One of my lovely dogs went to attack my other dog last night............need advice as to what to do and why she would do it?

[GoodGollyMissMolly]

DH and I have 2 female dogs, Chyna 7 is and a half and Molly is 6. We have had Chyna since her being a puppy, Molly was a rescue dog and she was approx 18 months old when we got her.

We had a few teething problems from Molly when we first started to introduce her to Chyna and the home. All settled down about 10 days after getting Molly. Both of them have been inseparable since then.

Chyna is a very laid back submissive dog and I always thought that Molly was the 'Pack Leader', but I may be wrong as at times Molly seems to be very submissive towards Chyna and us.

Last night at about 9pm Molly went for Chyna, teeth bared, snarling and all. Luckily Chyna is a fast mover so Molly never got chance to get her as DH had jumped up and grabbed Molly.

I now do not feel like I can trust Molly to be left alone with Chyna, I also feel extra protective towards DD (6 weeks old today), (Not that DH or I ever leave DD un-supervised with the dogs. We have a gate that separates our open plan living rooms, so that the dogs and baby can be separated if we are otherwise engaged.)

Does anyone know why Molly would do this after all this time, and any advice as to what we should do to make sure she wont try it again.

I will add, that all seems ok this morning, Molly is her usual self again and Chyna is fine as always and is still in bed

hopefully someone well up on all this sort of thing will have some advice, but my friend had a similar problem recently (dog and bitch, also inseparable) - they are just watching and waiting to see if anything like it happens again, there seemed to be no obvious reason. might be an idea to have check up at vets as sometimes thyroid problems can lead to aggressive behaviour.

Thanks vacua, I was thinking about getting her to the vets to see what he says about it.
I am just hoping it's a blip.
Does your friend separate them when they go out?

Fireworks making her antsy? Our dog was terrified last night, not so much by the fireworks but by the EXTREMELY loud firecrackers which some kind party goer decided to let off outside my window every 30 seconds . I had to sleep downstairs with him!

on walks? I don't think so, but she can't walk them at the moment because she got quite badly injured when separating them - they are probably just running around their field instead of walks at the moment.

hers are staffies so it's sort of what she is prepared for with the breed, although they're incredibly sweet and friendly to humans you have to be on guard for dog-on-dog aggression with them apparently.

Oxo, I thought that at first as Molly has always barked at the fireworks, she wants to be outside constantly so she can run around the garden barking at them

We have one of those Dog Appeasing Pheromone (DAP) diffuser things. The vet gave us one for Chyna as she has developed a case of mild eplilepsy and vet doesn't want her on drugs at the mo as it is a mild case. The DAP seems to work well with Chyna, she has only had one seizure since we have had it. It has also helped to calm Molly down no end (She can be highly strung sometimes) SO I really dont know if it was the fireworks or not.

Vacua, I love staffies, Chyna is a staffie cross. Its good for your friend that she has a field they can run about on. When she goes out and leaves them at home, does she put them in different rooms?

Do get Molly's health checked out - sometimes a dog is in pain and when another dog or human accidentally touches their tender spot, they will lash out.

I have read that dogs sometimes do challenge the leader in order to try and move up. Perhaps with the birth of your dd they are changing things around???

It must be very disconcerting for you
good luck

she crates one and let's the other have the run of the accessible bits of the house - otherwise might be asking for trouble if someone came to the door and they both legged it there at once . . .

advice from a vet: Please see your vet asap tomorrow about this and insist on a referral to a behaviourist once they have checked her general health and are happy with that. There are probably multiple factors here but the new baby and possibly the fireworks last night and the upheaval of routine with Christmas etc too have all contributed to this. Keep them separate for now and otherwise treat them yourself as you would have done previously fuss wise. Goes without saying and you probably are already ultra careful not to leave the dogs with accesss to the baby.

The sooner you get this looked at with a qualified specialist the more likely you are to be able to get it nipped in the bud. If you have pet insurance there is a good chance the referral costs will be met by that too. Most companies will offer this where a vet has referred to a qualified specialist.

Edam, thats a good idea, I will make an appointment tomorrow.

PurpleDuck, I was worried about that, both dogs are wonderful with DD and very protective, but we just haven't been able to give them as much attention as we would normally have done. It must be very confusing for them both.
Chyna has started to climb on to or in to DD things such as her bouncy seat, when DD is not in it mind. and she had tried to get into her moses basket, but I have managed to stop her before that has happened.
Maybe DH and I need to spend a some time with the dogs without DD there.

Vacua, I dont have a crate or room for a crate, I think I will leave Molly in the Kitchen and Chyna in the living room.

Beautifulgirls, we do have both dogs insured so it's comforting to know that behavorist cots may be covered.
It has been a big upheaval for them both, it has just taken time for it to come out I think. I feel really bad for them now, they have gone from having all the attention on them to some days barley getting any

Have they both been spayed? SOmetimes behaviour can change when bitches are coming into season.

Smartiejake, yep both of them have been spayed.

Both seem happy enough round each other now, they have been play fighting this morning. I hoping Molly was just in a bit of a bad mood last night.