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An Intervention is in Order: Canine Bullies in a Multiple Dog Household

An Intervention is in Order: Canine Bullies in a Multiple Dog Household

It used to be called being dominant, and in some circles it still is, sadly. But this behavior is actually simple bullying. As with humans, bullying is always inappropriate. It can arise for several reasons, among them insecurity, anxiety, juvenile behavior in young adults and puppies and just plain old bad manners.

Being a bully has nothing to do with the breed of the dog who is the bully. Any breed can be a bully. Puppies who are very exuberant and having difficulty learning impulse control are prime targets to become a bully when allowed unchecked in a multiple dog household. Possessing a good temperament otherwise will not prevent a puppy from becoming a bully. One can be a canine bully and be a nice dog otherwise, which is where this act typically differs with human bullies.

Posturing Dogs

Those who have children and who are raising them with limits and guidelines that are parentally enforced will understand this advice immediately. Dogs are not furry children (see here for more on that) but they are equally in need of structure and knowing what is appropriate or not. It is very important to set limits and provide said structure.

We as humans are not meant to be “pack leaders”; dogs know that we are a different species; I can assure you of this! What we are meant to be, however, is the human who provides for all their needs. This includes the need for clearly communicated boundaries, guidelines, information and reward incentives as well as non-scary consequences for infractions of said rules.

Boundaries should include, but are not limited to, preventing/intervening with these inappropriate activities:
• “nagging” any other dog for any reason.
•  sniffing body parts of another dog for lengthy periods of time (especially when the receiver is obviously     uncomfortable)
• insistence on play when the other party is not interested
• ”pacing” another dog (physically matching their walking pace outside of the realm of interactive play)
• “walk bys” of another dog (seemingly benign walking by another dog with the intent of intimidation)
• body slamming another dog in greeting
• being “in your face” intrusive without an invitation to do so
• any posturing meant to intimidate.

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The list is longer than the above but it’s nearly impossible to include every scenario. Multiple dog households parents really owe it to themselves and their charges to educate themselves on dog body language and appropriate play. There are several ways to do this. There are a few well done books available that have great information on body language as well as the go-to DVD on this subject by Sarah Kalnajs. The newest option for this is Lili Chin’s fabulous “Doggie Body Language“. Another option is to attend organized playgroups that are supervised by behavior professionals familiar with both positive reinforcement training and dog body language. Watching the interaction through their eyes can help with viewing your own crew more clearly. You get to see what needs interrupted and what doesn’t.

Positive never means permissive when inappropriate behavior is being demonstrated. It is completely possible to intervene appropriately without causing fear or using force. Human to dog body language is useful to learn for this practice. When your crew respects your ability to set boundaries in a clear and concise manner without using an iron fist, they feel safe and secure responding to your cues to cease and desist.

Often the simple act of clearing one’s throat and throwing a pointed look at the offender will be enough to interrupt poor choices in an otherwise well structured household. Quietly placing your body between the two or more dogs involved can cause an immediate deflection. This is called splitting and dogs use it too. Using what I call “the mom stance”, hands on hips with a disappointed look on your face, can stop an incident if implemented soon enough. Well marked and timed Time Outs are worth the effort to learn to implement correctly. Read here for more on that.

Those who follow my blog, know that I have a puppy in my household at present (at the time of this original writing). Puppies are rude until taught otherwise. Sometimes I intervene, sometimes another dog intervenes appropriately for me. This can be permitted if you know what is appropriate in a canine correction and what isn’t. For example Kenzo, the puppy, stole Trent’s bone and Trent did not stop him. So I retrieved it for him. It took three retrievals and a “mom” look to eliminate this behavior on this particular day. A fourth attempt on Kenzo’s part would have resulted in a time out. I give three tries on benign behavior.

