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Originally Posted by Stretch  I got Pippi when she was 5 months old and I have no real proof that she was mistreated before I got her but I don't believe she had ever really been outside before and I do know that she spent most of her time in a kennel. She loves being outside, took me longer than usual to train her because she was so excited outside that she wouldn't want to waste time with her business. haha but it did happen and that's all good and she first attacked Yogi when she was 1 year old. Pippi is spayed but Yogi isn't. They are the best of friends all the time and then all of a sudden Pippi just attacks her. I know sometimes it has been jealousy so I make sure I give them the same attention at the same time but other times, it's just random, like if I let them both out at the same time, I think Pippi gets so excited so bites Yogi??? Otherwise they can both eat of the same dish, sleep on my bed together, sit together at the window, so I don't know what to do. The vet thinks she'll outgrow it because she has no health problems and never attacks my other BIG dog and my cats or my grandkids. Any suggestions that I can try, I welcome. |
Hi Stretch,
Thank you for the additional and helpful information.
I am not a vet and your household is not my household, but I disagree in a major way with any vet whose response to aggressive behavior is to let her "grow out of it."
Perhaps approach your vet to ask for a referral to a specialist? If your vet is dismissive of this request, then perhaps seek out a different vet.
An article in Psychology Today, "
Aggression Between Dogs in the Same Household" by Stanley Coren, PhD, DSc, FRSC (22 April 2014) refers to a study by researchers at Tufts University Commings School of Veterinary Medicine. In that study, a majority of the aggressors were those most recently brought into the household, also a majority were female. (See paragraph 4 in the article.)
Most if not all points made by the author in the piece seem relevant to your situation. Of particular interest, "Aggression may not be their only problem, since 50 percent of the pairs of dogs involved in conflicts had at least one member with noticeable separation anxiety, and 30 percent had phobias, fearfulness, or other forms of anxiety."
Author believes aggression is "treatable using behavior techniques," and offers up several approaches/steps. (See the paragraphs toward the end of the article.)
Finally, the article provides a link to a second in the same journal by the same author (click
here) that has subtitle, "Using punishment during training predicts aggression toward people."
VCA has an article online by Debra Horwitz, DVM, DACVB and Gary Landsberg, DVM, DACVB, DECAWBM, "
Dog Behavior Problems -- Aggression -- Sibling Rivalry -- Diagnosis" (? n.d.).
Hope this information is helpful to you. --KatysMom