How can I break my female Border collie mix of attacking other dogs?

Question

Greetings Mr. Frawley,

I've just spent an hour or so going over many of your articles and have learned quite a bit regarding my dominant female dog. She (Mia) is a rescue dog, boarder collie mix, 35lbs. When we first got her, she was incredibly passive. To this day she won't allow a stranger without a dog to pet her. However, in the year that we've had her she's opened up a lot and now plays energetically with several larger dogs in the neighborhood, mostly chasing but also some wrestling. The problem we're having is that within the last 4 or 5 months she has become very aggressive towards other female dogs of her same size. On leash or off, if she senses a dog is scared of her or timid, she exploits this and attacks. If a female dog seems very playful, and in no way scared of her, then she merely plays with it happily. Additionally, she gets along just fine with much smaller dogs or substantially larger ones.

After reading a few of your articles I realized that this all might have started when she was attacked by another dog. However, the attacking dog was a male. When she attacks another female dog, I respond dominantly by forcing her to the ground and yelling very loudly. I know you aren't a fan of alpha rolling but she's fairly tiny and has never displayed any dominance or aggression towards humans. unfortunately, while significantly more obedient after the dominance, she doesn't seem phased by the scolding no matter how rough I am with her. How can I break her of this habit? Is it strange that she is only aggressive toward other females?

It seems like she knows her place within our family's "pack." She doesn't sleep in our bed, she sits before passing through every door. She sits on street corners before we allow her to cross them when on walks. She isn't remotely toy aggressive, food aggressive, or territorial.... just against females of roughly her same size.

Thank you for your time and consideration,
John

Accepted Answer

The way you are correcting your dog for aggression may actually be making her more worried and anxious. We want our dogs to be indifferent to other dogs, but not worried about us forcing them down and yelling. This only breaks down the relationship between you and the dog. At this point it doesn’t matter why she is aggressive. Humans want to spend too much time on the past. The reality is that she IS aggressive in some situations and she needs to know what you expect and that you will enforce your rules.

I’d start by giving her clear pack rules and structure. Even if you think your dog knows you are the leader, do this anyway. Let her know the rules are now going to be your way, all the time and then be consistent and fair. This means no alpha rolling and no yelling. If you expect her to not be aggressive, then start by being calm yourself.

Start with our groundwork program and Pack Structure for the Family Pet.

I would also recommend Dealing with Dominant & Aggressive Dogs. This video will show you how to properly correct her aggressive behavior without damaging the repoire you want to have with her.

I hope this helps.

Cindy