But later the same evening, Kenzo tried on his big boy pants and made a posturing move towards Trent. I did not have time to intervene nor did Trent have time to object because Siri intervened for both of us, immediately and quite correctly. She split between them with her body immediately and roared a bit at Kenzo, quite appropriately, without hurting him. She did, however, make enough of an impression (based on the size of his eyes!) that I am certain that he won’t try that again soon. So while you cannot simply allow the dogs to work it out among themselves, you can periodically rely on dogs who have appropriate mediation skills.

So it is possible to have a multiple dog household with several strong personalities, without having strong conflict, if you learn how to intervene when appropriate. One of the easiest ways to help non-professionals understand how early on it can be necessary to step in is to equate what is happening to toddlers doing an equivalent behavior. If your two year old was shoving your three year old or vice versa, are you going to wait for them to ‘work it out on their own”? I certainly hope not! Don’t allow those kinds of decisions to be made in your canine household either and all will flow much more smoothly!

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126 Comments

  1. Debby McMullen November 3, 2020

    Hi Charlotte, this isn’t something that I can effectively solve via a response on an article. I offer virtual sessions so I can better assist you. I can also find you a quality trainer in your area if you want to provide a zip code for me. Basically, Gertie needs non scary consequences (Time Outs) to her poor choices but you also need to set up the scenario for success to keep mum safer. The blog post about Time Outs is available on this site.

  2. Andrea Ghegan January 9, 2021

    I have a 10 year old American Bully and 10 year old chi mix, they love each other. However, Ruby (bully) will boss Biggie. When we eat dinner, she releases a vibe that makes Biggie go to the other room until we are done or if we are doing something together as a family in the living room, she does some signal to him that makes him go away. She just bosses him around on certain occasions. A few times he hasn’t backed diwn and they had a spat. He isn’t exactly an angel, but he isn’t her boss like she is to him. I don’t know how to communicate to her effectively so that she stops this behavior!

  3. Debby McMullen January 11, 2021

    Hi Andrea, it’s up to YOU to stop Ruby from bossing Biggie around. She should not be permitted to intimidate Biggie at all. Don’t allow it to even get to the point of fighting. Intervene yourself. Please read the blog article on Time Outs on this site. It’s newer than this post. I would be happy to either schedule a virtual session with you. See my website https://www.pawsitivereactions.com/virtual-consultations/ or I can assist you with finding someone qualified to help you in your own area if you provide a zip or postal code please.

  4. Ashley Main May 30, 2021

    Hi there
    I’m not sure what to do here, my one dog Henry has been extremely mean to one of my other dogs Chewie.
    Chewie is older, but I’d unfortunately at the bottom of the ladder in a 6 dog house hold.
    Henry will body check Chewie in walls, lots.of.unnessessary humping and if Chewie.pushes back at all, he will go after him. Luckily he has not physically hurt him but he will pin Chewie up again a wall,.piece of furniture, ect and one stop going at him. Then some of the other dogs get.involved to protect Chewie. How can I stop this before bigger issues being to occurel

  5. Debby McMullen May 31, 2021

    Hi Ashley, we cannot solve behavior issues via this venue. The simple answer is don’t let Henry do that. You are the mom. Stop him. If you want assistance finding a behavior consultant in your area, we will need a zip/postal code. If you wish to schedule a virtual appointment with me, please email debby@pawsitivereactions.com

  6. Margaret Thompson May 31, 2021

    Helpful teaching me how to train my bully dog to
    Stop bullying my timid dog.
    Thanks

  7. Debby McMullen June 2, 2021

    Hi Margaret, no one can teach you that on the internet. You need either someone on hand or a virtual consultation. If you would like assistance with finding someone who is qualified to assist who is in your area, I will need a zip/postal code. If you would like to schedule a virtual session with me, you can email me at debby@pawsitivereactions.com

