Thread: What do you make of this behaviour

Bo is coming up 11 months now. He's a been a real joy to have as a pup and learns things pretty quick. He's and inside dog at night time and usually sleeps in the lounge with our other dog Knox, who is an 18yr old pureplbred Staffy. Both dogs are entire but pretty laid back sorts and have always got along well but lately they just seem "funny" around each other.
They have play heaps even though the old boy gets a bit sick of it sometimes and a short sharp snap tells Bo playtime is over. The other day however we were both in bed alseep when we were woken by them both going at it in the lounge having a massive (serious) scrap which they have never done before.
They have continued this "strange" behaviour since then and will sit on opposite sides of the room eyeballing each other.
Fast forward to this evening and I had just got out of the shower and was getting dressed when Bo came into the room, he came over and sat near me and Knox (older dog) came and sat in the doorway of the bedroom. Bo then proceeded to jump up onto the bed (which hes not allowed to do) and cocked his leg and pissed all over it right in front of me!
Is there some kind of power struggle going on here as Bo has reached the age where he thinks he can now be the top dog?

Yep I would say he is trying to be top dog. Our oldest dog that is not normally allowed inside did the puss on the bed thing a while back. Our youngest dog is always in her face when I let them out.

Your on to it.
Had the same sort of thing happen with my working dogs. I'd give them a severe talking to and let them know I was top dog no more trouble

Yep Bo is trying it on with the old dog. I would reaffirm the old fellas place as above Bo, by feeding him first and letting him go through a door before the young one. Maybe move the old fellas bed into your room for a couple of nights, but watch for Bo having a whinge about it. maybe give the young boy a bit more obedience stuff like sit, stay etc...
The old guy will be letting Bo know that he is below him which may lead to a bit of a huha. Bo coming in, will be because the old dog kicked him out of the lounge which he's trying to claim back off the young upstart.

the other thing to add is maybe he senses the old boy is getting near the end... have had it a couple of times now where the younger dog has stamped hi authority when the older one is very close to giving up on life not so much fighting but stepping up as the dominant one (number 3 after me and mum) and protector of the pack

Yep. Bo wanting dominance. The dogs will sort it out themselves. The only thing you have to keep an eye on is if Bo continues the agro once he is established. If that occurs you will need to discipline Bo any time he tries to go too far. By discipline i mean something like ; if there is agro coming from Bo then immediately tie him up at kennel for an hour or two each time while walking off with other dog ; or other way round if it is older dog at fault. You need to observe them closely to figure out what is really going on before restricting one or the other, or both. They will soon associate loss of freedom with immediate prior misbehaviour.

It is a leadership issue, and it won’t be resolved by re-establishing order between Bo and Knox. You resolve by re-establishing order between yourself (meaning your entire family) and the two dogs. You’re number 1, not either of the dogs.

Bo would be outside so fast and into a kennel his arse wouldn't hit the ground. Every time he showed signs of this behaviour, out the would go.

Originally Posted by Tahr

Bo would be outside so fast and into a kennel his arse wouldn't hit the ground. Every time he showed signs of this behaviour, out the would go.

Yes he spent the coldest night of the year so far on a chain...
Have been pretty busy on farm lately (calving time) and Bo has been with me all day while Knox is with mum doing the calves so there's possibly a bit of a dynamic they're not used to causing some issues as previously all together most the time with Mum and Dad as top dogs

Originally Posted by gqhoon

It is a leadership issue, and it won’t be resolved by re-establishing order between Bo and Knox. You resolve by re-establishing order between yourself (meaning your entire family) and the two dogs. You’re number 1, not either of the dogs.

What gqhoon says

I would have 270d Bo for pissing on the bed! Prob solved, your becoming soft, there’s the prob!

Hate to say it but, you must not be showing that your the boss daily if this is happening. Over both dogs.

No I don't think so Kidmac. If the dog is pushing for top spot it will be showing aggression toward the owner who is in that spot. The lower ranked dogs are fighting over their place in the pack below the boss.

your recent health wake up will be unsettling them both too....but as others have said its a dominance thing...Bo just past being a teenager and realling feeling his oats.
pissing inside......major shake up from you...YOU the boss.....dont you forget it Bo....or upside down with a plurry good shake up you will get...
if you like me and hate dog chained up...run a #8 wire from kennel as far as you can across yard and clip chain to it...that way dog can run up and down wire...piss n poop at far end away from kennel,but is still tied up out of trouble.

Originally Posted by rugerman

No I don't think so Kidmac. If the dog is pushing for top spot it will be showing aggression toward the owner who is in that spot. The lower ranked dogs are fighting over their place in the pack below the boss.

There is no such thing as number 1, number 2, number 3 etc. There is only number 1, with all the rest below. The hierarchy of those below is irrelevant for them, provided they are given leadership by the number 1.

The root cause of this behaviour is that the dogs don’t see Ryan as that leader.