agressive jack russell

Question
I have a jack Russell and a poodle that have been together for two years since they 6 weeks old and both have been spayed. They have always loved each other until about a week ago. Now I can't leave them together at all without them going at each others throats. It it very difficult to break these two apart once the fight begins. The only change in our home was a caged rabbit that was in a separate room in another part of the house. The rabbit is gone now but the fights continue. These two dogs also share our home with two males that have been neutered but they don't have any problem with them only each other. I really want to keep both dogs but I don't know what to do. Any information would help. Some people say to remove the eye teeth and restrict the Russell from locking down and injuring the poodle? Is this an answer?

Answer
Hi Marion,

So sorry your two females are having at it! You do not mention their ages but I suspect you may have young adults battling for status. The down side of female status fighting is that females retain status their entire lives. They are who they are.

I would suggest having someone who works with aggressive dogs come out and take a look to see if this is resolvable. Try www.ccpdt.org

As far as canine filing goes, I would not recommend it. What we have learned from that is that the damage from the bite is more severe from the crush bruising-it often causes permanent nerve damage. That they actually bite harder because they can't get a grip without the canines.

Separate them for now and have someone come out to evaluate ASAP. I hope all goes well.