I have a serious problem.. Updated..

[Lyn]

I don't know what to do and I'm seriously freaking out here.

Lola has snapped at Mia twice and attacked her once today. The first 2 times were completely unprovoked. Mia was just wandering around the kitchen and sat beside Lola, then Lola lunged at her. The 3rd time it happened was when Mia tried to stick her head in Lola's water dish while Lola was drinking.

At first I thought maybe she was 'correcting' the puppy. But I realized right quick that these are definitely NOT corrections. She's flat out trying to hurt Mia. She had Mia's head in her mouth and was about to shake her. Mia was screaming and Lola didn't release her until I hollered. I'm scared to death that Lola is going to kill her

Right now I'm keeping Mia on leash so she can't go anywhere near Lola. But we can't live like this.

I was worried at first about how Lola would react to Mia and she has been a bit 'different' since Mia got here. But Lola seemed to be adjusting and was doing so well with Mia up until today. I never expected this at all. She's been miserable with Bubba too, she even snarled at him when he walked past her empty food dish. Not like her at all.
 
As much as I hate to admit it, we may have to rehome Mia. But I'm so torn.. I don't know what to do. 

[The Brindle Pack]

Sorry to hear that you are having issues with the girls.  I'm afraid I would be in the same boat if I ever tried to bring another female into the house. 

Please keep us posted.

[schelmischekitty]

do you also feed in the kitchen?  you mentioned that lola laid into her with her water bowl and also that she's been sour with bubba around her bowl.  could it just be that mia has been getting into her food lately and lola is worried that she's not going to get to eat?

[Lyn]

Thanks all. 

Mia has never been near Lola's food dish. They are all fed at the same time in seperate areas of the kitchen. Mia eats really slow, so Lola is always finished eating first. If by chance Mia decides that she isn't going to eat I put her on leash or pick her up so she can't bother Lola or Bubba.

Julie, I'm not sure who's truly alpha. Lola will submit to Bubba but yet she bosses him around daily. Some days I do think it's Lola and other days it seems to be Bubba.

It's just so odd, one minute she like Mia, then the next she hates her. She actually seems to be guarding the entire kitchen, bedroom and potty area. Another thing too.. when Mia whines Lola seems to get irritated and stares her down. Bubba has actually been avoiding Mia today too. Maybe sensing something is off with Lola?

Tina, I was doing obedience with all 3 this afternoon and everything was ok, no problems with Lola at all. We do obedience daily, I started that when Bubba went through the pushy stage and I have continued it since along with NILIF.

I'm going to talk to hubby too when he gets home from work.

Thanks for the quick replies. Much appreciated.

I'll keep you all updated.

[Nina]

We went through this with Harley when we first brought Dibby home. We had to take all toys away and re introduce them on neutral territory. Then we had to make sure that we did everything first with Harley like gr8dame said. I think that Lola is feeling left out like she is no longer number 1. And taking it out on Mia. I think re-establishing pack order should make everything better. It did in our house.  Good luck


Nina

[Saint and Mal mom]

Lyn, make sure Lola is very clear on the fact that Mia lives there now, she is not just an intruder. Make sure to pay the same kind of attention to her that you would to Bubba and Lola. No more, no less. Play with her the same, train her the same, feed her the same, and keep on eye on her for sure. If you go to pet Mia, pet her then Lola. Let Lola know that for now, until she shapes up, Mia is over her in the hierarchy. Normally, I wouldn't advise putting the puppy above the older dog, but because Lola is already taking advantage of this obvious system, you must debunk it! You are alpha and you must show Lola that YOU will decide who fits in where and that Mia belongs here with you and that she the same as the other dogs. I really hope things improve. And if you must, back off of Lola and only give her attention when she does something good or neutral with Mia. Discipline her if she even looks at Mia wrong! Let her know that she is on your bad list until she adjusts her attitude majorly! This is to get rid of Mia in Lola's mind. I'm not thinking it's a long-term problem. She is simply upset and showing it.

[patrick]

As a breeder who raises puppies in the house I see this a lot.  The older females will discipline the puppies for what they consider dog infractions and it actually is good training for the puppy. (Putting your head in another dog's dish could get you killed if its a strange dog)  Oh but the screeching and wailing is rather impressive.  I keep a spray bottle around and periodically tell Tia (the guiltiest one) to 'stop terrorizing the babies!" And yep - she has had their head in her mouth before.  No one has ever physically gotten hurt. It all dies down once the puppy learns to tow the line and learns proper doggy manners.  And Lola as the adult is the alpha- puppy needs to learn that. 

[MommyOfSchnauzers]

No wise words here, just sending you well wishes.

