We have three shepherds , up till Sunday , no real problems . It seems that, the youngest , suddenly wants' to be the alpha , over our oldest.. Big fight yesterday that I was in the middle of (I dove in to try to stop it) . We all got hurt , my oldest the worst, (got bit)by the youngest ...Where should I look for help ?...I am hoping we have an experienced animal person as a member ...Thanks ...

 

They need to see you as the alpha dog, if they are fighting for rank, then you are not the alpha. Start making them earn everything you give them, whether it be a pat on the head to feeding them. Make them sit, bark, lay down, etc..THEN give them their praise/food/pat on the head etc. Any little sign of aggression towards one another, let them know who's boss.

Example.

Dog 1 has a bone and is chewing on it. Dog 2 walks near/up to it and dog 1 growls. Jump all over them, make a big scene, tell Dog 1 NO! and take his bone. Everything they do, they do it because YOU allow them to, if that makes sense?

Another thing that all dogs do.

Dog 1 walks up to you and sets his head on your lap, and you pet them. That's fine, unless you are in the process of establishing dominance. Some people think it's the dog being loving. Contrarily, it's the dog "demanding" your attention, and by petting him you are giving into his demands. Therefore, he sees it as a dominance thing. What I do, if my pit comes and sets his head on my lap to be petted, I make him get back, sit down, or lay down, THEN I pet him.

 

Well Rick, for starters ALL parties need to know who is the Alpha. That my friend is YOU! then your wife, son and so on down to the newest dog with least tenure. It is that simple in THAT order. Dogs will always try push dominance every day. You just need to reinforce the "pecking order". Someday the youngest will be "Alpha dog" but NEVER be Alpha human, that is you or who ever you show to be next in command. I would not tolerate any dawgs challenging myself or any other HUMAN in their ranks (putting their mouth on me), NOT EVEN IN ACCIDENT. I would put that in check real quick.
I do love the pic of your dawgs in your avatar! They look like a bunch of fun!
remember YOU ARE IN CHARGE!
I am no dawg expert.....but I did sleep in a Holiday Express last night.

 

Very correct.

Let me also add,

With three dogs, there WILL be scraps and "arguments" between them, it's just the way it is. BUT, they will be few and further between. When you catch it happening, you shouldn't have to get in the middle of it to make them stop. Things should get to the point (after some work) that a loud loud firm NO! or HEY! should catch their attention (most of the time). Anytime they do something that isn't right, make a HUGE deal of it. Stomp, yell, make random caveman sounds to break their attention. Another thing that works (if you're not into spanking), is a empty soup can with a little change in it, then shake it. It's loud and it startles them into stopping whatever it is they're doing (most of the time).

 

some advice i would give you as well i have watched alot of the dog wisperer and ceasar is very good at explainging how to react and teach your dogs how to behave.. i would recomend watching it and adapting it to your pack (as he calls it lol)..

 

I like Ceasar, but have never been able to make the "poke and CHHH" work. Another good show is on Animal Planet called "it's me or the dog", she's really good as well.

Any misbehavior needs to be checked. I'm an old school kind of guy (not old though!), and I believe in putting them on their back when warranted, and I'll even bite their ear till they whine. I'm also a little heavy handed, although not at much as when they were younger. It's not needed anymore with them.

I've had one of my dogs growl at me once, when I went to lay with him on his bed. He hasn't done it since. I did a tough love therapy session on him, and kept laying on him until he decided that it was in his best interest to let me lay with him.

From looking at your avatar (beautiful dogs by the way), it looks like your dogs are already pretty well trained. So it shouldn't be a big jump for you to take the Alpha position.

 

Thanks , we actually have watched him .. The problem here is it has escalated from a manageable state ,to injury all of a sudden .... All three know I am the alpha human .. (they will not mess with me).The little one wants to dominate the elder ,& the elder won't back down if there is contact .. I saw it coming yesterday & got in the middle. Little one bit the older one on top of her head & wouldn't let go with me prying her mouth open . I had to hit her (first time ever for any of them ) to separate them . Elder one had to go to the vet today due to the swelling ...(not good) ...

