Fighting with other female, new puppy in the home

[morganboxwrx]

Hi everyone, it's been a while since I've posted on here but I'm back because I need some advice. I apologize for the long post in advance but I want to make sure you all understand the situation.

Little background - I have an almost 3 yr old female spayed boxer named Mya. She is wonderful, loving, very obedient, just all around a wonderful dog and always has been. We live in a guesthouse of my parents home but have free use of the whole backyard. We have been here since Mya was about 8 months old. There used to be 4 dogs including mine but 2 have recently passed. My parents just got a choc lab puppy about 2 months ago and that's when things changed.

Mya absolutely loves the new puppy! She teaches him things, plays with him, treats him as if he were her own puppy I imagine. Now the other dog, a female mix of some kind, about 9 yrs old, who used to be basically a loner dog, would just kind of do her own thing and hide in the back corner of the yard, suddenly started to want to be around the dogs and people and see what's going on. She never used to want to be around the other dogs or people. When Mya first came into the picture she would try to play with the other dog but would get snapped and growled at, so they basically ignored each other from then on.

So now with the change in the environment Mya suddenly will not tolerate the other adult female. When they are alone with no people around, all the dogs are fine. Mya will play with the puppy and the other dog just hangs out on her own out of sight. As soon as people come into the yard, the other female now wants to be in the mix and Mya just isn't having that. She starts attacking the other dog and they get into really nasty fights. It takes 2 adult men to separate them and Mya is the one that comes out bloody because she has no fur to protect her. We immediately put her on the ground with a hand on her neck and VERY firmly tell her NO! But they have gotten into these fights at least 6 times already and it doesn't seem like it will stop any time soon.

We are at the point right now where we are putting one of them in the kennel while the other one is out in the yard and switch back and forth to keep them separated. I know this isn't the best solution but I don't know what else to do.

Does anyone have any idea why Mya would be fighting like this all of a sudden and how to stop it? Is it a dominance issue? Does she feel like the other dog is a threat to the puppy or people? Any and all advice would be really helpful. It just breaks my heart to have to put her in a kennel but I just can't risk her fighting anymore. The next time might be her last and I can't let that happen.

 

[hurleygirl]

I can relate and I wish I had a good answer for you. My female boxer and female golden got along wonderfully until a little over a year ago. My boxer (4 at the time) started attacking my golden any time I would pay attention to her. We had a K9 officer come out twice to help me resolve my situation. The only thing he could tell me is that it was the boxer who was instigating and showed me the cues she was giving right before the attacks. The problem is that the attacks are so quick and terrible I just finally separated one in one side of the house and the other on the other side. I let them out separately. I know this isn't much help, but I have been told since that 2 females are the worst combination. We used to have a male boxer also and the females got along great with him, but it was always separately. Unfortunately he passed almost 2 years ago. Perhaps you are fortunate enough to have a local behaviorist that could help you.

 

[BxrMommieNAZ]

You need to hire a behaviorst (not a trainer but a behaviorist). Keep in mind as well that Mya is now at sexual maturity (spayed or not) being 3 years old and Boxer females are known for not being tolerant of other female dogs. You will need to continue to keep them separated as females can and do fight to the death and it will only continue to get worse, not better, unless you get some professional help. IMO you will either need to hire a behaviorist (and in the meantime keep the females separated at ALL times) who can hopefully help you (unfortunately this is not always the case), or you will need to rehome one of the females for everyone's safety, including theirs.

Best of luck to you.

 

[Caney Creek]

I'm very sorry you're dealing with this, fighting dogs is obviously very stressful and when both dogs are females (from what I hear) there is rarely a light at the end of the tunnel.

I've never had this experience thank goodness so I'm no expert but there were definitely a few things about your post that stood out to me:

When they are alone with no people around, all the dogs are fine.

If you are sure that this is the case then that right there should tell you something. One of the persons in your house (or maybe just people in general) is/are the trigger for these fights. You said that Mya, even though she comes out of the fights with worse injuries, is usually the instigator, it sounds like she may be guarding you or someone else from the other dog. Knowing this may help you watch for signs and be able to avoid fights before they start.

We immediately put her on the ground with a hand on her neck and VERY firmly tell her NO!

This is a HUGE NO NO!! This whole "dominance" approach to dog training has been debunked time after time after time and all it does it make situations of aggression WORSE. Mya for some reason does not like this other dog being around the people in the house. Pinning her down is not going to train her to tolerate the other dog; actually it is more likely to increase her frustration and anxiety towards the other dog.

Think about it in these terms: you're with a group of close friends and then your sworn enemy approaches the group to mingle. You sure as heck won't put up with him/her being there so you start screaming and yelling and causing a scene. Then out of nowhere, your friends tackle you, pin you up against the wall and cover your mouth. They finally let you go once you "seem" to have calmed down, but they make no effort to shoo the "enemy" away. Now you're overwhelmed with anxiety, a) because the person whom you greatly dislike and distrust is hanging around you and your friends, and b) when you try to do something about it, your friends turn on you.

The better approach would be to use positive training to train Mya to like the other dog, by rewarding her good behavior when the other dog is close by, and immediately removing her from the situation (without actual physical punishment) when she starts to show signs of aggression. Right now all she is getting is very severe punishment, no reward to show her that good things come when the other dog is present. This is the basics of what it will take to resolve this situation, IF it can be resolved. I would definitely recommend hiring a behaviorist to come in as soon as possible. Fighting dogs will only get worse as time goes on and the fighting is allowed to continue. Using the wrong training methods can also exacerbate the situation.

We are at the point right now where we are putting one of them in the kennel while the other one is out in the yard and switch back and forth to keep them separated. I know this isn't the best solution but I don't know what else to do.

This actually IS the best solution right now. You want to do whatever you can to avoid fights and avoid that tension building between them, and if separating is the only way to do it then that's the best thing to do. Get a professional to come to your home and help you with this issue as soon as possible.

I wish you the best of luck, keep us updated.

 

[morganboxwrx]

@ hurleygirl - thanks for sharing your experience. i know what you mean about the fights just happening so quickly and being so bad. sounds like separating them is the best solution right now so i'm glad we are doing that.

@ BxrMommieNAZ - thank you for the advice. i will look be looking up behaviorists in my area to come and access the situation and see what can be done. if need be we will either be rehoming the other dog or if we can find the means we will be looking for a new home.

@ Caney Creek - so glad you haven't had to deal with this. thanks so much for providing all your advice too. i am almost 99% sure it is when people are around because we were actually out of town for 3 days and had a neighbor come and feed and water the dogs, and she said she never heard any fighting the whole time we were gone. sure enough the day we came back and were all outside there was a HUGE fight. i think you may be right about Mya thinking she needs to protect either me or someone else in the household.
I will definitely STOP the negative training if this does happen again. Hopefully it won't since we are keeping them separate for now, but if I see any signs of aggression I will immediately separate the dogs and only positively reinforce her good behavior.

Again thank you all so much for your advice and suggestions. I will definitely be looking for a behaviorist and will keep you posted with any new developments.

 

[ELubas]

Keep in mind too that at three Mya has matured and probably senses that the other female is older. Female boxers are notoriously fiesty with other females. Until you consult a behavorist I would keep them separated when you are not around too. If the behavior tips over and there is a fight when no one is there one of them could get seriously hurt. If a fight breaks out have something handy to put between them so you can remain safe. A peice of plywood for example. They should just be separated-no talking, punishing, petting, etc. I hope you can work it out. Good luck