DISPLACED AGGRESSION?

[INGER]

Hi all!

I have a problem that I need help with right away. I have 2 large pitbulls. One is male and one is female. The male is 1 year old and the female is 3 years old. They have been raised together since the male was 6 weeks old. Everything has been fine except for 1 problem (and I think it is a big one). When my female gets excited and runs the fence and barks at neighbor's dog,if the male gets close she attacks him. I have also seen this happen when I have used her collar to pull her off the fence. (I just give her a little tug,We do not believe in hitting or harsh punishmnent). If I yell at her to stop barking,she may attack him. She'll walk over to him with her hair up and all stiff then she goes after him. He stays away from her b/c he knows what is going to happen. I do not know what to do and I can not afford a trainer for a few monthes. It isn't fair to the male. I feel sorry for him. He is about 2 times her size. I am afraid that as he gets older,he may figh back. I have to be with them at all times. She has bit his back leg and held on,putting 3 scratches/bites that bled a little. Other than that she is a great dog and very loving. I need help now and nobody seems to know how to help. A trainer I consulted told me to alpha roll her or hit her! I know this is horribly wrong. I don't know what to do. Thank you in advance. I walk them 2 times a day and I do clicker training in 3 or more short sessions a day with each dog seperately. She only does it when she is excited. Any other time they play together and get along great.

[Fundog]

Believe it or not, this type of behavior is quite common among pairs of dogs. I've seen it often-- the "boss dog" does all the hollering, and squashes the other dog's attempts to join in ("This is my fight, you hush!" She says.) You are right to not listen to the trainers who suggest alpha rolling, hitting, or any other harsh methods. However, I must caution you that simply taking her by the collar to drag her away could result in your being bitten. It would be safer for you to always take a leash out with you, so you can clip it on and lead her away by that when she acts up. And simply leading her away from the fence every time she starts barking, and taking her inside will get the message to her more effectively and safely than anything else you could do. Eventually she will think to herself: "Oh! Bark at fence = go inside, fun over." And you are right to always accompany your dogs outside-- many of us avoid having our dogs outside unsupervised, but only take them out when we can go out with them. There are too many things that could go horribly wrong, to leave our dogs outside unattended.

[Newfiesmum]

Fundog is quite right about not grabbing her collar. If she is outside, I would keep a lead on her so that you can get at it quickly and lead her away. I have two newfoundlands, weighing 12 stone and 11 stone respectively. They have never shown any aggression toward each other, in fact they adore each other. But, when the smaller one, Joshua, gets excited, like when I come home or when they are going out, he jumps on the bigger one, Ferdie. I have managed to stop this over time, though not quite there yet, by simply either body blocking him so he can't get to Ferdie or putting his lead on first so that I can lead him away before he does it. Nothing harsh, nothing to wind him up. I am sure that over time, just leading him inside will get the message across.