How To Get It To Stop?

[DaisyDog]

I had a 3 year old desexed bitch and a ~9 year old desexed dog. And we're having big issues with fights at the moment. The last big one left our boy with a bad cut under his eye. She starts them, every time. They can be quite happily playing together then she'll just turn on him. This morning they were talking to the man at the front door and the excitement turned to a fight. When they do fight she gets major time out which for her is major punishment. These dogs get walked for an hour or more every day.

Is she just trying to become the top dog? Or is it something more? They've never fought when we've been out (that we know of) and she will go at him if he comes near me sometimes. When she starts a fight we have to pull her off because she doesn't stop.

I love this girl, she's my heart dog. I just don't know what to do She goes to obedience every week and she knows that I'm her boss. I can't seem to find anyone here who will come out and see them in their environment And because they usually do get along so well I don't want to keep them apart (plus with my disabled father it's near impossible).

[persephone]

Contact K9pro ( steve) CLICK HERE

Hope you can find out why, and get help with managing your two....

[Aidan3]

Separate them until you have spoken to a professional. It is very helpful to give them some breathing space, a friend of mine calls this an "emotional detox" which I think is a good description. "Crate and rotate" is a good strategy if your dogs are crate trained.

[Jigsaw]

I've seen dogs redirect to their canine companion when their arousal levels go up especially in stimulating circumstances like play, door greetings and fence fighting. Some just air snap with lots of noise and move away, others just seem to be unable to stop themselves and go on to cause injuries. I agree separate and contact someone professional who can help you.

Edited June 9, 2011 by Jigsaw

[Bisart Dobes]

We found with our old boy last year that he got heat from the other dogs as he got older - he was dealing with several health issues. I would get an overall health check on your boy, bloods etc etc

She could be stepping it up because he is getting older / underlying illness - this is natural animal behaviour to remove the weak. Not a nice thing to say I know and I don't do it to alarm you or upset you but it could be the reason she is doing this to the degree she is.

[PetSitters]

First and foremost I agree with Aidan to separate them and then professional help to determine what is happening between them. Sometimes in play which switches into fighting is caused by one of the dog's feeling insecure or loosing control of the game, the other dog's drive to play exceeds the other's comfort threshold and they become defensive and snap or fight. Redirected aggression ramped up with over excitement can happen but although this behaviour can be controlled and improved, it takes a bit of work and dedicated supervision. I personally wouldn't leave them together on their own where a lot of damage can be done if a fight erupts with no one home to address the outcome or stop the fight.

Edited June 11, 2011 by PetSitters