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[Yola1909]

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Hello I am looking for help urgently. We just rescued a 1.5 year old doberman pincher gal. She is good with my other 2 dogs but has been harassing my cats. I am terrified she is going to hurt them. She doesn't mind them if we are all hanging out but as soon as they want to leave and run off she chases them. It's not playful chasing it's more like she wants to cause them harm. We want to make this new family member work but I also don't want to put my cats lives at stake. She had also been showing some resource guarding and we are trying to break her of that by teaching her to leave it. She seems very rambunctious due to her young age. Please any behavior advice would be so greatly appreciated.

 

[Violet Turner]

Welcome.
When you say resource guarding, is it towards food? Bones? Treats? Etc.

• Teach your dog the cue GIVE or TRADE. Start with objects that he does not value as much and treats that are highly valued. Then gradually work your way up to objects that he cares very much about. Ask for him to give the object, then either wait for him to do so (if he knows the cue) or cause him to do so by presenting food near his mouth. Reward and praise him for dropping the object, then give it back to him as soon as he's done chewing. Practicing this cue, giving the resource back each time, helps the dog understand that giving away his resources to a human is a good thing, so there's no reason to guard them. Children should only work on this step under adult supervision. Start with the family member that the dog trusts most (growls at least). Resource Guarding – How to Teach Your Dog to Share | Grisha Stewart.

In regards to the cats, dobermans are big dogs. The dogs could see the cats as toys. Could you put up a stair guard to separate the rooms in the house?

 

[Yola1909]

She resource guards from the other dogs. She is non human aggressive. I can play with her mouth and hand feed her and take away toys. She resource guards everything toys, dog bed, food from the other two dogs. We have been working with her on give and leave it cue. We have only had her 1 week yesterday since bringing her home from the shelter. This is why we are trying to correct the behavior immediately. We have baby gates out up to separate the cats and her. The spare rooms have a baby gate so the cats have a safe space to stay. I know they are upset though since before they would roam the house, sit in their car condo, sleep on the bed with us. Now they hide in the spare room. She only goes after them when they run otherwise she pays them no mind.

Welcome.
When you say resource guarding, is it towards food? Bones? Treats? Etc.

• Teach your dog the cue GIVE or TRADE. Start with objects that he does not value as much and treats that are highly valued. Then gradually work your way up to objects that he cares very much about. Ask for him to give the object, then either wait for him to do so (if he knows the cue) or cause him to do so by presenting food near his mouth. Reward and praise him for dropping the object, then give it back to him as soon as he's done chewing. Practicing this cue, giving the resource back each time, helps the dog understand that giving away his resources to a human is a good thing, so there's no reason to guard them. Children should only work on this step under adult supervision. Start with the family member that the dog trusts most (growls at least). Resource Guarding – How to Teach Your Dog to Share | Grisha Stewart.

In regards to the cats, dobermans are big dogs. The dogs could see the cats as toys. Could you put up a stair guard to separate the rooms in the house?

 

[merlina]

Hi- and wow! I do understand how hard it is with a new rescue dog- I've had three and still have one, a resource guarder. First can I say Don't panic! You are at an early stage and your dog will be very anxious too. (Remember to you, you've provided a lovely home- to the dog, this is kidnap by strangers! What will happen, she wonders? Do they intend to hurt or kill me? She has no way of knowing.) Of course there are lots of good methods to kindly modify behaviour but my best advice just now is to try to keep a very calm atmosphere in the house- not too much attention even petting and praise. Obviously look at the physical changes you can make so that your cats have a safe haven- in every room if poss! Otherwise you are going to have to keep them separate for now. And of course do what's needed to keep bad interactions with animals and people to zero if you can. But let her settle- it can takes as long as it takes, every dog is different. I've done lots of things to get over RG but you'll be bombarded with advice so won't add to it. Just chill and wait...

 

[Yola1909]

Hi- and wow! I do understand how hard it is with a new rescue dog- I've had three and still have one, a resource guarder. First can I say Don't panic! You are at an early stage and your dog will be very anxious too. (Remember to you, you've provided a lovely home- to the dog, this is kidnap by strangers! What will happen, she wonders? Do they intend to hurt or kill me? She has no way of knowing.) Of course there are lots of good methods to kindly modify behaviour but my best advice just now is to try to keep a very calm atmosphere in the house- not too much attention even petting and praise. Obviously look at the physical changes you can make so that your cats have a safe haven- in every room if poss! Otherwise you are going to have to keep them separate for now. And of course do what's needed to keep bad interactions with animals and people to zero if you can. But let her settle- it can takes as long as it takes, every dog is different. I've done lots of things to get over RG but you'll be bombarded with advice so won't add to it. Just chill and wait...

