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My GSD Keeps Taking Toys away from my Cairn Terrier....Need Advice

1K views 16 replies 7 participants last post by  Linda1270 
#1 ·
My 1.5 year old GSD named Tess has suddenly began a mission of constantly going after my 1 year old Cairn Terrier named Maisie for whatever toy she might have. I need some advice on the best way to train Tess to keep her from doing this.

I always make sure that I have 2 of everything I give my two girls, however, in their minds, there is only 1 toy. This also goes for treats/bones, etc.... However, I always separate them when giving them any type of treats. I put Maisie in her crate and send Tess to her bed. When Tess finishes her treat, she'll go to Maisie's crate and start sniffing around, which leads Maisie to start growling.

When the two of them play together, they have a lot of fun, they do play rough but Maisie gives it right back to Tess. The thing is, I'm afraid that one of these times Tess might get a little too rough and hurt Maisie.

Any suggestions/advice, is greatly appreciated.
 
#2 ·
Correct Tess every single time she starts to go for something your Cairn might have. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. She'll pick up that it's not acceptable. If you cant be there to correct, someone needs to be crated so the behavior cant reinforce itself. Shasta does this with Dax. She gets corrected very quickly when she stands up to head towards Dax. She's gotten to the point she'll look to me to see if she can get away with it and all I have to do is shake my head no. She sulks but she's also almost 4 years old. Dax will try now and again, but even at a year old, he doesn't always try to get anything Shasta has. Shasta is the one I really have to watch. Unless there's a bone involved and then Dax is trying to steal that and gets busted on it.
 
#7 ·
Thank you for this, I put a lead on Tess to wear around the house and anytime she went near Maisie, I corrected her and said "NO". It's been working, just now Maisie was playing with an empty water bottle and Tess went to go after her and I called to her saying "Tess No" and she just laid down. I am going to say on top of this behavior and work on it with her every day. I can't wait until all the snow/water and mud are gone from my yard so I can work with her outside too. It's been such a long winter.
 
#3 ·
Sounds like the infamous female-female competition building up. Rough play can easily escalate into a serious fight. Do not leave the two together unsupervised. There are several threads on this topic if you type it in the search button. Consider hiring a trainer to come to your home and determine the best plan of action. But interview several to make sure you like their philosophies.
PS: buying two of the same toys will not solve things. They always want what the other has.
 
#8 · (Edited)
Totally agree with no matter how many toys they each have, they always want what the other one has. Tess is a quick study, loves to train and catches on pretty quickly. Tess has a trainer who also takes her out once a week on an adventure and I walk Tess on conservation trails, although lately, it hasn't been easy due to the snow and extreme cold. Maisie goes to day care once a week now and interacts extremely well with the other dogs there. Thank you for your input, I am very careful not to let them play without supervision. I'm home every day and always keep a very close watch on them.
 
#9 ·
Not cute not a joke, you need to get your act together. I don't do two females (Boxer thing) you need to exercise good leadership to have a hope of this pairing working! You don't want to wind up here!

Leerburg | Inter-Female Aggression in Dogs
I am well aware that this isn't a joke, that is why I am here asking for advice. The last thing I want is to see my two girls become aggressive toward one another, they have always got along extremely well.
 
#12 ·
Here are some links I found "after" my problems started. Oh yeah I had two dogs and added the third...I now had a "Pack"!

https://suite101.com/a/how-to-avoid-fights-in-multidog-households-a183736

Two or More Dogs

A member here posted this info, note Rank Drive that's what caught me out! I had always done Bully breeds, dogs with low rank drive. But my GSD was like OK you pilot the ship.."I'll" run the crew!:eek:
(Elements of Temperament, by Joy Tiz )
Dominate Male BullMastiff/PittMix vs Dominate Aggressive Male GSD, 15 months of no problems then it was on! I never saw it coming ! "I" screwed up! The door thing..it was "always" the Bully first out the door among the dogs!

But I was dealing with males! Anyway this is all stuff you don't have to learn the hardway!

Good luck. :)
 
#15 ·
You have to always keep in mind too that while some of us have small dogs that are tough, determined and scrappy, they can be easily injured by taking the fight to the big dog.

I have a 13 lb dog that is 14 years old and hates my 86 lb puppy's guts. I NEVER leave them alone for a second. My puppy doesn't do anything more than want to sniff the old dog, but some day he might decide not to stand for the snapping and snarling that ensues from the old guy. I'm the interventionist (unpaid at that).
 
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