OP deleted.

Oh, boy, sorry this happened.  I know you'll probably get lots of technical advice.  But, the one management type thing that I did when we were living in our apartment and there were two other dogs coming and going was to always, always, have a harness on Willow.  In fact, that's why I ended up getting the Webmaster harness in the first place, I was looking for something with some type of handle.  We had a similar situation at our apartment when she dashed past my husband and chased another dog around. 

I've had similar instances happen with my two and I completely agree about keeping the hysteria to a whisper. They absolutely sense the tension in the air and it just heightens the emotions. It's difficult though, so I wouldn't be too hard on your sister. I didn't really get it until the behaviorist said to me "if you have to slap your hand over your mouth, then do that, but don't yell or scream at the dogs!" 

I also agree with Lori about keeping something on (collar or harness) at all times. There was one time we had to break up a fight and Sassy didn't have her collar on and it made things more dangerous for all of us. Other than that, I'm not sure what else to suggest other than working on a perfect recall so that you're always in control. I haven't been able to master that with mine but it's only because I haven't worked on it hard or long enough. I'm mostly glad to hear that no one was injured

Somehow you have to corral your sister's mouth.  The only real advice I can give you is to be completely proactive -- lock your bedroom when in it - don't LET her barge in.  Keep a harness or something on Cherokee so you CAN grab her

You may need to be a hermit in your own house but keeping your sister and Cherokee apart is probably absolutely the only solution for harmony.

I believe you can install a baby gate on a door jamb and still have the door open and close. I'd look into that. Or you could consider a dutch door...might cost more...but would be a really super way to make SURE the coast is clear before the bottom half is opened.

 
Simplest answer: your sister does not handle Cherokee. At all. She does not go into your room when Cherokee is confined. She does not join you when you duck into your room. No sister + Cherokee.

Total bummer, btw. I'm sorry.  

Oh p.s., it isn't a dog fight if the result is slobber. Its a loud conversation.  

You might need a behavior class for sis, provided you could get her to go. She may not realize that her emotions are affecting the dogs.

Most cost-effectively, can you set up a system of double gates? Like Gina suggested with the babygate *in* the door, or maybe in a hallway a couple of steps away from the door, or something like that?

If I were you, I would have a real come-to-Jesus meeting with that shrieking sister of yours and tell her in no uncertain terms that her behavior could cause her dog to get hurt. Tell her if she wants her dog to be safe in confrontations (not just with Cherokee, but with any dog that might attack) then she needs to listen to you more and shut up. This sister doesn't have kids, right? Maybe you can pitch it to her as a "you need to learn to stay calm in a crisis for when you have kids some day" or something.

Good luck... 

I'm pretty sure you don't want my opinion, and I'm pretty sure it won't be a popular one, but if your dog attacked my dog, I'd be screaming, too. And I'd be blaming you. It's not your sister's fault that your dog is aggressive. That just means you have to make 100% sure that she's managed. Your sister's dog may be a sissy or may not be, that's irrelevant. But running away from a known aggressive dog is a pretty understandable behavior. Just because Jaz runs from Cherokee doesn't mean he's a sissy, just means he doesn't want to fight with an aggressive dog. And I don't blame him.

I totally sympathize with your sister. How would you feel if her dog was aggressive and always attacking Cherokee for no reason?

chelsea_b

And somehow it's MY fault Cherokee "attacks" Jaz when she's the one flipping out over Cherokee slipping past.

That IS your fault. I know from reading your posts in the past that you wouldn't be open to my real life suggestions about strong leadership, blah-blah-blah, but failing that, you need to make 100% sure to keep your aggressive dog contained and stop blaming your sister for flipping out and her dog for being a sissy and put the blame where it belongs.

Let me be clear. I don't blame you for having an aggressive dog. But what she does is YOUR responsibility, not your sister's or her dog's. Until you can address Cherokee's problems in an effective way, it's 100% your job to make sure she doesn't attack others.

I agree and disagree with you 4IC. :-)

I do not agree that the aggression is her fault, nor do I think it has anything necessarily to do with "strong leadership, blah blah blah". You may not agree with it, but not all behaviour problems (especially aggression!) have anything to do with the human. There are some things that are certainly caused by humans, there are some things not caused by but exacerbated by humans, and then there are those things that simply are as they are, regardless of human. Because aggression is such a complex thing, I too wouldn't care to hear about leadership blah blah blah (I'm not poking fun, just using your words), but rather what I can do in my particular situation, which I think has nothing at all to do with leadership. Saying "be a leader!" really doesn't tell anybody about how they should live with a dog, what exact steps they need to take to make this issue better, and a lot of the contemporary leadership principles would have no effect on dog-dog aggression at all.

FourIsCompany

you need to make 100% sure to keep your aggressive dog contained and stop blaming your sister for flipping out and her dog for being a sissy and put the blame where it belongs.

I wholeheartedly agree we need to stop blaming others, though. If one chooses to live their life with a problem dog, there are a heck of a lot of responsibilities that come along with that. It's not an easy life to live with a dog like that, and a lot of changes often have to be made, but that's a choice you have to make, and if you make it, it's your responsibility to deal with it and ensure the safety of everybody - other dogs, other people, yourself (in case you ever got bitten in a fight, or redirected upon), and most of all your own dog. You might not be to blame for the aggression, but you are to blame if something goes wrong and somebody gets hurt. Thankfully nobody has yet, but there don't let that desensitize you to her aggression.

In an ideal world you would be able to teach your sister how to properly act around aggressive dogs, and I would make an attempt to try (have you yet? Actually given her something to read about why shrieking can make aggression worse? Would she be willing to read it?) Unfortunately our world is not ideal, and perhaps she will never learn how to act normally in the way of an aggressive dog. And like it or not, that's her perogative - some people (just like dogs!) are going to react negatively in times of stress. Reaction and anxiety happen in people just as they do in dogs.

