Registered: Nov 2011
Location: Freeport,TX
Posts: 1983

Years ago, before the internet I was reading an article about heat cycles in female dogs…the article was an actual study performed in some college…it was saying that the heat cycle is triggered by the length of day, they used an artificial light that mimics sunlight and were able get the females to start their cycles…
I have seen when I kennel two females together, they will get along just fine until one or both start their heat cycles and then the war is on…they will need to be separated…I cannot say this is always true on account it is only a few observations that I have made but is something interesting to think about…

Right now I have two nice females but favor one over the other and both are really nice…the one I like best was showing signs of coming in heat and during feeding time I would let them loose together…well they got into a serious fight and when I saw what was happening the one I favored was losing the fight and was submitting to her sister…she was further along in her cycle but she came out of heat and her sister eventually started her cycle…even after the fight I continued to turn them out together and I could see that the dominate female was making sure to remind the other who was boss…after thinking about what happened I am making sure there is no rank among them because I am the alpha and the only alpha in the yard…no pecking order here…

My plans for breeding Storm went south…and this incident got me to thinking about the ways of the wolves…in most cases it is one female that comes in heat and that female is the alpha female…so it is possible that if a subordinate female is starting to go into her cycle the alpha female nips it in the bud…this ensures survival of the fittest…and the day will come when another younger and more fit subordinate female will rise to alpha status…again, this ensures survival of the fittest out in the wild where human intervention is not possible, or just kept to a minimum…not saying all this is fact but it is personal theory…

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Training dogs is not so much about quantity, it's more about timing, and the right situations...After that it's up to the dog....A hunting dog is born...

Last edited by Reuben on 09-03-2022 at 08:27 PM

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Registered: Jun 2014
Location: Louisiana
Posts: 3447

You might want to rethink that alpha thing.

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Donald Bergeron

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Registered: Nov 2011
Location: Freeport,TX
Posts: 1983

I give up…what do you mean, rethink the alpha thing?🤔

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Training dogs is not so much about quantity, it's more about timing, and the right situations...After that it's up to the dog....A hunting dog is born...

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Registered: Jun 2014
Location: Louisiana
Posts: 3447

I watch a lot of Cesar Milan videos. He rescues pit bulls from the fighting pits. He feeds them next to each other. On one episode a lady questioned why they don't fight over food. He said because they're all number two. She asked him who was number one. He said me. They're don't fight because they
all subordinate. I'm the pack leader.

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Donald Bergeron

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Registered: Nov 2011
Location: Freeport,TX
Posts: 1983

Yes…I watch Cesar Milan just so I can try to understand dog behavior better…

I do know we can be kind and be the alpha in the pack…

I listened to someone years ago about letting the pups find their pecking order…I kept 4 pups and as long as I had those dogs I had to supervise them and I know it was me that caused their aggression towards one another and towards other dogs as well…of course they improved over time but letting them find their pecking order was not the right thing to do…especially on account most of us breed for strong and independent type dogs…

The thing to do is always feed the pups together and strongly discourage aggression during feeding times as well as anytime unless it is aggression towards the game we are after…

I also believe some pups are born with aggressive behavior traits and I won’t keep a pup like that much less breed them…

On being the alpha…if the dogs are obedient, trusting, and respectful of the alpha…then it is my opinion the alpha is doing it right…consistency matters in getting the respect, trust and love from our hunting dogs…
In my opinion Cesar Milan is a genius when it comes to dog behavior…

__________________
Training dogs is not so much about quantity, it's more about timing, and the right situations...After that it's up to the dog....A hunting dog is born...

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