We have a lab mix named Ralphie that we adopted from a shelter about 4 years ago. He is a sweet and loving boy and has completed both beginner and imtermediate training excelling in almost all components.  He has always done really well when interacting with other dogs and cats.  However, he has always been skiddish when interacting with strangers on walks(specifically adults).  He is a high alert dog, especially when in the house. When anyone comes near the house (like a delivery man), he goes beserk and gets rather aggressive (the fur on his back stands up and he shows teeth when barking).  While I'm not necessarily bothered by his behavior if its strangers coming up to the house and ringing the bell/knocking as he does provide a sense of security for me, we do have a hard time letting people who we know into our home without having to hold him back and getting him to calm down and not be so agressive.  Is there a way to train him to understand the difference between a stranger coming up to the house (e.g. soliciter) and someone we are welcoming into our home?

Pat Miller of Peaceable Paws responded

My dog is one year old.Since yesterdy he has been shaking alot. In times he shakes to the point that he closes his eyes.What could it be the problem?
Dr. Tracy Barlup of Longmeadow Animal Hospital responded

About 4 years ago we had adopted a pit from the Humane Soc. In the past couple weeks, she has learned she can climb out of the fence (we never had a problem before).  We have even caught her climbing out of the top of a kennel we have set up for her (climbing it like a kid), so obviously just installing a taller fence around the yard won't work.  We need help, because we don't agree with keeping her in a kennel  she is out (and it is just a matter of time before her ox-headedness figures out how to push thru the fence we have attached to the top of the kennel), but she will jump out of the yard, even if we are outside with her.  She is normally an inside dog, but we like to put her out when we leave for the day or evening.  As things are now, just letting her out in the morning, we have to worry about her jumping out, unless she is in the covered kennel.  As for putting her on a leash,  there isn't much that will hold her she can't pull out of the ground or pull loose--and like any dog, she always gets it all tangled up.
 
Pat Miller of Peaceable Paws responded
 

Hi Pat, I was wondering if you had any tips for me. I have a 2 year old Pitbull terrier mix, and 2 cats. They don't get along and my cats have gone from raoming the house, to living in our basement. I don't think he's being too aggresive with them but we just need them to get along. Any tips will help! Thanks so much.

Pat Miller of Peaceable Paws responded

Hello, I was wondering if you can still train a dog at the ages of 2&3? my dog is 2 and he won't sit, come when I call him, and he doesn't like other animals none. What should I do how do I train
him? I am in 6th grade and I have the summer off so I was wondering if you had any instructions on how to train or what. So thanks so much.

Pat Miller of Peaceable Paws responded:

I have a dashchund-Dexter- who has some issues with other small dogs. He has lived with just me for the past 3 years(he is also 3) and really hasnt been around too many other dogs. When I moved into my new place, the neighbors dogs werent on leashes and they attacked Dexter. They were both little dogs. Dexter has seemed to get along great with my friends dogs-two mastiffs, two labs, and a pug/boxer mix, but my sisters dog-a bishon- they fight and cant seem to get along.

Basically I am wondering what kind of classes would be best for Dexter, when they are, and what the prices are. Any help you could give me would be greatly appreciated. I would really like to be able to have my dog around other dogs but I am afraid to.  Thanks so much!

