Dog Community

Flirtpole Issue-kinda long

Posted : 4/18/2008 3:07:40 PM

Rory has never been intersted in spring poles. The one time I got her to latch on she yelped like a wimp when her feet got off the ground and refused to try it ever again. So my husband made Rory and Primo a flirt pole but we seem to be having a problem with my little fun nazi Rory, LOL. At first they were hardly interested but after I ran around calling them and taunting them like a idiot around my back yard they gained interest. However Rory refuses to let Primo play at all. When he goes for it she attacks him and gets very vocal, barking and backing him away from it. I put her in a sit/stay and tried playing with him only, she wigged out again and he retreated to the corner of the yard looking very sad. But the thing is she dosnt wanna really play with it either. She has always been this way when I try to play with other dogs, even Primo. I cant play tu-o-war with him and to be honest her actions really seem as if she thinks she needs to protect me from him. I maintain a pretty strict pack and they are exceptional and get along in every other situation. No food guarding, treat possession or anything else. They both walk wonderfully on leashes without the use of prong or chokes, get plenty of exercise and both wait for me to proceed through doors or gates before they do so I feel confident that they respect me as leader.....why would Rory act out this way? I think it is worth mentioning Rory was my first girl, raised solely by me before I got married. She is a spoiled rotten brat and sleeps in bed with me while Primo is on his bed right next to my bed. She is defintly the dominant bitch but I do my best to keep them from situations that they might figth over, we havnt had any major fighting issues with them because Primo gives in all the time.

FourIsCompany

Posted : 4/18/2008 3:49:55 PM

You know, I have 2 dogs that are very close and it's hard to play with one of them without the other causing a "problem". And it's my fault for trying to do everything with both of them at the same time. What I have come to realize is that it's OK to shut one in the house while I take the other one out for play sometimes. Especially since B'asia barks her fool head off while I'm working with Jaia. And Jaia butts in like a freight train when I'm working with B'asia.

Can you just put Rory in the house, out of sight and take Primo out and work on the flirt pole? I would guess that the reason Rory makes a big fuss is that she wants to be playing. Dogs are like that. She doesn't think, "Well, it's really Primo's turn to play, so I'll just wait patiently like a good girl till it's my turn again." Wink

AuroraLove

Posted : 4/18/2008 4:09:34 PM

Oh thank you thank you thank you for that reply! I've only had Primo for several months and have been taking so many precautions to have a healthy pack. I think I may have over estimated my dog savvyness because I grew up in a home with a pack of hunting dogs but they were primarily kept seperate so these issues hardly arose.

Your solution goes right along with my motto "dont set them up for failure" and Primo deserves as much fun play time as my bossy spirfire, Rory LOL!

Its good to know seperating them is a healthy and safe chocie without leaving me feeling guilty.

espencer

Posted : 4/18/2008 7:13:33 PM

AuroraLove
She is a spoiled rotten brat and sleeps in bed with me while Primo is on his bed right next to my bed.

No need to say more, Rory is asking "why the pack leader gives attention to number 3 without including me (#2)?" In her mind she is priority over Primo, they both see you as leader, but they dont see each other as equal

AuroraLove
she wigged out again and he retreated to the corner of the yard looking very sad

And thats OK, she is learning that she does not need to be included in every single game, you will see that after a while she gets use to it, the only difference on putting her inside the house is that you wont see her sad face and you wont feel bad about it

I think that what you are doing right now is fine, she is learning your rules and learning to follow them, putting her inside the house does not teach her that, like we say in my town: "eyes that dont see have a heart that does not feel", you are not setting anybody for failure, you are teaching her that she needs to respect Primo's play time

I usually agree with 4IC but this time the solution is more for the owner's convenience that for the dog's benefit

AuroraLove

Posted : 4/18/2008 7:40:35 PM

I am going to try and keep them seperate and if she cries at the widnow so be it, LOL.

Its horrible that I know there are a couple of things I could do to help not reinforce her position in the pack but to be honest thats my baby girl, she came first and naturally packs have a hierachy so ohwell. They listen, they dont pull and are great dogs all around. But ooohhhh, you should see her pace if he is on the couch with me, LOL. She knows better then to cause a fit but she does pace like a mad woman, if I tell her to go lay down she'll do the bed fluff thing and sigh really loud when she lays down, LOL

Oh I know its my own doing, my poor lil spitfire!

brookcove

Posted : 5/7/2008 1:40:37 PM

Don't beat yourself up! The fact that you grew up with clannish pack hounds says it all. It's fine - just give both of them one-on-one time and make sure it's out of sight of the other. I have, um, ten dogs here and they all have to have seperate time. Oh, not the guard dogs, really, except I do play with Tully and do some hands-on with shy Minnie. And Zhi and Maggie's one-on-one is mostly one on my foot and the other on my lap anytime I'm seated (that would be two-on-one I guess).

But the time it takes is so worth it. Do it on a schedule and those working breed dogs will just thrive on it. Maybe Rory will even overcome that distaste for the pole.

AuroraLove

Posted : 5/7/2008 1:48:09 PM

Thanks Brookcove!

Its been awhile since I posted this and the situation has improved! Rory plays first and Primo has no problem just watching, I dont even have to tel him to wait his turn. Then after Rory goes and its Primo's turn I give Rory one chance to behave herself then I put her inside if she tries to interfer. The first couple of times she whined but she's gotten the hang of it and will let him play.

Its funny though, she still has slim interest in the flirt pole and plays in a very lackluster way. You can actually see her watching Primo out of the corner of her eye like "see its my turn". If anything she is just playing to bait him into to trying to take her turn so I keep a eye out but thankfully Primo is just too cool to take the bait, LOL.