I’ve got a problem that seems impossible to fix based on what I’ve been reading.
I have two female dogs: a 4-year-old working-line Belgian Tervuren and a 5-year-old Jack Russell cross. They’ve started fighting quite violently over the last few months, to the point where I had to take my Jack Russell to the vet to get stitches.
The reason they’re fighting is US. My Tervuren is incredibly affectionate with everyone and is the biggest ‘Velcro dog’ I’ve ever seen. She’s always been quite possessive, but now she can’t stand the Jack Russell coming near us, even in the garden. It’s reached the point where I avoid stroking the Jack Russell just so I don't trigger a conflict. If only the Jack Russell would submit, but on the contrary, she stands her ground and attacks the Tervuren back – even though the Tervuren is about five times her weight. It’s not easy to separate them, and my husband is worried that we or the children might get bitten while trying to break them up or by just being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
You should know that we took the Tervuren in when she was 6 months old. She went through a deep depression after being abandoned and it took her several weeks to recover.
My husband changed jobs a while ago and is home less often now, so the Tervuren is getting less attention than she used to. This might partly explain why her possessive and nervous behaviour has worsened (she even chatters her teeth with excitement).
My question is: I’ve read that once the ‘war’ has started, they’ll never stop fighting. Is there any other solution besides keeping them constantly separated when we’re home (they don’t fight when we’re out), or having to rehome one of them to prevent it ending in an irreversible bloodbath?
Translated from French
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Personally, I’d rehome one of the dogs. My first girl, who’s five, went through absolute hell because of another dog that was quite similar to your first one.
Things never improved – quite the opposite, actually.
I ended up rehoming her with a new family who went through the exact same nightmare. The first few months were brilliant, but then the fighting started there as well. It finished in a massive bloodbath and one of the dogs had to be put down.
It’s a bit of both. Dominant behaviour also means she wants to claim everything for herself, including cuddles from the owners, so jealousy—or a form of it—is definitely at play.
Ours does the same thing, but we set boundaries straight away. It means we can stroke the big one while she's there, even right next to her, without her trying to wedge herself in between us. They can also play with their own toys; my little one might try to nick the big one's toy a couple of times, but we just tell her to "leave it". You often have to keep them in check, but at the same time, there are no issues when we’re out. And it's not because the big one is submissive; on the contrary, the little one actually bothers her less then. Anyway, in our house it’s only temporary—two females who’ve known each other for ages; there’s a dominant streak but they listen well.
In your case though, it’s far too risky. And yes, to answer your question, their behaviour is also linked to a surplus of energy.
We take ours out for plenty of walks, sometimes separately even though they get along, just so they can have a bit of a breather from one another. It also helps maintain a bond of trust and authority with us.
You can imagine all that pent-up energy and nerves—it’s only natural that it boils over. They’re together 24/7; even if they're occasionally separated or shut away, they’re still keeping an eye on each other, spending every day together... and on top of that, they don’t even get on. It’s like living with an enemy you’re constantly wary of. There’s no peace of mind for them, no chance to relax. And yes, there’s the lack of physical exercise. It’s not just that they might not be getting out enough (though that's part of it), it’s mainly that the level of tension and negative energy has built up way too much.
Personally, I’d get an urgent assessment from a dog behaviourist and then take it from there. When there’s a child in the family, you really have to make a tough call. Two female dogs who don’t get on, left alone for hours... that’s a recipe for disaster in any case.
Yes, I do say it’s expensive because, unfortunately, I don’t have an unlimited budget, and we’ve already had to deal with some very high unexpected costs for her illness. I’m not ruling out hiring a behaviourist (I actually used one right after we adopted her because she was destroying everything in sight), but for now, I’m just trying to get some friendly advice from experienced owners or anyone who’s been through the same thing. I love my dogs and I’ve got no desire to rehome them, but according to my vet, the only solution might be to keep them completely separate if I don’t want to find my Jack torn to pieces one day. According to her, the damage is done and they’ll never be able to stand each other again. They’re home alone from 7am until 5pm, sometimes 6pm, three days a week. I know it’s a long time, but when you adopt a dog (in this case, we took in a rescue whose previous owners didn't want her after six months), you don't necessarily know how your work life might change—it isn't always a choice. The situation we were in four years ago isn’t the same as today; we're trying to adapt, but it’s not always easy. On top of working away from home, there’s also the parenting side of things to manage now, and there are only 24 hours in a day. So, if I’ve understood you correctly, her aggressive behaviour towards her housemate could be due to pent-up energy from a lack of activity rather than jealousy and/or dominance?
From what I’ve read on other forums, getting her spayed might also be a start towards a solution.
You’re asking about the best way forward or if you really have to "rehome one of the two", and you’ve been advised to see a behaviourist but you’re saying it’s "pricey"...
I don’t really understand when you say that because you work it’s not possible to do several walks a day; don’t you do one in the morning, one in the evening, and one as soon as you get back from work?
... You have active dogs; the Malinois here is even from a working line.
One really important point is that she isn’t getting out for walks every day. A Belgian Shepherd is a real bundle of energy that needs a massive amount of exercise; even a huge garden isn’t enough because they know all the smells by heart and the dog will soon get bored of it.
Unfortunately, the problem isn't the dogs, it's you. Please don't take offence, but you need to get a GOOD behaviourist who can explain how you should be handling your dogs!
Yes, she’s been to obedience classes and has been socialised. She listens very well, has good recall, walks to heel, and even sleeps with the cat... I go on group dog walks every week without any issues at all, and we sometimes walk them together as well without any problems. We both work, so it’s not possible to do several walks a day, but we have a plot of about 0.3 acres that is fully fenced and secure, so she isn't shut inside during the day.
I’m with Kikaah on this: have you thought about seeing a dog behaviourist? They’ll come to your home, observe how you all interact with the dogs both indoors and outdoors, and tell you what’s going wrong and how to fix it. Often, the issue is partly down to the owner’s own approach. Usually, two or three sessions are enough to start with; they can really open your eyes to a lot of things and give you some tips on how to adjust your own behaviour, which in turn will help the dog's behaviour.
A "possessive, nervous dog" is something you can definitely work on. Has the Tervuren been to training classes since she was a puppy? Is she getting a good few hours of walking every single day to let off some steam? And do the two dogs go out together?
I’ve obviously thought about that, but it’s quite pricey (I won’t go into all the details, but the Tervuren had an autoimmune disease that we had to treat with meds, injections, and so on for many months, and the vet bill was massive). I was hoping to first get some advice from people who might have been through the same thing.