Because of this, you have to make it your perogative to make sure 100% that this cannot happen. Before anything, management comes first - safety. If it was me, I would set up a series of baby gates, along with conditioning your dog to a muzzle. I would not let your sister have much interaction with this dog, because if anything ever happened, you know how she would react and its not what this dog needs. I would teach your dog that when particular doors are open, the dog should do a behaviour other than running out the door - going to lay/sit on a mat for example until released, so that as soon as you enter a room, either you cue the "Place" cue or the opening door itself becomes a cue (probably easier to cue it yourself). I would implement a lock system on your door (or the door where the dog is) to prevent your sister even the opportunity to take control of this dog when you aren't around, and to prevent anyone from just barging into the room (even though the baby gate should be always up - in this case a baby gate with a door built in would be best).

You have to face the issue that your sister may always be an obstacle. Think of her as yet another environmental hazard for your dog. It's unfortunate, but that's how you have to look at things when it comes to the safety and security of your dog.

Really, because you don't have much experience, I wouldn't work on too much behaviour mod as you might end up making the problem worse, or doing something wrong. At this point I would focus on keeping everyone safe.

But I am curious....Can the dogs be around each other at all? What if they were both leashed, can you keep the attention of your dog at all or is it fixated on her dog? What if you had them outdoors together on leashes - can you walk them together at all? Or is it a "see must attack" philosophy regardless of where you are? If you had both dogs on leash, at what distance outside would you be able to stand next to each other and have your dog still pay attention to you? Do you know?

I agree and also would suggest to consider that your dog might encounter OTHER people out there in the world that would react the same way to their dog being attacked (people tend to freak out when that occurs). Your responsibility is to PREVENT them from ever having to act this way thru management. If Cherokee ever escaped or something yeah...this situation could repeat...and it wouldn't be your sis but perhaps someone a lot more willing to sue or demand your dogs life in exchange. THAT'S why management is the overall most important thing.

I agree about the muzzle as well. basket muzzles allow normal panting eating and drinking....something to consider.

Were these two dogs properly introduced?

What kind of schedule do they have in respect to feeding, sleeping, exercise....are they always locked up in the bedrooms if one is out? Any outside area they are allowed to be in?

I don't like the fact that you point out your sister's dog as a sissy, even if it is 10lbs  heavier....what kind of mindset do you have....be glad your sister's dog is a so called" Sissy".....otherwise you would have a serious fight on your hands....sometimes the owner's attitude of ....my dog is tougher than yours, carries over to the dogs......

The fact that you can take both dogs out for walks and it seems to be fine, indicates to me that your dog is protecting it's nest, so to speak....she views it as hers and finds your sister's dog as an intruder.....

I would really be interested in knowing how both of you came about getting these dogs....and how they were raised, if that is the case, up to this point.....

Kim_MacMillan

I do not agree that the aggression is her fault,

And where did I say that? In fact, I said: 

FourIsCompany

Let me be clear. I don't blame you for having an aggressive dog.

C'mon, Kim... That wasn't even fair.  

Kim_MacMillan

Saying "be a leader!" really doesn't tell anybody about how they should live with a dog, what exact steps they need to take to make this issue better, and a lot of the contemporary leadership principles would have no effect on dog-dog aggression at all.

I didn't say "Be a leader" either. I said I wasn't going to give advice on what she should do because she's probably not open to it. And according to chelsea's other posts, this dog is also people-aggressive. 

Kim_MacMillan

But I am curious....Can the dogs be around each other at all?

This was answered in the original post.

FourIsCompany

And where did I say that? In fact, I said: 

I didn't say you said that. I disagreed that it had anything to do with leadership. Improper placement of the word 'disagreement' I guess. I meant to say that I didn't think the aggression was her fault. "Think" got replaced with "agree" (you know how when you're thinking one thing and writing another sometimes the other word is written down? Something like that!) My apologies for that.

FourIsCompany

I didn't say "Be a leader" either. I said I wasn't going to give advice on what she should do because she's probably not open to it.

Whether you realize that or not, that fact that you said that you weren't going to say it means that it is along the lines of what you would say, even if not exact.  If you didn't say any reference to it at all, nobody would have reason for concern and I wouldn't have said anything. *G* To say she's probably not open to it really isn't giving her enough credit unless you've had prior discussions before (which you may have, and then that would be a fair statement). But even the she's reaching out in a time of need and you never know when she might give something another chance?

FourIsCompany

And according to chelsea's other posts, this dog is also people-aggressive. 

I still think it has nothing to do with leadership. I just said dog-dog aggression because that is what is going on here, that's all.

FourIsCompany

This was answered in the original post.

You are very right, I missed that paragraph in somehow while reading. In which case I would say - have you ever had them on leash together in the home?

Here is the thing - Chelsea's sister *knowingly* lives in the same household as Cherokee. This is a very different situation than if, say, Cherokee got out in the neighborhood and jumped someone's dog. Therefore, Chelsea's sister should make an effort to learn about proper dog handling. Obviously, Chelsea can't make her sister do anything.

Blame is pointless. Life happens. And, like I said, the sister has consented to living with Chelsea and Cherokee. I've had a dog out for the blood of my other dog. It sucks.

One thing I have to ask is: Chelsea, are you working on Cherokee's issues at all yet?

Editing to add ...

I think Cherokee and Jaz need to spend time in the same room, EVERY single day. Cherokee leashed, of course.  Cherokee needs to get used to seeing Jaz share the same space.