Dogs all of a sudden scrapping?

[Phil McCracken]

Ok...these are not hunting dogs, but my wife's buddies. So don't laugh...lol

"She"...hehe... has a couple of Chihuahuas. One is a 12 years old short hair and weighs in at a whapping 6ish pounds. The other one is almost 10 years old, fat midsized long haired chi at around 18ish pounds.

Both are great chasing deer, grasshoppers, and butterflies. In general, very friendly pooches.

There has never been any issues between the two until about one month ago. At times, when one gets close to the wife, the rumble begins. When she sits on the couch, the little guy will jump up to join her...so no issue there as the fat one can't jump that high.

This morning, the fat one had the other one cornered and I'm told it was a "Sudbury Saturday Night". Wife was getting dressed and had to throw her shirt on them to split them up.

An interesting thing is that this only happens inside the house. Never an issue outside. And usually, I am not around when they get at each other.

What would all of sudden start this change of behavior...Jealousy? Over protective? Little big man syndrome? Brain farts?

I suppose the good thing about it is they really cannot hurt each other much, as the fat one has no teeth left, and the little guy only has 6 left. Little concerned about the weight class difference though.

Thoughts?...

[Dewey Cox]

Old dogs get cranky.

[Sooner]

Chihuahuas are nut jobs. My wifes rat dog was friendly one day, growl at you the next. Just ask my nephew. Never to the point where she would bite but yap and lunge at you. Got worse as she got older than 12. I was not a fan of this breed before we got one but after 15 years and her just recently being put down, overall, a smart dog, learned lots of tricks and a good family dog.

My 2 shorthairs were the same, best buds and every now & then they had a little spat.



The 2 rat dogs will figure it out.

[58thecat]

Let them have it out and settle it themselves is what I would do.

They like us have enough periodically and settle it.

Ohhh wait can’t do that anymore so take them to a dog psychologist to help work on becoming better dogs.




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[urban rednek]

It could be that old dogs get cranky, or it could be sudden onset jealousy.
Or, it could be the instigator is not feeling well. Physical ailment is a common reason for sudden mood change in normally happy pets. Time for a visit to the vet.

[3blade]

Given that they are ancient and toothless, I’d be inclined to dispense with a big ol NMFP, let the three of them sort it out, and have a beer alone in the garage while “working on the truck”

Of all the things to try and figure out…two chihuahuas and a woman good luck bud

[tbiddy]

I feel your pain. We’re dealing with this right now. Literally dealt with it a couple hours ago.

We have 3 English Bulldogs. 2 females and a male. Been in the same house for over 5 years. We got all 3 within a few months of each other. The male and one female from the same breeder and the other female was a rescue. They all got along perfectly fine for the first few months. The younger female got fixed and things changed. Her and the other female (the rescue) would and still scrap. It’s usually if there is lots of excitement/high energy or if they are in confined spaces (stuck in the hallway, under the table, etc..). The male is the laziest, most easy going dog I’ve met. Loves everyone. We started feeding raw food about a year ago and things got worse. The younger female has gotten quite food aggressive. She’ll try eating out of the other dogs dishes and is constantly on the hunt for any crumb of food. Started with locking the rescue up and feeding her in a separate area. Now we have to lock up the younger female. She started going after the boys food and that didn’t end well. If you’ve seen bullies go at it, it isn’t pretty. They don’t quit, they are stubborn and when they latch on, they latch on. And when something is in their mind they don’t let it go. We’ve already had a few vet bills.

We’re at our wits end. The vet recommended a behaviouralist. So far we’ve just been keeping them separated and watching for signs of when things are going to kick off. It might be time to go back to kibble food too as the raw diet seems to have made things worse.

[270person]

Originally Posted by Phil McCracken

Ok...these are not hunting dogs, but my wife's buddies. So don't laugh...lol

"She"...hehe... has a couple of Chihuahuas. One is a 12 years old short hair and weighs in at a whapping 6ish pounds. The other one is almost 10 years old, fat midsized long haired chi at around 18ish pounds.

Both are great chasing deer, grasshoppers, and butterflies. In general, very friendly pooches.

There has never been any issues between the two until about one month ago. At times, when one gets close to the wife, the rumble begins. When she sits on the couch, the little guy will jump up to join her...so no issue there as the fat one can't jump that high.

This morning, the fat one had the other one cornered and I'm told it was a "Sudbury Saturday Night". Wife was getting dressed and had to throw her shirt on them to split them up.

An interesting thing is that this only happens inside the house. Never an issue outside. And usually, I am not around when they get at each other.

What would all of sudden start this change of behavior...Jealousy? Over protective? Little big man syndrome? Brain farts?

I suppose the good thing about it is they really cannot hurt each other much, as the fat one has no teeth left, and the little guy only has 6 left. Little concerned about the weight class difference though.

Thoughts?...

Until I read your post I had no idea chihuahuas were dogs.

[Pheasantchaser]

You lost me at "chihuahua."