Crate and rotate has cropped up in my world :(

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Postby LMM » July 22nd, 2009, 1:58 pm

Not with me but with my mom. Sorry, this will get long. As some of you know, my mom has two pit bulls that I rescued. I rescued Mojo first and then a short time later, Molly. At my mother's request because Mojo is very dog oriented. She didn't want him to be alone. She has had both of them for about a year and a half, maybe a little longer, with no issues.

My mom moved into a new house in March and even with the new environment everyone settled in with no issues. However, within the last month or so Molly has been slowly becoming more aggressive to Mojo as time goes on. Molly is 4 and Mojo is 2. So I suggested an animal behaviorist come and assess the situation and she got a recommendation from her vet. She (behaviorist) thinks because Mojo is coming close to social maturity that it is causing problems with Molly who has somehow placed herself higher in their hierarchy than my mom. The problem with that is obvious but also, she is not administering fair corrections. Not by a long shot.

In the last couple weeks, Molly has become extremely aggressive and there have been a couple fights. Mojo never wants to fight Molly but if forced to, he will and she always ends up on the bad end of that stick. Not that size always matters but in this case it does and he outweighs her by at least 25 pounds. I have seen her snark at him and he looks away and cowers. The only time a fight actually breaks out is when my mom isn't able to grab her in time and Molly actually latches on to Mojo. One particular fight over the weekend was the cause of a phone call to me with my mom in tears proclaiming "I can't keep Molly, I have to get rid of her!". Now before anyone jumps on my mom, she is an extremely emotional person. She says things in the heat of the moment that won't stick. I let her vent and was pretty distraught myself, I probably shouldn't admit this but Mojo is my heart dog even though he's not in my household. Don't get me wrong, I love my dogs but Mojo is my man. My advice to my mom was threefold in options 1. implement a crate and rotate plan 2. keep the aggressive dog and re-home the easier to place dog or 2. if she insisted on keeping Mojo, she was essentially giving Molly a death sentence and the only responsible thing to do would be to euthanize Molly herself.

The next morning I went to my mom's for breakfast and she was very open to the crate and rotate plan much to my relief. I told her I would help her with whatever she needed. I also talked to her about complacency concerning crate and rotate and why it was important to be stringent etc. etc.

Now, I know enough about dog behavior but I am not an animal behaviorist. I have placed Mojo's crate into T'Mia's bedroom at my mom's house. It is his safety zone. Throughout all of this Mojo is extremely confused and quite often finds peace going in there. I have never seen Molly even sniff in that direction much less go in there, so I wanted a place for him to feel and be safe. The behaviorist is pretty adamant that Molly be elevated above Mojo both literally and figuratively and thought the crate in Mia's bedroom was a bad idea because it is upstairs. I am also pretty adamant that Mojo needs a safety zone. Molly attacks his crate whenever given the chance in any other place. My mom is going to put Molly's crate in her bedroom which is on the same level.

I'd be happy to hear any thoughts on this entire situation but I am most interested in this higher elevation thing. I could really use some input :(
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Postby pitbullmamaliz » July 22nd, 2009, 2:22 pm

No offense, but the behaviorist sounds like she watches too much Dog Whisperer.

I think simple crate and rotate, irregardless of the location of the crate ( :rolleyes2: ) is going to be very effective.
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Postby LMM » July 22nd, 2009, 2:24 pm

pitbullmamaliz wrote:No offense, but the behaviorist sounds like she watches too much Dog Whisperer.

I think simple crate and rotate, irregardless of the location of the crate ( :rolleyes2: ) is going to be very effective.


That was my initial thought and I told my mom "Mojo's crate will not be moved, end of story. You tell her that". Then I thought, well, I know some but I don't know enough. Let me get some opinions lol
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Postby DemoDick » July 22nd, 2009, 5:58 pm

Just crate and rotate, implement NILIF and don't worry about elevation.

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Postby amazincc » July 22nd, 2009, 6:03 pm

Elevation my ass... where do these people GET their degrees/knowledge??? :rolleyes2: lol

I am SO happy to hear that your Mom is open to crate/rotate... it's the best thing for all involved in the long run. :hug3:
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Postby LMM » July 22nd, 2009, 8:46 pm

DemoDick wrote:Just crate and rotate, implement NILIF and don't worry about elevation.

Demo Dick


That's exactly what I told my mom. Unfortunately when she meets with the behaviorist sans me, I will have to undo any damage she causes with her words. My mom is very open to all kinds of advice concerning this situation. Open may be the wrong word, impressionable is probably better.

I think I'll give her another pep talk along the lines of screw that elevation crap just before she meets with her.
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Postby LMM » July 22nd, 2009, 8:47 pm

amazincc wrote:Elevation my ass... where do these people GET their degrees/knowledge??? :rolleyes2: lol

I am SO happy to hear that your Mom is open to crate/rotate... it's the best thing for all involved in the long run. :hug3:



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Postby DemoDick » July 22nd, 2009, 9:04 pm

LMM wrote:
DemoDick wrote:Just crate and rotate, implement NILIF and don't worry about elevation.

Demo Dick


That's exactly what I told my mom. Unfortunately when she meets with the behaviorist sans me, I will have to undo any damage she causes with her words. My mom is very open to all kinds of advice concerning this situation. Open may be the wrong word, impressionable is probably better.

I think I'll give her another pep talk along the lines of screw that elevation crap just before she meets with her.


I'd be happy to help her out. It sounds like the behaviorist has a screw loose. Is she within driving distance?

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Postby LMM » July 22nd, 2009, 9:32 pm


I'd be happy to help her out. It sounds like the behaviorist has a screw loose. Is she within driving distance?

Demo Dick



Yep! She's in Brighton and I (and her I'm sure!) would really appreciate that. At this point, I feel like she is paying this lady money unnecessarily. And for some bad advice.
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Postby amazincc » July 22nd, 2009, 9:36 pm

DemoDick wrote:
I'd be happy to help her out. It sounds like the behaviorist has a screw loose. Is she within driving distance?

Demo Dick


You're gonna "help out" Mom... or the behaviorist??? :shock: :giggle:
Sometimes "professional people" tend to make things way more complicated than they really are. Especially when they get paid. :rolleyes2:
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Postby cheekymunkee » July 23rd, 2009, 3:14 pm

I have been crating & rotating in my house for over 6 years now. I do not have ANY type of problem with elevation of any kind. My dogs dont give a crap one way or the other about each other. There is no juggling for 'top dog'. They just pretend the other does not exist. They are happy with the situation as it is & so am I.
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