Our 2 Jack Russells

Question
We have 2 jack russels, one is a 7 yr old female that we have had since she was a pup her name is Coco. Our 2nd on is a 2 year old that was given to us because the family that got her didn't realize they required the amount of time for love and attention, she was a rescue dog for them and her name is Roxi. Over the last week they have gotten into numerous fights. Roxi has been with us since October of 07 and other than a few growls at each other they have never fought until they drew blood until today. This concerns me why have they gotten along so long and now seem to turn on each other? They are both loving dogs, they love to sit around with the family and are included in about every activity that we do except when we go to church and to the kids basketball games. What can we do to help them ? Coco the oldest tries to "make up" after the fight but Roxi is either afraid or still upset, she avoids coco as much as possible. These 2 eat at the same time. as well as every other activity and this has really upset our youngest child. We have done everything to re-assure him that no we are not going to get rid of either one of the dogs and we will take care of the 4-6 bite marks they have combined. My 12 yr old was playing with them at the time with a squeaky toy but I don't know if that set them off that he didn't have both of their toys at once or not. Please help us our pets are apart of this family and like with family members you don't like to see any kind of fighting.

Answer
Sheri -

First off, I want to let you know that this is not uncommon.  Jacks often do not get along, especially if they are of the same gender. So, them both being spayed is essential.

Secondly, there seems to be something different going on in the relationship.  In my home, I have had this happen a couple of times when one dog was ill and I did not know it. Therefore, I always recommend a visit to the vets for both dogs (but especially CoCo because of her age).

In general, squeaky toys cause a lot of excitement and agitation in dogs, especially terriers because of the prey instinct. That can take what seems like fun into a competitive spiral.  People who hunt jack russells have their dogs wear muzzles when out so that they do not rip each other apart in all the excitement.

I would recommend making sure you have crates for both dogs and crate them any time you may have extra excitement in the house (like your children's friends over, etc). You need to treat them equally or you will accentuate the competition between the 2 of them.

Since I cannot see the body language between them, I recommend you locate a behaviorist in your area to watch their interactions and give you some direction. They can see the dynamics, and I can't.

You may need to back the level of privileges back to basics in the meantime. I am giving you a link here for a good article. While it may not seem to apply, it really does, and may give you some good ideas about how the dogs relate to each other and to the people in your family.

http://cairnrescue.com/docs/NILIF.pdf

This link may also give you some ideas about what to keep your eyes open for - so perhaps you can stop a fight before it starts:

http://www.diamondsintheruff.com/diagrams.html

I am so sorry that I can't be of much help without being hands on...

-Beth