Case Study: “My spoiled dog is running the house!”
Problem: Nala is a 40 pound Labradoodle, 5 years old. Tully, girl, is an 8 year-old
Maltese that was rescued and treated by the family as a princess. Tully
can do no wrong. However, Tully is the instigator. I observed that when
Nala is out of sight from Tully for more than 15 minutes, Tully runs up to
Nala and sniffs her and then gets in her face and sometimes attacks. In
past attacks, Nala has responded to Tully’s attacks with damaging bites to
the point that Tully needs to go to the Vet. Tully will also guard the wife
and food from time to time and go after Nala viciously, causing Nala to
respond in kind.
Solution: What you’re seeing really is a textbook Napoleon syndrome case. Tully is
overinflated in her confidence, and the family has been unintentionally
feeding into it by picking her up, letting her perch on the couch, and giving
her those high-value spots. The dynamic is pretty predictable: she
postures, Nala corrects, and the family reinforces Tully without realizing it.
I’d use place here, not as a territory for her to guard, but as a way to strip
her of the security she gets from being up high or glued to the wife. It
gives her a job and creates space. If she can’t hold place without getting
snarky, go straight to separation when she escalates. Separation means
tethering Tully by leash to something that doesn’t move for 5 minutes
without any attention – a “timeout” essentially.
Any time Tully jumps in someone’s lap or onto the couch, you should
calmly put her back down. No drama, just consistency. That alone
changes a lot of the power dynamic. Also, stop letting Tully be established
in a room before Nala comes in. Bring Nala in the room first, then bring
Tully in so she’s the one adjusting. It reframes the hierarchy.
Beyond that, layer in impulse control work, sit-stay, down-stay, waiting at
thresholds, food refusal drills. It helps a dog like this learn to regulate
herself. For reunions, I’d run counter-conditioning with both dogs: Tully
sees Nala, food appears, repeat. That way they both recognize that
seeing each other starts to mean good things instead of competition.
Management is important while the new rules are sinking in. Leashes on
in the house, baby gates, even a basket muzzle for Tully if you need to
practice safely without risking another bite. Rotate access to high-value
resources so Tully doesn’t get the chance to “own” them.
For instructions on counter-conditioning and “place”, just search in the
search bar on the blogs page.
