My JRT has become aggressive to our other dog

[mollymaxmom]

My husband and I have a 5 year old  female Bischon/Poodle mix and a 4 year old male JRT.  We've raised both since they were several months old.  Before my JRT 's behavior changed this past May,2010, these two dogs have lived a peaceful co-existence.  They played together, ate together, ran together, slept together, seemed to be best buds.  There was 1 incident in the summer of 2009 when I was outside by our fence talking to a neighbor.  Max (the Poochon) was out with me.  Molly (JRT) came out and put Max on his back and starting fighting with him.  They were seperated and we had no problems after that. .until...sometime this past May, Molly (the JRT) went after Max (Poochon).  Literally put him on his back and bit him.  Then it happened again.  And again.  The only common denominator was that I was normally alone with them, my husband was not home.  He has witnessed only several of the attacks.  Max has been punctured, bitten, bloodied, and I have been bitten several times trying to break up the fights.  We went to the vet, twice.  Molly checked out fine, was told there are times when a JRT needs to be the only dog in a family.  Took them to a dog trainer and tried their suggestions.  No change.  Had an animal behaviourist over to observe and offer advice.  Molly went after Max and she was amazed that there was no provocation and the intensity of the attack.  Didn't think a shock collar would help.What she did offer is the suggestion that Molly is feeding off of my anxiety and feels the need to protect me. My family has been involved in a horrible court battle for the last 3 years that culmunated this past April with a court dismissing charges against a sexual abuser. We followed the suggestions that she gave us, but the attacks still continue. She also suggested Molly may need to belong to a 1 dog hom. There can be days or a week or more where nothing happens, then another attack.  We have been seperating the two, slowly re-introducing them to the point where they will lay next to each other and want to play. But, this weekend, for instance, my husband is out of town.  Molly has attacked Max 3 times. I have a 4 year old granddaughter, and Molly is her best friend. They get along so great. We have had my daughter's two dogs living with us for the past two months.  Molly gets along great with them. Never a problem.  Just Max.  I am frazzled at this point. My Molly is the sweetest, most loving and quirky JRT, except when it comes to Max.  Please, I am desperate.  Thank you so much....

[mollymaxmom]

Thanks for your response.  Both dogs are fixed.  

Your comment on the problem being with me would pretty much be the same as what the behaviorist said.  Except that for the past few days, even with my husband here, our JRT has been "shadowing" our Poochon, and Molly (JRT) even went after Max (Poochon) while my husband was standing 5 ft. away from them (thank goodness he was that close).  

The behaviorist was thinking that it wasn't just coincedence that Molly's attacks on Max went full force after the dismissal in the court case, when I was at an all time low, and extremely stressed and anxious and sad.  She believes that Molly somehow felt it was her duty to "take care of " me, when my husband was gone.  

Max, for the most part, will run away and jump on our dining room table when he senses Molly's demeanor changing, or Molly charges him.  Molly is much faster than Max can get on the table.  Occasionally Max will give a low growl, but is always moving away from her.
Then there are times when Max will posture play to Molly, and they will engage in their "blitz" like they used to, just not as long as it used to be.  

Since beginning of Sept., we have my daughter and her two dogs living with us.  Molly loves to play with her two dogs, and we've never had a problem with her going after either of them, just Max.  Our daughter and the dogs will be joining her husband in his naval assignment in CA within the next month.  Then it will be back to Molly and Max, and I am going to take Molly to training classes, as the trainer recommended.  

We are desperate.  She is like one of my kids.  I love these dogs.  The thought of having to give her away is not one my husband and I are willing to pursue without trying every option. But I also have a dog that is being hurt way too much.  We are going to purchase a static collar tomorrow for Molly. This was something I never wanted to do, but I feel like it is an option we have to pursue now.  

I have been told different things to do by vets, trainers, behaviorists, rescue workers:  give Max a treat before Molly;  give Molly a treat before Max;  pay more attention to Max;  pay more attention to Molly;  muzzle Molly, use a shock collar on Molly, get rid of Max; make sure Molly is never higher than Max, and it goes on.

Sorry to ramble on.  As I'm sure you can imagine, this is not an easy situation.  These two used to be best buds, and I wish I knew how to get that back again.   Thanks...I hope you can help us!!

[HemiSyd]

Ok this is not an easy question to answer, I'm sure you know. There are sevral factors I would consider.

Are both dogs castrated/neutered? This should always be done.

If the problem only ever happens when it's just you/females then I would suggest that the problem would lie with you rather than the dog. It would boil down to an over protection issue, and you will need to change the way you handle her.

When having more than one dog in a household,l they naturally have to sort out a pecking order before being truly content, is your other dog doing anything to cause these reactions? Baring in mind, it may not be obvious at first. Body language, what's happening in the immediate surroundings are all things you will have to look at.

If you can come back to me with mroe detail on the above I may be able to hhelp you better.

Thanks.

[mollymaxmom]

I'm sorry...I didn't edit my post very well.   Max (the Poochon) is obviously a Male, and Molly (JRT) a female.  First line in my post is wrong.