I've got an issue that I don't know how to address with my problem child, Dakota. She's been attacking my older dog Kobi. I can't say they're fighting because he ends up on the ground every time with her biting his head. Last night makes the 7th time in the six months we've had her. The first few times was because he had a treat and she had finished hers and decided to take his away. He will growl and guard it and then she attacks him. A few weeks ago I gave them frozen green beans in their Kongs and left for an hour and when I got back Kobi was bleeding from the head and neck. Last night I just opened the door to feed them and she jumped up on the door frame and when she came down he was under her so she attacked him. When I say attack I mean she bites down on his head, usually around his ears, and shakes hard. I have to pry her mouth off to get her to let go. I have no idea how to address this, other than to obviously not feed them anywhere near each other. But they do all get Kongs every day when I leave for work and they are all in the same room together. Any suggestions??
Ginny

I know this is going to be unpopular, but that kind of behavior probably needs dominant presence. The simple solution is to separate them, but if you plan to have Dakota around other dogs, the possession-aggressive behavior could be a serious issue, especially if she's drawing blood. Ideally, Kobi should be trying to establish his dominance when she attacks by showing her the pecking order (and it sounds like he usually does), but he's more gentle it seems and she'll keep deciding she can take him.
I broke my dog of food aggression towards his brother by monitoring their food time and being ready to yank them apart the moment snarling began. After a few times, I started bringing out treats and setting them in sight, but out of reach. When they finished eating, if they hadn't attacked each other, they got the treats -- otherwise, they went back in the bag. I made sure they went back in the bag immediately after pulling them apart, so they made the immediate connection. They eventually got to the part where they might growl a bit, but they'd never escalate to what they'd originally been at.

Edit: Also, just to be sure, sometimes it's not "fighting." Huskies play rough! If she's drawing blood, I'd say that's beyond playing. Do you distinguish between the two?

I don't know a whole lot about dealing with aggression, but I think it is very important in the meantime that you not leave the dogs home alone together. Either crate them in the same room or keep them in separate rooms. If you are coming home to a bloody dog now, it would be devastating what would happen if the fighting gets worse and you aren't home.

Fenrir wrote:

Edit: Also, just to be sure, sometimes it's not "fighting." Huskies play rough! If she's drawing blood, I'd say that's beyond playing. Do you distinguish between the two?

Yeah, she's not playing. The two young ones play pretty rough but they have not escalated to an actual fight. She doesn't do this to the young male Loki, just to the old guy. He is really gentle and at his age doesn't move around too well either.

I have thought about crating but I have a long commute and am usually gone from 6am to 6pm. They have a bedroom that they hang out in during the day and I've got a webcam on them so I know they mostly sleep and the young ones will play in the early afternoon. I could crate Dakota while they chew their Kongs and then have my husband let her out before he leaves at 7:30 - they're usually done by then anyway.

Do I need to address this as "aggression"? As in, it's not going to get any better and we need professional help?
Ginny

vtomlinson wrote:

Fenrir wrote:

Edit: Also, just to be sure, sometimes it's not "fighting." Huskies play rough! If she's drawing blood, I'd say that's beyond playing. Do you distinguish between the two?

Yeah, she's not playing. The two young ones play pretty rough but they have not escalated to an actual fight. She doesn't do this to the young male Loki, just to the old guy. He is really gentle and at his age doesn't move around too well either.

I have thought about crating but I have a long commute and am usually gone from 6am to 6pm. They have a bedroom that they hang out in during the day and I've got a webcam on them so I know they mostly sleep and the young ones will play in the early afternoon. I could crate Dakota while they chew their Kongs and then have my husband let her out before he leaves at 7:30 - they're usually done by then anyway.

Do I need to address this as "aggression"? As in, it's not going to get any better and we need professional help?
Ginny

That crating solution seems reasonable. Does she do this with food in general or just snacks?

I can't say if I'd treat this as general aggression. My pup's brother, the sable pictured in my profile, was in a home for a few weeks where he had several altercations with the older male dog (a 12 y/o chow). He was fine with the other two girls, a 2 yr old GSD and a 6 y/o "Nobody-has-any-idea-Mutt", but this older guy was like his archenemy. They wouldn't coexist in the same room peacefully and would deliberately stick their heads through doorways to snarl at each other.

Maybe huskies developed the Native American-esque pack instinct that the elderly fall to the bottom of the pecking order?

She does this with Kobi's food and Kobi's snacks - she's fine with the other pup. I really think it is the fact that he's old. She seems to have a general disdain for him. When we're walking all together she will snap at his face if he gets in front of her but otherwise she mostly just ignores him.

Thanks for your thoughts on this!
Ginny

Of course. Here's some more food for thought:

http://www.ehow.com/about_6582803_come-aggressive-towards-older-dog_.html

Was Kobi the dominant one before all of this started? Maybe Dakota is trying to move her way up in the pecking order. I've dealt with more dog fights/aggression/dominance crap than I ever wanted to, but I've also figured out that IF there is an established pecking order/hierarchy, things will generally move along smoothly. Add in a new dog and the hierarchy has to be re-defined or re-established. It can get nasty if new dog is dominant too.

And some dominant dogs WILL go after the weak, or old dogs. It's like wolves - culling the pack to keep it strong... as crazy as it sounds, it does happen in our furry buddies. I've seen it.

I'd also warn you that it could escalate very quickly so be careful. And I don't know exactly what your two young ones are like, but you don't want the "pack mentality" kicking in with them, or poor ol' Kobi could be in trouble real quick. I have dogs who will jump in in a SECOND if a fight starts, even though they won't start it themselves. I have others who run away and do anything they can to avoid it if a fight starts. Just pay CLOSE attention to them and their behaviours, you can even write things down. But fighting while you are not at home is something that needs to stop asap.

Good luck, and good for you to look into it to try and solve it!

my dogs play fighting
do you think perhaps their playing but the one dog doesnt know to be gentle?

I don't think Kobi was ever dominant - he's always been very laid back. But he does has growled and showed teeth to Dakota since we got her. He never did that to Loki but Loki never tried to take anything from him either.
We had another incident last Thursday. Kobi was laying on the floor and Dakota moved towards him, I think to jump over him to get on the sofa, and he bit her on the leg. She then of course bit him on the head, and I got bit pulling her off of him. She didn't bite me, I just put my hand in her way. She's been very subdued since then, but that's probably because of the medication and discomfort. Kobi, on the other hand, is now very reluctant to be near her. This week he has been sitting in another room instead of with us in the family room and is reluctant to go in their room during the day. I looked into a local trainer/behaviorist and she wants $1900 for a two week boot camp. My husband doesn't want to spend any more money on this dog, but I'm not willing to give up on her. I think from this point it will either get really bad, or she'll think twice about biting him the next time.

No, there is no playing between these two. In fact, Kobi doesn't play anymore at all. He usually stands around making noise while the other two are playing. Maybe I'm not describing it well. She literally goes from standing still to having her teeth in his head. If he's not on the ground, her weight will take him down because he's very unstable. Her mouth is usually on or around his ear and she shakes it violently from side to side. She doesn't let go and I usually have to pry her mouth off of him. Pulling her by the hindquarter, which is what I read you're supposed to do, only pulls him with you.
Dakota actually plays really well with Loki and when one or the other starts to get too excited I can tell them "that's enough" and they'll stop. With Kobi, she is in another zone and doesn't hear me at all.

Well, the ear thing is definitely a dominance thing, and female huskies tend to want to be dominant. Maybe she goes after Kobi because, being larger than Loki, she sees Kobi as the alpha and therefore Loki isn't really a dominance threat to her.