Pat Miller of Peaceable Paws responded

Hi there, I have a 7 mo. old male Morkie named Cooper. Got him at 8 wks & was doing GREAT with housebreaking, walking, barking only to let us know something/someone outside then stopped promptly. Was obeying several commands & learning fast & very friendly & adorable. We trained the "perfect dog" ourselves w/research & patients, without classes. We lost  Buster at 17 1/2yrs past Dec. Cooper was right on target to becoming another "perfect dog" until he was viciously attacked by a neighbor's 2 yr. old Boxer (3rd owner) who broke lose while I was walking Cooper. The attack happened 5 wks ago at age 5 3/4 mos. He was shaken violently for over 3 mins maybe 4 before the owner could get the Boxer to drop my poor pup by punching the Boxer in her face. Vet ER said he was extremely lucky to have survived. It was a nightmare & no matter what I did I couldn't get her off him. Cooper had a touchy night w/crushed lungs & torn tissue, puncture wounds & air in chest cavity. He was in shock for hrs. & required surgery. I am happy to report he shows no physical signs of injury. The PROBLEM now is that he barks & growls at everything & everyone non stop. He barks at the inside of our front door for no reason (the boxer burst out their front door & live about an acre away on next lot). All of his achievements have regressed 85% including pad & liter box training. 4 wks later we are at about 50% EXCEPT his constant BARKING! If he sees the neighbors house or especially the Boxer he acts like he wants to attack the big dog & house & he is only 6 lb. Goes crazy barking & growling at all dogs like he wants to attack, then will run behind me if the other dog is more forceful w/it's barking. The other day he barked & growled at a dandelion like it was going to attack him! We are trying to re-socialize him with other calm dogs & people but having a hard time finding people willing to trust him. He did act like he wanted to play with a young Setter at vets after the owner being extremely patient upon hearing his situation!
so I feel there is hope in the being around other dogs. He has never sniped at or bit anyone or any animal. I think he is extremely afraid and he's thinking, "I'm gonna scarer you w/my bark & growl before you get me".  I've researched & tried everything to get control over the barking with no improvement. I understand this is a crucial time with his age to get him back on track of not "being a barky, defensive little dog". I wish we could afford a therapist for him. I lost my job 3.5 yrs. ago & have many health problems. Owners of Boxer have not paid the over $1,000 med. bill yet. Cooper was a gift from my family to help me focus on something positive & nurturing instead of my health. I am desperate for help or suggestions. Anything you can provide would be extremely helpful. Cooper's Mom,

P.S.-My husband works nights & barking is a huge determent to sleep for him & his patience is running low.

Pat Miller of Peaceable Paws responded

My husband and I are caring for our sons dog while he is away for 4-6 months.  He is only 10 months old but has never really been
trained on a leash.  We have to take him around other dogs all the time and I am having a time getting him to not WALK ME !  How do I train him? Also, he is constantly jumping on people .  He won't sit still to get petted.  He just jumps on everyone . Help !!

Pat Miller of Peaceable Paws responded

I have a one year old Husky. We can never leave her alone with out her chewing our couch or making so much noise that we get
complaints. We have tried calming medicine (not the kind from the vet.), a kong toy to distract her and just practicing leaving. Any suggestions? Our next step is getting the medication the vet has.

Pat Miller of Peaceable Paws responded

My niece and I have a dog that was adopted from the humane society last July named Vada.  She is a mix of black lab retriever and boxer.  She is a sweet dog, full of energy and love.  However, she is displaying resource guarding in the home.  She does not like anyone entering the home other than my niece and I.  She is my nieces dog.  We have trained with Karol Kennedy, who is amazing. We have had a thyrold test done and are trying to connect with Karol with the behavior modification for Vada. My question to you is about socialization with other people and dogs outside the home.  Vada is approximately two years old and needs socialization that she will not get from private training.  Any suggestions will help.  Thanks.

Pat Miller of Peaceable Paws responded

Hello,  I am moving to MD, at the beginning of June.  I have
an 11 year old Siberian Husky and we will be living on a 3 acre wooded lot.  I am concerned about her possibly interacting with snakes.  In the past 11 years, I have never seen her go after a snake, but she has chased just about everything else, including porcupines - even when they
quilled her. 
 
I have heard there is snake aversion training for dogs.  I would like to get my dog some snake aversion training. Do you offer this training or know of anyone who does?  I appreciate your help and look forward to hearing from you.
 

Pat Miller of Peaceable Paws responded

 I recently adopted a boxer mix. He's actually a pretty good dog but he keeps getting into the cats litter box and food. What can I do about this and should I even be worried?

