# Golden Retriever Aggression - PLEASE HELP!



## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

I would keep them separate unless it's a situation where you can move faster than her.

It's not fair to him to continue to be in danger of a threat - especially when he's not doing anything to instigate. 

It's not fair to her in a way to be set up where she's going to fail and have her issues reinforced. 

Not saying rehome her or him. Just keep them separate when loose. Do not leave them alone together. 

And I would have her thoroughly checked by a vet.


----------



## Debbie Cawthon Terry (Aug 26, 2019)

There has to be another option. Like some type of training.


----------



## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

No training will help if she's tried mauling your other dog 5-6 times. 

You need to do more as a responsible owner to manage the situation better. 

They cannot be left alone together.

When they are loose together, you need to be watchful and wary - and be able to go running to interrupt or intercept when she's got the "look" like she's going to attack him. 

You already know what he's doing which sets him off - that means you need to be anticipating her attacking him.

Dog aggression isn't just something you "cure" by training. 

You have an aggressive dog.

Doesn't mean that's the end of the road and you need to rehome. 

Management is key.


----------



## Aidan0311 (Jun 12, 2019)

Wow! I can see why this would throw you off and be alarming! If it were me, I’d also takeher to the vet, but you said it’s been going on for 2years? You’d think if it were physical, the vet would have caught it by now. Have you mentioned this to you vet before? I agree with Megora, to separate them for now unless you are in close enough proximity to stop her before she attacks him. Is there any common behavior/situation that follows up to the attacks? I have a 5mo old puppy and my in laws have a border collie/shepherd mix. They live on a farm nearby and we take Aidan over there most evenings. My in-laws dog was fine with Aidan EXCEPT when he would run. Every time he’d run Greta would chase him down and jump/growl/attack him. He would get scared and Yelp! We thought it was because Greta was trying to herd him. It got so bad we had to put her inside while we were there. About a month ago, we thought she was inside the house, but she wasn’t. She saw him running behind the club car, and totally attacked the little guy! I heard a loud scream and thought she broke Aidan’s neck or leg, but it was her foot that got hurt. She’s still limping because of the sprain! She doesn’t even try to chase him anymore, but I’m not sure if it’s because she’s hurt or because she associates it with something negative.


----------



## K9-Design (Jan 18, 2009)

check thyroid

other than that -- do as Megora said. Better management.

She attacked the BC when he was yelping because it's a natural instinct to attack a screaming defenseless animal (prey) or take down injured dogs in the pack before they attract attention from bigger preditors. Have seen that before when a dog screamed from touching an electric fence and the other dogs went after it.


----------



## gdgli (Aug 24, 2011)

How did you deal with this when it first happened?


----------



## jeffscott947 (Jun 9, 2019)

Debbie Cawthon Terry said:


> We have a super sweet golden named Mia. She has lived with us and our border collie since we got her as a puppy. She loves people and would lick them to death versus biting. Never, ever shown aggression to a human. She loves kittens and cats and never hurts them, only plays or cuddles with them. She also loves to play with out border collie, Boomer. Boomer is now 7 years old and Mia is 5. In the past two years, Mia has become aggressive towards Boomer. It has happened about 5or 6 times in the past year. First time it happened, was over food that someone dropped at a party. The second time was over her favorite tennis ball. The third time, Boomer got stung by a bee and was yelping - Mia attacked him like she was a wolf! Other times have been when Boomer was outside and she just goes up to him and starts viciously attacking him. I don’t know where this is coming from, but I need to stop now. They both get hurt during these brawls and it is terrible. Why is my sweet girl acting like this to her “brother”? It just doesn’t make any sense. Especially when she attacks him because he is yelping! If anyone can give me some guidance, I would so much appreciate it!
> 
> Thank you,
> Debbie



Just a thought..Does Mia Have a high prey drive? When my Golden was tiny (at 10 weeks old), my 5 yr old Aussie was on her like he was going for a small animal, especially if she squealed while playing with the other dogs (or even me). It never got serious and I was always there to step in. The Aussie (pack leader of my 3 other dogs) has a very high prey drive, and you could see it coming in his eyes! Now that the Golden is 5 months old and larger, he accepts her into his pack..I got lucky but it could have been worse. Any MAJOR squabbling between the other dogs now is quickly broken up by the Aussie..before I need to do something. 

Hope you get it under control.


----------

