I found this very helpful and would love to put it into practice ,but am wondering ?
How would this work with adolescent dogs .
I have 2 dogs now both are 17 months old .Chloe our original dog has been with us since puppy and Lilly (rescued) for 2 weeks . There have been instances of jealousy figghting . Very terrifying to watch . How do we work around that ? Any positive advice is welcome .

Hi vanstrada, leadership can be implemented at any age and is the best way to deal with the problems that you are having with your dogs. When we bring home a rescue dog we tend to over compensate for their past and without thinking provide them with poor leadership which can make them very unsettled. By applying leadership you will be effectively letting the dog know that you are the pack leader and he can relax and just be one of the pack therefore removing some of the anxieties that can be related to poor leadership. Hope this helps..Cheers

Sorry, forgot to address the fighting. Generally speaking knowing that one of the dogs is a new addition to the household I would guess that the fighting is over rank in the pack. It is often best to let them work it out amongst themselves as we often interfere and favor the wrong dog making this process even harder and longer. Try to walk the dogs together if possible as this will help them bond. When the dogs fight you can try making a very loud noise to interfere with them BUT it must be loud. I recommend a starter horn which is used on yachts and for starting races and can be bought from good sporting stores. Otherwise you could try a baking tray with a large metal spoon. Remember that your dogs are way out of the zone and it will taker something very loud to break through to them. When the fight stops check them for wounds with out fussing over them, it must be done in a very clinical way, then walk away. The last thing you want is them thinking that their fighting will result in plenty of attention from you.

Hi Vanstrada
I am glad that you found the leadership notes helpful. By implementing leadership at any age you will give your dogs security as they will know that you are the pack leader taking responsibiity for their welfare so they can be happy just to be followers which is what most dogs want to be. As you have introduced Lilly into your pack only recently I think it would be the best thing you could do for them to establish rules and guidelines asap. Remember that everyone in the home needs to be implementing it too so the dogs can see that everyone in the home is a pack leader (including any children)and you have to be consistent with it to avoid confusing the dogs . Even though humans should be the pack leader the dogs will have their own rankings between themselves and it is best to try and let them sort that out for themselves. As LTBC said, once they start fighting you are going to have be louder to distract them and the airhorn works really well but walking together as a pack should help them to bond so the fighting resolves itself soon . Often with rescue dogs it is easy to feel sorry for them but that is actually the worst thing we can do for them. Dogs live in the moment so it is best to concentrate on providing them with good sound leadership that will benefit them for the rest of their lives. Hope this helps
Regards
Karyn

Hello . Thank you so much for replying . I enjoy the positive vibes I get from this forum . I do have questions though . I appreciate that for our dogs to be happy We mere humans need to be the leaders . My question is as a practical application How do we be the leaders ? eg How do we act ?What do we say . How do we stay in control . We are going to be doing the RSPCA training course in 2 weeks and I am looking forward to be taught how to lead . But I guess I need help now . Thank you for your patience with me .

Hi Vanstrada, On the forum here you will find some Leadership notes. All you need to know about good leadership is right there. It is all about communication, there is no bullying of your dogs or anything else that may ruin your relationship. Enjoy your training and remember that you have dogs not robots and mistakes will always happen. Have a great day...Cheers