Pat Miller of Peaceable Paws responded

I need to ask this because it is unique and we are desperate.  We have a border collie and a border collie mix (mixed with a German Shepherd).  The mix has NO aggression toward this family, our babies, or many visitors.  There is NO food or toy aggression -we can take things right out of her mouth.  She gets along great with the collie EXCEPT with food.  She draws blood so we separate the feeding.  We thought all was fine except for food.  They play great together, go on walks together without incident.  But yesterday, someone knocked on our door.  Both dogs barked as they usually do.  The mix (will be 3 years in May)
attacked the collie and she needed stitches.  The Vet said she could have been killed if it were deeper.  The mix held on to her throat until we pulled them apart.  We are very concerned.  We love the mix, but we can't have her kill our other dog.  She is great with the cats too.  We are really confused about this one.  Any advice or recommendations would be very appreciated.  Now, we are not sure she would not attack or hurt other animals or people who are total strangers, but she is not allowed near them without us anyway.  She is a good watchdog for the house.  It just makes no sense why she would attach the collie.  She was a puppy when we brought her home, and the collie was older than her from the beginning.  Thank you so much.

Pat Miller of Peaceable Paws responded

I adopted a male pitbull from the humane society about 4 yrs ago. He is the most loveable, sweet cuddly thing when he's around just myself and my boyfriend. When i take him for walks and someone approaches just to talk or people come over to the house he will growl and bark at them. I have tried having people give him treats when they first come into the house and have tried taking his attention off of approaching people on walks by making him sit and focus on a treat. This works for the person to walk by but i have to do this for every person that walks by and sometimes he will still growl and bark b/c he will lose focus. If someone comes up to us to even pet him he may let them pat his head once, if he lets them get that close, but then he will bark and growl.  can you suggest anything else i can try to make him i guess feel more comfortable around strangers/house guests? i have another dog, a female pit bull. They are the best of friends and she is the total opposite she will go up to anyone and will allow anyone to pet her. She loves attention. He on the other hand will growl and bark at mostly all other people. There is only really 2 other people besides that he has not done that to.

Pat Miller of Peaceable Paws responded

We adopted 2 puppies from the same litter and are having
issues.  Everything I read on the internet says to try to rehouse one of
the pups.  Would you agree with that?

Pat Miller of Peaceable Paws responded

Question:
We adopted a terrier mix dog 2 years ago from the humane society. We have 21 acres that is fenced for large animals. We had no problem with this dog leaving the property until about a month ago. Now I can not let him out of my sight or he will go to the neighbors. When I call him, he just ignores me.
Is there anything you can suggest I try or should I seek professional help. Thanks, Carolyn

Pat Miller of Peaceable Paws, LLC responded:

I have a 4month old daschund, he will not leave my old cat alone.  Jumps on her and teases her. Of cource she claws at him.  afraid she will really claw pup bad, have tried sray bottle, newspaper etc. help?

Pat Miller of Peaceable Paws LLC responded:

I know that you're a dog trainer but I have a cat question. My cat continues to urinate in two locations in our home. We have replaced both the carpet and pergo flooring once and will be doing it again shortly to have the smell removed but he continues to go in these two places. We have two litter pans available and actually place him in it twice a day where he will pee when we're standing there. He has not problems running to the litter to deficate though. We've had him thoroughly checked by our vet and is fine so we know it's behavioral. Any ideas on how to curve this behavior so we don't need to continuing to spend the money?

Pat Miller of Peaceable Paws Responded

I have a 15 yr.old female cat that has been alone for 2 years
and now and a 2 yr old female stray has come into our life that we want
to keep. The 15 yr old keeps growling and chasing the new cat through
the house and it sounds awful like she's killing her, but when I check,
the new is okay.  But I am afraid someone's going to get injured.  The
new one has her own room on the enclosed porch at night and when we are
not home just for safety. But I want to get them integrated into our
home together. Can you help?

Pat Miller of Peaceable Paws Responded

I have an 8 month old dog that urinates in her crate everyday.  It doesnt matter if i take her out every 4 hours she will go in her crate. I recently had a baby and im not sure if it is that but i just don't know what to do. I have to keep giving her a bath. When she is out of her crate she is fine its only when she is left in her crate overnight or when we are out of the house. Do you have any suggestions?

