Underpinning everything is keeping stress/arousal levels as low as they can. Too much of anything, whether it’s attention, fuss, exercise or play, causes stress of sorts. Arousal primes the two dogs so that the smallest, most insignificant thing then tips them over and can trigger an explosion. Just a look, even.
Why does one dog suddenly attack another dog in the home when excited or aroused? When someone new comes to the door, they shut the two Dalmatians behind a gate. They will be barking loudly as the person enters the house. Lincoln is barking with excitement. Lucas’ excitement quickly spills Read more
Why would one puppy scream and pull on walks while the other joins in by barking? Being pulled down the road by two little dogs, one screaming and one barking in sympathy, is no joke. Mollie and her sibling sister Maggie are absolutely adorable little Miniature Schnauzers, six months of age. They have Read more
Why would two young dogs react with frantic barking to almost everything in daily life? I walked in the door to be met with frantic barking. Brave Luna, with frantic barking, came right up to me. Her sister backed her up but with less enthusiasm. Luna and Bear are same-sex Read more
Both dogs pull badly on lead. They jump up at people and leap at other dogs.
Why would two young male dogs raised together start competing and fighting as they mature? They got both Harley and Louis as puppies, at about the same time, ten months ago. They are now seeing some of the problems they might encounter with same-sex siblings. The two dogs are, in Read more
Why would two older dogs that have lived together for years suddenly start fighting? It’s a sad situation. The Irish Terrier brother and sister, now ten years old, have had the occasional spat in the past. Lottie was always the most confident one. Hugo is more fearful and has been very Read more
Other dogs have to be transformed into something the puppies feel happy to see. Force won’t do that.
I have just been to two five-month-old Canaan siblings. Before the family picked them up about four weeks ago, despite being brother and sister, each puppy had had a very different life.
There have now been about five episodes where he has snapped at someone – including a person who insisted on touching him when they were out, a neighbour and a friend. They were all people who reached out to touch him when he didn’t want to be touched. The little dog had made it clear.