Meet my mixed Rhodesian - Žućo
I want to share the story of my dog Žućo and ask for some advice.
My girlfriend found him in a village where her parents live. He had been beaten and abandoned in an old house. She noticed him while walking to the bus for work — he just a puppy, barely alive, and extremely scared. At first, she and her mother fed him from a distance because he wouldn’t let anyone get close.
After a few days, he slowly started gaining trust and eventually came into their yard. They already had three dogs there (a Rottweiler/Doberman mix, a female lab, and her son — a lab/Croatian Shepherd mix, all around 40 kg). Surprisingly, they accepted him very quickly, and the family decided to keep him.
Like any puppy, he was a bit destructive at the beginning — digging, breaking things, etc. Around that time, my girlfriend and I had just started dating, and I began visiting every week or two. Over time, Žućo got really attached to me — to the point where I became his favorite person. He follows me everywhere, even long distances. Once we walked to a nearby city (about an hour away, roads were closed due to snow), and he refused to stay behind, so we took him with us.
We originally thought he was just a mix of everything. But one day, while we were buying food at a pet store, I noticed a dog on a bag that looked exactly like him. That’s when we started thinking he might actually be a specific breed. After some research, we came across Rhodesian Ridgeback, and he matches the typical temperament almost perfectly. The only difference is his size, he’s smaller, around 25 kg, maybe a bit more,so he’s probably mixed, possibly with a Balkan hound.
The main issue is his behavior around me. He craves attention a lot maybe too much and gets very jealous of the other dogs. There’s another male (the lab mix) who is very calm and also likes being around me, but Žućo doesn’t allow him to come close. He will actively block him and sometimes attack him. The lab mix almost never initiates anything, but after repeated provocation, he snaps and they get into a serious fight.
What’s interesting is that this only happens when I’m there. When I’m not around, they mostly ignore each other and coexist without issues.
Some additional context:
• The dogs live freely in a yard and surrounding forest (they’re not used to leashes)
• I’ve recently started basic leash training with Žućo, but he’s not a fan yet
• He has strong hunting instincts (chases animals, once even chased off a wild boar)
• He’s very brave, energetic, and attached, but clearly has some insecurity/possessiveness issues
What I need help with:
• How do I stop his possessive behavior toward me?
• How do I prevent fights between him and the other male dog?
• Should I be correcting him in the moment, separating them, or doing something more structured?
• Any tips for introducing boundaries and reducing jealousy in multi-dog environments?
• Also, any advice on leash training a dog that’s used to complete freedom?
If I’m being honest, I feel like I might be part of the problem because he fixates on me so much. I just don’t want this to escalate into a serious injury for either dog.