sibling rivalry

[lawrence 657]

my hunting partner and myself have two dogs from a litter i bred last September, they get on fine together until either one catches a rabbit, then it can kick off, black dog used to give rabbits up to white one but will stand his ground now he's older, don't want it to wreck the wee team so needs nipped in the bud, bar sinking the boot in them or just letting them sort it out, would be interested to hear any other approaches ?

 

[csd_88 138]

Run one at a time

[fay 75]

elctric collor job when he does it give him a lttle shock might work

[STAFFY poacher 90]

only slip 1 at a time...........common sense

[skycat 6,174]

elctric collor job when he does it give him a lttle shock might work

 

REALLY BAD IDEA: never use shock collar when there is dog to dog aggression: can make things a whole lot worse as the dog that is being shocked can think it is down to the other dog, and will retaliate even more.

[Chid 6,851]

only slip 1 at a time...........common sense

not when your ferreting or hunting as a bobbery pack

[lawrence 657]

exactly Chid. they'll probably just have to sort it out themselves

[Riggerzz07 11]

let them sort it out once one of them show more dominance over the other should stop

[skycat 6,174]

let them sort it out once one of them show more dominance over the other should stop

 

That may work in the wild, but in a domestic situation, it is unwise to allow two young male dogs to actually start fighting: they can't run away or be banished from the pack like they would in the wild, and the problem could escalate and end up with two male dogs who are dog aggressive not only to each other, but other dogs as well.

 

Even if the situation doesn't get completely out of hand, you could end up with one dog so cowed and lacking in confidence that it could be ruined as a worker, or both dogs so intent on beating the other one that they have their eyes more on their rival than on the job in hand.

 

Both dogs should be trained and exercised separately, with the emphasis being on instant obedience to their individual owners. Only once the dogs have started working properly alone can they be re-introduced to a pack situation, working together. The idea being that once you get each dog catching and retrieving alone, you can then take them out together, and the owner of the dog that hasn't made the catch can call his dog off, which allows the dog that has caught to retrieve with no fear.

 

This sort of control is not easy to master, and unless you are both prepared to put in a lot of individual work on obedience and control and you understand how each dog thinks and reacts, it won't work. You need to be 100% aware of how each dog is feeling and reacting at all times, and be prepared to step in and assert your authority BEFORE things go pear shaped.

 

Running siblings is often a problem, no matter how nice natured the dogs are individually: I never take my two Airedale lurcher sisters out together if I can help it, because although there has never been any nastiness between them, one is dominant over the other, and the more submissive one would have had her drive squashed if I'd continually allowed her to run with her more bossy sister.