2 FEMALE SHEPHERDS FIGHTING...HELP!! - Page 1

I have two female german shepherds,  just at one year old.  They are sisters but were apart for several months.  They are both in a HUGE chain link fenced in yard.  One is submissive, docile.  One is more aggressive toward the other one.  When I go outside to see and play with them, the more aggressive one litterally attacks the other one and it is an  AWFUL fight.  I have to pull them apart.  The one I say is more aggressive is not at all aggressive toward any other dogs that are in the yard, or any of our cats or any people,  just her sister.   The more aggressive one came here several months after the submissive one so I dont think that is why she does it.  I do not want to separate them permanently, altho I am going to have to until I have another solution.   I thought about a shock collar to "activate"  when the "aggressive"  one   "starts",   but  they are both longcoats and her hair is so long I dont even know if she would feel it.....plus I dont know much about them to know which, if any are safe or if they  work.   I KNOW that you can have grown female animals together in peace,  I have two small breed females together,  have always had both male and females of all kinds of animals together and have NEVER had this problem.   PLEASE if anyone has any ideas let me know.  The fight was so bad today that one of them tore part of the pad off their foot and another one was bitten very close to the eye....it's getting bad.   PLEASE HELP!

the worst fights are always between sisters, or mother/daughters.

An electronic correction may increase aggression just as screaming etc..My last GS female never got along with other large breed females. She was a B****.

keep them seperated, put a fence down the middle of your yard.

Now that the bad fighting has begun, it will be nearly impossible to "cure" it. The safest bet for all involved is to keep them separated. It hasn't gotten to the point where they are killing each other, but they are fairly young and it only is a matter of time.you say you know that two females can live together, and sometimes that is true, I am sure some people will chime in and say the same, but THESE two dogs may NOT be able to live together, especially now that the fighting has started and IS escalating. IMO, the risk is too high, and not worth taking. Keep them separated. Good luck

I have a similar situation, its not going to improve in my opinion.

Do NOT Place Them Together! Once the battle has begun, it is over as you know it. The fights will only get worse. 2 Females will fight to kill. I got  bite a few months back seperating my daughters and my dog. Mine is a coat, thank the stars or she would have been a dead GSD. Prior to this fight she would put up with any thing I threw her way as far as other dogs, females. She was the sweetest, bite proof dog. NOT ANY MORE, now she will not  take any bs from another female and is ready to rumble at a drop of a hat, I honestly think, she thinks she won the fight. We use to bring over my mom's rottie and she is bitchy, mine would just stay out of her way, not anymore my girl now would lay the first punch for all the times she bossed her around. I would never bring her now without mine put up. You may go for  months, but trust me, it will not last. I was in ER for 4 hours, high as a kite, and on IV DRIP for anti bodies. The vet bill  for both dogs ran over $3,000. One had to have ear surgery  and the other had major veins punctured, and had to have drips insterted so any infection  would drain. So we ran a hosp here for  over 30 days.
DO NOT THINK YOU CAN  DO THIS, YOU WILL GET HURT OR ONE OF YOUR KIDS. tHEY HAVE NO IDEA  WHO THEY ARE BITING WHEN YOU GET NAILED.
The shock collar will  only make them fight harder, thinking it is coming from other  dog or you. there has been a lot info on this board on how to break up a fight, I suggest you practice.

I have seen people solve that same problem by puting a spiked or studed collar on the weeker of the two worked for them

I am not normally this cold and blunt, but I ask you, 7700Jimmy; are you prepared to pick up a bloody canine carcass and take it somewhere for a burial? You have obviously observed this behaviour on more than one (1) occurrence and it is continuing.

I do not know any other way to say this - these bitches must be separated for the remainder of their lives. Any other action will delay the inevitiable - the painful and grisly killing of one (1) bitch by the other. In the canine world there is no one-on-one negotiation. There are no compromises. Even if the bitch submits she may still be killed. This fighting will not end until a bitch is dead  

There is no other way for them to live on the same property. Even if they had matured together there could still be a serious conflict - there are no guarantees either way. These bitches are playing out the reality of the dog pack - and only the strongest bitch will survive. We humans find it hard to accept this type of behaviour, but we will place dogs together who do not wish to be together, and the ugly reality of the pack behaviour appears immediately. It is at this point that we must intervene and undo the damage that we did.

The ONLY RESPONSIBLE THING to do is separate these bitches or cause further distress and pain to this submissive bitch and everyone around her. Please do the right thing here, and realize that I am on the side of the dog here.

Good Luck,
Bob-O

You have two very simple solutions to your problem, SEPERATE the dogs,or get RID of one of them,an E-collar or a studded collar is not the answer. If you don't pick one of the two solutions you're probably going to end of with a real hefty vet bill as well as a seriously injured dog,or WORSE. I really doubt that either dog would mind being seperated.I DON'T KNOW BOB O BUT HE GAVE YOU SOME VERY EXCELLENT ADVICE[EXPERIENCED INSIGHT] PLEASE DO THE RIGHT THING AND TAKE IT.   MICHAEL49