Mrs. Pat  Miller of Peaceable Paws responded

I have a friend who's daughter is mentally challenge has night time seizures and occasionally has episodes that she is anxious and wants to leave  the house.  She is 15 years of age, has a limited vocabulary verbally,  has been learning sign over the last few years and I would say she functions  more on a 5 year old level.  Her Dad has become her primary object of  attention and is always in the same room that he would be in.  She does play  some games independently and likes to do puzzles.  I have a golden Retriever and a german Shepard and she love to come and visit my dogs.  I had suggested a therapy/companion dog for his daughter.  I have  been placed on a list for a goldendoodle and need to find out where I can take  the dog for training and at what age they should begin training. Any  help with this adventure would be greatly appreciated.

Pat Miller of Peaceable Paws responed:

We love our little rescue dog, an Aussie named Jasmine, but instead of getting better with other dogs or people, she seems to be even more protective (that's what I think she's trying to be) than ever.
We would love to hear from you and discuss our options from someone who has been referred highly to us.  Thanks.

Pat Miller of Peaceable Paws LLC responded

I have a 2 year old puggle, who for the most part is a very good little girl.  She doesn't bark very often, only when she hears a noise late at night or if someone is coming to the house.  Then she'll usually run to meet the person coming in.  If it's a stranger to her, she typically won't get within arms reach, until we tell her it's okay.  Then she might let the newcomer pet her.  I think this is all well and good, until this morning.  I went to leave her out to go potty when a jogger went past my house, she got out of my hands and chased him down the property!  She didn't bite him, but she barked like mad and her hair was standing straight up!  I've never seen her act like this before!  She is almost always tied when we go in the front of the house, so she's never had an opportunity to do this before.  The only other sign of aggression or guarding or jealousy I've ever seen from her is when my friend visits with his dogs and they try to come up to my lap.  Then my dog will nip at them.  But then she plays with them the rest of the time.  I've very confused! What can I do to teach her not to react this way?

Pat Miller of Peaceable Paws LLC responded

I have a 2 yr old dog who wont stop peeing in the house.  He doesn't pink (pee?) when he's in his crate...How can I get him to
stop?

Pat Miller of Peaceable Paws responded:

I adopted "Brownie" 2/9/10 from the HSWC.
He seemed to be well mannered except for his reaction to my 2 yr. old nephew. He rushes him at the door. Tries to grab or nip him then he constantly follows him and watches him. On two occassions he has actually grabbed my nephew hard
enough to leave red marks.
He has not tried this on my two children ages 5 and 6. Although he has nipped me if I am sitting at my computer desk not looking at him. He starts barking and when I tell him "no" he barks more and tries to nip at me. This is totally uncool. What can I do? Or should I bring him back to the Humane Society for a family with older children?

Pat Miller of Peaceable Paws responded

We recently adopted a Golden Ret. from a rescue group.  He is 2 y.o and very anxious and excited.  Walks well on leash, comes when called but his "in house" behavior needs improvement.  I have 4 cats which he is now treating as if they are squirrels outside.  Didn't do this in the beginning.  Sad story of his beginning years. Very loveable but when he makes a running leap to "hug" he about knocks us over.  We are great fans of Cesar.  His obsession with me is stifling.   Need suggestions.

Pat Miller of Peaceable Paws responded:

I have a puppy that is almost a year old and is starting to chew up the furniture and pillows and clothes and when out side she digs
holes in our back yard do you have any advice on how to break her of these bad habits

Pat Miller of Peaceable Paws responded:

Hello! I am currently looking to adopt a shelter dog. I have a portie-poo that I adopted in April and he is now about 14 months old. He is great at playing with other dogs, especially larger dogs (he is about 30 pounds). He is very  happy-go-lucky and very intelligent. I am having a problem finding a good friend for him. He brings his toys to other dogs to share and play with, but no one wants to play with him in the same way. I just returned an older husky because her resource guarding could easily have killed him and hurt me (awesome dog otherwise, but I don't know how well I can train an adult dog). So we are fostering a 4 month old australian shepherd/chow mix for one week until she is cleared for adoption.

She guards her food and had gotten into a few battles with him- I'm torn on whether to let them sort out the dominance thing or keep them separated for the next week she is here. She is a very sweet dog and I'd like to keep her, but I am in need of more education in a hurry, and good advice.

