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My3Rats

Ratterific

09/15/2007 4:03 PM
I hope I can explain this right. We are having a problem and just can't fix it. When we leave the house........ Greg and I together or one of us, Squirt will get in Gizmo's face. Let's say Greg is running to the store, the dogs come up to say goodbye and Squirt is already getting worked up and barking. Gizmo will bark at him too. Now when Greg goes for the door, Gizmo will run and hide under the kitchen table. When he leaves ,Squirt will come running to find Gizmo and will bark and get in her face and snaps at her. I have tried every approach and nothing works. Please help. We feel so bad for Gizmo plus she is blind in one eye. Gizmo would never defend herself and snap back. Bailey would and Squirt won't do it to her, she know better. Squirt also gets really worked up with thunder storms and fireworks and louds noises. Will run around the house non stop and make all sorts of noise. I guess she does get in Gizmo's face once in awhile then as well.

Gizmo (9), Squirt (6), Bailey (8) ~~Life is better with dogs~~

Mitzy's Mom

PAWesome

09/15/2007 6:32 PM
Our whippet is like that - the little dogs will bark and growl at her sometimes. She is very submissive and just takes it...they never actually bite her. I don't like to see it but I don't know if the pack dynamic can be changed....all I can do is try to be the alpha of the pack. But Loco isn't hiding so I don't think it bothers her too much. Don't really have any advice but I hope Nora checks in soon or someone else has an idea for you. I feel bad for Gizmo just reading your post (I've got 2 half blind dogs and am very protective of them.) I DO know that it becomes more work to stay on top of 3-4 or more dogs versus just 1 or 2.

Mary Beth, mom to the Lollipop Kids Georgia Foster Mom, New Rattitude Check out our ratties at www.newrattitude.org

My3Rats

Ratterific

09/15/2007 7:12 PM
Sorry this is a stupid question..... Alpha dog is the leader of the pack, right? Not the oldest? Gizmo is the oldest but Bailey turned to be the Alpha dog once we got 3 dogs. Squirt doesn't bite her, I said snap, I guess it is like mouthing or maybe snapping. She just gets in her face and barks and mouths her.......I guess.... IDK Mary Beth we have so many things in common with our fur babies. I agree, with them being blind you do have to keep a watch at all times. I can't tell you how many times Gizmo whacks her head, poor thing. And she gets under our feet so much now, the vet said she expects us to move out of her way. lol. It is heartwarming to see her sisters help her when she loses her ball. Sorry off topic of the thread. We have tried the loud NO approach, the soft approach, the sit command with our hand-she will stay but when she can get up she does the same thing. She gets so hyped up. HELP......................

Gizmo (9), Squirt (6), Bailey (8) ~~Life is better with dogs~~

Mitzy's Mom

PAWesome

09/16/2007 6:33 AM
Yes, alpha aka pack leader is the most dominant - it should be the owner first then the dogs in what ever order they work out amonst themselves. You could try the squirt bottle with Squirt but sounds like that may not work for more than a second with her. I know what you mean about getting hyped up. What does Gizmo have that she has sight trouble? My 2 have each lost an eye and Mitzy has slight glaucoma in her eye that's left, we give her drops for it. Nora (training moderator) may be out of town or something for the weekend (she's often at agility trials) but I know she'll check in within a few days...she's also very good with dog behavior issues so I'm sure she'll have some advice. Meanwhile - hang in there. You sound like great rattie parents!

Mary Beth, mom to the Lollipop Kids Georgia Foster Mom, New Rattitude Check out our ratties at www.newrattitude.org

My3Rats

Ratterific

09/16/2007 11:43 AM
Thanks Mary Beth we try hard to stay on top of all issues. Hubby left for the Bears game and Squirt got bad in Gizzy's face. I had to pick her up and hold her to calm down and then it was better. I am sorry about your babies. It is amazing how they compensate for lack of sight. You might even use the same eye drops-we call them liquid gold. lol Gizmo had a defect in her eye and got a full blown cataract in one day, it was awful and painful for her. She has a luxated lens, so we give her Xalatan drops (human meds)to keep her Iris completely constricted to relieve the pressure and so the lens doesn't pop into the front part of the eye. As I think it would cause Glaucoma and other issues. She also has uveitis which is from the other issues. She has a very expensive optomologist and her eye drops are a little bottle of gold but it is worth it. I think this explains it. http://www.animal-eye-specialists.com/luxation.htm Gizmo loves to hold her stuffed toys and shake her head and "kill them". I guess the head shaking is a huge no-no. It is hard to keep her from doing it but we have to. She doesn't do it as much now that she is older but we still have to watch her.

Gizmo (9), Squirt (6), Bailey (8) ~~Life is better with dogs~~

Mitzy's Mom

PAWesome

09/16/2007 11:57 AM
Yeah, I don't know how you would stop head shaking in a rattie! Mitzy has raised pressure in the remaining eye (just over normal without medication) so we give her Timolol to keep the pressure down. It's also a human medication for glaucoma and the weird thing is I also have glaucoma (20 years but under control w/meds). I have an awsome eye dr. who gives me my prescription and then a prescription of Timolol for Mitzy so I can get it through my insurance for $5! (This woman is a saint!) Without insurance I'd be paying about $100 a month for it. Oh and when Mitzy was found as a tiny pup(about 7-8 weeks old) her other eye was badly injured. Vet surmised it was from being attacked by another dog. It was blind already and protruded...it then developed bad glaucoma (pressure over 40) and the vet said it might be causing a lot of pain so it was best to remove it. Skipper lost his before we got him to a fight with another dog.

