# Sudden aggression from Patterdale



## caroleduffin (Mar 12, 2009)

I have 5 year old Shih Zhu Jasmine (have had her from a puppy). 18 months ago we rescued a 2 year old Patterdale, Molly. I was concerned they might not get on, but everything has been fine. Molly is a sweet natured dog, very submissive to me, and extremely friendly. The dogs do play fight, usually instigated by Molly, but Jasmine will play,until she gets bored, then she goes out of the way.

This morning however, Molly made a real attack on Jasmine. No warning, cornered her in the kitchen, very nasty. Luckily I grabbed her and stopped it, but as soon as I let go,she went at her again, and again outside. 

The only thing happening, different to normal, is that we have my daughter's ShihZhu with us for a few days, but she often comes and all three get along well. The other difference is that Jasmine has a resolving eye problem and has been receiving a lot of attention, bathing the eye, applying drops etc. To do this I put her on the table, and I had just lifted her down from the table when the attack occurred. 

We then all went on a walk and came back,no further problems. Anybody any thoughts on this please? Carole


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## smokeybear (Oct 19, 2011)

caroleduffin said:


> I have 5 year old Shih Zhu Jasmine (have had her from a puppy). 18 months ago we rescued a 2 year old Patterdale, Molly. I was concerned they might not get on, but everything has been fine. Molly is a sweet natured dog, very submissive to me, and extremely friendly. The dogs do play fight, usually instigated by Molly, but Jasmine will play,until she gets bored, then she goes out of the way.
> 
> This morning however, Molly made a real attack on Jasmine. No warning, cornered her in the kitchen, very nasty. Luckily I grabbed her and stopped it, but as soon as I let go,she went at her again, and again outside.
> 
> The only thing happening, different to normal, is that we have my daughter's ShihZhu with us for a few days, but she often comes and all three get along well. *The other difference is that Jasmine has a resolving eye problem and has been receiving a lot of attention, bathing the eye, applying drops etc. To do this I put her on the table, and I had just lifted her down from the table when the attack occurred. *We then all went on a walk and came back,no further problems. Anybody any thoughts on this please? Carole


Are both bitches spayed?

I think the emboldened text is your answer.

You might want to give Molly something else to do when you are seeing to Jasmine, eg a tripe stick to occupy her


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## caroleduffin (Mar 12, 2009)

Thank you. The more I have thought about it, it seems jealousy/top dog syndrome was the problem. I shall certainly be more mindful. Yes, they have both been spayed.


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## Owned By A Yellow Lab (May 16, 2012)

It may seem 'sudden' but chances are, there were a few very subtle signs that got missed.

I'd keep an extra careful watch of Molly if she's the one instigating the problem, and you're sure she's not responding to some tiny signal from one of the other dogs? Just a thought.

If the problem continues, then I'd get Molly checked out thoroughly by the vet, since any change in behaviour could possibly have an underlying medical cause.

If that doesn't help, then maybe getting a reputable behaviourist to observe and give some guidance is the next step? Steer clear of anyone who talks about dogs being 'dominant'.


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## Rafa (Jun 18, 2012)

I used to keep a number of terriers and have found, on several occasions, that if I lifted one of them up, another would become aggressive when I put the first one back down again.

If you have to lift Jasmine up, I would put your other girl in another room, where she can't see.


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## BoredomBusters (Dec 8, 2011)

Dogs being moved suddenly can trigger aggression in terriers, I have seen it with dogs being lifted up - what was a squabble turns into a fight. It probably won't have been sudden to the dogs, but might have been brewing for a while and you missed the signs (that happened to me with my boys). It could also be the third dog has upset the balance in the house.

Be very watchful with them because Patterdales have been bred to have more aggression, more quickly than a lot of other breeds as they are working dogs and once they've done it once, you might find it starts to happen again. If you have to break up anything else again keep them apart as soon as separated for minimum of half an hour and preferably two hours to allow the adrenalin to die down. When they are reintegrated as long as there are no issues around food I will give them all treats (give Molly hers first).


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## caroleduffin (Mar 12, 2009)

Thank you all for your useful replies. The day has continued perfectly peacefully. I shan't pick Jasmine up again, or fuss her too much in front of Molly, and just be vigilant. Carole


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