Little dogs driving me crazy :-)

Well... not really.

But there is a behavior that I have found with every dog we have and I can't quite understand it. Just wanted to know if other people have this problem and what do you do about it, if anything.

I can give each one of our dogs the same exact kind of rawhide, or toy, and they always want what the other dog has. It doesn't matter if what they have is better, for instance, a bigger bone, or a more fun toy, they want the others. The other dog might have just a tiny piece of rawhide left, but they want that one and not their own.

I have gotten to the point of only giving out one bone to one dog and then when it gets tired of it, or goes for a drink or something, then the others can get it and have their turn with it.

It's not that I don't have plenty for everyone, but they just want the one! Ahhhhh, it drives me crazy. :roll:

I'd like to hear if anyone else has this with multiple dogs and what to do. Perhaps put out a bunch of bones in the room and see who gets what? I'm open to suggestions.

 

Sebastian is a serious resource guarder and for that reason when he moved in I stopped leaving chews, toys around. For chews, bones I only give the dogs these now in seperate rooms. For toys its not much of a problem I can usually give them each a toy and then play with them both exchanging the toys between the two of them. Sebastian does'nt normally guard toys...just bones & chews.
In your case, if the dogs are actually getting into fights I would seperate each of them when giving the specific things they tend to fight over. If they are not gettng into fights but only giving warnings to each other I would just supervise closely...warnings should be allowed, fights should not.

 

I agree with the nern about the fights, personally I will tend to let them fight out any differences they have (and by that Im not talking about getting into anything horrific, its usually vocal and pinning down...not tearing each other up) however Ive resigned on the food issue, whether its food, bones or rawhides....or Greenies they all go to their corners, or in one dogs case, she got her own room at dinner time. If there isnt any fighting though , Id just watch them, what your describing is not unusual, I had a Whippet that would gather up all the chews...and sometimes the toys also, lay on most of them and chew on one, Id usually get one from under and give it to one of the other dogs and she'd then spend the whole time with one eye on me and the other on her 'stolen' chew, as soon as I left the room and the other dog looked away she'd sneak in and take it back again, she never got into a fight over them.

 

Yes, my dogs do this. Especially Nala. She will go take Bonnie's bone, so Bonnie tries to take the bone Nala left and then Nala tries to grab both of them. It's not a resource guarding or aggressive thing - they aren't growling or snapping or anything. And Bonnie usually just lets her and lies there looking sad. So I just separate them if I want them to both have a nice treat.