Male Rott attacked my fixed female rott

by Miriam Rivera
(LaPlata MD)

My female rott has been fix for almost 2 years, but within the last two weeks my male rott that’s not fix has attacked her twice.

I am afraid he will kill her. What do I do?

Hi Miriam
It’s pretty common for two adult dogs of the same sex to be combative towards each other, but it’s less likely when you have a male and a female.

However, if both dogs are fairly ‘alpha’ in their personality it can happen, and the fact that your male isn’t neutered probably factors into it.

I’d recommend having him neutered to reduce the sexual urges and take the edge off his tendency towards being dominant/aggressive. It’s rare that a dog of one sex will fight to the extent of actually hurting a dog of the opposite sex, especially when they’ve grown up together.

I would suggest trying to figure out if there’s something particular triggering these ‘attacks’, jealousy over you, or family members, guarding food or special toys, or perhaps your male is not feeling well or is in pain for some reason and this is making him cranky. If you can find out what’s at the bottom of his behavior you should be able to improve things.

Talking to a veterinarian, dog obedience trainer or a dog behavioral specialist may also help as they can give you some extra suggestions and input. A vet exam to make sure your male is 100% healthy would also be a good idea.

Meanwhile, perhaps you should keep them separated when you’re not there to supervise, at least until you get the male checked out by your vet and neutered. If they do get into a squabble, let them know that it’s not allowed by verbally reprimanding them and if there are two people around separate them physically while being careful not to get bitten. Dogs who are fighting aren’t thinking straight!

A bucket full of cold water over their heads is a good way to break up a fight. Always make sure they’re wearing collars too so that you have something to grab in an emergency.

I wish you the best of luck with this, and hopefully with some extra investigation and vigilance you will be able to get them past this phase and back into some sort of harmony.

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Jan 26, 2011

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Doggie Disagreements
by: Sherry

I agree with the above post…it is very uncommon for male and female to really fight…the male will usually back down and be submissive to the female. When a male acts differently, there is usually a problem that needs correcting, but on occasion you do have a female that is an alpha dog that will push a male. We had a female bull dog that was an alpha and unless she was in heat…you could forget getting a male around her that was an alpha personality also. This can be a whole new problem in itself.

Please do get the male checked as this would be the first thing I would think of being they were raised together. It really sounds as if there could be a problem that you may be unaware of that needs attention. As long as you are having this problem, I do agree also about keeping them separated when they are unsupervised until you can get to the root of the problem and correct it. Hopefully, it won’t be something to serious and easily corrected. We have run into a situation where a female reaching maturity just threw her weight around (so to speak) and was more of a problem than the male. Be prepared for a personality conflict. There are occasions where dogs who grow up together get into “an argument” and suddenly decide, they just don’t like each other any more. In a case like this, it may take quite a lot of work to get them over it…just like humans.

Good luck and hope you figure out what is really happening with these two. I hope it is a situation that is easily corrected and nothing serious in your male’s health causing the problem.


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