Socialising Max and Jon

When Max first joined the family when he was two months old, Jon simply could not accept him. He would snarl and was ever ready to tear him apart. So, for 1 month I had to keep Max in the cage, and situated it in the house. After that period, the cage was put outside, with Max still in it while we are away at work. Jon was happy, as long as Max does not come out to the open.

After 1 one more month, Max was ready to be let loose in the open. Jon was quite accepting of him, but only if there were separate territories for each of them within the area of the house porch and garden. And so their life went on with Jon claiming one side of the house, and Max - with no choice - the other side.

Then I realised that Jon would not tolerate Max looking at him, even though Max posed no threatening body language. Max is actually a naive and playful angel. Aggression does not exist in his vocabulary. Whenever Max happened to look at him, Jon would growl and snap. The first two weeks was seriously dangerous as Jon never gave any warning before pouncing on him. On one occasion, Max had been bitten on the ear and nose. Luckily, Jon is not the type of dog which wants to severely injure a dog. So, on that occasion, the bites were actually just small "snap" marks. I accepted that this is part of a learning process of social hierarchy. And Max learnt it fast. No more looking at Jon in the eyes.

Recently, Jon has been more accommodating. Max can sleep anywhere he wants, except under the backside of the car. That is the coolest area, and Jon will not relinquish that area. In fact, he used to rest under cars when he was a stray. During activities where there is a common interest - usually when they are anxiously looking inside the house waiting for their main meal, or when they are walking near each other during their daily on-leash walks - Jon will tolerate him a little more, provided that Max don't touch him. These two guys are always excited to smell a scent on the ground that they lose sense of other things around them. In effect, there are higher chances of them bumping into each other. In this instance, I have to pull either one of them away from each other whenever they are too close for comfort. I just can't take the risk.

During meal times when both of them are fed at the same time - but with Jon served first - I have to wait for Max to finish before I can leave them out of my sight. Otherwise Jon will walk over, raise a little growl - which will frighten Max away - and eat his food. Same goes with chewy bone treats. Personally, I regard this behaviour as bullying.

During petting and belly rubbing time when both of them invite me for a rub, I have to be careful not to let them be close to each other. Especially their heads. Usually I will gently push Max away, but when Jon raises his lips a little to scare off Max, I will clamp his mouth and say "Enough!"