Carolyn
19th May 2005, 07:56 PM
For those of you who don't know...I have a 16 1/2 yr old St Poodle named Ripley. Ripley has been struggling to hang on to his #1 position "has had issues" with Ferris...my male Frenchie. For the first few months after we brought Ferris home...Ripley would challenge him and there were a few fights. The sad thing is that Ripley would have been the one on the injured list if a serious fight went unattended....he is just too old and falls easily. So...Jim and I would yell at Ferris...he (Ferris) being the strongest. Ferris would sit and tremble with this terrified look in his face. I realized very soon that Ferris could become a fear biter if I didn't take control of the situation. Roosje...I remembered so many of your posts where you talked about speaking calmly in a nice voice and giving lots of positive praise. I started doing this with Ferris as soon as I saw a fight coming on. I never raised my voice, moved slowly and put myself between these two boys. I petted Ferris and told him what a GOOD BOY he was. Let me tell you...it has done wonders for Ferris. Ripley still stalks Ferris and tries to challenge him but all I have to do is speak to Ferris in my "praising voice" and Ferris walks away leaving Ripley looking pretty silly. Thank you so much, Roosje. I know this is common sense stuff but sometimes we (me) forget and get caught up in the moment. Ferris and Ripley have not had a fight in many months and Ferris seems to have more confidence, now that he knows he can walk away and get the praise that he deserves. ;) Carolyn