Hi Everyone,
I'm looking for advice in dealing with my 2.5 year old female husky, she has been showing signs of dog aggression as of recently and I'm not sure where it's coming from and how to prevent it. I rescued her from a puppy mill when she was about 3-4 months and she's been my baby girl ever since. In the last few months I have noticed her become more aggressive with other dogs, more specifically other dominant females. My girl has a very strong personality, I would say she is quite an alpha female, other dogs are naturally drawn to her but if they challenge her she will not back down from a fight. When she was younger she was much more submissive, treating every dog that came her way with happiness and excitement (sometimes too much excitement). Whereas now she has become to growl, show her teeth, and even fight in certain instances, again usually with other females (she usually just gives a quick "no" to male dogs in instances of disagreements and moves on). I have had to pull her away from a fight several times in the last couple of months and I'm sure we all know how scary they can be. She is also beginning to resource guard, for example with the water fountain at the dog park, and seems to be much more "protective" of us when there are other dogs around.

I am having trouble recognizing the signs of when she switches to aggressive mode. Sometimes a seemingly friendly dog will pass us by and she will begin to growl, whereas other dogs she is happy to greet, or ignores them all together? How can her reactions be so different? I have noticed that her triggers usually are when there are too many dogs "ganging up" on her at the park, or trying to take her down when she is doing her long stride runs, whereas other times a disagreement will occur without me even able to understand the cause? She can be extremely gentle with puppies and very submissive rolling on her back, and then have it out with another alpha female in a matter of minutes? How can her reactions/interactions vary so much? I didn't see this type of behaviour in her when she was a younger pup, I feel as though since she's been coming into adulthood it's getting worse. Can anyone offer me some advice as to how I can deal with this type of aggression. Thank you!

Spayed?

Yes! She was spayed at about 8 months (after her first heat, it came a lot earlier than we expected as we were guessing her age based on what the vet told us).

My female is this way. If she meets another female dog she is determined to end them. While male dogs it depends on the dog. She can be great with male dogs or really bad with ones who bug her. What has helped her most is strict obedience training and a rehashing of the rules. I never had guarding issues with her, but then I never just gave her what she wanted either. Going to training classes where there are other dogs but she has to focus on you can help reestablish yourself at the leader to help with the guarding and also help work on her skills around other dogs in a controlled environment where a professional is there to help if spats break out.