Sudden Aggression in Dogs (HELP!!)

[Amy L]

I have two dogs, one is a male golden retriever, and the other is a female golden mix (both are fixed). They've been in the same household for three years. The female is generally a lot more aggressive than the male (who is usually so clam he's basically a piece of furniture), but previously they've never gone further than play fighting. Today they have been fighting for real. I am sure they would have fought to the death without intervention. The first time I'm pretty sure the female started it, she jumped on him and starting to growl/bite. She was put outside, and he stayed indoors. After a half hour, I let her in. The male went up to her and started biting her first. This time it was VERY difficult to break them up. I put them in their pens, and after after two hours they seemed calm, so I let them out. This time, she went berserk first and really went after him. I managed to drag them into separate pens and I'm not letting them out at the same time again. She has a bloody ear, but he doesn't have any visible injuries.

I called the vet, and he had no advice besides "keep them separated". They weren't fighting over food or another animal. They are not aggressive towards me. This has never happened before, and I don't know why something changed so suddenly after three years. Tomorrow I am going to have them checked out (separately!) by the vet to make sure one/both of them are not ill. I can't keep them separated forever... I love them, they are my dogs. Sticking two large dogs in different rooms indefinitely is not practical, nor is it practical for me to keep putting myself in between two snarling, biting, and fighting dogs. Their added weight is nearly 200 pounds, so it's dangerous for both them and me.

I love them both, and if I had to choose between one to keep and one to give away would break my heart. I'm actually tearing up just thinking about it. Has anyone seen this behavior before? What could have gone wrong with my dogs?

[skatemommy]

I'm sorry about this, I don't have any advise other than I think you are VERY wise taking each to the vet individually to see if something is going on. Good luck and best wishes.

[Japanfan]

I used to have two dogs who fought, Amy - though it was a contest for dominance, not a sudden thing as you described. I likewise wonder if there is a health issue involved.

Here's a tip for separating two dogs when one has its teeth on the other: lift up the hind legs of the biting dog, it will destabilize it and get it off the other dog. There is also a trick that involves getting your hand in the biting dog's mouth and pressing upwards on the gums. I've seen it done, but never been able to do it myself.

Also, you might have to consider a muzzle. Sometimes muzzling a dog a few times works to control the behaviour in that the dog will respond to just the sight of the muzzle. This has worked for my dog's aggression around toys - she sees the muzzle and stops the behaviour. I haven't used it enough to determine whether it changes her behaviour in the long-term though. And I doubt it would work once aggression has escalated to a fight. But, it may be your only option for having the two dogs together, at least until you determine what other factors may be involved.

[Amy L]

I've been trying to do some research, and apparently the most common cause of sudden fighting (without moving house, introducing another dog, etc.) is that one dog is sick and the other is attacking to either put it out of its misery or take the chance at moving up in the pack. The other common cause is thyroid disease, which can make a dog suddenly flip out. The problem for me is that I thought I observed both of them initiating the fight at different times.

The female has never been great with other animals. She's a cuddly sweetheart with all humans, but she with smaller animals it's like the dinner bell goes off in her head. She regularly hunts and eats lizards, I've seen her catch and eat a small bird. Lately, within this past week, I heard her barking madly in the back yard. When I went to investigate, she had a raccoon cornered. The first time I got her away, but then it happened the next day and she actually caught the raccoon in her mouth. I told her to drop it and leave it, and she listened to me. My male dog is a few dozen pounds heavier than her, and usually he definitely has an "omega dog" kind of disposition. Until now. I don't know if she's decided to move on to bigger prey (my male dog) or if she's in a roid rage, or if my boy is sick and she's taking advantage.

Morning can't come soon enough for me.

[Cupid]

I've heard that if you have both a female and a male dog, the male will usually allow the female to be alpha dog.

I hope they will both be okay.

[skatemommy]

Ugh, 90% of the coons if you can see during the day in our parts are rabid. Or carrying raccoon roundworm which if another animal or human comes in contact with the feces is a brain disease. Oh hon take care and mention the raccoon thing to the vet; may change txt options.

[CaptCrunch]

Question for you Amy L? Do you walk the dogs together every morning? If you don't I would suggest that you get in the habit of doing this daily. It will create a "pack" environment and the dogs will learn to get along with each other. Have no idea what might have caused the sudden fighting although you might be on to something about one doing being sick and being attacked by the healthier dog?

Good luck.

[JasperBoy]

I agree with skatemommy. Be careful touching both dogs and keep them isolated until the vet has a chance to check them out. That raccoon set off warning bells in my head.

[barbk]

There is also a trick that involves getting your hand in the biting dog's mouth and pressing upwards on the gums. I've seen it done, but never been able to do it myself.

Stick your hands in a biting dog's mouth? :

[Japanfan]

Stick your hands in a biting dog's mouth? :

Into the gum line. The dog is occupied with the other dog and pushing up on the gums makes it uncomfortable, so it leg go. A friend of mine saved my dog's life this way, though admittedly, I've never attempted it myself..

[Tak]

Amy - who was the alpha dog before this sudden aggression? From what you've said, it seems like the female. If the male dog did something she took as disrespect - it could even be something subtle that you might not notice it - esp if she was ill - she might have regarded that as a challenge that she couldnt ignore. I dont know - I'm just suggesting this as a possibility.

I love my dogs too so I know how you are feeling now. I dont have any experience with this myself, but if it happened to me I would rush those dogs to a vet, because my guess is it's health related. I'd tell the vet to do a full blood work-up - try to see if there are any "hidden" health problems that might be causing this. And also check the bones/joints/teeth to make sure everything is normal there. Pain can also cause a dog to become aggressive - and sometimes it's hard for humans to see the signs of chronic pain in a dog. It's easily missed. Check the eyes as well. Failing eyesight can make a dog feel insecure and therefore more prone to aggression.

