My 3 year old Shar Pei behaviour has changed a little,can anyone help?

Hi there,

Im new to dogsey,so greetings. I bought my Shar Pei at about 10 weeks old, and he is now 3 years. He has always been a very loving dog, 9 times out of 10 very good with all other dogs, has always had a very good nature. He has never showed any signs of aggression,he has even been attacked a couple times and never fought back.the only aggression iv ever seen him show is his hackles going up and a little growling when there was another un-neutered dog doing the same to him.He is a social dog and really enjoys being around the rest of the familys dogs,so we bought a 8 week old Shar pei puppy at xmas as a companion for him. they get on great and he has took to him very well. However the last couple days when i have been out with him, he has been playing up.some dogs he is fine with and then some he just goes beserk. I keep him on the lead when there are dogs around we are not familiar with,and he is really behaving like he wants to kill them,snarling,barking,trying to get to them.So people who dont know him think he is vicious! I have always been the alpha male with him and up until now he has been a dream dog,no problems what so ever. can anyone shed some light on this change in behaviour,could it be the new pup,even though he gets on with it so well.I will never get rid of either of my dogs so would be great if anyone could help.thanks,ps sorry for the long read but thought it was important you know the whole situation

If the only thing that`s changed is the arrival of the puppy, I`d start there. Is he still aggressive if you take him out on his own?
Either way, you might have to go back to basic training routines to get him back under control. And I`d train him on his own to start with.

I am only taking him out by himself at the moment anyway,as the puppy isnt old enough yet and awaiting the rest of the injections.so thats why i wasnt sure if it was the puppy or not.usually he is very responsive to me,but when he goes he goes and the only way i can calm him down his pull him past and walk on.I think he may be trying to pull rank on me now there is a new puppy.perhaps i need to get more assertive and more of the alpha male,although up until now I had already been doing that and he knew his place.oh well will work even harder at that now i guess.thanks for the reply,will look forward to more.

Definately sounds like hes confused about the rank structure in your home at the moment. An arrival of a new pup will upset the balance so hes trying to find his feet again. I would definatley go back to basics with your training treat him and the pup the same and maybe have some alone time with him at home, playing games. When we have had a new addition into the house it always takes at least 4 weeks for everyone to work out their place and order.

Gemmsie
x

Thanks very much Gemmsie! I guess it has only been a little over a week so I might be getting ahead of myself a little.I just Love him so much and dont want him to change or be unhappy.He is so happy at home its only when he goes out. I will work hard with him and the pup and make sure he realises im still alpha and he still has his place.but like you said in acouple of weeks it may all settle down. Thanks so much for the reply

Have to agree with the replies already given. Hope you manage to work it out.

There are many people on here who are expert in dog behaviour, so I bow to their knowledge.

Good luck!

Is your oldest boy desexed? If not, that could cause your problems.

thanks for more replys! He has not been neutured yet if thats what you mean. He has always been a very calm well behaved dog and thats partly why he has not been done yet.Also I am hear that if you have them done too early it can effect their growth ect.How ever he is 3 now so might have to start thinking about it.I took him out this morning and he was good as gold with all the other dogs so Im really pleased,but we didnt see any of the dogs that he has been aggressive towards so thats probably why. I guess time will tell when the pup has been here a bit longer. I will just carry on being an assertive alpha leader,I think I need to get my Mrs to do more of this also!thanks for the replys

Can I recommend a book called The Culture Clash by Jean Dennison? It explains really well how your dog thinks
I don`t feel that his being submissive to you bears much relationship to his being in control in the Park. Shar Pei`s are not easy dogs. If he is not neutered or trained to defer to you (which is different to being submissive) then he may well be trying to control his own space by seeing off any competition. You are not a dog, so are not competition.
If you train him to defer to you - e.g. to understand that you are the one to make decisions about who can come close etc., he will be a happier (and safer) dog. This can be done with positive methods - rewarding when he does good, preventing the undesirable.

That is extremely helpful,and makes complete sense.and he only gets like it when the other dog is showing signs like stalking or showing their teeth.so in his eyes he is just trying to see them off i guess.its hard to reward him for good behaviour because he is not interested in treats or anything like that when he is out. I read up alot on shar pei before i decided to get them and I know they are not the easiest dog! I think i will go see if i can find that book on amazon now.thanks very much for the help. Dont suppose you know how i can get pics of my pooches on here,it says about URL which means nothing to me as im a bit of a noob with computers away from the basics!lol