new pup

[cawkazn]

I kept one of the pups (apbt)out of my females litter. He is male, he is about 4 months old now, him and my male get along great, but i know it wont be like this forever. eventually im going to have to keep these guys seperated from eachother. My question is, if they grow up together, they should get along for the most part, when i am not with them i am going to keep them seperated. Do you think once they are full grown i will have a problem with them getting along with eachother while i am there? lets say for example i want to take all 3 dogs on a walk, do you think my 2 males will be able to be around eachother like that? or am i going to have to keep them seperated from eachother 24/7?

[presasrus]

On how they will act later on, I don't know. Not to be a smartass at all but I know water in the freezer freezes, predicting dog behavior is not that easy. They may be fine, who knows. What else can you share? Any food aggression, toy aggression, dog aggression, fighting with each other, or whatever these are being termed as these days by trainers...? Are they neutered? While you are there, there shouldn't be so long as you have established your status long since. Not supervising, I would crate them/separate them no matter what to be safe for sure. Taking all three on a walk, as strong breeds, can be a problem. I did this once with three pits, all were muzzled, and because of some jackass it was almost catastrophic. He was out washing his car and had an akita off leash, that came to say hello. Can you physically handle this type of thing with three strong dogs in your care/control? It's the carelessness of others that can cause you big problems in situations like that, no matter how careful you are. Please give us some more information. I think the answer is time will tell but if you are responsible and not afraid to ask questions, it can be done. Others on here know a lot more than I do, this is just to get the ball rolling for you.

[SteelFistVelvetGlove]

What is called "food aggression" , "toy aggression" is not primarily aggression, they are shows of dominance, "This is my food, my toy, I control them not you"
Aggression may be used to enforce and obtain dominance but it is not the primary drive in this case.

If aggression was the primary drive, full civil behaviour then a dog would simply attack without displaying any domiance, control over a thing or situation.

You want to stop dominance, trump it with your own dominance, there are many aspects to this.

Below is an online book that addresses dog behaviour.


http://books.google.com/books?id=-aAhFDeAHrkC&dq=Handbook+of+Applied+Dog+Behaviour+and+Training&pg=PP1&ots=3oUA3_sES6&sig=bnGaJbm-K7MYyiXQBw5ziu2EjVU&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=8&ct=result#PPA4,M1


Aggression: the action of a state in violating by force the rights of another state, particularly its territorial rights; an unprovoked offensive, attack, invasion, or the like: The army is prepared to stop any foreign aggression. 2.any offensive action, attack, or procedure; an inroad or encroachment: an aggression upon one's rights. 3.the practice of making assaults or attacks; offensive action in general. 4.Psychiatry. overt or suppressed hostility, either innate or resulting from continued frustration and directed outward or against oneself.

Dominance: –noun 1.rule; control; authority; ascendancy. 2.the condition of being dominant. 3.Psychology. the disposition of an individual to assert control in dealing with others. 4.Animal Behavior. high status in a social group, usually acquired as the result of aggression, that involves the tendency to take priority in access to limited resources, as food, mates, or space. 5.Neurology. the normal tendency for one side of the brain to be more important than the other in controlling certain functions, as speech and language.

[cawkazn]

I think they will be fine on a walk together, and my girlfriend will be walking the female. as long as I have prong collars on them I can control them fine. Even without a prong collar and a regular collar I can control them but with the prong collar they pull alot less. A while back I had a female apbt the i found as a stray, her and my female did not get along at first, but eventually they were fine. Its just in this case I will have 2 males so they may be slightly more aggressive. Basically if im not there, they will be seperated. I just want them to be able to be around eachother and not to the point of being seperated all the time, like just fight on site, I dont think they will be like that. My male is 15 months now and still just a big goofball, and not very dog aggressive at all.

[genevieve]

I think an important consideration also is what lines the dogs are.

Also, 15 months is still a puppy.

These things can be done, but it depends on the dogs temperament and the owners as well. Hypervigilence and being a strong, dominant leader (which doesn't always mean heavy handed) can help a lot.

Genevieve

[cawkazn]

yeah as far as establishing dominance over your dogs what do you guys do?

[Eamonn08]

Im pretty new on here, but have owned bull type breed my whole life. When dealing with dominant dogs you need to make it clear to the dog that you control everything in his life.

You are not going to win in a physical battle with a presa, pit bull, american bulldog etc... so you have to establish dominance in more subtle ways.

With a real dominant male i always make sure that everything is very clearly regimented and set out so that he sees that each thing that he gets comes from the fact that he has earned it.

For example; When going out to walk the dog before i open the cage he has to sit on command. If he doesn't sit i go back into the house and come out later. When he sits i then step into the kennel and take him out into the garden (me always in front/leading). I then will ignore the dog for several minutes (i.e. i am the pack leader and he is not worthy of my attention). Then i will when he is in a calm state of mind do some obedience with him.

In this way you are very clearly sending the dog the message that you make the decisions and that everything he gets has to be earned. Whether it be food, water or affection.

Then of course there are the basic rules to follow such as;

- You go through doors first.
- You walk in front when out on walks
- He doesn't stay in the same area as yu when you eat (in the wild the
pack leader eats alone
- He's not allowed on the furniture etc etc...

Don't know if this helps but thats my pennys worth :):)

[genevieve]

I agree, big fan of the Nothing In Life Is Free protocol.

http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm

Also, dominance is more about attitude and presence than it is about physical force. An interesting article:

http://dogpublic.com/articles/article.aspx?sid=14&pid=1640

Genevieve