  8. Alison Brown September 19, 2021

    I think I have a unique situation and really need assistance to work through it.  I had 4 dogs until a few days ago — my senior, a doxie with canine cognitive dementia passed away.  As she declined, she increasingly got aggressive towards my young mastiff (from 14 months to 18 months).  My senior finally passed after she bit me (though she was going after the mastiff) and her dog bestie the next day.  I did everything I could to keep my doxie separate from the mastiff while trying to make sure I gave them both 100% love and attention. The bestie dog, is a small 8 lb chiweenie that loved the mastiff and they were mutually comfortable with each other. My chiweenie exhibits signs of anxiety (he has always done this) – one of which is licking his legs.  When he does this, my mastiff lunges and growls at him.  She also started resource guarding during this period as well (but not all of the time, now I just separate them). My hope is that now that my senior has passed, my mastiff will have time to decompress but I’m afraid the behavior has already set in. So that’s essentially my problem.  I would love very much any help or tips you can share!  

  9. Debby McMullen September 21, 2021

    You need a professional consultation. It’s impossible to safely and adequately address this via the internet. Please email me at debbby@pawsitivereactions.com with either your zip code or a request for a virtual consultation.

  10. Maureen October 6, 2021

    I have a 10 month old female puppy whom is very friendly and has always played well with other dogs. I recently have taken my sisters dog Odie whom is older and calm and has played before with Bella before with my sister here but she’s unable to now so I took gm of course. Now Bella is bullying him terribly. Always pushing poking and jumping on him. Won’t let him eat or drink unless I’m right there. It’s been 4 days of this and I know neither one of them are happy. I know I’m not. Any suggestions will help. I’ve done a time out separating them in order to eat go potty and now playing.
    Thank you Maureen frustrated fur mommy/aunt

  11. Debby McMullen October 7, 2021

    The short answer is don’t let her. This cannot be effectively solved via an internet response. If you want to provide your zip code, I can find you someone qualified to assist in your location or you can email debby@pawsitivereactions.com and schedule a virtual consultation with me.

  12. Casey January 2, 2022

    Hello. I’m concerned about my 1 year old bulldog bullying my 3 year old bulldog. When we first got him at 11 months he was very shy and listened when she told him off. Now he doesn’t care if she growls at him he goes back for more. He will run full force into her on walks to the point we have the leach him the full time. He grabs her leg In his mouth and can drag her. She seems really stressed out and she’s constantly chewing her paws excessively. He’s obviously a big strong boy and she’s a small bulldog and he can take her off her feet, I’m not sure if she’s knocked her confidence. I currently intervene when he does by telling him no and putting him in the kitchen for time out. He will listen when I do this but not for long. Is this the best way to deal with this situation will putting him in time out eventually pay off?

  13. Debby McMullen January 2, 2022

    Hi Casey, this would be better addressed with a qualified behavior consultant consultation. I can help you find one local to you if you provide a zip or postal code. I also offer virtual sessions for multiple dog household issues. I can be reached at debby@pawsitivereactions.com

  14. Alexis April 2, 2022

    Hi there
    So my puppy is now 1 year and 2 months old. He is 50 pounds. My oldest, 10 is a corgi mix, 25lns. And my middle is 3 years old corgi terrier mix, 15ish lbs. All of them have strong personalities though none are quick to violent bounts of aggressions (fights/bites etc) more like growls/lots of growling and aggressive stances with the occasional quarrel. The older 2 have settled into adulthood and manage well even tho it did take awhile for the older dog to accept our 2nd dog. However our bigger new bully/hyper/bigger/impulse control puppy is displaying still alot of the not so subtle bully traits you mentioned (intrusive/bombarding/occasional toy theft). Is it still possible using the methods you mentioned to intervene more frequently to train him out of this or is his behavior too set with his age and needs a more structured intervention like obedience etc? He was neutered in at the end of january if that matters and the others are neutered as well. He is a rambunctious high energy pup in general, we just misjudge how much bigger he’d be. His actions seem more “rude” than aggressive if that makes sense like he almost doesn’t even realize the other dogs are barking/annoyed with him.
    Let me know suggestions. We just read early on to kind of let them work out their own dynamic over a few months but it’s been about 6 now, and I’d like to put an end to this behavior if possible. Thanks!

