It's Mine!!!

I just wanted to give a little update on Ginny. She is doing much better now that she is older.

I've kept after her about harassing and jumping on Sadie and try to make sure she's not steeling anything out of Sadie's mouth. Sadie has become more inclined to tell her off but is still too soft with her. Ginny is sneaky though, and will still steal things from her if I turn my back or leave the room, but I'm happy with her progress.

I have one question though. Instead of stealing from Sadie, Ginny will often sit right beside her and watch her. Eventually Sadie will give up what she has to Ginny, I'm guessing due to the pressure Ginny is putting on her. Should I start making Ginny back off and go somewhere else?

Her yappiness seems to be fairly under control now. When we're inside we try to keep her excitement levels to a minimum, which is directly proportional to the volume of her voice. :lol: She understands what 'Shh' means and is pretty good about quieting down when she's told.

Her loud yapping I'm sure can be heard for miles around when she's running around and playing with her friends, but I realize that's just the way she is and something I'll have to live with.

She's still not very interested in playing ball but she's realized that constantly herding Sadie is unacceptable and earns her a time out. We had a definite breakthrough at the park last night when she finally left Sadie alone and just enjoyed running with the pack of dogs who were playing ball, instead of just herding Sadie.

Since the nice weather is coming soon, I'm hoping to work on her ball motivation, since in the house ball training doesn't seem to be working. I'm beginning to suspect that Ginny just won't have the ball drive that Sadie has, but I'm ok with that as long as Ginny can be taught to stop harassing Sadie while she's playing ball.

Ginny has been going through that awful teenage stage, but after getting in big trouble a couple of weeks ago for purposely peeing on the carpet (I wasn't getting ready for a walk when she wanted me to and she'd just been out for a pee), she's been as sweet as pie. Instead, Sadie seems to be acting up, which I'm working on also. :rolleyes2:
 
I'm glad to hear that Ginny is starting to understand the rules. Now maybe Sadie can play ball in peace--well at least sometimes :)

As far as Ginny just watching Sadie and Sadie giving up what she has...it's a tough call. For me on the outside, I think that it's got to be a natural reaction for the beta to give the alpha what she really wants. On the other hand, as a fur-mom, I always think that it's "not fair" and Sadie should get to do what she wants, not just what Ginny will allow her to do.

I think my reaction would be to try to distract Ginny with something else rewarding. But if it doesn't work, it is ultimately Sadie's decision to give it up.
 
corbinam said:
I think my reaction would be to try to distract Ginny with something else rewarding. But if it doesn't work, it is ultimately Sadie's decision to give it up.
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Yeah, I've tried this and it doesn't work. Ultimately both dogs want what I'm trying to distract Ginny with. It doesn't matter how many toys or raw hides I put out, they always want the same one. :rolleyes2:
 
OntarioSheltie said:
I have one question though. Instead of stealing from Sadie, Ginny will often sit right beside her and watch her. Eventually Sadie will give up what she has to Ginny, I'm guessing due to the pressure Ginny is putting on her. Should I start making Ginny back off and go somewhere else?
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Tough one. Depends on the dog and situation. I never let Jazz do any of this because it lead to resources guarding issues(she had lots of issues) and I had to be very clear with her that I owned everything.:smile2: I'm not as strict with the shelties with toys and as long as it is peaceful I let them figure it out. Usually food/chews is the biggest problem I control that pretty close they usually go in crates with it. Diva and Ember are not beyond rumbling over food. If it is Justice, with the object I don't worry. He wouldn't give it up with he really wanted it and the girls won't challenage him ever.
 
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Max my itty bitty Cocker will take everything from Jacobi.Jacobi is twice his size and it is kind of funny to see this little ball of fuzzy dominant him! Max is like hey I was here first and this is how its gonna be! He has gotten Jacobi to summit numerous times but he never has. He will find his toys in the kitchen and pick them up and hide them in his bed so Jacobi can't find them.Max even took over both beds.
 
Ginny did very well last week. I cracked down on her big time for her bad behavior and as a result, she was good as gold. I've eased up on her slightly by allowing her to be off leash in the house, but we're continuing to keep a really close eye on her and crate her when we can't. We also make sure that she is in the room with us at all times and is not allowed to wander off. She hasn't peed in the house all week.

Her bossiness toward Sadie is getting better and she's also nearly stopped herding feet after a few stern reprimands. I thought she was doing it out of instinct but like everything else, she was just being bossy.

We haven't been tolerating any harassment of Sadie and she's doing much better with that, even when she's off leash at the park. She still tries to steal everything that Sadie has in her mouth but is doing better.

I'm continuing to use the gentle leader for walks, she's way too distracted without it.

The gentle
 
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