I recently worked with a client who had a problem that is likely more common than you might think. She had two separate packs living under the same roof. In pack number one were two male pit bulls and the two humans in the home. In Pack number two (and the cause of the chaos) were to Miniature Pinchers, a male and a female.
There is usually a combination of two things that cause pack separation. 1. Is physical division, or keeping certain animals away from certain others. This can happen with cats being separated from dogs, kids being kept away from dogs, or even one human and one dog bonding tightly and other humans having little or no interaction with the dog. 2. The second reason is lack of understandable leadership. I say it as "understandable" because while the human may feel as they are the pack leader they have not communicated that to the dog or dogs, and really the dogs are the ones who need to know it.
Dealing with problem number one of pack separation: Don't separate your animals. If they are dogs feed them at the same time and in the same general area. They don't have to eat right next to each other, but eating in the same room is a good idea. When feeding remember that the squeaky wheel does not get the grease. The quietest, calmest dog eats first and so on. That way, the dogs learn from each other to be calm at feeding time.
If you have cats or other animals, don't separate them. Teach your dog how to be calm around them. (You can read earlier post about claiming cats, and keeping introductions calm.) The important thing is for you to be in control and for your animals to live in harmony among each other.
If you have a dog that has bonded with one human and growls or nips at the others in the house you likely have two packs. The person who is bonded to the dog MUST assert themselves and correct growling and nipping, and the other members in the house need to take part in the dogs care. Every person in the house should have a job when it comes to each pet. This is how we create leadership and bonding.
The best way to bond with a dog is to walk. Just walk. If you have two dogs that see each other as separate packs, walk them! EVERYDAY! Make sure you are in the lead and they are on the side or behind, then just walk. Walking is primal for dogs. The pack has to get along for survival and they have to migrate for survival too. This is a great way to merge your packs.
Dealing with problem number 2: In the case of the pit bull pack and the Min Pin pack the problem was being caused by a dominant male min pin, and an insecure female. The male was reinforcing the female’s fears of everything by over reacting to everyday normal situations. When the pit bulls were in the house the male would bark, thus telling the female, "These dogs are not in our pack and we don't trust them." And of course, the female did not see the humans as the pack leader, she trusted the messages she got from the male.
I told my client to start walking the min pins separately so they would have a chance to learn that the humans were the leaders. It basically came down to the male min pin telling his female that life was scary and out to get her, and the humans trying to tell her the opposite. The one who was the most convincing was her leader.
I advised them to walk the female with one of the pits and to give her strong leadership so she could begin to relax. Away from the house and away from her "min pin pack leader" she did much better. They are going to have to continue to show all four of their dogs’ leadership so that as they merge the packs their dogs will trust them to do so.
A good example of pack introduction is what my family did yesterday. We brought home two tiny chicks to our pack. Chicks and dogs can spell disaster but it does not have to. Rather than keeping the dogs away from the chicks (which we could only do for so long seeing as these will soon be backyard chickens) we introduced right away and claimed the chicks. I brought our Border Collie in and our foster pit bull and held the chicks to my chest. Claiming them. If they acted too interested I said "MINE" in a strong voice until they backed away. When the dogs were relaxed at my feet and not seeming interested in the peeping noises the chicks were making I allowed them to sniff, correcting with a loud sound if they got overly interested in the birds. It took about five minutes, and unless you are completely secure in your dogs respect for your leadership I don't recommend doing this with vulnerable animals, but in the end we were able to get some really great pictures of our two dogs and new chicks peacefully interacting all as one pack.
*Remember that unless everyone and everything in the house interacts your dog will not see the big picture. Be in control of all things in your dog’s eyes and you can then control the environment.
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