  15. Debby McMullen April 6, 2022

    You should never let them work it out. You are the parent, regardless of the species. You create boundaries and enforce limits, in a kind way. Especially when the bully is much larger than the others. Bullys are rude. But the behavior still needs addressed. Obedience is meaningless and won’t solve the issue. What needs to happen is behavior modification. But I can’t give advice without knowing all of the context and that would necessitate a paid consultation with either someone in person who is qualified to advise on this subject or a virtual consultation with me. I can assist you with finding someone local to you if you want to provide a zip or postal code? If you want to try a virtual consultation with me, email debby@pawsitivereactions.com

  16. Danell Pullium September 30, 2022

    After reading everything I am convinced my dog is a bully. This is multiple dog house. I have two adult Samoyeds who are mother and son. The boy is neutered, the mom is not. I brought home a new puppy at 12 weeks old, Australian Shepard who is now 10 months. The female Samoyed immediately corrected him when he was little and he doesn’t really bother her at all since then. The male neutered Samoyed is a very soft gentle boy and has never corrected the puppy and it doesn’t appear he ever will. The puppy terrorizes him. Nipping, biting, body slamming, puts him down to ground and gets on top of him. The Sammy totally surrenders but the Aussie doesn’t recognize his surrender at all. We immediately remove the Aussie for the timeout but he never been able to settle down. He appears to be totally in a different state of mind. He hears nothing we say and is totally fixated on the 6yr old Sammy. We took him to behavioral vet and they put him on Clomipramine diagnosed with doggy ADD. Meds do calm him slightly when the Sammy is nowhere in sight. But as soon as he sees him he immediately goes into this zone and there is no getting him out of it. He doesn’t draw blood just non stop bullying. The Sammy now will not even look at the Aussie who now outweighs the Sammy and is pure muscle. 50 pound Sammy. 65 pound Aussie. We’ve tried everything we know to do but nothing is working. He has been trained by a trainer and obeys her very well. Us not so much. I am almost 70 and my husband is 63. He will also try to body slam us when he’s playing. Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

  17. Debby McMullen October 6, 2022

    It is *your* job to prevent this Aussie from intruding on your gentle Sammy’s space. Not to act afterwards. Please read this one and become pro-active. http://www.howmanydogs.com/2013/10/executive-decisions-why-do-you-have-to-parent-your-crew/ I think that it might be beneficial to either have an in-home session with a quality behavior consultant or schedule a virtual consult with me. Either way, you can email me your zip or postal code if you want a referral or want to schedule with you. This is not training, it’s behavior modification and *you* are in charge of helping that happen. No one else can do this but the humans that the dog lives with. It does not sound like you had an educated trainer or you would not have to ask this question. Please, I want to help but I can’t do it in sound bites.

  18. AA November 11, 2022

    I have a sweet 5 pound now older dog that I see when I come home tail down, cautious walking and I notice a bite on her foot pad the is the third time first two I broke it out between her and a younger stinger dog I adopted years ago. In am devastated that my older dog may have been in this position. For a while when I am gone. I have noticed the younger one occasionally tries to body block but when I see it I call the older one and she walks past, recently I have noticed behind my back the younger one who is 8 is doing a stare to the older one. What to do? I want my older dog healthy and happy tail up not down. Any suggestions? Thank you for the above techniques.

  19. Debby McMullen November 12, 2022

    You should be separating these dogs when unsupervised. This cannot be solved via internet advice. You can either email me your zip/postal code to debby@pawsitivereactions.com so that I can find you a quality professional in your area or email about scheduling a virtual session if you are within 3 time zones of EST.

