Professional Dog training advice only please. What to expect from 1st dog when a new dog arrives?

Letting two male dogs `sort it out` is frankly the worst advice I have read here on this forum in some time. Unless bloody fights than can leave one dog seriously hurt or even dead, is okey pokey with some people no person in their right mind would let two dogs continue to brawl.

In fact, society condemns it - its against the law (dog fighting).

Rotten Rotts has it right - TAKE NO CRAP from either of them.

Now - reality. The young male is working to establish himself as the alpha. You cannot change that. Its a matter of time before they knock heads. How badly, and how often will depend on whether the other dog submits - or fights back.

Do you have any reason to believe your old dog will just give in....and do you really want to wait to find out....and either way WHY would you allow it. YOU ARE EITHER THE LEADER - OR YOU ARE NOT.

For the record, they are not `Play fighting`` - they are ``practicing`` for more serious stuff.

You must take charge. You are smarter than dog.

When you say things like: ``but one won't let the other eat `` that is a sign you are not in control.

When you say things like:

``when I try to bring the youngest inside to feed the oldest is jealous and acts very stubborn i.e. won't obey commands and acts like he feels he's not loved anymore.``

it tells me you are not taking charge - rather you are attempting to inflitrate the pack and negotiate a treaty.

Dogs dont think that way. They dont feel ``unloved`` - what your dog is doing is an act of possesion - ie his insecurities are being tapped into. He was an only dog all his life - now there are two.

You cannot play favourites, or try to ``convince`` the young dog the old dog is king.

You are in charge - they are not. They must accept each others presence - period.

Things you should do:

- if one dog intimindates the other eating, put each dog on lead, in different corners of the room. If necessary, feed one (or both) in crates.

Don`t tolerate growling and dont allow one dog to stare down another...if a dogs tail is up over his back, he is thinking bad thoughts. You dont wait for that to escalate into a brawl - you stop it in its tracks.

How: redirect the dogs aggression using obedience. In order to do this, the dog needs a prong colkar and a leash on. You cannot make an impression on a dog with a flat collar and if both dogs have no collar and no leash - you are frankly quite useless to do anything.

the bottom line: Yes, I would have gotten a female.

But, you can straighten it out by: taking each dog out by himself on lead, developing some obedience, re-establishing yourself as the leader.

In the meantime, keep them separated and if the yard is a bomb zone, it will only get worse.

BTW once the one male is permitted to defeat the other, he will target him whenever he wants (again, if he is permitted). Letting two males brawl is building a bomb - and trust me when I say you don`t want that to happen.

Keep the dogs off your bed, crate at least one dog at night (so that they dont get into it in the middle of the night) and treat them as ``equals`. Both are given affection, both are off the bed, both are fed at the same time.

When you walk out the door- the dog goes last. These are ways of communicating to your dog in `dog language`that you are in charge.

You need a professional trainer to guide you because forums cannot provide the level of support you require.

Good luck.

First don't worry about who the boss is as they'll work that out among themselves. Sounds like they're getting along pretty good anyway so it's most likely already worked out. Your older dog now has a friend so your yard will suffer a bit from two adult dogs playing and wrestling. For feeding train both dogs to sit for their food. Feed in separate bowls and on a schedule. Do not allow bowl switching or other obnoxious behavior. Train both dogs. The young one needs training and the older dog needs to be reinforced in his training. Right now both are kind of testing the situation to see what they can get away with since the living environment has changed for both of them.

WOW Raven, I guess I really misinterpreted this question. The dogs sounded like they were getting along to me. But again I cannot see what they are doing through words on a screen. Male dogs do play even intact males play. Wrestling is a form of play. Wrestling isn't really fighting. Fighting is fighting.

To the poster: It is best to hire someone to go to your home and watch these dogs interact. That way you will receive the best advice. As you can see two knowledgeable people can really misinterpret the words on a screen.

Well he could have a bladder infection when you consider that hes peeing in his crate which would be very distinctive. You will have got to get him checked out via a vet. Also, I could no longer leave him inside the crate for hours and hours of the day. Probably not additional then 6 hours. My dog had a bladder infection, he'd walk circular, and out of the blue effortlessly start peeing, WHILE jogging. So inside the crate is lovely distinctive intent they wont soil in there crates. Hope I helped.

You need to take a stand that you aren't going to put up with crap from either of them. Correct them when they are wrong and praise them when they are good. Your older dog should already be used to commands and you just need to start training the new one. Remember SH can be pretty stubborn so you have to be more so

Haha... Do not bring any of your current pets with you when you pick up your new pet. Also, try to wear clothing that smells like your pets (hold them and pet them before you leave to get the new dog). This will accomplish two things: One, you get bonding time with your new pet without the scrutiny of your other pets, and Two, the new dog will smell the other pets on your clothes and have an idea of what he is in store for. If possible, have another person drive you to pick up the new pet so you can sit in the passenger seat and bond on the way home.

-alvaro