Thank you I know we have given her a wonderful forever home. We will keep working with her and definitely plan on doing what we can to keep all interactions safe for everyone. We couldn't allow her to be euthanized at such a young age. I was definitely panicking because she went after our father cat today and his getaway is slower since he is older. We will keep our Hope's high and stay positive. Thank you for the reassurance and kind words.

 

[JoanneF]

@JudyN has experience of resource guarding but for the moment feed her separately, alone, so she doesn't have any need to guard her food from the other dogs. Lift all the toys, and beds if possible - at night I would let her sleep in a separate room - or have 4 beds, in separate places if your other dogs are happy to use any of them - she can't be in all of them at once.

 

[Yola1909]

@JudyN has experience of resource guarding but for the moment feed her separately, alone, so she doesn't have any need to guard her food from the other dogs. Lift all the toys, and beds if possible - at night I would let her sleep in a separate room - or have 4 beds, in separate places if your other dogs are happy to use any of them - she can't be in all of them at once.

We bought several bowls to ensure they can all eat safely and separately. We take toys away if she shows signs of aggression towards the other 2 dogs. I also bought another bed 1 for each dog but she follows them if they try to lay in the other beds and growls at them. Beds are in three different places but she will not allow them to sleep in any and obviously she can't be in 3 places at once. So our dalmatian has been sleeping in bed with us since he refuses to sleep on the floor. She definitely had a shit life before we adopted her. We suspect abuse and she was already bred for puppies and she's only about 1.5 years old.

 

[JoanneF]

Poor girl. It's early days yet, but sleeping separately will allow everyone to be safe and will be less stressful for her if she isn't having to try and get all the beds.

 

[JudyN]

I'm afraid my experience is with resource guarding against people and not other dogs so I can't offer much advice beyond what has been said. A couple of things spring to mind though.

We take toys away if she shows signs of aggression towards the other 2 dogs. I also bought another bed 1 for each dog but she follows them if they try to lay in the other beds and growls at them. Beds are in three different places but she will not allow them to sleep in any and obviously she can't be in 3 places at once.

1) If you take away toys after she has shown aggression, this could make the problem worse - she feels like she has to fight harder to keep what she wants/thinks she needs. So manage, manage, manage, manage, to make sure these situations don't arise in the first place. This may mean keeping her separated from the other pets unless there are no toys and no food around and she can be under close supervision.

2) I have heard that in multi-dog households there should be one more bed than there is dogs. I'm not sure of the exact reasoning - so each dog always has a choice? but it was from a behaviourist I respect.

Finally, and others may disagree, she might not be the right dog for your situation and if that's the case, it's better to admit as much now, rather than wait until she's done something like bite a cat or dog and will be far harder to rehome even to a home with no other pets. Generally you have to return the dog to the rescue you got her from, so they may want to advertise her as only suitable for households without other pets, which might not be a problem at this stage. You also do have to prioritise the health and wellbeing of your other pets - as much as you want to give her the wonderful home she deserves, it's possible she'll never get along with your other pets and it would IMO be wrong to inflict the stress and risk of injury on them.

I'm not an expert - just my tuppenceworth, but I really hope you find a solution.

 

[Yola1909]

I'm afraid my experience is with resource guarding against people and not other dogs so I can't offer much advice beyond what has been said. A couple of things spring to mind though.

This is great advice and that's what we are hoping is that we can possibly correct the behaviors. We have only had her 8 days now. We want to try and give her a month because from what I read it can take up to 3 weeks for a dog to become secure and adjusted. We will see with time though. Otherwise we would have to do what's best for our current fur family and regime her with the best interests of our current animals and hers in mind. The cats are my greatest concern at this given time since they are my most affected by this. They are also the most vulnerable. For now we have baby gates up to create safe spaces in the home for them. But they don't come out etc anymore like they did becore.


1) If you take away toys after she has shown aggression, this could make the problem worse - she feels like she has to fight harder to keep what she wants/thinks she needs. So manage, manage, manage, manage, to make sure these situations don't arise in the first place. This may mean keeping her separated from the other pets unless there are no toys and no food around and she can be under close supervision.

2) I have heard that in multi-dog households there should be one more bed than there is dogs. I'm not sure of the exact reasoning - so each dog always has a choice? but it was from a behaviourist I respect.

Finally, and others may disagree, she might not be the right dog for your situation and if that's the case, it's better to admit as much now, rather than wait until she's done something like bite a cat or dog and will be far harder to rehome even to a home with no other pets. Generally you have to return the dog to the rescue you got her from, so they may want to advertise her as only suitable for households without other pets, which might not be a problem at this stage. You also do have to prioritise the health and wellbeing of your other pets - as much as you want to give her the wonderful home she deserves, it's possible she'll never get along with your other pets and it would IMO be wrong to inflict the stress and risk of injury on them.

I'm not an expert - just my tuppenceworth, but I really hope you find a solution.