If anyone needs help with dog behavior...

I need help please. I prefer the answer online so that others can benefit; I anticipate that up the line here y'all will cut and paste answers you are giving now into a faq.
I just adopted a 2 year old male. My GSD puppy, 6 months, is also male and they are showing hostilitites, growling and hackles rising. I have not permitted more than greetings through their wire crates, not direct.
I had hoped to wait until summer for neutering both of them as the clinic I use is clear across Houston and has day surgery so I can't realistically fit it in until I am through with this semester.
Are they gonna calm down any and play nice?
One is a GSD, the other new dog appears to be a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever although he was adopted as a stray.
The alpha dog is the little old Shih Tzu, he is not showing any issues (I guess he knows already he is superior lol)
I appreciate all suggestions.

My GSD puppy, 6 months, is also male and they are showing hostilitites, growling and hackles rising. I have not permitted more than greetings through their wire crates, not direct.

Hi Lucille. I'm glad to hear about your new addition. Let's get you fixed up with that aggression problem.

I first need to know who the aggressor is. I assume it's the new guy but I need to know for sure.

They are both showing the same behavior at the same time: growling, raised hackles, staring. Like 2 little boys wanting to show who is baddest. It would be funny but for the fact that I know that dogs can occasionally really fight instead of just establishing dominance and letting it go at that.
I know they have to establish their order but at the same time I do not want them to really hurt each other.
By himself the new dog is mellow and so far just an ideal dog; the six month shepherd is more hyper but I expect him to calm a bit with age. The shep has some confidence issues too, he manages to void a few drops when I ask for a sit or when he gets excited. I am ignoring this although I may ask the vet to check it out next time I take them in. I do not think it is a uti as it never happens when he is playing on the porch.

The shep has some confidence issues too, he manages to void a few drops when I ask for a sit or when he gets excited.

Hi Lucille. This sounds like submissive urination and we'll address this after the aggression.

Understand that there are no rules with regard to behavior modification in dogs. We try something. If it does not work, we try something else. It is also tough for me to make a determination on the best course of action to take because I am not there to see the dogs interacting with each other and how our presence influences their behavior. I am going to make recommendations that are more generic than specifically tailored to your individual problem.......but it should work just fine.

You are correct when you stated that they need to work things out for themselves. Let's do it without a bloodbath. Don't put them together in their separate kennels anymore. They may be "kennel proud" and they are each defending their own territory. You and a friend each take a dog outside on leash. You're both outside with the problem pups and avoid each other for a while. Gradually come a little closer and closer over time. Keep in mind that dogs communicate through body language and when you are constantly pulling on the leash expecting your dog to show his ass you are basically conveying to him that it is ok to be aggressive because you are ready for it. You have to be non-chalant about the process.

As the two dogs get closer to each other,any aggressive behavior, body posture, starring (they're thinking about it), needs to be corrected by a firm tug on the leash as you firmly say "No". Talk nice to both dogs and be as pleasant as possible. If they get very aggressive then you escalate you correction until they stop. Do not let them get in contact with each other the first time you try this. When they are good be sure to give them plenty of praise.

By the way. Do this outside and off your property in neutral territory for best results. Hopefully you use a training collar, (chain). If not, use what you have and see how it goes.

If they are doing really well the first time out then while on a leash just let them walk up to each other and see what happens. Do this only if you have a good feeling about how things went so far. Watch your body language (keep the leash somewhat loose).

Do this and let me know how it goes before we proceed. Good luck, Art

I thank you for the plan.
This morning there was a lot less posturing so they may be getting used to each other. I may wait a few days before trying the leash introduction plan, perhaps by next weekend they will be a lot calmer.

thanks for the offer art, hope you have a suggestion here ,,ok i have two dogs that just turned 1 years old.and i have had them since they were 8 weeks ,i had a doggy dog on my sliding doors so they can just go out when ever they want ,worked great but this winter got alittle cold and i removed it for the winter plus them getting older they now like to go out and bark at every moving thing no matter the time of day or night .but ever since i took the dog off i been trying to train them to let me know when they have to go out it doesn't seem to work to good,what they do is if they need to go out they will walk over to the siding door which is fine but if i don't catch it they will just go inside ,which isn't a good thing any ways of getting them to let me know or to let them know if no out no potty ...also i have noticed my one dog if hes sleeping in any of the bedrooms on the top floor or is in the basement and has to go number two he only does it on the stairs whats up with that any help would be great there great dogs other then that and a few other little things but there still puppies thanks again ...BTW there red nose pitbulls if that matters thanks

In order to fix this problem we have to bring it back to basics and teach them what their responsibilities are. I need to know if they are crate trained or not. If not, we have to crate train them first. Here's how.

