Hey Jealousy

[melonie]

Boy have we got the green eyed monster in my house!
This ties in with what is mine in mine and whats yours in mine....

Winston is used to being top dog.... When Mac would let him be top dog that is.
Winston could be pushy at times when I gave Mac attention, but I could get him to knock it off if he became a jerk over it.
Enter Cleveland.

Cleveland believes he should be top dog too. He shares this pretty good with the other dogs.
But, if I give Winston attention, Cleveland butts in and wants attention. If I give Cleveland attention, Winston butts in. If I give Mac attention, they both butt in.

If Winnie has something, Cleveland wants it. and vice versa.
I only give the high value toys and goodies to the dogs if Cleveland is in his crate. That is also where he eats.

But, Cleveland has a thing for paper, q-tips, tissue, etc. He got ahold of a toilette paper cardboard tube and was silently chewing away... (I had yet to discover this) I heard Winston let out a growl, which is startling because you rarely here it out of play time. I go look, and see Cleveland at it with the cardboard and Winnie staring him down for it.
Winston could care less about these types of items!


I need tips on how to manage this crew! They do get along very good, and each day they mellow out on the crazy full on play all day.
It has been a lot of fun, a bit exhausting, and a bit exasperating!

Will this pushiness settle down as well? If so how to I help this process along?!

[Dave]

It's like My Three Sons. lol!

I don't know if it's much help, but in this type of situation I assert myself, take away the wanted item, and do a few minutes of very stern command and obey. Sometimes it ends up they're sent to neutral corners. It tends to diffuse the tension, which is what you need anyway. But I don't think you can assign rank between the three. I think they have to decide that, but they must always bow to your rank. It doesn't take much, just a little nilif. It works for me, YMMV.

That pushy thing for attention is pretty normal and isn't restricted to any breed, gender or rank. I bet everybody's multiple dog household is pretty much the same. My friend has eight Chinese Cresteds and they all do it. Then her pit mix Elmo horns in and tramples them.

Edit: I wanted to add that rank or status is fluid and changes all the time according to the situation or trigger. Just be prepared for a fight if one of them really pushes hard. It'll happen very fast.

Someone (Mary?) correct me if any of this is the wrong approach.

[melonie]

We've had a couple incidents between Mac and Cleveland. You're right about it happening fast. Both times I was right there to deal with it. The first time was over an improper butt sniff the first day they met. The second was over a bone Mac had discovered. Both times I crated Cleveland until everyone calmed down.
I do crate Cleveland to help calm things down, or I shut my two dogs in my room.
I do also Nilf Cleveland, I use it with the other dogs already. It really does help you control these 4 legged beasts!

I laid down the rules with my kids that the dogs get no chewies, bones, or high value treats if I am not home. I don't really let them feed the dogs unless I absolutely have to.
Cleveland doesn't show any food/toy/treat aggression or guarding habits, so that is good. But I don't want to push it either.

[loverocksalot]

Well I only have one who takes stuff like that. he does it mostly for attention. Just have to be very clean empty pails often and keep bathroom doors closed. I have pails with lid in bathrooms. But if they are too full or anything sticking out he gets into it. I suppose if there were another dog they could both be wanting dirty tissues. I just try my best to be vigilant not to leave anything around and empty pails. Especially with girls in the home. Tampons can be deadly. a dog up the street died last summer after eating many tampons. I think a whole box. Had surgery and did not make it.

[adoptapitbull]

Mav and Cap can get a bit of the jealousy going when it comes to their mommy and daddy. Cappy used to be sitting on Jim's lap and give a snarly face or a warning snap if Mav tried to join them. Cap immediately had to get off and Jim got up and walked away. This happened maybe 5 times, and hasn't happened in a looooong time.

Mav will get jealous in the same way, but reversed. When Mav is lying on me and Cappy wants to come up, Mav gives him a stare (which would escalate although I stop it here). At that point, I say "Off!" and remove myself and the dogs. Mav is then not allowed on top of me for the rest of the night. In bed, it's the same scenario occasionally. It only turned into an actual fight once when my mom was dogsitting and she didn't notice "the look" before it got too far. Since then we've not had any issues. I know what to look for and now Mav knows when mommy means business.

[maryellen]

Dave is right. also your dogs are maturing ,so they probably wont take crap from the others anymore. when i had 3 dogs they were all pushy for attention and i did what dave did. my pack was a rottx, pitx and a very very bossy gsd ..

[melonie]

Really the only complaint I have is that I will begin to pet one of the dogs, say Winston. Cleveland notices and comes over and shoves Winston out of the way, and vice versa. Both of these boys believe that all the attention should be theirs and no one elses. When this happens, I've started to ignore both the dogs. Well, actually all three since Mac usually isnt too far away since he too believes all attention belongs to him

[wannabeowner]

Andrew and Valentine can be like this at times. Andrew's favorite spot is on the couch curled up in a ball up against me. If I have to get up to let Valentine out to potty, he gets cranky. And if Valentine climbs on me on the couch, he butts in and pushes her aside so he can have the #1 spot next to me. Once he's in contact with me, he'll let Valentine climb over both of us, as long as he's got his physical contact with me, he's overall pretty happy.