toys

Hiya im horrified by bella this morning im at my moms over the xmas hoildays and my sister has a jack russell (5 yr old bitch) not the most friendly dog well in fact she doesnt like any dog but bella has always backed down and made it clear to the jack russell she is the boss this morning when the whole opening of presents bella got really jealous and they had ago at each other neither dog was hurt thankfully but im now really worried apart from removing toys anything else i can do im worried when the go near each other my dog is double the size of my sis dog and obvz cause her dog some damage merry xmas all

Bella has been rounf my sister dog since she was a puppy

First of all, relax. Dogs will be dogs and have a go at each other from time to time so please don't think this behaviour will continue.

In the heat of the moment with all the excitement it's easy for them to get a little stressed so a little calm down time and all should be fine. Try to relax too, they will pick up on any tension you feel, just keep an eye open and separate if it happens again.

As Ian says, the excitement gets to them. We are excited because it's Christmas and they pick that up, then there's the excitement of opening presents, and things can get a little too much for them. Supervise exciting situations carefully and make sure that there is no special toy they both want, and things should be fine.

Thanks all things have settled and she seems ok its never happened before and made me really concered hope this isnt going to be a regular thing

I doubt it'll amount to much going forward. My Flo has been contending with two Bloodhounds on their turf all day and there have been a couple of gruff words from her but they sort it out themselves.

The key is to make sure it doesn't get out of hand and stop any on going nonesence.

monitor their behaviour as ian says best to keep an eye out

im not impressed with bellas behaviour she has gone from bad to worse no dog fight yet but she has took a real dislike to my sisters dog (rosie) was at my mothers (rosie's home) and other family members popped in rosie decided to be antisocial and didnt want to come out which is fine when rosie did come and was getting fuss of people bella was grawlling and barking   she was sitting nxt to me on the sofa   but if i put her down she prob would of gone for rosie im so worried  now

Relax, you've got everything under control. Bella will pick up on your tension which will only make her more agitated.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if it's a jealousy thing so by having her with you and giving her attention you've already mitigated things. Moving forward, see how things are when its a little quieter without so many people around, it's far too early to judge things.

And breathe...

I think you need to sort out a management strategy that will allow you to relax as any tension on your part will make matters worse. Pop Bella on a harness and lead, so you can have her sitting on the floor near the other dogs but safely in your control. Don't have her on the sofa, as you have immediately elevated her. I don't believe in the dominance theory, but allowing one dog to tower over another is not a good idea. Think of the body language of two dogs meeting, a submissive one making itself small while the stronger one tries to tower over it.

It does sound like it's Rosie who is driving this, but giving the wrong signals to Bella now could have an impact on her reactions and your preception of her going forwards, so I'd also put some training into place now. When she's with Rosie, or another dog, be aware of her reactions or even lack of them, and praise reward what you do want her to do while not getting stressed about negative responses. If Rosie is kicking off, call Bella's attention with 'watch me' if you can, or even just away from Rosie, and when she does look at you or come to you, tell her she's fab and give her a treat.

Have the same positive response to all her meetings with other dogs until you're happy she's settled, and until you're settled too.

Thank you both will give it a try when i next visit my moms i just dont understand why bella has just turned after two years of allowing rosie to be the boss rosie has never liked bella or any other dog for that matter she will growl if bella goes anywhere near her but because rosie isnt my dog there is nothing i can dog with rosie (i have told my sis on many occassoons but it just falls on deaf ears) i just want my dog to ignore the behaviour rosie is showing towards her