How long do you think it takes (on average) to correct this behavior? I would much rather adopt a dog from the shelter than a pet store, but I don't really need a tiny puppy. I'm starting to wonder if that's what would be best for my original pooch. I did research the new dog's breeds, and I know they may not have the greatest temperament. But I always believed that dogs are individuals and can be trained.  What are your thoughts? Would it be safer to let this new dog go and raise a baby dog with my hyperactive lug, or is there hope?

Please be brutally honest. Thanks for your time!

Pat Miller Responded:

We adopted a 7 month lab mix about a week ago, named Nina.  We already have a 12 year old Golden Retriever and a 5 year old Yorkie-Poo.  Nina is a very sweet puppy and very playful.  The problem we have is that she always wants to play.  The Yorkie, named Daisy, is being bombarded by Nina constantly while they're awake.  Daisy has gotten to the point where she'll show her teeth, yelp and lunge at Nina in an attempt to get Nina away.  The problem is that Nina thinks Daisy is playing back, and gets more and more playful.  When we came home yesterday evening, Daisy's back was soaked with slober from Nina trying to play.  There were no signs of a fight, no blood or anything.  But Nina won't leave Daisy alone.  Daisy, who was always very happy and bouncy around the house, slinks everywhere and is now scared of her own shadow.  WCHS said to contact you here for help.  Can you help us with this?

Pat Miller of Peaceable Paws responded:

Kathy Asked:

Hi,
My puggle is 1 year old. He's pretty well behaved except whenever
anyone (us or friends)comes in the front door he bites them in the
crotch. (Just the crotch, no where else). Needless to say, this is
embarrassing as well as painful. We have tried yelling at him, smacking
him on the butt,or putting him outside. Any suggestions?

Ms. Pat Miller of Peaceable Paws, LLC responded:

Kelly asked:

My dog is part Siberian Husky/part shephard...She is very well behanved.  However, when me and my husband leave to go anywhere, and she's left alone (either in the cage or not in the cage), she tears things up, she finds ways to move the cage when in it, to destroy things, and she messes all through her cage, or on the floor if she's not in the cage.  This is the ONLY time she does this!  When we're here, she's perfectly normal and doesn't chew up anything and doesn't mess in the house....do you have any ideas or suggestions for this MAJOR problem? 

Ms. Susan Sarubin of Peaceable Paws Dog and Puppy Training answered:

Training a five month old puppy

Jon asked:
we have a five month old puppy and would like to know the best
avenue for training. He will do some simple things. But hasn't master
house breaking completely and recently will no come when called. What
are our options and costs thanks

Pat Miller responded:

Stephanie asked:

Hi.  I hope maybe you can give me some insite on a situation. I have a Min Pin (Minature Pinscher) that I have had for a year.  Since I got him he mouthed us and nipped all the time.  He is aggressive.  I got him nuetered and it did not help so the vet said to take him to good dog training, so we did. He did well for two class and the third class he was acting funny.  We mentioned it to the trainer she came over to see what was going on and checked his collar and he nipped her a couple times.  I took him to the vet today and he can't find anything with him.  HELP!  The other trainer suggested I have him put down but I am having a hard time coping with that.  I will feel cruel if I do.  Can you please help me get insight on this please? 

Thank you

Ms. Pat Miller answered:

I have a one year old chocolate lab.  Needless to say, he is a
chewer.  He has plenty of Nyla bones and kongs, but he still gets things he shouldn't.  We have to keep him in his crate at night, and when we are not at home.  This hasn't been a problem.  Usually, we toss a treat into the crate, and he goes right in.  However, over the weekend, he started not going in the crate.  When we toss the treat in, he runs the other way.  And the only way to put him in is to physically push him in.
I know that isn't helping the situation, but if he doesn't go into the
crate, my house would be a mess when I got home.  When Katherine was here for Pet of the Week, she suggested that I email you.  Any
suggestions would be very helpful!
Thanks!

Peaceable Paws Trainer Lori Kobayashi responded:

I have an 8 month old Shepherd mix that chews absolutely everything (toys, furniture, shoes, etc.)  He'll even get the kids' toys off the shelves to destroy.  He has a large assortment of toys of his own, and we give him one when he chews something unacceptable.  What else can I do to help him learn what is his?

