I have three dogs. 2 females and 1 male. The oldest female is 15, the other female is 9. Over the past few weeks ive noticed extreamly aggressive behavior from the young one tword the old one. It started out as little scraps, mostly just pinning the old one down and ALOT of growling. This morning however it escelated into an all out blood bath resulting in the old one being injured.
The young one is a normal very very freindly dog with no previous problems. They are all up to date on their shots and for the most part stay inside with exception of "bathroom breaks". The young dog has lived with the old one since she was a small puppy.
Ive heard that this can be normal as one dog grows older, does anyone else have any kind of explination on why this is happening or maybe a few solutions?
2006-10-09 15:56:57 · 5 answers · asked by falling_down23 2 in Pets ➔ Dogs
It seems the more i repremand the young one the worse the fighting is getting.
The old dog is in no way trying to protect her position. She just lays there and allows the young one to dominate her. Standing over her and growling.
I will be calling the vet tomarrow, but i fear the response i will get, She is very old and on her last leg unfortunatly.
I seperated them today but the young one will still go to the bedroom door scratch and growl trying in vain to get in.
2006-10-09 16:32:51 · update #1
Your oldest female was probably the Alpha member of the dog pack. People are going to say that YOU need to be the alpha in this situation but the truth is, your not going to be there the whole time and when the alpha is away, the beta takes the role until the alpha comes back or is replaced. In the pack, the eldest female is no longer in the same position nor the same strenght that she once had. the younger female senses this and it is normal in wild packs that once the alpha cant do the job anymore, she/he is pushed out of position. Sometimes, not always, but someitmes, the one time alpha member is killed by the newer alpha. It is important for you to know this because you can still do something about it in case it does escalate to this level. Since there was blood spilled today, it is obvious to say that the younger female knows she can ascend in rank and she will try. She won't fight the male because he isn't the immediate threat. She might nip at him ane maybe bite him but she won't fight him. The eldest female is the one you need to look out for. She may be the older one, but since she was the alpha dog at one point, she may want the position back and might instigate more fights. It is important that they all understand the place in the pack. If there is turmoil, they will fight and fight until the places/ranks are decided. If they continuously fight, then its time to keep them seperated indefinately. This signifies that one of the dogs will be killed by the other two. Notice how i said the other two. When the male knows who is in charge, one of the two females, he will team up with the other and attack the oldest one if she is replaced as alpha. Keep an eye on them and see how it works out. If the fights don't stop or neither female accepts their place in the pack, you might have a problem with the killing of one of them. It happens in real life not jus tin movies or books.
2006-10-09 16:15:49 · answer #1 · answered by vail2073 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
For starters.. how old is your younger dog.
Dogs that show dog-on-dog aggression many times don't start showing the behavior until @ 18 - 36 months of age.
This should be considered to be a factor and this sweet normally dog freindly younger dog may be headed to much worse problems.
It is also possible that the younger dog is agressive to the older because the dog is not well suited to enclosed environment & may need some time outdoors. If the dog is a high-energy dog, then the dog may take the need for more space out on one of your other dogs...
As has been stated, it can be the case that the younger one senses the weakness in the older one
In ANY CASE... this behavior should NOT be TOLERATED & you MUST REPREMAND the aggressor... otherwise you have effectively encouraged the behavior for future lashing-out
2006-10-09 23:12:50 · answer #2 · answered by Bama 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The younger one is taking over the older one's position in the pack. This will especially happen if either or both arent spayed.
In a pack only one female is allowed to mate and that is the alpha.
The 15 year old is heading towards the end of her life and the young one knows it. I know I am being blunt, but that is the way it is.
2006-10-09 23:10:19 · answer #3 · answered by Feline Female 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think you definitely should keep them away from eachother, that is animal cruelty if you let them stay together like that and have the younger 1 beat up on the old one. I suggest you should contact your local vet and ask a few questions, since the vet would give you much better information than on here that you need to take care of them.
2006-10-09 23:11:38 · answer #4 · answered by sogullablegurly 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The younger dog senses weakness in the older dog. It's natural for her to try to exploit the weakness and become top dog.
You must be the leader and make them understand this behavior is not acceptable.
2006-10-09 22:59:51 · answer #5 · answered by hoodoowoman 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