Hi I have a seven month old female (Molly) who has got an aggressive streak I her. This is always directed at our other dog who is an 11 month border collie again female, most of the time they get on great and can't bare to be apart, but then something will happen in Molly and if Maddie gets too close or does something she doesn't like (usually around Molly being possessive over food or bone) then she starts growling then goes for Maddie other times Molly will just pounce without warning. As far as we can see its only ever when we are around when they are on their own in the house nothing happens ( no wounds to say otherwise). Is these anything we can do to stop Molly from being like this? Will she grow out of it? Any advice will be gratefully received. Thanks


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JMO, but I believe that if you don't address it now, and have a behaviorist tell you why is it happening and fix the problem now, that it may only get worse.

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How do you know this aggression doesn't happen when they are alone?

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@ Tennyson, we don't know that it doesn't happen when we are not here for certain only that Maddie has no wounds. When Molly goes for her actually manages to get at her she normally wounds her some how. Last time she got her by the throat and left her with a graze on her throat which luckily turned out to be a flesh wound


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Have they been together for a while or is one of the dogs a recent addition? Firstly suggest removing the 'reason' for guarding, feed in separate rooms and pick up the dishes afterward. Remove the high value bones (personally I would stop giving them all together) or give them only when the dogs are separated - confined in different locations or tethered at opposite sides of the room, under supervision - never tether a dog and leave it alone. Dogs will guard from other dogs when they feel they may lose what they have to the other dog - it is instinct - and the higher value the item to the dog ie: a bone, the more likely they are to try harder to keep it.

Consider a consult with a certified canine behaviorist to help you sort out exactly what is going on, and help you with a management and training plan.

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Until there are none, rescue one.

I agree with Charliethree's recs. I am working with a trainer right now on similar issues. You really need to intervene and fix this if possible--it's not fair to the other dog to get even one scratch. She must be living in some fear of being attacked at any time.

If you can, I'd suggest separating them when you are not home. If a true fight started, well...

My trainer wants us to feed the dogs in different places, and to stand over the resource guarder so that he doesn't go to the others. And I'm to pick up the bowls right after they eat so no one can sniff and lick the others' bowl. Her message was that no dog should be in fear of losing its food or of being attacked while eating, and that the aggressive dog needed to learn that he couldn't muscle his way into someone else's dish.

Good luck--I hope your BC is OK.

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Kathleen, mom to one human, age 17, three canines, and a bunch of fish.

Where in the UK are you located? Someone here may be able to direct you to someone who is qualified to work with this type of issue.

Let us know how things are going. We love to help!

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Jacqueline

"I have just met you and I love you" - Dug (Up!)

Females can sometimes be really aggressive with each other. I had two strong females when we did German shorthair rescue. They were both working dogs, smart, and sharp. But they couldn't be let out together, no toys could be around, and they didn't eat in the same room. There was a ball left out and they both wanted it. I had to hose them off each other. They were both about 18 months old. One girl ended up going on to become a bomb sniffing dog, and the other went on to become a master hunter.

Both the best dogs alone, and with males, but not each other. This is definitely something you'll want to speak to a behaviorist about.


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Hey thanks for the great advice, I should of added a bit more info in the first post but it was about 2am here and a lot going on last night lol anyway....... For the most part they get on really well and miss each other when they're not together for any reason but Molly seems to get this red mist over her the only way I can describe it is that it's like a human being a bad mood and just wants to be left alone, we haven't given them bones for a while now as we can't trust Molly not to get possessive. They do eat separately we have always done this as Maddie eats slower than Molly the last couple of times have not been food related at all one was where Maddie was going mental because we had shut them in while we had a delivery ( Maddie can't deal with strangers that a whole other post!) and I think Molly just had enough of being enclosed in a smallish area with Maddie going mental and luckily I was there so I could grab Molly before she did anything. The newest one is bedtime tho, they sleep on our bed and have done for months without a problem but the last couple of nights when I've moved Maddie down the bed Molly starts to growl and because we can't trust her to stop and not attack we have had to put Molly downstairs with one of us and next morning they act like they not seen each other for ages. For the most part Molly is a fun loving dog who loves her cuddles and to carry a soft toy around with her and rarely gets possessive over toys and will play tug of war with Maddie or play fight hope this helps more


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Have you had a thyroid test done?

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Jacqueline

"I have just met you and I love you" - Dug (Up!)