 

They are fairly well trained for the most part , (for treats ) & couch space ,especially , but need a bunch more work ...

 

That's good that they're somewhat trained.

Perfect example, take the "trained for couch space". Laying on the couch should be seen as a privilege, if they jump up there and you didn't tell them to, make them get down, and earn it. Sit, stay, lay down, roll over, speak, whatever. THEN say "okay! good boy! get on up here". If they start crawling over on you looking for attention, make them get down, and start all over.

 

Sorry you had to hit your dog, but that may of got his attention. Did you make them go lay down and stay somewhere, somewhat like a time out? If you start with the alpha dog routine, it may end up being a one time deal.

I've never liked hitting my dogs, but saw it as a necessary evil sometimes. Main reason I've always felt bad about it is because I can't explain to them why I did that. When you spank a child, you can at least explain to them later the reasoning behind it, but a dog doesn't have that ability to "understand" WHY you hit him, event though it may correct future problems.

 

She got a time out .. (had to go in the house )

Playing ball time means everything to them ...

I had to hit her to separate them .. Little one was fine later in the house ...

 

By the way , they are all females ....Miki, the one with the biggest ears (no tongue hanging out) , Harley , the reddish one , & Lexi , the little one ....

 

In my experience, females always tend to be more territorial and "mean". Our smaller pit/boston terrier mix is 35 lbs, and our full pit is 65, she's meaner than he is.

I wouldn't sweat it too much, especially having three female dogs together, ***** is gonna happen. You can probably count on it happening again one day to be honest. If it becomes a regular thing and yous start noticing bad habits, ie: growling around toys, food, etc. then I'd take a good look at how you are doing things. Until then, just keep an eye out and try some of the things in the thread. Have the mindset of them EARNING everything they do from eating food, going outside (make them sit at the door first), getting on the couch or getting some lovin'. Whatever it is, you control it, and they earn it.

I'm sure they have German Shepard forums you could check out. When it comes down to it, no matter how hard we try, dogs will still be dogs sometimes. We can do all we can to mitigate that, but, they are still animals. Plus, those dogs of yours look WAY too innocent to do anything you've described here

 

I was holding a treat .. They ,for the most part ,have a very structured life . MY wife works with them all the time .. No one goes out side till its "OK" and never before us . They sit & wait , for everything...Just this one area that has become a problem , other than that they are wonderful to be around .

Every weekend ,rain or shine ,cold or warm , we play ball with the "chuckit".. Sometimes 3-4 hours ,or till they are worn out (Whichever comes first )

Thanks for your help

 

That's good that ya'll already do that, keep on it

If it's a rare thing that they get onry with each other it's not a HUGE deal. Anytime you have 2 or more dogs, at some point in time they aren't gonna get along for a few minutes. Trust me on that one. We have 4 dogs, and rarely does anything happen. Maybe once or twice every 6 months they will snap at each other, that's when I step in and take the bone/food/toy or just make them separate and go lay down and stay until I get tired of them laying there.

There are also 6 other dogs out where we live, and they all run together (ten all together, looks like a pound!) and they all play really well, BUT, every once in a while one will get short tempered with another, scrap, and be done with it.

I may get chastised for this, but I'm a firm believer in letting dogs me dogs for the most part. If my dog gets in a small scrap with another that lives out there, I'll keep an eye on it, but I sometimes just let it go. Why? Because 99% of the time it's not a fight to the death, just a squabble, and is over in 5 seconds. If it looks to be more serious or starts to last "too long" I step in and deal with it.

In your case, I would of stepped in as well, and ended it.

Sometimes, it just happens. I wouldn't fret, cause you can't go back and change it, all you can do is watch out for it the next time and try and mitigate the risks.



Anytime, anymore questions, don't hesitate to ask! I'll tell you all I know, from my personal experience. But as always, I'm sure there's someone here with more!