Please help

Question
QUESTION: To make this short I have a 9 yr old bichon who keeps jumping and fighting my 12 yr old schitzu and wont stop.  She keeps staring her down and will show her teeth and then start fighting. I really dont want to get rid of her but I am a college student and only come home a couple times a year and my parents tell me about it and I saw it today and it was to the point that it took us a minute to get them apaprt and the bichon has a lock on the other dogs jaw. I dont want ot get rid of the bichon but I dont want to see my older dog get hurt. Please help any advice will help.

ANSWER: how old is the other dog , are they spayed neutered and is one dog receiving more attention than the other.

Does any dog have any health issues and have both dogs had eyes tested ever.

Who spends more time with the dogs and is the time shared equally ?
Does this happen around food toys etc?
What are their sleeping arrangements ?
How long have BOTH dogs been at home ?

Thanks

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I only have the 9yr old bichon and the 12 yr old schitzu.  They are both girls and are spayed.  They both recieve the same amount of attention and we have always kept it that way.  No dogs have health issues but the older one cant see really well because she is old but she is not the dog that is causing the problem.   My mom spends more time with the dogs because she stays at home.  The fighting starts randomly the bichon will just start staring at the other one and jump on the schitzu.   They both sleep in my parents bed and are fine togeather and sleep curled next to each other, the fighting happens around the afternoon.  Both dogs have been home since they were 4 months old.  Thank you very much!  

Answer
Hi there
It is always sad when the dogs that have been so close start to behave in this manner. To understand this behaviour you need to understand how dogs communicate and this is the problem here,
likely the dog(s) have developed cataracts due to age and this makes it very difficult for them to communicate well in the way doggies do to avoid stress and then fighting.When dogs cannot read signals they react in a way that protects their own space, this is what is happening here.

I would use DAP to begin with in the home and also use some calming aids from your vet, I would also have both doggies looked at for health issues , many OAP diseases are due to dementia etc, this can be helped by giving fish oils like salmon oil daily, start both girls on a high dose like 1000mg for two weeks and then reduce it to a daily dose of 500-700 mg .
I would also recommend the item below start to use asap.

http://www.nativeremedies.com/petalive/petcalm-nervous-dogs-cats.html?img=321&kb

Also rescue remedy can also be excellent when doggies dont understand ageing.