Dog aggression

Question

The 3 of them   I have 3 spayed female dogs the oldest is a 8 year old. Border collie mix and a nervous Nellie. The youngest is a 8 month old jack russell / beagle mix. The middle one but the newest to the family is a 2 year old poodle mix. Now the oldest and youngest are buddies, and the youngest and middle are buddies. But the oldest and middle DO NOT like each other. The youngest and middle were playing the other day and all of a sudden the oldest jumped on the middle and started shaking her and grinding her into the ground. When that happened the youngest also started attacking the middle. I broke it up quickly but the middle had minor injuries. I do not know what to do i love all three dearly. Now like I said the oldest is a nervous nelly, and the middle is kinda a diva. She (the middle) spent some time in the wild she ws found in the forest before I adopted her. The youngest is pretty well adjusted. I need to know what I can do to make this work.

Answer
It's hard when the dogs you love don't always love each other. Management, supervision and training are going to be critical if you hope to keep this group together. First, train a reliable recall on all 3 dogs. They need to learn to come to their names every time you call them, no matter what the distraction. Practice this multiple times a day and reward with high value food when they respond quickly. You will need this to break up play situations before the dogs become over-aroused.

Keep the oldest one out of the area when the younger 2 are playing. Give her a bone to chew in a different room when it's playtime. Spend quality time with her while the others are outside playing. Border collies have a tendency to want to be the "fun police" when other dogs are enjoying themselves. Don't allow her to worry about this.

If they fight over resources, be sure all high value toys or chewies are kept put away.

If/when they do have spats, keep them separated for at least a day. After a major fight, little things can trigger another one very quickly.

Let me know if you have further questions or follow-up comments.  Good luck.