Harley got in a big fight!! But why...(long)

[harley'smama]

My dad owns land in the country so everyone went out there last night sledding & took the dogs. Everything was going fine until thisneighbor dog Buddy came over.

Now, Harley has been out there playing with my dad's dog Hogan & Buddy before with no problems. But for some reason Harley didn't want to play with Buddy last night. He attacked him, not once but several times. And Buddy did nothing to Harley except came up to him sniffing. Luckily I left his harness on him (so I wouldn't loose him in the snow ) so we were able to grab him off Buddy. Then he escaped my dad's hold & went after him again. This time we couldn't get him off Buddy. I ended up having to use my sled to break it up. For the rest of the night (only an hour) Harley was tied to the tree. Every time Buddy would walk past him Harley would snarl & bark at him.

I really don't know why he got like that last night. He's never been agressive towards anyone or any dog. I'm really hoping he's not turning out to be agressive. I just don't want him to be mean.

Here's my theory as to why he acted like that: Zoe has never been out to the country to play before so that was the first time her & Buddy met. I'm guessing maybe he was protecting her??!!?? I didn't see the first fight because I was at the bottom of the hill but my dad did. I guess Buddy went up to Zoe & Har didn't like that. My cousin had his boxer Trace there & Harley never got mad at him for anything. But, Trace has been over to play with Harley & Zoe! Trace did snap at Buddy to though!

Can dogs put off some kind of scent that pisses other dogs off?? I'm just really confused as to why Harley acted this & I want to see if there's some way to prevent it from happening again. We tried holding Harley & Buddy & letting Harley sniff him but he'd sniff once & snap.

 

[vasha]

When I first got Lola, Kaiser would start fights at the park when dogs came up to her. Now that she has settled into the household, he no longer does this - she holds her own I guess.

Sorry I dont have more info for ya!

VaSHa

 

[Sube Ru's mom]

Is harley fixed???sometimes what happens is as a male dog gets older and is still intact they become aggressive, especially with other male dogs. so it might be that or if he is fixed he might be protecting zoe.

 

[harley'smama]

Oh yeah, Harley got fixed when he was 4 months old, which was 6 months ago. I just figured he was being protective of her but why has he never done it with any other dogs???

 

[HubbyManiago]

We had just gotten over a dominance issue with our two female boxers, Phoebe and Gracie.
Only until we let Gracie feed first and showing Phoebe that it is not allowed to fight was this issue settled. I don’t believe this issue will be resolved quickly and there is not one answer to resolve this issue. It might help if the two dogs interact with each other in a neutral location.

:confused:

 

[Lizzie]

Okay, I'm no expert, but I think Harley may have been protecting Zoe over a perceived threat from Buddy.

I had a similar incident about a week ago in which Diva (3.5 yrs) and Monty (only nine months old) were with me at a friends house. Tasha, the Weimaraner was inside. Diva and Tasha are great mates, but as yet Tasha can't quite work Monty out as he is bigger than her and he is also a pushy pup sometimes and therefore we keep them separated. Well as I came out of the door Tash sidled by me and of course Monty being the playful pup that he is tried to sniff and get to Tasha and Tasha told him to get away from her. Diva was having none of this and she actually snarled and backed Tasha into a corner. It left me shaking I can tell ya! Fortunately I managed to quickly grab both Monty and Diva and it was all over within about 30 seconds or so (if that). Just to make sure that there wasn't a problem between Diva and Tasha, before I left we got these two together without Monty and they were fine. Both my friend and I believe that Diva was being protective of Monty.

As I said I'm no expert, but it sounds sorta similar between Harley, Buddy and Zoe.

 

[Debbie Magon]

Dogs are just like people.
There are some they will like and get on with and some they percieve as a type of threat.

Boxers are a notoriously scrappy breed so I am not surprised to hear he has taken acception to another male.
Neutering dogs does calm them down somewhat but it dosnt take the "dog" out of the dog , if you get my dift?

Why dont you try taking Harley to see Buddy without the presence of Zoe and see if things are any different?
If they are not , it simply means he doesnt like Buddy anymore.
At 10 mths Harley is "growing up".

 

[Tulsa-Dan]

I would agree with Debbie here. You may never in your lifetime figure out the "whys" of a particular behavior your dog exhibits. We are not dogs and can't read their minds. Therefore, it is sort of a useless exercise to try and figure out why a dog behaves in a certain manner under certain conditions.

What you DO have is the behavior which is unwanted or needs to be modified. This is where your concentration should lie. If you can see triggers which "set the dog off" then you can do what you can to avoid those triggers or re-associate them with things other than whatever the dog is associated with them prior to this point. It is up to us to change the dog's perspective with regards to such triggers.

The behavior itself can be modified or redirected to other, more acceptable behaviors when it occurs. This is done pretty much like any training, with the exception of fearful dogs, which should not be forced into a fearful situation.

And the No. 1 Rule of introducting two new dogs is to introduce them IN NEUTRAL TERRITORY. You introduced them in one of the other dog's territory. This causes all kinds of physchological associations and instinctive reactions in dogs. Not a wise thing to do. And, always keep a close supervisory eye on your dogs if they are playing with new "friends." Expect the unexpected and you'll be prepared for most anything.

Good luck.

 

[harley'smama]

And the No. 1 Rule of introducting two new dogs is to introduce them IN NEUTRAL TERRITORY. You introduced them in one of the other dog's territory. This causes all kinds of physchological associations and instinctive reactions in dogs. Not a wise thing to do. And, always keep a close supervisory eye on your dogs if they are playing with new "friends." Expect the unexpected and you'll be prepared for most anything.

That's what I don't get though, they have played in the country before with no fights, but I guess Buddy considers it HIS territory.

Why dont you try taking Harley to see Buddy without the presence of Zoe and see if things are any different?
If they are not , it simply means he doesnt like Buddy anymore.

I was thinking about trying that Debbie so I'm glad to see someone seconds that idea

At 10 mths Harley is "growing up".

Oh no, my baby can't be growing up! :eek: He's supposed to be nothing but a big puppy forever


I've also noticed some aggressive, mainly with food, behavior towards Zoe. If she even looks at him while he's chewing on a bone he growls, but only if I'm not in the room. Is he just trying to prove his dominance to her?
I was wondering if there was any books or web-sites that target training on these specific behaviors? I have a feeling I can use all the help I can get.

 

[Debbie Magon]

I cant suggest any books but I am aware that many have been written about dog behaviour.
Check out this site for books available.

What I have noticed just in general observation here, is that my dogs dont seem to worry overly about their general meal , but introduce a bone and all hell can break loose!

Bones seem to be a very territorial issue with many dogs and I know of my own, a few pretty serious fights have ensued over bones!
I never feed my dogs bones together now for this reason.
All are given the respect they deserve and are put in individual runs till they have finished.
Toys can also be the basis of a scrap ensuing but usually not a serious type.
Dog behaviour can be confusing and unpredictable, but usually it is founded in their natural behavioural patterns.
We as humans have far to go to understand the complexities of the canine mind, but I think most people have a basic understanding.

The more I have seen/heard about dog behaviour the more I realise dogs may be humanised , but they still live by their ancestral rules.