Ok, not sure if this is the right forum, but it did say this is the place for behavior discussion, and so I thought i'd give it a try. I'd like to start by providing back ground info. U can get some from my "new member" thread here:http://www.chazhound.com/forums/member.php?u=4108. I apologize ahead of time for this very long post. Now, my two dogs, Honey(family dog) and Sassy(my personal dog), are two totally different animals in personality. Both are currently living with my parents at home, whereas I live about 3 hours away in the town where I go to university. Honey is the gentlest dog i've ever met. She is a cockerspaniel, about 5 years old and i have never once in her entire life witnessed her bare her teeth, or growl in a threatening way. She will bark at people on the street but more in fear and to alert us, than out of anger. She loves all people, it would seem. The neighborhood my parents live in is rural and has a great love of dogs. I'd say about 40-50 percent of the people living on their street have owned or own a dog. Therefore, until recently when our neighbor moved in next door, we never had a real problem with letting her run free. Just about everyone on the street has done so with their dogs. With our new neighbor (well, he's been there about 3 years) we've let her run, but we watch to make sure she stays in the yard. She does so, as she is uncomfortable with straying far. About a year ago (late february, early march 2004), Sassy came into our lives and was placed in my care. I was never a main caretaker of our dogs (before honey, we had another cockerspaniel/family pet named Zach). She seemed like a normal puppy once she got over her initial illness (even the illness didn't slow her up). She would pounce playfully on Honey, and Honey merely ignored her and walked away. She has now passed her 1 year mark and I am growing concerned about some issues. 1) My first issue is how my parents raise her. It was obvious Sassy was a typical Beagle and could never be trusted to run free like honey, as her nose would only bring mischief. We have no fence in our yard, so my parents (since i left for college in summer 2004) only chain her on a long chain in our open backyard. I fear that my parents don't give her nearly enough attention, as they only chain her up, and leave her out their to do her business, then let her back in. When i am there, I walk her personally for at least an hour, or at least hang outside with her while she is chained. Further, while my parents never mistreat her, my father engages her in more aggressive playfulness such as tug of war and will wave his hands at her to make her jump at him and grumble at him in what he calls a playful manner. From what I have read, this is not something u r supposed to do, correct? my mother merely gives her a bone, and leaves her to it, unless Sassy is in her calm phase, in which time she is ready to recieve petting and cuddling. then my mother gives her that attention. They never seem to have problems while my parents work, as Sassy and honey have each other for company and seem to merely sleep while they are away. My concern, in general, is that my parents are not giving Sassy enough attention. They are used to honey, who is perfectly intent on being the cuddly pet who sits politely in your lap with no arguements. Sassy is far more energetic though.2) My second concern is Sassy's occassional aggression towards Honey. As a smally puppy, it was cute and playful when she would pounce on honey who was bigger than her at the time. Honey merely treated her as an annoying child and would walk away. In the last few months (i'd say since Sassy reached full growth) Sassy still is picking on Honey, but it is becoming worrisome. She growls, snarls and barks, and honey, while she doesn't bare her teeth, will growl and bark back. A couple weeks ago, my parents informed me Honey finally retaliated and it seems one of Honeys claws caught Sassy in the eye (no damage done otherwise and no blood has happened in any other scuffles, but it was a concern). These scuffles are becoming less and less common as Sassy got older (went from every day playful pouncing to once a month), but it has gotten violent, as my example shows. My thought is that they are either establishing dominance, or it is a jealousy thing. The latter theory stems from watching Sassy constantly taking honey's bones, and toys, and from watching sassy purposefully get too close to honey so that honey will move from her spot. When honey moves to the other couch, Sassy sometimes follows and gets too close so that honey will have to move again. I used to think that Sassy was just being sociable, but it seems possible that she is purposefully trying to annoy Honey. Am i just imagining this? (3) My last issue concerns behavior towards me and my parents. Now, honey, as i said, is the sweetest dog. She NEVER growls at us when she's eating, sleeping or anything like that or when we get near her with her toys in her possession. Sassy does none of the above either, EXCEPT for the sleeping thing. Sassy DESPISES being moved when she is asleep on our couch. She can be petted in a gentle manner (though, at first touch she will growl, but she calms at a gentle touch), but if it moves her, she will begin to growl, and sometimes snap at us. About a month or two ago, my dad tried to pet her, kiss her, and hug her while she rested on the couch. He came out of it with a bite on the face. Not a serious one that needed stitches, but it drew blood. I have not thought much of this, as i figured it is common for a dog not to want to be touched while sleeping or resting comfortably, but the only way we can seem to get her up out of this state is to tell her she's going outside (she is not trained for the "come" command, though i want to teach her if i ever can). When we approach her to take her to the kitchen to sleep when it's bedtime, she sits up and growls at us. we have to stand back and wait for her to calm down before we can take her, and even then we have to pick her up at arms length til she is calm. I'd probably say it's this last behavior that concerns me most. She never shows aggression towards ANYONE or ANYTHING EVER, except at these times (when in a resting position on the couch). Is this something i should be concerned about? I've never had troubles with honey growling at us when we pet her while she sleeps, yet Sassy does. Again, I REALLY apologize for this long, long post, but I want very much to be a good caretaker and to understand my friend and pet
If I need to clarify or explain more in-depth on a certain issue, just ask Thank you to all who advise on this issue
If I need to clarify or explain more in-depth on a certain issue, just ask Thank you to all who advise on this issue