Hello Libby fans!
I had sent Fluffy Dog Rescue's animal behaviorist, Doris, a little video of Libby's ear biting and assertive doggy play. Remember Libby is mostly great and a sweety but when she gets overly playful and wound up her devilish side appears and she can be a little stinker!
Here is Doris's response! I decided to share it so others might have an idea of what can be done to direct our little pup Lib to the best possible behavior!
As always Doris has great advice! I will keep Libby's play progress up to date on this blog for y'all!
Response from Doris...
Behavior:
"Her play behavior makes me think she was either taken from her litter too early - you know, one of those "out of here at 6 weeks" litter, or she was a single pup. She has not learned from her litter mates the limits to play. Her biting would be restricted if she had encountered retaliation from her fellow puppies. Until she comes in contact with another small, adult dog - probably another female - who will put her in her place and show her the limits, she will continue this behavior. Your dogs are gentle and patient - great, you want them to remain that way. I certainly would not let her attack you dogs while they are playing, and I understand that you do not. I don't think she would hurt them too much, but if you want to continue to foster, they need to maintain their patience and positive outlook about these strange dogs coming into the house to stay. Once you lose that, your fostering days would be so much harder. They are such good dogs! And good examples for the foster dogs you bring in.
She is easily aroused, and some of that might be because she has been with you for only a couple weeks. As friendly as she is, and all her other good qualities, she will still experience stress from the whole rescue process. Stress can show up in such individual ways with each dog, it's hard to tell what is causing what. Your best way of handling all this is to keep her confined and separated from your two, as much as possible, and have her out only under your direct supervision. At the first sign that she is becoming too aroused, immediately distract her with a toy or other activity, or put her in her crate to calm down (provide something to do in there). This is not punishment, it's helping her to decompress so that her nerves are not so near the surface, so to speak. Playing with her, stop before she gets too tired and/or aroused, and give her a massage, or let her just rest with something to chew on.
She is still a puppy, needs her naps, may be teething with her molars, and just needs some direction. Hormones are messed up - probably just spayed as she was entering her "teenage" years. And her Chihuahua part is being pretty much in control. They have no Idea how small they are. Some are ready to take on the world! LOL
I think your instincts with Libby are on the right track - just give her time to settle in. And, yes, being a single dog would probably be easiest for her."
Resource Guarding:
"Just realize that sharing and playing nicely is not natural for all dogs or breeds of dogs. It's great when they do, but not a given, no matter how hard we try to show them what to do. We should just be thinking in terms of "no aggression." Food guarding among the dogs is not unusual and you have found how to control that. Even my two, who have been together for almost 7 years and both of whom are gentle and sweet with each other, do not willingly share food. I do not expect them to - just supervise while they eat on opposite sides of the room and pick up leftovers (rare) when one or both are done. They have each learned to respect the other's space. No training necessary - dogs are good at arranging how all that will work.
Time and patience will go a long way to helping with Libby. She has gone through a lot from rescue - just give her time, space, and patience."
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