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Hey All,

I have an American Eskimo dog that is about 9 months old. I got her when she was about three months old and she has been just a treat up until rcently. She is sweet and gentle, and always played and got along great with our pomeranian that is a little over a year old. However, recently there have been problems. SHe was scheduled to get fixed January 31st and went into her 1st heat that day. Since then, she has for lack of a better word, had "freak out" sessions where she gets a crazed look in her eye, starts snarling and growling and lunges at our pomeranian. The Pom is doing nothing to provoke this, and the eskimo is not responsive at all to mine or my girlfriends attempts to calm her during these episodes. Often, the pomeranian only has to walk into the same room the eskie is in in order to provoke this behavior. There is little doubt in my mind that if we were not there to restrain her, the eskimo dog would kill the pomeranian. One thing we had noticed at first was that after these episodes, the eskimo dog would revert to being her normal playful self very quickly. However, in recent days these episodes have been occurring more and more often. TOday, the eskimo dog attacked the Pomeranian at least 10 times. She also appeared withdrawn and sat in her cage for a good portion of the day, in a seperate room from both people and the other dog. I am very concerned at this point. Do you think getting her fixed is going to help this? DO you think there might be something actually wrong with her? Bear in mind that these are two dogs who lived together for at least 5-6 months before having even one minor fight. It would absolutely break my heart to get rid of my american eskimo puppier, and any advice anyone can offer would be greatly appreciated.

I didn't get the gender of you pomeranian from your message. Is she too a female? That could be part of what is going on if it is. A 9 month old unspayed female can be a bit of a terror. Spayign will help to a degree, but now that those hormones have kicked in it won't solve any issues you are having with your two dogs.

Dealing with aggression between two dogs is tricky and there's never really a good answer to tell someone who is dealing with these problems. If the dogs and a male/female mix, overall it will get sorted out without too much intervention on your part- generally speaking. If it's female/female it may be something you manage their whole lives and never really get solved. It helps to figure out the triggers to these squabbles (typically food or toys) and don't put them in situations where there are food or toys around to start fights. Sometimes though it becomes territories and people and that gets harder to manage.

In my home, it takes two dogs to fight so when one is acting out, they both get a "time out." Dogs can start a squabble without making noise- hard stares, body postures, etc and we humans don't always recognize the subtle ways they intimidate each other. I don't pick favorites and it's both of their responsibility to 'play nice' so both go into a crate or room for a few minutes to chill out when tension flairs. That helps maintain the peace in my home, but my two have never shown a tendency to go for blood.

Good luck and hopefully you can find a trainer or something to work on this with you.
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Chelle and the rest of the crew including, but not limited to Kita and Taiko (the shiba inu wrestle maniacs), Adi (reserved and dignified tabby cat), and all 28 reptiles

>>Hey All,
>>
>>I have an American Eskimo dog that is about 9 months old. I got her when she was about three months old and she has been just a treat up until rcently. She is sweet and gentle, and always played and got along great with our pomeranian that is a little over a year old. However, recently there have been problems. SHe was scheduled to get fixed January 31st and went into her 1st heat that day. Since then, she has for lack of a better word, had "freak out" sessions where she gets a crazed look in her eye, starts snarling and growling and lunges at our pomeranian. The Pom is doing nothing to provoke this, and the eskimo is not responsive at all to mine or my girlfriends attempts to calm her during these episodes. Often, the pomeranian only has to walk into the same room the eskie is in in order to provoke this behavior. There is little doubt in my mind that if we were not there to restrain her, the eskimo dog would kill the pomeranian. One thing we had noticed at first was that after these episodes, the eskimo dog would revert to being her normal playful self very quickly. However, in recent days these episodes have been occurring more and more often. TOday, the eskimo dog attacked the Pomeranian at least 10 times. She also appeared withdrawn and sat in her cage for a good portion of the day, in a seperate room from both people and the other dog. I am very concerned at this point. Do you think getting her fixed is going to help this? DO you think there might be something actually wrong with her? Bear in mind that these are two dogs who lived together for at least 5-6 months before having even one minor fight. It would absolutely break my heart to get rid of my american eskimo puppier, and any advice anyone can offer would be greatly appreciated.

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If the Pomeranian is a female, my article "Same Sex Dogs in the Home" at the link below my signature may help. Either way, the Eskie needs medical evaluation. I'd have presurgical bloodwork, because she could have an infection, and then have her spayed.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47