About the rabies thing - when is the last time your dog was rabies vaccinated? If her shots are up to date, I wouldnt worry too much about that.

How good is your vet? If you are not 100 percent confident in him, try to find somebody who is better.

Was anything different around the house when they first started fighting? Did you have company? Repairmen? Did you recently change their food? Try to remember as much as you can - any little thing might give the vet some clue to what's going on.

God - I really feel sorry for you and I wish there was something more I could do. If it was me - I would be beside myself with worrying - so I can understand what you're going through. Try to get an appointment with the vet as soon as possible - tell him it's an emergency. And if he cant find anything physically wrong, then ask him about an animal behaviorist, who might have some ideas. But I kind of think this is some kind of health problem - so I will be keeping my fingers crossed for you.

[rfisher]

I don't know why you seem surprised that your dog hunts. That's not aggression. That's genetics. Retrievers were bred to be hunting dogs. The majority of times, two dogs in a pack will settle their differences without doing real damage to each other. One dog will cede dominance to the other. I'd do a thyroid check (it'll be fairly expensive), but if it's normal, I'd be inclined to not interfere unless one of them has the other by the throat. Don't forget they're dogs not people and dogs always have a pack hierarchy. The key is that you stay the alpha to both.

[Amy L]

They're both up to date on their vaccines. The local animal control people said that most of the raccoons that show up in yards have had distemper, but they haven't found anything rabid.

And they ARE going for the throat. Yesterday they were trying to fight to the death, I'm sure of it.

I took them out separately this morning to go to the bathroom and run a bit since they've been penned up all night. They are acting totally normal on their own, and have been sweet with me as usual.

Now, just waiting for the vet to open...

[Yehudi]

I had the same issues with an alpha male and an elderly female. The alpha male all of a sudden started snarling at the female and attacking if she got in his way. The female was blind and would unwittingly encroach upon the male's personal space so he got angry at her. My brother one day saw it and shouted very loudly at the male dog and since that time, there haven't really been any incidents except for him growling if she came near his food dish. So I think you just have to be forceful with the aggressor and let her know it would not be tolerated.

[ks777]

ok you need to call "it's Me or the dog" show!! Call Victoria Stilwell. She can probably help you.
http://positively.com/

[Bev Johnston]

I brought a 6 month old female into our house when one of our other dogs died. We had a 5 year old male who had never had any problems with the dog who had died, but he was decidedly the alpha. After the new dog had been with us for about three months, the two started fighting. At first I could break them up by tossing a glass of water on them, but the fights became more frequent and much scarier. One day I realized that each person in our family had been bitten trying to break up the fights, so I sought outside help. I brought a trainer into our home to observe the dogs (and us) and she gave us lots of help. It took time and patience, but her advice really worked for us.

So, if your vet doesn't find any health issues, I definitely recommend shelling out the bucks to bring an expert into your home.

Good luck!

[milanessa]

My BIL was in a similar situation and eventually one of the dogs did kill the other. It was horrific and now he's so sorry he didn't get rid of one of them.

[danceronice]

Any new toys?

My female (spayed) corgi is the crabbier, mouthy dog and tries to boss the older, larger Aussie/greyhound mix (neutered male), but generally it only escalates to actual fighting if for some reason they both want the same bone NOW. I can break it up with a kick and a scream, but it certainly sounds nasty while it's going on, but I can do that because there is no question that while the corgi might be bossy, I am boss of both of them and they better obey or else. It sounds like they're out for blood, but it stops when I say.

And don't worry about cornering raccoons, that's just being a dog, though be careful of bites. (Puff, the shepherd mix, tried to carry off a possum. The "LEAVE IT" command came in very handy. I would not want him to try it with something that fights back. The possum played dead, a raccoon probably would have clawed and bit.)

[Amy L]

No new toys. My girl isn't into toys, but she likes chewy bones every once and a while. We haven't gotten any new ones though.

My boy is overweight, so he got his thyroid tested at his last yearly appointment (in December), so the vet didn't recommend that he get another one. I got the female tested today. She was okay with the other dogs in the office, and the vet was pretty certain that there's nothing wrong with her illness-wise.

The theory seems to be that the male is just tired of being at the bottom of the pack and is trying to assert his dominance, which causes the girl to retaliate.

My mom came over and we put each dog on a leash. We walked them around the neighborhood together and they were totally fine. I haven't kept them together back in the house though... maybe being in their "home territory" would make them worse. I dunno. I'm going to keep them on their leashes and keep them in separate rooms without putting them in their pens. I won't keep them unpenned at night or when I leave the house anymore.

There are no professional dog trainers where I live, getting to a trainer an hour away with two fight-prone dogs might not be practical. I'm still not sure what to do with them. I think I will just keep my eye on them and not try to decide anything until Monday.

[Amy L]

And as soon as I posted the above, Battle Royale #4 happened. The girl was outside, the boy was inside. She came in, tried to hump him (she does that a lot), he gave her a look, and then they both went for each others' necks. I tried the lifting the back leg thing, and even the pressing the gum thing, but none of it worked. I was able to get them to both lie down (while still biting and howling at each other) and was able to separate them slowly, one tooth at a time it seems.

From their other encounters, I am now almost 100% convinced that this is a dominance issue. Their fights have all started when one of them walks into the same room where the other one is. She'll try to hump him, or they'll just give each other a look, and then the fight is on. When I checked them over this morning, they don't have any deep bites, but they have some surface nicks on their skin. They did pull a lot of hair out of each other and there's mouth froth all over the place.

But there's no way I'm putting them together again any time soon. I never want to hear those sounds again.