  20. Jackie December 30, 2022

    I have a two year old unaltered, golden retriever named Daisy. Who is extra sweet and just a happy butterfly. I have a six year old pitbull mix named Brady. He is a watchdog and Dasiy’s protector. They are best friends. My son moved back home and brought his 10 month old Newfoundland. Rocco was raised with his sister Riley, and they played rough regularly. Brady was not having it and he’s been way too rough with Daisy. Unless Brady is around Rocco bullies, Daisy constantly he never lets up on her and is constantly stepping on her back, biting her neck, and she just cowers.. Brady is only 45 pounds but absolutely in charge when he is in the room. He will not tolerate this, but he can’t always babysit and inevitably Rocco will get to Daisy. Sometimes they’re fine but many times he is way too rough with jer. She is an unaltered because of a contract I signed with the Breeder. Maybe this has something to do with rocco’s behavior? I hate to watch her cower put her head down, close her eyes and wait for him to go away. I do not allow any of it and I stop him immediately scolding him and removing him from the area but I keep re-introducing them to see if they can make it work. What can I do? . He is a sweet, sweet dog, but when she’s around, he becomes a bully. Again, he would not try this with Brady. Brady will set him straight. But he gets exhausted being the babysitter too. It seems that when I have Rocco and Brady together they’re fine when I have Brady and Daisy together they’re fine but Daisy and Rocco are fine for a little bit but half the time I’m getting him out of her face, he bites her neck and her back. Rocco has been with us since last April. He is now 18 months. Rocco is neutered and has been since he was 10 months old.. what can I do?
    Daisy is 62 pounds Brady is 42 pounds and Rocco is now almost 140. He is as big as me, and I can barely handle him.

  21. Debby McMullen January 25, 2023

    If you want to email me your zip code to debby@pawsitivereactions.com I can help you find someone qualified nearby to help you. This cannot be properly addressed by answer this here.

  22. Jennifer May 27, 2023

    I have a 6 acre property in the hills where dogs often get abandoned and if I see them I take them in. There is even 1 pair of great pyranese I spent 3 days in the desert with in order to rescue and they were well worth the trouble. I am lucky and very grateful all of mine get along. All together I have 2 great pyranses, 2 McNabb, 1 Catahoula, 3 puppies of the great pyranese(just turned 4 months old), that’s just my large and giant breeds. Then i have my babies who 1 is a rat terrier(about 12 yrs old), then a cairn terrier, a yorkie mix and a pitbull mix who is actually a medium size dog at about 35 lbs. Oh and I can’t forget the newest addition I found he’d been hit by a car a few miles from me and I nursed him back to health, my guess is he is German Shepard/ Rottweiler mix. With 13 dogs ranging in size from 11 lbs to 140lbs, ages ranging from 4 months to 12 years and such a mix a personalities of course with the purebred having the most inherent tendencies and having not raised a majority of them myself, they all get along for the most part and all respect each other fairly equally. It does take immediate and consistent correction every time a new one comes along but I’ve yet to have any serious issues that were not resolved quickly. On occasion it snows where I live and everyone is ok crowding into a single room to get out of the bad weather. A couple of them sleep in a cage in that case without complaint just I case anyone cops an attitude. My Catahoula for example, he can get quite aggressive at the drop of a hat and since he was bred to hunt wild bore, I know he has the strength and determination of an ox therefore he happily resides to a spacious cage when need be. The only one who steps in to discipline on occasion is my oldest, bare in mind he is actually the smallest one but is more than twice the age of the next oldest so I allow him to set many of the canine boundaries as he does it more effectively than I could in my opinion and he has the utmost respect from the rest of the pack because of it. They respect me as their master and him as the leader of the pack. I had him alone for about 8 years or so and he has been so patient and strict with the others it takes some stress off of me knowing he will stop problems before they excalate and keep a respected pecking order in my house. I don’t see it as bullying in the least bit because it is with great purpose that he uses mild force without ever hurting anyone. I don’t see anything wrong with an older dog correcting the behavior of a younger dog, of course not everytime, but occasionally allowing a dog of seniority to step in makes a huge difference in certain situations.

