fighting :(
 

this is something that has been concerning me for a while now. and today it got me very scared. my two girls get into a vicious fighting attack and its really hard to break them up. i dont think there is any real biting but i dont know it made me start shaking today. I know that minnie has alot of jealousy issues since she was used to being the only little princess and we brought maggie home last christmas and this never was an issue but now it has me very scared and minnie starts the fighting and i feel like maggie doesnt even know whats going on. Also this only happens when i am around and when the dogs are dressed up. I find this very weird that it only happens around me because minnie is very attached to my mom and maggies is attached to me. For example today i was outside playing with the girls and i wanted to bring maggie over for some pictures so i picked her up and all of the sudden minnie jumped up continouisly and tried to bite her, she even bit me in the process and it hurt i tried to calm them down and then i put maggie down and minnie started going after her again. This has become more frequent and i know minnie is very loving which is why i cant understand why this is happening. Another example is the other day i was sitting on the couch and maggie jumped in my lap and all of the sudden minnie started attacking her. Every time this happens they are both dressed up or one is dressed up. And it makes me shake with fear everytime. i dont want any of my babies to get hurt! why is this happening? :(

Seems to be some jealousy going on. How old are they? Are they spayed?

I have a boy and a girl, and when they were young, they were both on equal ground. One day my boy turned vicious. He would attack Roxy for toys, treats and food. I bought some books from dogwise.com - started to train them a little better, took them for walks together. Now at 4 yrs old they are much much better. TJ will still attack - but it is mostly in the middle of the night, no idea what or why he does that :confused:

Minnie is 3 and Maggie is 2.
i try to give them equal attention and they always go on walks together and play nicely together thats why im confused with what is happening.

Are they spayed?

The dressed up thing may have something to do with it the issue. Dog trainers that are naturalist say that dogs should not be dressed up because as dogs come in contact with one another they can not read the others mannerisms or natural scent because the clothing is masking the scent and movements of the other dog. So while one dog may be totally content and relaxed another dog may not be able to read the mannerism because the clothing is throwing them off and then attack.

Just a thought, but no fun for Yorkie lovers who like to dress up furbaby!

It is very common for dogs of the same sex to fight. My three males fight every day when either my husband or daughter come in the door. All my dogs are neutered or spayed and this doesn't stop them from fighting. They have never hurt one another so far but it is upsetting to see. You don't want to get between them when they fight though or you may get bitten. Shaking a penney can near them usually works

thanks.
and yes they are spayed sorry.

can anyone help?!? :(

two months ago I had to rehome one of my female dogs because of this problem. I hope you have the patience and time to deal with it. I didn't, mostly because I also have a child, and I had to pay equal attention to my child and my dogs. Their fight were taking all my energy and concentration, and I could not deal with it. As sad as I was, after a while, I felt relived, because, I found bold spots behind trixie's head, from the fights. That made me realized that I did the right thing. I hope you have better luck, and as you say, they are not getting hurt.

I think that you are going to have to devote some training into this matter. You need to be the alpha lead in the house, and not allow this to go on, set some rules and get some books on agression and dealing with and retraining. If after that, they are still fighting, then you may need to think about rehoming :(

Good advice. Definitely show them that YOU and you alone are the alpha and that you will not tolerate fighting. It seems like little miss Minnie thinks she is the alpha and you belong to her. My friend had that problem w/ her dog and it took her a long time but she was able to successfully work thru it. Good luck!