Need help,can my nonspayed dog be vicious at my other dogs?

Hi, I have three female dogs, two are spade and the other is not. In the last week the one not spade has attacked both of the other dogs. She attacked one about a week ago and the other today. Today when she attacked my other dog, everything I tried to do would not seem to stop her. At one point I grabbed her collar and tried pulling her off, but she just kept her mouth around my other dogs throat and biting. It really scarred me, because I saw a lot of blood on my dogs neck. I went and got my partner and he was able to get them apart. She seems to be ok, but her leg was a little cut, and she favors it when she walks. I don't want to give my dog away, because I love her and she is very sweet and loving other wise, but I'm afraid next time she will kill her. What I wanted to know is, if a dog is not spade and has her period, can, that make her aggressive toward the other dogs? The reason she is not spade is, we found her on the street two years ago this last july.If we get her spade, will it take away this obsessive aggression toward the other two dogs? Any suggestions on this will be highly appreciated. Thank you. [/I]

 

How old are your dogs and what kind are they...? Often times intact females have the desire to be top dog and they do tend to be more motivated to be aggressive to other females. I don't know if it's that way with spayed females but in order to have a harmonious pack it is generally agreed upon that all dogs in that pack should be fixed. Hormones create some behaviors and that could include fighting for rank etc... All dogs will do this but intact dogs have a higher drive to fight for rank. Aside from that you need to make sure you have all of your dogs trained in OB so that they will obey voice commands that they aren't allowed to have any fights over rank in your house as you are the boss. This also might be something causing confusion if you're not a clear leader in your household. You really should be the authority the dogs look to in a rank situation. Breed makes a difference and so does age though too. So what breeds of dogs do you have and how old are they all?

Sara

 

I agree with Sara..And what she has posted..

 

Hi Sara! Thank you very much for the information. They are: 1. 10 yr. old Rhodesian Ridgeback named Sandy, 2. 2 yr. old Jack Russell Terrier named Princess Peaches, 3. 2-3 yr. old German Shepherd mix (this is the un-spayed one) named Blackie. When we first brought Blackie into our family Sandy had been with us for eight years and Princess Peaches for several months. Traditionally, Sandy was the dominant alpha female and frankly we didn't think she would ever allow another animal into our home. Because we had rescued a very sick homeless dog 7 months prior to bringing home Princess Peaches, that helped acclimate Sandy a lot to the idea of other animals being around. She would still insist on being the "boss" over the other dog but luckily that dog never challenged her authority so there were no problems. After that dog passed away, we brought Princess Peaches into our home (she was adopted from the North Shore Animal League in Port Washington, NY as was Sandy back in December of 1997). Because Princess is much smaller than Sandy and has a more gentle personality, there was no questioning Sandy's place in the pack so to speak. A few months later we found Blackie and at first she respected Sandy's rank without issue but as time went on she began feeling more bold and when Sandy would assert her dominance Blackie would quickly over dominate Sandy as she is much younger and bigger. At first it was just your basic establishing rank minor squabbles but that last incident was scary as it was no longer establishing rank but turned into an all out attack on Sandy. She caused Sandy to bleed quite a bit and Sandy was limping around for a day or so after that. My attempts to pull Blackie off Sandy were not successful and only after I went and got my partner did the fight end. He is a large man with a very authorative voice and the dogs clearly respect him as the "pack leader". He says jump and they say how high? I am a much smaller male with a voice that often times when on the phone is confused as a female voice. I don't know if that has anything to do with it. Of course I must admit that when they would tussle I was a bit nervous to reach in and pull them apart for fear of being bit myself. My partner does not have this fear, he marches right in grabs the collar of the dog that is being more aggressive and yanks them right off while using a very commanding voice. Needless to say, once he gets involved the fight ends immediately! Thankfully, the fights are not very often and generally they all get along very well. In fact, when they do have a fight, afterwards they will go over to each other and kind of sniff and look like they are making sure the other is ok and say they are sorry. That part is very cute. Anyway, it was this last incident that scared me because normally they don't draw blood or cause serious injuries, they seem to know when to stop. But this time Blackie just wouldn't stop attacking Sandy and Sandy was cowering on the floor by the wall with a look of complete horror in her eyes. I hope all this helps and I'm sorry for being long winded but I figure the more information the better. Thanks again and please let me know what you think. :y_the_best:

 

It sounds to me like your younger GSD is probably trying to establish rank and I think you and your partner's own feelings toward Sandy is muddying the waters. In my home with Pit bulls around along with many other dogs NO ONE is allowed to even squabble for rank. They are placed in their ranking system by myself for the most part. Anytime our dogs are out together with myself or my husband we have enough authority for them that they know WE are the boss of all things including their own system of ranking and having it out. Generally we also don't keep intact dogs together with the same sex because they will be urged to have it out as to a ranking system. Pairing them off in "packs" where there is one or the other female or male among a few males or females we cut down on the issue. We also keep dogs that are not dominant with dogs who are (we have 10 dogs mind you)

What it sounds like to me is your newer, younger GSD is noticing your older dog Sandy is weak...you need to make this choice as to who you put on top of the pack as far as who gets fed first etc... Personally if it were me, I would fix the GSD and put her on top...she's naturally the one who would be top dog at this point, allbeit after a small number of fights like the one you whitnessed but she would end up being on top as far as the pack goes... Keep in mind that if you try to let them work it out themselves it's possible and likely your other young female will take the GSD's lead and try to establish a higher rank than Sandy...which would probably end badly for the smaller dog. If YOU put the GSD at the top of the food chain and keep Sandy in the middle while your smaller dog stays at the bottom it would iron out the situation. But honestly you need to stop the altercation before it gets to the point of fighting. The two dogs involved will posture before any altercation comes about...if you can't see the signs and feel you need to learn what they are and learn to control your small pack I would recomment you contact an animal trainer and behaviorist that works with packs... Where are you located?

Sara