Mary Beth, mom to the Lollipop Kids Georgia Foster Mom, New Rattitude Check out our ratties at www.newrattitude.org

rattytatty

Newbie

09/17/2007 9:17 AM
It's not abnormal or unusual for a "healthier" dog to pick on a less healthy dog... or a dog that is not 100%. I'm not saying Gizmo is unhealthy.. but obviously Squirt is instinctively feeling that Gizmo is somehow "less". (does that make sense?). I would try a few things... when both of you leave... crate them both. By doing this you are doing two things (1) Protecting Gizmo (2) prohibiting any unacceptable behavior from Squirt. When one of you leave... put Squirt on a leash so he can't bother Gizmo. You might also as an added reinforcement... pick Gizmo up and hold him until the human is out the door. You are doing two things by doing this. You are (1) Protecting and reassuring Gizmo (2) Prohibiting unacceptable behavior from Squirt. Once the human is gone and the door is shut... put Gizmo down and keep Squirt on the leash... and praise Squirt and show him some extra attention. By doing this you are doing two things (1) Releasing Gizmo and reinforcing to her that she can have freedom without fear of Squirt "being in his face"... and (2) Reinforcing to Squirt that he has done a good thing by leaving Gizmo alone (yes... I know he didn't do it on his own.. but he WILL eventually if you keep this up every time.) The key here is consistency... I would do it when people come in the door and go out the door.

Mitzy's Mom

PAWesome

09/17/2007 9:33 AM
Great advice Nora!

Mary Beth, mom to the Lollipop Kids Georgia Foster Mom, New Rattitude Check out our ratties at www.newrattitude.org

My3Rats

Ratterific

09/17/2007 5:42 PM
THANK YOU so much for the advice Nora. I am printing it out to take it upstairs to show Greg. We have picked Gizmo up before but when we put her down Squirt would go at her. But with the leash that would help. I am excited to try your suggestions and will let you know our progress. Thanks for taking the time to respond!!!

Gizmo (9), Squirt (6), Bailey (8) ~~Life is better with dogs~~

NavyDvrWife

Rat-A-Tat-Tat

09/17/2007 5:53 PM
Nora has given you some really GREAT advise - sounds like you just need to establish the pack order. Let us know how it goes - Good Luck!

~ Errica, Batman, Blondie and Brock's Mommy Foster Mom to Trinity Ratbone Foster Parent & Happy Tails Crew Ratbone Rescues

My3Rats

Ratterific

09/19/2007 1:14 PM
well......we tried yesterday and this morning. Once I felt everyone was calm, I was telling Squirt that she was a good girl and giving her lots of praise. I then put Gizmo down, again praised Squirt then let her on her way. Off she went to get in Gizmo's face. Is this normal? Did I do something wrong? Or will it just take time? Nora, next time I think I will try putting Squirt in a crate instead of the leash........ as the leash gets them all excited (thinking it is walk time) and holding Gizmo and trying again. Would that be okay?

Gizmo (9), Squirt (6), Bailey (8) ~~Life is better with dogs~~

wileecoyote

Rattie

09/23/2007 2:05 PM
My suggestion, and again I'm not a trainer, but. YOU need to become the Alpha of the pack. Get one of the humans to leave, when the dogs start to act up, walk toward to one making the noise and make a correction sound while always moving toward dog(into his space) The other thing, is whenever you leave, DO NOT "say goodbye" to the dogs. You are supposed to be the pack leader, and this seems to an animal as if you are asking permission to leave, this also causes barking. When you leave, you are to hold your head up, ignore the dogs and walk right through them as if they are unimportant. This seems cruel, but helps all the dogs fall in line. A Strict and Consistant pack leader makes for a stable pack.

My3Rats

Ratterific

09/26/2007 1:25 PM
Posted By wileecoyote on 09/23/2007 2:05 PM My suggestion, and again I'm not a trainer, but. YOU need to become the Alpha of the pack. Get one of the humans to leave, when the dogs start to act up, walk toward to one making the noise and make a correction sound while always moving toward dog(into his space) The other thing, is whenever you leave, DO NOT "say goodbye" to the dogs. You are supposed to be the pack leader, and this seems to an animal as if you are asking permission to leave, this also causes barking. When you leave, you are to hold your head up, ignore the dogs and walk right through them as if they are unimportant. This seems cruel, but helps all the dogs fall in line. A Strict and Consistant pack leader makes for a stable pack. I agree about needed to be the pack leader. I have tried this as well but maybe not long enough. Even if we do this, Squirt will still get in Gizmo's face. I know that when the dogs are gated in the kitchen M-F when we go to work, the above problem doesn't happen. I don't hear them make a peep as I am leaving or after I have closed the door. This only happens when the are loose and we leave for an errand or something. Logically it sounds like we should not leave them loose. I feel that Squirt listens to Greg better than me.

Gizmo (9), Squirt (6), Bailey (8) ~~Life is better with dogs~~

CaseyOtis

Terrier Terror

10/08/2007 9:29 PM
This might sound harsh, but use a rolled up newspaper. I have only swatted Casey once (very lightly) for snapping at my brother's cat with one. Now all i have to do is pick up something that looks like a news paper if he is doing something he souldn't and he freezes where ever he is and sits or lays down. Like they already mentioned, YOU HAVE TO BE THE BOSS! Let the little one know that you will defend your other baby and the little one should backoff. It is not mean, it is just reacerting who is really in charge. It may take a couple of trys, but don't feel bad. Once again i don't mean for this to sound harsh, but it is woth a try. -Summer : ) Casey's mom

You have two hands, you might as well have two ratties....right? -Summer (Mommy of my two ratties Casey and Lilly)

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