  23. Matt May 30, 2023

    Hello. I recently picked up my 8 week old female Labrador retriever puppy named Dora. Because of where the breeder is located/some family obligations, I am staying at my parents house for 3 weeks before myself and Dora are heading home. My parents have a 10 month old female Labrador retriever puppy named Maizy. Maizy is affectionate, sweet, and has always been great around other adult dogs. When we first introduced them, Maizy seemed almost afraid of Dora. She did not want to be near her and ran away. If Dora gets close she jerks backs/runs away. They seemed to warm up to each other later that first night when we tried again to reintroduce them and played chase a little. Maizy wanted to sniff Dora a lot, and Dora often flopped on the ground on her back to be dismissive. However, I am seeing some bullying behavior from Maizy. She constantly wants to sniff Dora’s behind, will nudge her with her snout around her ears and wants to tower over her. Maizy doesn’t seem to mind when Dora plays with one of her toys, and even will take a toy and get Dora to chase her. She has run after her and pushed her down a few times and Dora has yelped, but they have also laid near each other nicely a few times as well (Maizy doesn’t like Dora to get too close/she acts skiddish and moves away). Maizy did come inside on a leash from a walk once and growled/snarled at Dora. She might have been surprised to see her, I’m not sure. Basically, I’m wondering if this is behavior that I should be worried about/what kind of intervening should I be doing. I try to get Dora away from Maizy/give her breaks, but Maizy seems like she wants to be around Dora/is even curious about her. She looks for her often and wants to see her. But it’s almost like she only wants to interact with Dora on her own terms. Like I said, she’s always been such a sweet dog so I’m not sure what’s going on. This was a very unexpected reaction since she’s always been so good with adult dogs. My brother does have a cattle dog mix that has visited before and that dog is aggressive toward other dogs (specifically indoors), so we keep them separated. I hope Maizy hasn’t been scarred from that experience. It’s only been 2 days of them being around each other, so I know it’s early. I also know they’re only going to be with each other for 3 weeks, but any help would be well appreciated so that things don’t escalate to a negative degree.

  24. Debby McMullen May 31, 2023

    Dogs aren’t pack animals, a human is not a ‘master’ or a ‘leader’. They are the parent. It’s up to a parent to set and enforce boundaries, not another dog. Whether your smallest and oldest dog is appropriately intervening is not something that I can comment on as a yay or a nay without asking a lot of questions I am not going to be paid to ask. Appropriate interventions by one dog towards another without needing a human to step in certainly can happen but they are far less likely than inappropriate interventions. Especially from a small elderly dog as they tend to have been permitted to do what they want and what they want is usually not what they should be doing. Disagree all you want. Doesn’t change the facts.

  25. Debby McMullen May 31, 2023

    Yes, you or rather your parents should be concerned about Maizy’s reaction to Dora. I assume that you likely spend time regularly at your parents so it would be better if they got along well. It would also be important to not cause any future fear of other dogs in Dora based on Maizy’s actions towards her. If you want to provide a zip or postal code, I can find you someone in the area of your parent’s home. You should work on this together. You can also email me at debby@pawsitivereactions.com with that info.

  26. Hannah K August 7, 2023

    Hello!
    This article is great and was very helpful. I am looking forward to testing out the timeout. I have two Aussies. Both are big personalities. Annie (8) bullies Oakley (11). She frequently exhibits the last 4 behaviors on the no no list. If I am across the room, I cannot immediately intervene. What are some other immediate human responses, other than saying “Annie, no” and giving a look across the room which doesn’t always stop the behavior. I have a beeper that intimidates her (not much else does) but the issue is it seems to impact the other dog as well and then she’s upset and shakes because she dislikes the noise. I guess just take the moments I am standing there to intervene as the teaching lessons? When I’m not around I get concerned. Ahhh the joys of managing a multi dog household. Haha.

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