I just moved with my 8 month old English mastiff puppy to my parent's house that has 3 dogs, two young females and a VERY senile 15 year old male (neutered). My mastiff is un-neutered (for now) and as docile as he could be. But the 2 (spayed) female dogs (6 yrs and 4 years) are anti-newcomer, despite his complete lack of care for dominance. Surprisingly, the more easy going bitch (4 year-old) out of the two has the biggest problem. The neurotic dog can actually play with him, but the "easy-going" dog growls at my mastiff within a 3 foot radius of him.
But here's the big problem. I feed my mastiff 3 times a day, and the other dogs are only fed twice a day. The 6 year-old is food aggressive, which was most likely the spark for this epic fight. I put my parent's three dogs in their bedtime room because it was late, and I fed my dog. Two minutes later I here yelping of bloody murder (this has happened multiple times before my mastiff), and BOTH female dogs have the senile male pinned to the ground. Usually, the "easy-going" female is snipping at the neurotic one when neurotic dog attacks senile, but this time BOTH of them were trying to destroy senile. I literally had to throw both of them off of my poor senile (he's the smallest of all the dogs).
Obviously, they are re-establishing pack order, but neurotic dog and "easy-going" dog have never establish who's boss. They would get into tiffs often enough to know that neither is boss.
What should I do..? :0( The presence of my GIANT 8 month old mastiff is setting off a trigger. The other dogs don't like the new puppy, but he's literally 3 times their size, so they can't really gang up on him, and he doesn't feed into the growling he receives. WHAT DO I DO?!?! The mundane answer would be "establish you, human, as a pack leader," but I'm at a loss. Neurotic dog is part German shepard, aka she lives to please me. ...oh, plus I was always her favorite, but I was only around for the summers because of school, and now BAM! Sorry neurotic dog, but your favorite (me) has a new favorite now.
I feel like this is too complex for a forum because I feel like I'm leaving so much information out... But ANY advice would be much appreciated. I know my mastiff is well adjusted, but I want my other dogs to be happy and anxiety free :0( That's my job as a pet owner...
...help...please
P.S. MAIN QUESTION: Is all this happening because myself or one of my parents is not actually established as the "pack leader"?
But here's the big problem. I feed my mastiff 3 times a day, and the other dogs are only fed twice a day. The 6 year-old is food aggressive, which was most likely the spark for this epic fight. I put my parent's three dogs in their bedtime room because it was late, and I fed my dog. Two minutes later I here yelping of bloody murder (this has happened multiple times before my mastiff), and BOTH female dogs have the senile male pinned to the ground. Usually, the "easy-going" female is snipping at the neurotic one when neurotic dog attacks senile, but this time BOTH of them were trying to destroy senile. I literally had to throw both of them off of my poor senile (he's the smallest of all the dogs).
Obviously, they are re-establishing pack order, but neurotic dog and "easy-going" dog have never establish who's boss. They would get into tiffs often enough to know that neither is boss.
What should I do..? :0( The presence of my GIANT 8 month old mastiff is setting off a trigger. The other dogs don't like the new puppy, but he's literally 3 times their size, so they can't really gang up on him, and he doesn't feed into the growling he receives. WHAT DO I DO?!?! The mundane answer would be "establish you, human, as a pack leader," but I'm at a loss. Neurotic dog is part German shepard, aka she lives to please me. ...oh, plus I was always her favorite, but I was only around for the summers because of school, and now BAM! Sorry neurotic dog, but your favorite (me) has a new favorite now.
I feel like this is too complex for a forum because I feel like I'm leaving so much information out... But ANY advice would be much appreciated. I know my mastiff is well adjusted, but I want my other dogs to be happy and anxiety free :0( That's my job as a pet owner...
...help...please
P.S. MAIN QUESTION: Is all this happening because myself or one of my parents is not actually established as the "pack leader"?
