please help!

[jessixerin]

My boyfriend and I have 3 dogs. The first dog we got is Bella, a 1 year-old female. She is not spayed (although I am going to get her spayed in the near future). She is a Black Lab/German Sheppard mix. Next, we rescued Rocky from an Amish farm where he was chained up in a barn. He is neutered. We estimate that he is about 1-2 years old and he is a Boxer. Our third dog is Allie. We rescued her while she was running in the street near where I work. She is about 3 months old and we think she is either a Pit Bull or Staffordshire Terrier. The problem we are having now is with Bella. She listens pretty well to me, but not to my boyfriend. The other day he was opening the door and when he reached to hold her so she wouldn't run out, she bit him and ran out. Since we have had Allie, Bella has shown more aggression towards Allie. When it was just Bella and Rocky, they would occasionally get in "fights" (neither dog was harmed, just some growling and rough biting). With Allie, however, Bella has bitten her several times pretty hard and has left tooth marks in her skin. Allie is ok, it doesn't seem to even bother her, but it obviously bothers us. I'm not sure if Bella is jealous of Allie, or if she is just trying to show Allie that she is the alpha. (I don't think that it is too common for a female to be the alpha in a house with a male dog, but Bella is clearly the alpha in our house). I have tried showing Bella more attention, rewarding her for playing nicely with Allie, etc. but nothing seems to be helping. Tonight she attacked Allie and left 2 large tooth marks on Allie's face. My boyfriend is fed up and says that I need to get rid of Bella. I love her and I feel bad that he wants to get rid of her when she was here before the other 2 dogs. I really don't know what to do. I've never had more than 1 dog at a time and I honestly have no idea how to deal with this. I just know that I love all 3 of our dogs and I don't want to get rid of any of them. I just want them to get along. Will getting Bella spayed help? What can I do? I really need some good, fast advice before this gets any worse. Thanks.

[Erica]

Before we (or rather, the experienced dog people here, haha...) can really tell what the problem is, could you give us a schedule of a typical day in your house? Wake-up time, walk times, training times, feeding times...just what the day's like.

[jessixerin]

I wake up around 9 and let Rocky out. (We have a large yard away from the road and he stays in the yard, so we let him run around without a leash). Then I usually take Bella out next on her leash (because she runs away and won't come back when I call her) and then take Allie out (I don't use a leash with her, because she stays with me and if she does walk away, she will come when I call her). Once I get all the dogs back in, I feed them. I put Bella in her crate in the kitchen ( because she gets aggressive with the other dogs if they get near her food, and that way they can't get near it), Rocky is on the other side of the kitchen, and Allie is on the other side of a baby gate beside the kitchen. Bella is really the only one I use the crate for, mostly just for feeding time (because of her aggression towards the other dogs) and when I am at work (because she is very destructive). I work second shift, so I usually go back to sleep for awhile after I feed the dogs. Once I am up for good, I will take Bella and Allie out individually and walk them. I don't really walk Rocky, because he spends alot of time running around in the yard himself. When I leave for work (usually between 2-4 pm), I put Bella in the crate, Allie in the kitchen with the baby gate closed, and Rocky is either in the kitchen or living room. I live about 5 mins from where I work, so when I work more than 6 hours, I come home on my lunch break and take the dogs out. Once I get home from work, I take the dogs out again and feed them around 9 pm, then let them play together before taking them out 1 last time before I go to bed. Bella is pretty hyper, so if I started taking her for an extra walk after work, could that help with her aggression too? Also, I realize that everything I've mentioned, I am the one who does it, not my boyfriend. That is because, well, he doesn't do it. He works pretty long hours and basically refuses to do anything other than occasionally taking the dogs out when he gets home from work.

[jessixerin]

Another incident this morning that concerns me. Bella sleeps in the bed with us (which I realize many people are against, but she has slept with us since we got her). She sleeps right at my boyfriend's head snuggled up against him. This morning when he was leaving for work, he was petting her and she snapped at his face. It just broke my heart because he was almost ready to forgive her for yesterday's incident with Allie, and then she does that! She never growled or anything, just snapped at his face without warning. I don't understand why she did it. She had just been fine, sleeping next to him all night and then she does that. It just feels like she is proving his point that we need to get rid of her... she has NEVER shown any aggression towards me, and I'm sure I irritate the heck out of her at times, cleaning her ears, clipping her claws, etc.

[Sarah83]

A thorough vet check is in order imo. When was her last season?

[jessixerin]

She was in heat for the first time in April, about 5 months ago.

[runlikethewind]

I think you have been misssed from the trainers advice so far. I'm not a trainer but I have a dog who does not like to be disturbed when sleeping. It's quite normal. You need to respect her space when she is on your bed (difficult I know) in which case she cannot sleep with you - just as we have to do with our boy. If you accidentally touch him when he is asleep or you touch him when he is resting (doing whale eye...) he will blow up into a ferocious thing. Just don't do it! Simple as that. I feel all dog's personalties and tolerance levels are different - just as we are. Avoid the issue by not having her sleep on your bed. She will be less stressed and you will be too and you will see she will become more relaxed - and will get a better night's sleep.

PS it's not about alpha etc etc. even between domestic dog groups, they now say. I have a female and a male. One day, the girl might get access to the fun toy; next day it's the boy. They drop and share. They shift their responses to resources each day. There is no ultimate 'alpha' IMHO.

Why is she fear aggressive to your husband? Has she been abused/treated badly in the past by a man? Is your husband rough handling her? more info on their relationship please...

I am editing because I think Bella is quite stressed at present - due to past experiences. She is food aggressive (that is fine, again many dogs are and you do right to give her her own space to relax and eat in peace too away from other dogs), she suffers from separation anxiety ( you say she tears stuff up?) and she is fear aggressive towards your husband. All these three things can be managed or dealt with. By the way, it is not that she does not listen to your husband - she is fearful of him - collar grabs, touches in the bed etc can be threatening to many dogs.

[emmabeth]

Firstly, though dogs don't generally have a 'dominant' dog who is ALWAYS top dog in every situation, within a group of dogs in the home, you will find that bitches DO tend to be the more bossy, and for each situation the dogs find themselves in, one of them is going to be better at it/keener at it/interested in controlling what occurs - but that may well NOT be the same dog in each situation. Hope that makes sense.

In a general sense though, girls tend to wear the pants!

I would think Bella is coming up to her second season, and Allie is upsetting her. Are you totally sure on Allies age, it may well be that, especially with Bella possibly about to come into season, the introduction of a female puppy is really not good.

If you were thinking of rehoming anyone, morally as well as practically I am afraid it is the pup who ought to go (stands a better chance of being rehomed, and was the last one in) - I would (and so would a lot of people) take a VERY dim view of you rehoming the ***** you have had longer in favour of keeping the cute puppy!

More exercise for all dogs would not go amiss and Rocky running around the yard is not getting sufficient exercise! Doesn't matter how big your yard is, dogs need walks!

I would also introduce some fun, brain-training type games and training, such as clicker training, puzzle solving and impulse control games (check out our Articles and Health sections for more info on these things) - just a couple of five minute sessions each day per dog would make a big difference.

I would stop Bella from sleeping on the bed, or ask her to sleep on the bottom of the bed, though I suspect the behaviour is down to her feeling antsy and out of sorts due to Allies arrival, and her impending season (doggy pmt!), if she isnt on the bed then she can't be fussed and snap at someone, it won't teach her shes 'bad' or solve the reasoning for the problem (dogs on beds IS absolutely fine!) but it will prevent accidents and so is sensible management.