I need some ideas on how to set up a very specific training situation. Me and Mu are going to my parent's house for the weekend. My parents have two dogs, Max (2 year old incredibly obnoxious yet hilarious male Airedale) and Shadow (a 4ish year old somewhat laid back female Catahoula). Mu and Max get along okay - he likes to torment her but he's also kind of terrified of her so after she tells him off it usually works out. Mu and Shadow get along great, they basically just ignore each other.
What I'm worried about is all three of them together (something that has never happened but likely will this weekend). When Max, Shadow, and Murphy are out together Shadow will pick on Murphy - she runs up while Murph and Max are playing and pinches the back of his neck until he tells her off. I *think* it's an over stimulation thing, because I actually intercepted her trying to do it to Mu when something exciting happened in the house one day.
My dad's reaction is to verbally and/or physically back her off of the other dog, which works but doesn't work for long. I really want to set this situation up for success and I'd really like to find a fix that doesn't involve yelling at Shadow because she already has confidence issues and yelling isn't going to fix it anyway.
Foreseeable problems
- Mu doesn't play with Max - she only tells him off when he tries to play with her. I don't know if her snarking at him will be enough to get Shadow to try the neck pinching behavior so we can redirect it.
- Mu will resource guard me over food and hover in front of anyone else that has food.
- My parents love my dogs and their dogs but they're not very good at training. If it were up to me I would put a solid recall and leave it on Shadow and reinforce her for ignoring the behavior. They aren't going to do that and I prefer not to beat my head against that wall so I need a simple solution.
Any advice or suggestions are welcome! I have some ideas but I thought I'd open it up because I really want this to work (and we can implement it in future situations with Tipper and Murphy).
What I'm worried about is all three of them together (something that has never happened but likely will this weekend). When Max, Shadow, and Murphy are out together Shadow will pick on Murphy - she runs up while Murph and Max are playing and pinches the back of his neck until he tells her off. I *think* it's an over stimulation thing, because I actually intercepted her trying to do it to Mu when something exciting happened in the house one day.
My dad's reaction is to verbally and/or physically back her off of the other dog, which works but doesn't work for long. I really want to set this situation up for success and I'd really like to find a fix that doesn't involve yelling at Shadow because she already has confidence issues and yelling isn't going to fix it anyway.
Foreseeable problems
- Mu doesn't play with Max - she only tells him off when he tries to play with her. I don't know if her snarking at him will be enough to get Shadow to try the neck pinching behavior so we can redirect it.
- Mu will resource guard me over food and hover in front of anyone else that has food.
- My parents love my dogs and their dogs but they're not very good at training. If it were up to me I would put a solid recall and leave it on Shadow and reinforce her for ignoring the behavior. They aren't going to do that and I prefer not to beat my head against that wall so I need a simple solution.
Any advice or suggestions are welcome! I have some ideas but I thought I'd open it up because I really want this to work (and we can implement it in future situations with Tipper and Murphy).