[LegalBeagle]

My husband and I have a three year old beagle girl, Lady, and a seven month old beagle boy, Flip. We've had Lady since she was eight weeks old - she was small, weak, and couldn't use her back legs. Thanks to lots of TLC (it helps to have a veterinarian in the family) she is now a healthy dog and has no trouble with her back legs (she frequently demonstrates just how well they work as she walks around the table on her hind legs looking for goodies).

We decided to get a second beagle so Lady wouldn't be alone during the day. In May we added Flip to our family - he was 9 weeks old at the time, was in really good health, and was nearly twice the size Lady was at the same age.

The problem is that since day one we have had a difficult time getting them to get along, in large part because Flip has a very dominant personality. Lady tends to be very quiet and a little on the submissive side, probably because of her rough early days. Sometimes they really enjoy playing together, but other times it's all we can do to keep Flip from trying to assert his dominance over her, usually by biting at her around her neck and ears. He will go out the door and wait for her to follow, then grab her as she comes out the door.

We have taken him to training classes at Petsmart, which I think helped some. We also had him neutered about a month ago, when he turned 6 months old. He is a very smart pup, and was very easy to teach basic commands. When he's going after Lady he won't pay attention to us, though. He will back off if we squirt him with the water bottle. Does anyone have advice as to resolving this situation? I feel bad for Lady - she was here first and doesn't deserve to be picked on all the time, and won't really stand up for herself. Flip has the potential to be a really good dog, and he is generally well-behaved other than this. I just want both dogs to be happy and safe...

 

[fauxpasta]

I think it will take time and consistency to get Flip to where he isn't so dominant. I have a somewhat similar situation with a submissive boy (Spock) and a dominant girl (Bones). The girl came to live with my boyfriend and me at age 5 months. She was very unsocialized (and not housebroken at all), having spent 3 months of her life in a pet store display case. The submissive boy was not much older than she was, so they bonded fairly quickly, but she was definitely trying to be the alpha dog with her rough play and growling.

One thing that seemed to help was that we strictly enforced a pecking order where the dog who had been there the longest and who was submissive was (and still is) the one who received attention, treats, training, and food first. One of my friends who had 3 dogs and a parade of fosters taught me the system (her elderly poodle was first, then the bossy 6-pound Yorkie, then the 100+ pound Great Pyr, then whatever foster was living there), and it's worked great for us.

Another thing that helped us (but probably less so than the pecking order) was having the dominant girl dog spend supervised time with another dominant dog. When we first got our dominant puppy, we had a roommate whose mature adult husky-lab mix had been used to being the only dog in his house until he met our submissive boy (they got along just fine). When the girl would cross the line, the dominant older dog would correct her.

It took several months for the dominant girl dog to attach to us firmly as her pack, recognize my boyfriend and me as the pack leaders, and come to love all of us. There were times during those first few months that my boyfriend talked openly of giving her up. But we are so proud of the progress she's made. She's still occasionally a little bossy and obstinate, and our boy is still submissive, to an extent, but overall, we are so happy she's in our family, and the companionship she and our submissive boy dog share is invaluable in keeping them happy.

 

[MyKale]

I know getting him fixed will help... but when i got my puppy fixed i didnt see a chance in him for a few months... so hopefully after a few more months he will calm down some more..

but other than that i had to show my puppy that i am alpha dog it took a while for him to get it but he eventually learned his place.