German shepherd. He has bilateral hip dysplasia and is extremely thin. Alvis is sweet to humans and to our other two dogs 95% of the time. His aggression leads to fighting over food, water and toys. Considering we have an endless supply of all three, this concerns me. We think the situation will improve with time as the dogs get used to each other.

Dr. Nichol: Relationships are complicated, in case you haven’t noticed. Getting this one right is mighty important. Without immediate changes, those dog fights will result in severe wounds or worse. This won’t just work itself out.

Sadly, you live in a house with furniture. The walls and corners prevent escape when tensions flare. If your plan is to move off the grid and live in a cave deep in the forest, you can stop reading. When competition or dirty looks surface, your dogs will create distance from each other, never feeling trapped. But if you’ll be staying put, they’ll need serious management.

Forget human egalitarianism. Dogs are a species that strongly values hierarchy. They’re sure that the great famine is imminent. Only the most dominant among them will survive. They’ll never catch on to human followership, but you can learn canine leadership.

Keep Alvis completely separated from Duke and Lily until you’ve eliminated the testosterone factor by having him neutered. His hip pain is another influence on his bad attitude. When he feels better following corrective surgery, you can try allowing him to hang with his roomies, but you must never permit any of them to have toys or food of any kind when they are together. Distribute multiple water bowls all over the place. And don’t add any more pets. Your crowd will never be far from the breaking point.

For help with behavior problems, you can sign up for a Zoom group conference at drjeffnichol.com

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