Suddenly Aggressive Dog

[Finnie]

A lot of dogs don’t reach full maturity until 3 years of age. It could just be that she has matured and decided she is going to be Alpha over the other females. No problem with the males because they will often defer to a female.
I wish you luck, because I don’t think there is an easy solution to this problem. Not one that will solve it completely before you leave. Whoever has her while you are gone is going to have to handle it as best they can. Do you have anyone else without dogs who can watch her?

 

[Birdielee]

I'd be iffy about leaving a powerful dog who's suddenly being aggressive in my mom's care. Can you and your mom work out a plan to safely control her if she attacks again? Maybe your mom would appreciate having a pole with a loop on the end like dog catchers use.

 

[FeatherLace]

A lot of dogs don’t reach full maturity until 3 years of age. It could just be that she has matured and decided she is going to be Alpha over the other females. No problem with the males because they will often defer to a female.
I wish you luck, because I don’t think there is an easy solution to this problem. Not one that will solve it completely before you leave. Whoever has her while you are gone is going to have to handle it as best they can. Do you have anyone else without dogs who can watch her?

Unfortunately I don't know anyone who I trust with either of my dogs when I leave. Everyone around where I live is the kind of person that will either sell the dog behind my back, not pay the dog any kind of attention (including veterinary), or abuse the dog for "not being disciplined enough." And the dog hotels near here are WAY overpriced with inadequate care. Even though my dogs are very well behaved, if they were put in an unfamiliar situation after being here their whole lives they are bound to act out and many people around here wouldn't take too kindly to that

 

[Birdielee]

There are some groups that take care of servicepeople's dogs while they're on active duty. I dont know how it works, but that's another possible solution. They'd need to know what's going on, though.

 

[FeatherLace]

I'd be iffy about leaving a powerful dog who's suddenly being aggressive in my mom's care. Can you and your mom work out a plan to safely control her if she attacks again? Maybe your mom would appreciate having a pole with a loop on the end like dog catchers use.

Emmi has never attacked a person, and its concerning that she's attacked the other dogs. My mom was raised in the whole "dogs are only livestock, they need to be disciplined like livestock" kind of mentality, so she thinks its perfectly okay to put a shock collar on any dog as long as it trains them, even though she does love the dogs, etc. I'm afraid that when I leave she'll put a shock collar on her and use it when she shows aggression, which I think is a VERY bad idea. Ive known dogs when they get in fights to completely ignore any pain just to keep fighting, so I feel that the collar would only put burn marks in her because she'll pay it no attention when fighting and my mom will keep pressing it thinking that it will, or that she'll get jumoed on one day and be afraid to fight back because of the shock. I'm thinking about getting an outdoor dog pen or stake with a leash to put her in instead of letting her roam with the others so my mom will only have to worry about moving her in and out of there and not breaking up fights

 

[FeatherLace]

There are some groups that take care of servicepeople's dogs while they're on active duty. I dont know how it works, but that's another possible solution. They'd need to know what's going on, though.

Really?? My miniature pinscher is my BABY but my mom doesn't like him and I'm worried she'll sell him while I'm gone, so if you find anything on these groups could you please let me know? He's a sweetheart

 

[cassie]

Its not that we don't have the money to take her, its that we don't have the money to take her and there end up being nothing wrong and the money be pretty much wasted. So I'm trying to rule out anything behavioral first. I haven't seen anything on hypothyroidism, are there other symptoms to it?

I think the poster may have meant hyperthyroidism. Hypothyroidism means an underactive thyroid and among other things it can lead to weight gain and lethargy. Hyperthyroidism means an overactive thyroid and it can lead to overactivity and aggression. If you take the dog to the vet and all the tests are negative, it does not mean the money is wasted. It just means you have ruled out some possible reasons for the behavior. If a dog is suffering chronic pain for some reason, say a sore back, that can also cause aggression.

 

[Birdielee]

Here are a couple

 

[ShrekDawg]

I know you said you spent a lot of time training the dogs and teaching them manners, etc. (which is fantastic cause most people don’t even bother to do that) but are they still being worked and trained? Practicing obedience? Exercising? All these breeds are the type that need a job to do and a lot of exercise and without it they can go a bit bonkers. Add to that the fact that she’s likely just coming into full maturity and it could be causing some of this stuff. I would try working her mind a bit more if you’re not already through obedience or trick training or maybe some puzzle bowls as well as upping the physical exercise. Hopefully it will help. But what you really should do is contact a trainer. Even if it’s not a behaviorist (though I do think that is a good idea), a trainer will likely be able to help too. It’s hard to know what exactly is going on without actually seeing it. There are many, many causes. But bitch fights are very very common and bully breeds in particular, although I love them, can be especially prone to dog aggression and especially same sex aggression. If it’s only the females she’s going after then it would seem it’s SSA showing. I would think some strict obedience training might resolve this. I know you say she already thinks of you as the alpha but it would still help. And you could also try correcting her when she does it. I know some people don’t tolerate any corrections or ranking amongst dogs. I’m not 100% sure I agree because sometimes pups, etc. can get annoying and I think they should be able to defend themselves BUT in your case it might help. The people I know that do it have dominant, working dogs that would fight otherwise so for them, and maybe for you, it may be more necessary than for most pet dogs. Anyway, good luck!

 

[Conan]

This may not be a popular opinion, but I have known several dogs, my own included, that turned extremely dog aggressive at around age 3. As someone else pointed out, that is often when true maturity is reached. I'm not sure if it matters, but all are/were females. Mine was a pit lab mix.

My dog never snapped out of this. She largely disliked, and would try to attack other female dogs. Typically got along with males. I spent the remaining 10 years of her life controlling her surroundings, and not letting her be in situations that might present a problem. I kenneled her at any sign of nervousness. I gave her extremely strict boundaries, and rules. No furniture, no off leash time outside of a fenced area, no dog parks, etc. It helped significantly, but the behavior only became easier to control, it did not go away.

Honestly, it sucked. She was extremely well socialized with both people, and other dogs from day 1. She went from loving everyone, and everything to unprovoked attacks. I never knew what would set her off. She was big, strong, and while I never had a moment where I thought she'd turn on me, I hated that I couldn't trust her. I loved her, but my experience with her forever put me off both pit bulls, and female dogs. Almost every dog I've encountered this behavior with is a bully breed. A few German Shepherds.
I'm not demonizing any breeds here. This is based purely on my personal experience, nothing more.