[critter crazy]

all the suggestions are great, but you also might want to look into a medical problem as well. Especially if this is something out of the blue. Could be she is in pain, and the puppy could be hurting her, or just making her nervous, that she might. I had a dog do this, and come to find out it was arthritis in the spine, that was causing the behavior change. good luck!

[Lyn]

Thanks all, awesome advice!

I made sure that I paid more attention to both Lola and Bubba so they didn't feel left out.

I think the major problem is that the puppy is very dominant herself. Mia doesn't not back down. Even after Lola had her by the head about to shake the crap out of her, she still tries to push her head into Lola's water bowl. I honestly think I'm going to have one h*ll of a fight on my hands as Mia matures because she just does not get it.

Mia growls, bites and flares her teeth and throws a complete fit even if I intervene or try to pull something out of her mouth. She even snaps back at Lola. Shocking stuff coming from an 8 week old puppy.

I'm going to call my trainer tomorrow and get her to evaluate Mia.. her attitude is a whole other problem. But I think it's the main reason Lola is going off on her.

I'm still in shocked that any of this even happened at all. I've never had to deal with this before. It's quite overwelming to say the least.

[patrick]

Last summer we had a puppy go to its new home at 8 weeks and she got very aggressive also- when she came back the next week to visit she was attacking-not playing- the other puppies.  So we sent her out in the yard with the adults and they impressed upon her the rules of life in a dog pack.  After a couple of days she was civilized and there have been no problems with her since.  Sometimes they just need a little more time.  And if Lola is not really hurting her I would let her discipline her.  Three is a pack and this is pack behavior  Little Mia needs to learn her place in the pack also.  Squirt bottle and supervision goes a long way but I wouldn't intervene unless there is danger of the puppy actually getting hurt. 

[Butts Mom]

Oh I do hope you can get everything figured out soon for everyone.Being fairly new all I have to add is the playpen(again ) Butt has never been keen on other dogs,so I took it very slow when Tub came home.I kept Tub in his play pen when it was Butt's time with Mom,so he didn't feel left out.I made sure to spend extra time with just him alone,so he didn't feel put out by Tub being here.The playpen for bedtime may help too,maybe Lola thinks Mia is getting special treatment because she gets to sleep with Mom and Dad.I'll shut up because I don't know anything,but I'll keep you o in my thoughts.

[bluskygirl]

I'm so sorry you're dealing with this! With all of Bella's eating issues, I fear that someday I will deal with all this as well.  Hang in there.

My first reaction was going to tell you that I think this is similar to kids. When I brought my second son home from the hospital, Ethan loved him to death because it was really exciting and he didn't quite get that Brayden was here to stay! LOL After a week or so, it occurred to Ethan that he was no going to have to share his home, his life, him Mom and Dad with this baby and felt very... concerned about what that meant for him.  Of course he overcame that quickly and they are the best of pals, but maybe that is sort of what's going on with Lola? See, Bubba already went through this, and that would explain a lot of why he's trying to "stay out of it", but Lola's life is changing and she's probably figured out by now that Mia is not just "visiting".  Some time to adjust will help I bet. 

After reading about Mia's personality I'm sure that only aggrevates the situation, because Lola sees that fiesty personality as threatening.  Mia will definitely need LOTS of obedience (I had a dog like her and at 8 weeks she was just like that.  She turned out great, but I had to constantly remind her I was alpha).  With Lola, find that boundary of what you feel comfortable allowing Lola to correct, and once she crosses that line with Mia (i.e. about the shake her to death!) stop it.  That will help with consistency as far as teaching Lola that she's ok to teach and correct Mia, ONLY to a certain point and becuase you're the ultimate alpha, you decide what that is.  Chances are that Lola may be able to help settle Mia's fire down a little if Lola herself can adjust to the idea of sharing her world.

I think Butt's Mom is also right about spending quality time with each of them... whatever they most enjoy doing with you.  For Bella, it's cuddling on the couch. That way even though Mia's there, they still get some special time. 

This is all coming from a person who has not owned more than one dog at a time on my own, so take it for what it's worth! I'm no expert that's for sure, but I always have an opinion! LOL

Good Luck. I hope things work out.

[Nicole]

I like what Angeleen said about kids. That is how I was going to compare it, too.

There is a really awesome chapter in "If Dogs had Their Wish, Bones would Rain from the Sky" about this. The author, who is AWESOME says exactly that. Treat them like children. Why would you allow your kids to guard the bathroom/kitchen/play area? Its YOUR house, not Lola's. I don't mean you have to get all dominant and roll your dog or anything crazy like that, but YOU need to set limits, not Lola. The chapter where she talks about this is really awesome. You should check that book out. I learned a TON about dogs from it.

[ptkennel]

How old is Lola now?  Could it be that she is hormonal?  Man look at how we get when we are hormonal....Ju st a thought.