Q: We have three Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs--or had until yesterday-- a male age 6, female age 4, and a male age 5 months. Yesterday we had to put down the elder male for a varied set of problems, including that he attacked me when I was hugging him, necessitating 47 facial stitches. The elder was definitely the leader and the younger male puppy is not shy. This morning we caught the pup staring down the female -- this lasted several minutes. We are very concerned about getting control of the male pup since he is so self-confident and will be huge! I suspect with the passing of the older male he is reestablishing the pack order. Should we be worried about this with female? He also has a habit of taking her entire leg in his mouth and she doesn't defend herself. Is this worrisome behavior?

A: I'm so sorry for your loss of your dog and terrible injuries. I can only imagine how traumatic it has been.

Aggression toward humans and aggression toward other dogs tend to be two different things. In addition, a male and a female dog usually will get along okay. He may be trying to put her under his protection, which is a bit silly at his age, and she may slap him down. With them being opposite sex, nature says he can be alpha male while she gets to be alpha female. Usually that means reasonable peace.

I would highly recommend getting into training class with each dog. They need to learn to obey you separately. Especially "Mr. Puppy-Pants" since he was around the other male during his early months and he may try some of the things the elder did. You want to use positive training methods that don't bring out defensiveness in the dog, but you want to be able to enforce every command. Follow through so he learns that what you say really is the way things are going to be.

Class can help you regain your confidence too, because you will surely have been affected by what has happened. If you flinch at the wrong times you can give this puppy the wrong idea about how to relate to people. Similarly, you might find yourself overreacting to him because of what you have experienced. Class can help you keep your balance.

Personally I don't want to own more than one male dog at a time, because I think the dogs are happier without the competition--and I know I am! Multiple females can be almost as bad. Breeders who need to keep multiple dogs often manage by keeping the dogs separated. If you decide to get another dog while you still have these two, be prepared to have to do that.

Talk to other people in the breed about this too, and see what they think. Every breed has some unique qualities and those most familiar with the breed can be a gold mine of information for you.

Again, I'm so sorry for what has happened. I think you're going to be okay with these two, but your best chance is diligent obedience training so that they automatically will listen to you. God bless.