We have 2 female dogs and they fought

[tyler52]

L is a small 8yo dog, we have her since she was 1. V is 3yo, twice L’s size and weight. They have fought a few times before but we broke them off instantly. For some time this didn’t happen until today and L got lightly hurt.

Since we have V, L has always been a bit afraid and limits herself out of fear. For example, she doesn’t run nor play when V is around, and usually stops when V approaches. Today after the fight, L was in shock and crazily licking herself, gratefully it has passed. It was visible that V felt guilty and wanted to make amends.

Any ideas of what we should do and mainly how to enable L to live more freely?

 

[moorelake7]

@tyler52 I’d actually completely separate them for now while you figure out what to do. This sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.

Do you know if anything triggered the fight? Food or toys in a shared space, or L approaching V? Is V showing any resource guarding or possessive behavior around her humans?

Until you figure out the problem, you can’t solve it. I’m worried someone will get seriously hurt in the meantime and/or that their relationship will get even worse. I’m not saying they can never be together, but I’d be careful for the time being.

Any chance you can hire a behaviorist? A board-certified behaviorist could make a huge difference here. If that’s not an option, a trainer might also be helpful, though not as much in my opinion.

 

[tyler52]

@moorelake7 Hi, thanks for the opinion. The fight was about food in shared place… What exactly is a behaviorist?

 

[moorelake7]

@tyler52 First off - I’d still keep them separated at least for the rest of today to let the adrenaline fully run its cycle.

Some dogs resource guard, with food it’s often called food aggression. The first step is to completely separate them for feedings and make sure there’s never food in a shared space - as in separate rooms, closed doors. Some good info:

https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/dog-care/common-dog-behavior-issues/food-guarding

https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/food-bowl-aggression-in-dogs

https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/resource-guarding-dogs

https://www.cesarsway.com/food-aggression-and-what-to-do-about-it/

A behaviorist is someone trained in assessing a dog’s behaviors and making a plan for resolving challenging ones. This often involves pinpointing the source of the behavior, which is very likely to be food in this case.

So, I’d actually hold off on a behaviorist for now - it may not be necessary. Remove food from the equation, monitor all interactions for the time being. I’d keep toys separated too since V resource guards, it might reduce tension. Give them breaks from each other now and then (again, separate rooms).

If there are still fights after you’ve done all of that, go the behaviorist route.

 

[tyler52]

@moorelake7 Thank you very much!!!! You were super helpful, we’ll do that

And thank you for the links!!