Sudden Dog aggression

[cppeace]

So hi,
I have 4 dogs, Casey my Sweet German Shepherd, had her since she was a pup and she's 8 years old, Chara who is just over 2 years old and also gotten as a small puppy, she is a Golden Retriever, Sophie An extra large St Bernard Great Pyr Cross who was abused and is very shy, and now Koga a male St Bernard, great Pyr cross, who is now 8 months old.
All Our dogs are taught basic training and none have been aggressive before, but about a month ago Chara started suddenly acting aggressive towards Casey. They can be together for hours with no issue and then suddenly, for no real reason, Chara will rush over to Casey, sniff her neck climbs on her shoulder and aggressively attacks her ears and neck area. She has broke the skin twice now. Casey isn't aggressive at all and attempts to avoid confrontation as much as possible with Chara now. These dogs grew up together and Chara shows no other aggression. She isn't food aggressive or mean at all. She likes to rough house with Koga but that's about it. Why is she suddenly attacking Casey who she's know almost her whole life?
I'm having to lock her up now way nore because of her behavior. I'm not going to punish Casey because Chara is being an insane bully. How can I fix this?

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Are each of the four dogs altered or intact?

 

[cppeace]

Casey and Chara are not fixed, Sophie is and Koga will be soon, just trying to let him grow a little more first.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Casey and Chara are not fixed, Sophie is and Koga will be soon, just trying to let him grow a little more first.

There you go - you have an intact male dog, coming of age, in a unit with two intact females. It is not surprising that the younger of the two females is becoming aggressive and attempting to assert her place above the other female.

 

[cppeace]

So will this behavior stop once I have Koga fixed?

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

It may not - fixing him will not alter the fact that both females will be hormonally intact - once the competition has started the removal of the intact male may not sufficiently alter the dynamic between the two of them.

 

[cppeace]

I could understand this if Casey was in anyway challenging to be dominate she isn't she is usually just standing in another room or sitting nearby when these attacks occur. She isn't challenging Chara. She isn't growling at her or acting dominate in any way. She just tries to flee when Chara attacks.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

I could understand this if Casey was in anyway challenging to be dominate she isn't she is usually just standing in another room or sitting nearby when these attacks occur. She isn't challenging Chara. She isn't growling at her or acting dominate in any way. She just tries to flee when Chara attacks.

It doesn't matter if Casey is challenging or not - Chara's hormones are driving her at this point to be sure she is the dominant ***** in the pack - and you maintain your dominance by making sure the subordinate remembers their place. Additionally, there is a lot of subtext to their communication that can be used to communicate, or perceived to communicate, a challenge that has nothing to do with growling and "acting dominant" - when things have reached the point that growling or the other things most people perceive as issuing a threat are in play there has been a whole lot of conversation already going on that the dogs understood but the human observer has missed (and, thereby missed the opportunity to intercede).

 

[dainerra]

what she said ^^^^^^^^ at 2 years old, Chara is now becoming an adult. That is the age when most problems begin to show up between females. There is an old dog man saying "dogs fight to breed, b****es fight to breathe" That is because males will fight to settle a disagreement and once the food is eaten, female is mated with, whatever started the fight is gone, the males can settle back into every day life. Females, on the other hand, tend to hold grudges. It's common that once a female begins to fight with another female in the household the two can never be trusted unsupervised again. In some cases, the dogs can be worked with to reach a point where the 2 dogs can be loose in the same room. In others, the two can't be allowed near each other and the only option is "crate and rotate" One dog is always crated or in another room while the other is loose

 

[HeritageGoose13]

You should see if there are any low or no cost spay-and-neuter events in your area.

I think it is good to let dogs grow- a lot of vets neuter too young for my liking, but in your situation, best to get them altered to keep the pack happy.