need help with 2 males - Page 1

i have 2 males. they were both intake all of their lives. rudiger will  be 13 in may. we had to have him nuetered because of cancer about a year ago.

yasko who is 7 and rudiger           forever got along!

never even a dirty look at one anothe.

they live in my home no kennels or crates. for the last few months yasko has been running into the bedroom first to beat rudiger in

rudiger comes in yasko starts to growl.

what is this all about?

it goes on(2minutes)until  rudiger lays down  usually within 3 feet of him.

 yasko now has been starting the growling after dinner.

whenever he hears rudiger coming into the room he is in

 this used to be only  at night.

in the morning yasko will run to rudiger   kissing his mouth,play outside all day   but then this 

   it's been going on every night. i have been taking yasko and putting him in the kitchen for the night the past couple of nights. he's going to be sleeping outside once spring comes,if he doesn't stop.

 i just can not figure out what is wrong when in the day HE LOVES HIM!!!!

anyone??

Could he be sick and the other senses it? Have you changed anything about your home or people, as in someone moving in or out?  Acquire any new dogs or lose old ones?  Sometimes a change which may seem minor to you can have an impact on daily routines for them.  Sickness can also play a role, I'd have them both health checked.

 Harley,

Frequently when a younger dog senses an older dog is really becoming aged or is ill, the younger one will then start to take advantage of the older dog in any and every way possible. In the wild this would be the case as well. What you must be sensitive to is that the older one is loosing his place in the pack order. Depending on the older dog and the real strength of the younger, this may stop at the growling and other behaviors you describe. But it can also end in the younger dog seriously injuring or killing the older dog. Just use some common sense. In my opinion, you are taking a very big risk now to ever have them together if you are not carefully supervising. Even so, you may see a fight break out in an instant, so be prepared.

Good luck.

I have to agree with hodie.

I have experienced the same thing in the past with two of my dogs.

They had lived very happily together for years. The young one just waited her time until she knew she was in a position to take over, and then her attitude changed.

The old dog (alpha) was sick, but I did not realize at the time. First I noticed a little push or shove here and there. Then other things, like trying to move into the old dogs' regular sleeping places, then next thing I knew, the young one just attack the old girl out of the blue. Gave her a few good bites before I could separate them. Off to the Vet. with the old girl, only to find out she had cancer after a full physical and blood work.

The old girl went down hill very quickly after this incident, but I think it was more psychological than physical. She was an extremely dominant girl who held sway over all other dogs that came and went from our home over the years. No-one ever dared to take her on until this incident. Even though she had cancer, I truly believe she lost the will to live due to the fact that she knew she was no longer the top dog.

If this is the case with your two dogs, then please be vigilant and don't give the younger one a chance to hurt your old one.

Good luck with your dogs.

Definitely agree with hodie and I'm also going through it right now.  My alpha bitch is starting to really show signs of her HD  and is not getting around well at all.  My male, who has always been great with her, is starting to push her around and my RottieMutt is starting to growl at her.  Her and RottieMutt were both raised here together since they were young pups.

At the first sign of tension I just put Sadie away in a crate.  She's happier in there and doesn't feel threatened.  Basically it's a pack power struggle and it's my job to make sure nobody gets hurt.  She won't be with me much longer and the last thing I want is for her to get ripped into by one of the other dogs.

A little off track here & getting into pack dynamics, but is it possible for a bitch to be the alpha?

I'd always asssumed that if a dog is present within a pack it would be the alpha.

AandA

Not in my case.  Xandor is a IPO3 male but the girls rule the roost.    Before her hips really started bothering her, she would body slam him if he even thought about chasing the cats.  She would do the same with pups if she caught them making a mistake in the house.  Then she would look to me for approval and praise like "did I do good?"  So I guess that really makes me top bitch in the house.

thanx everyone,  i was thinking the same thing

like i said he will be staying outside if this continues. and yes i've had an old dog die and got a new female 2 years ago, but yasko was always a loner.thanx again 

 What matters most is not sex of a dog, but temperament. I have several females here who rule when it comes to pack behavior, including males.