Agression

Question
QUESTION: We have a 2yr old female and a 2 yr old male who we mated. We kept 2 of their offspring which are now: a 1 yr old male and a 1 yr old female. We have had the 2 offspring fixed as well as the 2 yr old male. The last one to be fixed is the 2 yr old female.  The 2 yr old female has become very aggressive towards the 1 yr old female. Even goes out of her way to attack her. Growls at her and has attacked her several times now.  We do not understand why. It has been happening over the last couple of months and only getting worse. We do plan on getting her fixed but will getting her fixed help the situation or not make any difference?  We are at our wits end as to why she is doing this and how to help her. She is such a lovable little girl with everyone, the male huskies we have and even other dogs we encounter on walks..just not the other female we have, her daughter. Please any advice is well appreciated.

ANSWER: Definitely get her fixed.  There is a natural instinct for competition in a dog pack and this is highest between same-sex companions.  The competition actually stems from the desire to procreate, and while the younger fixed female is not technically a threat, the older female still has a desire to dominate and solidify her social standing in order to be in the best place to continue breeding.  Unfortunately for our understanding, dogs do not maintain a respect of family, so the fact that they are related means nothing (to them).  

You may also be inadvertently adding to the aggressive problems by not respecting the order that they naturally have.  If the older female is indeed above her daughter in the order, and you treat them as equals, it may intensify her aggression to prove that she is the top female dog.  Keep that in mind and feel free to write back if you have some specifics that you are seeing.  However, definitely get the dog fixed - it can only help.

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QUESTION: How do we go about showing that she is the "top female dog"?

Answer
It's often very little things that help a lot.  One - basically leave them alone most of the time.  They will establish a lot of it themselves.  But the easy thing to do is remember to do things with the alpha dogs first.  When you feed, she gets her bowl first.  When you come home, she is greeted first.  When you give treats, she gets her's first, etc.  Those are the simplest and most effective ways of respecting a dog's rank in the pack.