Pat Miller of Peaceable Paws answered:

Valerie asked Pat Miller: My dog is an Australian Bluetick Hound .. I really don't know how old she is but I  do know that she is pretty old. I have had her for almost one year. All I really know about her background is that she came from an abusive home. My boyfriend got her from soemone that had an ad in the paper. She is extremely scared of loud noises, yelling, and a little skidish at times. My boyfried says that I baby her too much because I hold her when she is scared and I talk to her like she is a human. All I really want is for her to be happy and feel loved. Is this wrong for me to do? If so, is there something that I should be doing differently?

Susan from Peaceable Paws responded:

I was wondering if you have any suggestions for getting a 1 year old approx 140lb Great Dane into a vehicle. This task was quite easy when he was smaller however now he chooses to chase my van, or the kids' bikes or anything with wheels rather than to get inside. I want to take him places but he refuses to get into the van. Any tips on helping him to feel better about going for a ride?

Ms. Pat Miller of Peaceable Paws responded:

About a month ago, my husband and I adopted a mutt. We're not sure what she is--she looks to have perhaps some shepherd and some Black Mouth Cur in her. She is 12 weeks old. She's a good puppy in most ways, but we've been having a terrible time being in the yard with her. She often gets very hyper in the yard and, if we're out there, too, she runs at us and bites like crazy. Nothing we do will make her stop--we've tried saying "no," clapping our hands, yelling, walking away (she follows, biting), growling like a dog, pushing her away, even holding her down--it all just gets her more excited. Her bites do hurt, and it's scary when she barrels toward us. She's only about 10 lbs right now, but will likely be much bigger, and this behavior would be disastrous in a bigger dog. Does this behavior sound worrisome to you? And do you have any suggestions on how to deal with it? We're at our wits' ends. Thank you so much.

Pat Miller of Peaceable Paws responded

Can you suggest some water games for the dogs to play at our Dog Splash

to raise money for a well-designed dog park here in Frostburg?

I may be unable to make it to the Plunge.

Love your writing.  Keep it up!

Amelia in Cumberland

Ms. Pat Miller of Peaceable Paws responded

I have an adult female short hair cat that has for about a year now been urinating lets just say outside the litterboxes.  We have had her since a kitten (approximately 6 yrs). She was the sister to her brother of different generation and did fine with her brother here as indoor cats, spayed and neutered and front declawed.  We introduced an outside cat that has for two + years, is a male, and has established as the alpha male and has terrorized the female into submission and now what I consider severe behavioral issues.  We rarely see the female as she is too afraid to come out from underneath beds or up from the basement.  We have been eliminating spots she urinates forover a year to the point that her only alternative, other than the litter box, is nice carpets and furniture. 

We have tried pheramone plug ins and nothing works.  Litterboxes are cleaned daily so the fouling of the box is not the issue.

My wife and I are at our wits end and simply cant have the cat ruin the carpets and furniture.

Short of euthanization, do you have any recommendations?

(Please note the same question was posed to Dr. Tracy Barlup of Longmeadow Animal Hospital at our VetTalk section)

Ms. Pat Miller responded:

We have two dogs that have recently started fighting, so bad, that one has had stitches, twice.  We need help.  Here is our story:

We have two rescue dogs; Carcass (Carky) our 5 yr old Rhodesian/Pit Bull Mix and our 3 1/2 year old Treeing Walker Coonhound, Myrtle.

They were both about 1 1/2 years old, respectively, when we adopted them.  I also had a 14 pound rescue terrior/schnauzer mix named Molly at the time.  Carky and Molly got along great after several walks and finally a formal meeting.  Molly was in charge and all was well.  Then we brought Myrtle in to the mix.  It took a couple of weeks, but all three of them got on pretty well. 

Molly passed away a year ago.  About 6 months after she died we started having trouble.  Myrtle is big into resource guarding and Carky is very protective.  They tussled and wrestled a lot but were not violent until one time when Carky broke the skin on Myrtle, not a big bite but a bite non the less.  Our trainer told us to stop letting them wrestle and all seemed well.

