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Old 11-15-2007, 07:05 AM
MaxHollyNoah MaxHollyNoah is offline
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Oregon
Posts: 192
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Hi Debbie,

I am sorry to hear that your new addition to the family is not acting quite as you expected. Sometimes the change of the environment affects dogs behaviors so you might not be able to just take what you were told for granted.

I think you need to retrain Sammie, from the basic obedience. It will be beneficial for all of you, Sammie and your human family members, to establish a bond.

As for the bone and toy protection, this is what I would do if I were you (assuming Sammie will let you take her bone without biting you).

Give Sammie a bone or a toy. Let her eat/play for a few seconds, then tell her to drop it and take it away. Give the same bone/toy to Gizmo in front of Sammie's very eyes. Let Gizmo have it for a few seconds, then take it away to give back to Sammie. Repeat this many times every day. By doing this you will teach Sammie to share bones/toys with Gizmo and there is no reason why she needs to protect them. In the mean time, you will let her know that it is YOU who decides who gets bones/toys, not HER.

If Sammie growls at you and intimidates you, the above training might be a bit dangerous and it might require advice from a professional, such as behavior consultant, etc.

I believe it is important that Sammie learns that she is a new addition to the family, by treating Gizmo first for everything, although he is much smaller than she is. I have added many new dogs in my life and every time this is what I make sure to convey the new comer from the day 1. I have not had any problem messing up their hierarchy so far.

Good luck!!
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