Dogs have a denning instinct. If trained properly a kennel becomes a place of security rather than a prison. Always, if possible, associate positive things with the kennel so that you don't create any negativity toward it.

This is what a typical day should look like:

Dog sleeps all night in the kennel. First thing in the morning you go outside with the dog and praise for using the bathroom. Feed the dog when you come back inside. Feed a high quality dog food. I like Iams. Feed the dog in the kennel. After he eats go back outside with him. If he has recently used the bathroom then he gets the run of the house for a while. Put him back in the kennel for some time and then take him outside for a break. If he goes to the bathroom he gets free time in the house. If he doesn't use the bathroom then he goes back in the kennel.

You basically rotate the dog from the kennel, to outside, to the house and then back to the kennel. Keep water outside and don't free feed and water.
Gradually you decrease the amount of time in the kennel and increase the amount of time spent in the house.

Puppies need to eat at least twice a day. Do your last feeding by 6:00 or 6:30 in the evening. The last thing that you do at night is give the dog a break outside.

Correct whining and crying in the kennel with a muzzle correction. When you put the dog in the kennel and it whines, then open the kennel door, take the dog by the collar with one hand and squeeze his muzzle with the other continuously saying "NO, no, no,...." in a calm voice until he stops whining from the correction. Wait until the dog stops whining before you stop correcting. This is very important. Do not let the dog punk you out. It will be hard for you to do at first, but eventually the dog will realize, "Hey, if I shut up you will stop squeezing my face", and they will shut up. When you release the correction, close them back up in the kennel. Each and every time they whine give the same correction. After they have been quiet for a while, then you let them out. Outside that is. If the dog tries to pull away from you during the correction, don't let it. That's why you have the collar in the other hand. If you are afraid of the dog then do not do something that you are not comfortable doing.

This is a basic overview of house breaking. Hopefully it will help. It is unfortunately a lot of work. There is no magic wand on this one. Good luck, Art

This morning there was a lot less posturing so they may be getting used to each other. I may wait a few days before trying the leash introduction plan, perhaps by next weekend they will be a lot calmer.

Good. Use your judgement. You know your situation best. Apply what you think fits.

Lets talk about submissive urination. Dogs interpret direct eye contact as intimidating or aggressive behavior. Submissive urination stems from when the pups mother would like the genitals of the pup to stimulate urination. After the pups eyes are open the bitch (I just wanted to write that ) will just stare at the pup and it will urinate. When you stare at your dog his urinating response is natural and should not be corrected. Avert your eyes at those times when he is prone to urinate and he should grow out of it. Some dogs just get excited and pee. Try to keep them calm and they should eventually grow out of this as well. The main thing is to not correct for any of this behavior. They can't help it and the corrections make it worse.

Hope this helps. Good luck, Art

Originally Posted by Art Klass

Good. Use your judgement. You know your situation best. Apply what you think fits.

Lets talk about submissive urination. Dogs interpret direct eye contact as intimidating or aggressive behavior. Submissive urination stems from when the pups mother would like the genitals of the pup to stimulate urination. After the pups eyes are open the bitch (I just wanted to write that ) will just stare at the pup and it will urinate. When you stare at your dog his urinating response is natural and should not be corrected. Avert your eyes at those times when he is prone to urinate and he should grow out of it. Some dogs just get excited and pee. Try to keep them calm and they should eventually grow out of this as well. The main thing is to not correct for any of this behavior. They can't help it and the corrections make it worse.

Hope this helps. Good luck, Art

Thank you for the reply.
I have heard of this before and I am not correcting him. I am hoping he will grow out of it; right now we are spending time indoors in the rooms other than the living room because it is carpeted but the living room was actually done with them in mind as it has several big fluffy comfy dog beds (I matched the drapes to the dog beds, I don't know why I am mentioning this as I am sure a military person is not interested in drape color lol). Anyway I look forward to him calming down, probably at a year or thereafter, he is still a pup.

I have heard of this before and I am not correcting him. I am hoping he will grow out of it; right now we are spending time indoors in the rooms other than the living room because it is carpeted but the living room was actually done with them in mind as it has several big fluffy comfy dog beds (I matched the drapes to the dog beds, I don't know why I am mentioning this as I am sure a military person is not interested in drape color lol).

Lucille, I own a remodel and design business. I decorate for a living. Don't tell anybody, but I even like to make floral arrangements........No, i'm not gay, but my gay friends call me a metrosexual. That's for a different forum.

I want each dog to have his own bed so the new dog needs a new bed. The living room is done with neutral tans and browns and the dog beds are burgundy plaid and the drape scarves are done in burgundy. Since my new dog has red fur, I think light blue sets it off best, yesterday we bought him a new blue plaid collar with silver hearts and it looks beautiful.
What color dog bed would go with both the dog and the room?