Then, about 3 months ago, Myrtle and Carky were outside my bedroom door.  Carky was laying in front of the door and Myrtle was walking by. Instead of just walking by and laying down as she normally does, she walked right up to Carky and put her face in hers.  Right before the attack, I could see this was a bad thing and I yelled "NO" but Carky attacked her.  It took me about 20 - 30 seconds to get them apart and by that time, Myrtle was severly wounded.  I took her to the vet and they had to do surgery to repair her (deep into the muscle).

We called our trainer and he told us to keep them separated totally until the stitches came out.  Then, with our trainer, we started the pack walk, bringing them closer and closer and within about 3 hours, we had them both in the same room, on leashes.  One on either end of the room.  Our trainer thought this was a great first step and told us to keep it up and very slowly get them closer, always on leashes.  All was well, until I was doing too many things at one time and as I was moving from one gated area to another, Carky slipped by me and walked up to Myrtle.  Myrtle was at her empty food bowl.  My step son (16 yr old) was right beside them.  I calmly said "Connor, get Carky away from Myrtle."  He jumped to get there quickly and I yelled "NO" and Carky attacked Myrtle again. This time, I was able to get them apart pretty quickly, but Myrtle still had to have surgery and stitches to repair her. 

I've called our trainer and he's told us to start over after the stitches come out with the pack walk which we will do.  Her stitches come out in four days and we'll do a pack walk that evening.  I am afraid that I am the cause of this aggression because I'm seeing possible situations and yelling or saying, in a loud tone, something that makes the dogs react.  I am really trying to calm myself, but I don't feel I can keep Myrtle safe or that I can control Carky.  I really need help in reigning in my fear and staying calm and assertive, but with these two attacks, it's very hard to not get upset.

Carky is the most loving dog, she is very well trained, she loves all people and is a huge lap dog but she hates other dogs, she hates ALL other animals.  She put up with Molly and Myrtle, but something has changed.  Myrtle is very sweet, a bit, um, well, stupid, at times, but a very sweet dog, very loving.

We don't want to have to place either of our dogs if at all possible. 

I would appreciate any help you can give me in what I'm doing wrong, or how we can help our dogs get back on track of even being able to be in the same room together.  We will never again leave them alone un-supervised, but we'd like to be able to sit in a room with our entire family (including both dogs) and watch a movie together.

Thanks so much for your time and consideration.  Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Pat Miller of Peaceable Paws responded

We have a boxer mix that we adopted from Antietam Humane Society and we are having some outside social concerns.  He had no problems in the house and he is amazing on walks...but in his yard we have a few problems. He is a very aggressive barker and jumper (on the fence) and it scares the neighbors.  We have three children and he plays with the two little ones very well, but will jump on our oldest(11) when he wants to play.  It is just weird to me that in the house he is fine and on walks he is fine but seems to have no social skills in his own yard.  He has never jumped the fence or bitten anyone...but it seems like he does not know how to ask to play when he wants to play with you...and he is bark aggressive at people walking in front of our house.  We have thought about having a trainer come to the house...i have personally worked with him but it only has worked on walks and in the house...not in our yard.

Thanks for any advice you can give...

Pat Miller of Peaceable Paws responded:

Vikki Asked:
Hi I had an interaction today between a dog at the Humane Society and my two dogs. Gracie, the dog I am trying to adopt, displayed some characteristics of resource guarding. The only time she guarded was when she had a frisbee. No other toy seemed to catch her attention but she was very intent on the frisbee. Everything went well between my two dogs and her until my dogs tried to get near her frisbee. Is there a way to train her not to resource guard? She didn't display any aggression towards my dogs when the frisbee was not involved. Could you give me some pointers on how to correct this issue? I would really appreciate it.

Pat Miller of Peaceable Paws responded:

I adopted a Boxer last summer.  He has been a great dog, but over the past  year he has developed this very aggressive behavior towards other dogs.  It has come to the point where i cannot take him on walks anymore because if we pass another dog he goes wild.  The hair on his back stands up, he growls and barks, and he becomes so fixed on them even after they have passed us.  I try to divert his attention but it never works. Any advice as to what I could do to change this behavior would be great.

Pat Miller responded: