Doggy Sleepover

My sister's dog is staying over the a couple of nights. She goes home tomorrow. Her dog is a German Shepherd mix who is about 8 times the size of Misha.

The dogs get along really well. We have some minor problems when one bothers the other too much. Overall, they do well together. Misha, for the most part, submits to her larger, pushier cousin.

I do find that it tires me out having another dog here. My sister's dog has seizures so she's on a special medication. The medication keeps her from having seizures but she paces constantly.

I have to coordinate feeding. I lock Misha in the bedroom with her food, so I can feed Summit. Otherwise, Misha tries to get the food. Misha eats quickly. Summit can take 10-20 minutes. If she gets distracted in the middle, she may not finish.

It is times like these that I appreciate my little dog. Summit is a wonderful dog, but she has these quirks that can really tire you out.

Do you ever have other dogs stay at your house? Does your dog get along with them?

 

I had made a thread here about our neighbor's dog who lives in the same compound with us. That dog seems to be our dog too since he is always here playing with our dog and eating together with our dog. There are also times that there will be a little problem between them when their "fighting game" seems too much.

 

We don't normally encounter this, but yeah, when we go to visit family and take him with us, he sometimes has to encounter other dogs. We usually keep him in his own room or outside so there's no real interaction that has to take place. The feeding times like that would probably be enough to drive me crazy.

 

I really lucked out with Sierra. She had no food protection issues whatsoever. In fact, she really could careless about the other dogs when they came over. They, on the other hand, loved her too mcuh. I dog sit for family quite often. Sierra never bothered anyone with food. She did stalk them. She would sit behind the dogs and stare at them until they finished. It did make meal times go much faster.

Food is the only time I have to watch Misha and Summit. Misha is a pig and she will try to get to it. Since Summit has seizure medication poured on her food, I don't want Misha anywhere near it.

 

I have only babysitted a dog once. It belongs to the owner of one of my Bangkeaws. Actually the dog I babysat was a litter mate of my Bangkeaw. However, Bangkeaws do not get on with other dogs, not even their own litter mates. Going for the throat is the most common way of greeting each other. It was just for two weeks but it felt like an eternity.

 

Victor, are they like that as puppies? Do they develop the behavior as they mature?

The only time I've had to worry is when I had my sister's dog and my brother's chow mix at the same time. Both dogs got along with all the other dogs except for each other. Somehow they all went on vacation at the same time and I ended up with both of them. They problem mostly surfaced around food, so I had to feed them separately. They never bothered Sierra, but they bothered each other. I did have one fight. Thankfully, they both respond to my voice, so it didn't get very far. It was crazy, though.

 

I have watched Bangkeaw puppies from the time they are born until they grow up into adult dogs. Whereas other types of puppies would bite each playfully, Bangkeaws have a totally different idea.

As soon as they could bite they would go for the throat. And once they latch on, they won't let go. I have to pry their jaws open to make them let go. This is a trait of the Bangkeaw which makes them such good watch dogs. In Thailand, when someone knows that you have a Bangkeaw in the house, they will give your house a wide berth.

Before I got my Bangkeaw, I went to a Bangkeaw farm run by a friend. At that time, I wondered why all his Bangkeaws were housed in separate kennels with fenced-in exercise areas. Later, after I got my own Bangkeaw, I understood the reason.

So if you are planning on getting a Bangkeaw, consider it as the one and only dog that you are going to have.

 

Victor, This seems so unusual to me. I've never heard of litter mates not getting along with each other. Sure, they play and rough house, but that's part of puppy play. Even dogs like Dobermans that are known for being protective play with other dogs. I guess Bangkeaws have been bred to lead this solitary life so that they are more protective? Or were they once fighting dogs?

 

No, I haven't heard of Bangkeaws being used as fighting dogs. Besides if they were to be used as fighting dogs, every fight will end with one dead dog. I am not kidding. I once made the mistake of letting Candy get too near another Bangkeaw and, in a split second, she had her jaws clamped over the other Bangkeaw's throat. I really had to pry her jaws open with my hands to release the other dog, then carry her up very quickly, to get out of the reach of the one that was attacked.

btw Bangkeaws don't just bite and hold. They clamp down with their jaws and jerk. That one incident was an absolutely horrifying moment for me. If I had hesitated, the other dog would be dead. I had no choice but to use my bare hands because using anything else would be too slow and too late. Also putting my fingers into Candy's jaws was not a joking matter because I had seen her tearing metal plates with her teeth before.

Yes, I have seen how puppies play and bite each other for fun. However, Bangkeaws are definitely not litter-friendly. They can only be allowed to be together until they grow their teeth. Then it's separate cages.

I think it's something to do with the Bangkeaw's sense of territory. This is a trait which makes them very good watch dogs. Sometimes, it may get very extreme.

Like, for example, my father feeds Candy every day. He actually shares part of his food with her because this is usually the way we use to get a dog to be familiar and friendly with us. However, if my father, by mistake, wants to sit on my chair, Candy would immediately step in and growl. Not play growling. Real fierce no-two-way-about it growling.

Same with my bedroom. My father cannot even stop at the door to my room without Candy stepping in between him and the door. Plus the growl. With rising hackles, too.