I HAVE A BITCH AND A DOG STAFF. THEY ARE BOTH NOW IN KENNELS IN THE GARDEN AS THE BITCH IS IN SEASON, HER VULVA HAS SWELLED BUT NO SIGNS OF BLEEDING YET ONLY HER 2ND DAY. ANYWAY SHE HAS BECOME REALLY AGRRESSSIVE TOWARDS THE DOG. GOING MAD WHEN HE WALKS AGINST THE CAGEING TO HER RUN? AFTER READING UP ON IT IN A STAFF BOOK, IT SAID SHE WOULD TRY AND SEEK AOU A MALE TO MATE WITH AT THE POINT IN HER SEASON NOT GO FOR HIM...
CONFUSED.

She is becoming hormonal. You are going to need to separate them further than next-door kennels if you want to avoid trouble and/or a litter. The male will become very frustrated and possibly aggressive towards you being 'so near and yet so far'. The bitch may do likewise, and it is possible for them to mate (and likely injure themselves as well) through the barrier - is it bars or mesh?

She will continue to be aggressive until she is ready for mating - at which time she will be throwing herself at him. It's not really fair to keep them in such close proximity and as JG says they could injure themselves/each other/someone else if they get really frustrated. This is the problem with keeping entire dogs & bitches together. Ideally the bitch should be out of "smelling" distance of the dog, but this isn't usually possible in the average household.

<<The male will become very frustrated and possibly aggressive towards you being 'so near and yet so far'.>>

is it usual for dogs to become aggresive towards their owner at this time ? How should you respond to this behaviour?

It depends very much on the temperament of the individual, but the male of most species is renowned for keeping his brain in his trousers, and even the most even tempered dog is likely to get beside himself if he is tormented by being kennelled immediately next to an in-season bitch. His instincts will be thwarted, but in such a state of heightened arousal there is no predicting his reactions to any upset.

If you have a starving dog, and keep him just out of reach of a lovely big joint of meat, it's not his fault if he reacts with anger!

Keeping them entirely separate, so sight, no sound, and ideally no smell of each other, and there should be no problems.

Interesting _ I was aware that both would want to be together but havent heard of aggressive behaviour towards owners before .
Thanks JG