We had some dog aggression issues a while ago. So I bought a dog training course (with eBook, videos, etc) that teaches you how to train a dog properly. What they say is that you need to train your dogs on a daily basis and assert a safer pecking order. Usually a younger but larger dog will be aggressive to assert his dominance and so it's safer for you to assert him as the alpha dog in your household's pack.

(Humans first, then alpha dog, then the rest).

The way you do this is by feeding your new alpha dog first then, when he's done, the others eat. You also put them on leads and make sure YOU walk through doorways first, then him, then the others. And so on and so forth. What this does is it helps him feel secure in his position of alpha dog and prevents him from picking on the others because he no longer feels the need to protect his position. If you don't do this, and prefer to allow a smaller (albeit older) dog act as the alpha dog, you risk your smaller dog's life. (As a bigger, stronger dog wins, most times)

 

Our first dog, Tumbles, is our little baby (and so she was the alpha dog) but our second dog, Romy, who we got 1 year after we got Tumbles, outgrew her and started being very aggressive towards her. We eventually had to separate them.

Though it pained us, we slowly started training them so that Romy was alpha and Tumbles not. It has made a HUGE difference in their relationship. Tumbles is now more subdued around Romy and Romy doesn't feel the need to assert her dominance. They play together without hurting each other and can safely share the yard without any issues.

 

We had an incident the other day with food but that was my bad. (I chucked some tasty scraps out the window without first separating them, and watching them as they eat).

The main thing is to understand that everything you do around your dogs is "training" them in some or other way, so you have to train yourself first, then them. And remember that blame always rests on you, first. They can only do what you allow them to do through training or lack of training.

 

You can buy the dog training course I used here. It's not too expensive and it's very helpful and you can email the suppliers direct for personalised help with a specific issue. I highly recommend it!

PS: There's also a free ebook on "Leadership Training in Dogs" available @ www.getpuppies.co.za. (Another site of mine). Check it out if you don't want to buy the full course yet. It doesn't cover everything but it can help a lot if you follow the steps outlined in it.