We are at our wits end with an 18 month old MWD. She is becoming increasingly hyper over certain events by the day.
The main problem is when the postman comes to the door. If he delivers letters its not much of a problem but if he knocks she screams which alerts the other dogs. If we don't get hold of her quick ( as I did this morning )this starts a chain reaction with one of our other bitches screaming as if being attacked and injured. On one occasion I failed to notice the postman and she attacked another dog, then the others got in the act and eventually I had four fighting and I ended up with considerable bites.
We can guess the time of the likes of the postie and thought about caging her till the danger period had past, but we can't know when other people are likely to knock.
We were out at the caravan on one occasion and she got so worked up that she attacked our MLD who ended at the Vets with abdominal wounds.
The other problem is that she, like the rest love to go out in the car and again she knows once the shoes are on that it's time to load up, again if you don't get hold of her she gets worked up and would start a fight. Once out all is absolutly fine till we get to our destination. If she is left she goes frantic digging in her cage and salivating that when we return you would think she was rabied. It is now bad enough that my partner takes the dogs to work if I need to go out or if we are together one of us stays in the car. There again when we are away in the van she sleeps in the same cage in the car overnight and not a mute from her.
On return home one of our dog recognises the road and starts to bark, then she gets in on the act and starts screaming and digging then the others get in the act, by the time we get into the cul-de-sac there are seven dogs barking their heads off.
This is really making our life a misery as we can't go anywhere without the constant hassle.
Any ideas?

I think there may be something in the pack dynamics between your several dogs which is probably setting her off - it's hard to tell without watching them.  You also need to be careful, if I read your message correctly, you have several bitches (I'm not too good at abbreviations though - what breed?) and bitches will fight with much more serious consequences than dogs - have any of them ever needed vet treatment following a fight?

Sorry Digger. We have miniature wirehaired (5 bitches/2 dogs)and miniature longhaired (2 bitches) dachshunds. All was fine until the last 2 bitches arrived about a year ago. Katie, the trouble maker was fine until just recently, if she turns on anyone first it will be one of the longs, who has been at the vets with her injuries. It's odd as when we first started showing her, she was an absolute rock on the table and floor, now, she will not keep still, constantly pulling in or out of the ring. If she is at the show and nearing her class, you can make nothing of her. If you pick her up she struggles to get down, then on the ground she's constantly pulling. She has gone from a well adjusted little bitch to what can be described as a devil/demon dog.

What type of food does she get, and when did you last change it? It is well known that some foods can make certain dogs hyper, but not litter mates It might be worthwhile checking that out. :) She could be allergic to something.

She's being feed on Eukanuba and some Pedigree that we won, so it's a bit of a mix, but nothing has changed diet wise since this behaviour started. I could change her diet to see if it makes a difference, but wouldn't know what to start her on.
We feel that at the moment it's only a matter of time before something else will bug her sufficiently to start her off again. ie meal times that are beginning to get a little frantic. I believe that something is amiss with her but as to what I haven't a clue.

Personally I would start feeding her on Burns or James Wellbeloved, these foods contain no added sugars, no colourants, no dairy, no artificial preservatives, and are made with meat which is 'named' rather than meat by products/derivatives, which could be anything really, the meat content is also 'people quality'.  This way you will be able to try different varieties and see whether, she gets better or worse.  Give her at least a month on the new food and preferably 6 weeks before you expect to see any change, it can work quicker than this but it depends on what is causing the problem and how quickly the body recovers from it ;)

I found feeding my dogs pedigree made them very hyper (yes we won some too ;) ) I wouldn't even try Eukanuba because of the very long list of ingredients, many of which I can't even pronounce

Hope it is something as simple as the food she is on, but as a first line of defence it's always worth considering :)

I would take her off the Eukanuba and Pedigree. These are foods I wouldn't personally give my dogs (have given away any I've won ;) ) As Dill said, try Burns, or James Wellbeloved. I would also ask your vet if they could arrange an allergy test. It's not cheap, but could be worth it if something comes up, or even if it doesn't

If you're thinking along the lines of diet related, then another idea would be go with the burns, JWB but also try plain pasta with tinned tuna ( i know that pasta has wheat in it but this has worked on a few dogs ) the pasta & b6 can help with seratonin levels in the brain but the timing is crucial for it to work it has to be 2hours after her main feed ( so it would be 2 hours after breakfast feed & again at dinner time too ) you should see some changes with in 4days(ish) .
Personaly i am a firm believer in diet & its effects on behavior BUT i would possably be thinking along the lines of frustration & redirection of that frustration onto the other dogs.
I would be seeking a behaviorist before too much damage is done to one of your other dogs. As it could be possable that now she has learnt that through her redirected frustration  ( if this is what is causing it ) when she "has a go at your other dog/s" it gives her a buzz * adrenalin & endorphin* release & some dogs can be known to enjoy this buzz so much that they will actively seek that buzz again. I am more than likely wrong, it is very hard over the net to get a true picture & i am not a behaviorist, if in doubt get a behaviorsit out :-)
Good luck

Thanks for all your advice. I have fed her on JWB and cannot recall her behaviour. I used to feed the dogs on Burns and liked it, but preferred to buy food from a retailer rather than wait for home delivery as Burns have few outlets, but having said that, on scouring the yellow pages tonight I see that there is now a stockist fairly close by. So tomorrow I shall go and see what they have and see what happens over the next few weeks. Heres hoping that it's a dietary thing

I agree wholeheartedly with Stanley regarding the effects of diet on behaviour.  I would even up the ante and change to a meat based diet.

With regards to your postal delivery problem - have you tried being nice to the postie and leaving some titbits for him to post through with the letters or if not possible then wait and as he approaches distract her with treats so his visits become a good thing not a scary thing.  The screaming and re-direction are a worry not only for your other dogs but for you as well. 

It sounds as if she is finding a lot of things stressful - the shows, the car journeys to the shows, the cage etc etc could you not stop the showing etc for a while as well and see how that goes?
My girl was fantastic at shows until she was spooked by another stroppy dog and she went to pot and it affected not just her behaviour at the shows but eslewhere as well.

If you can remove the stress you might help solve alot of other problems.  (Iam not saying that the showing is the stress but if you can find out what is the main cause you might be on a winner.

Herbiedax,

If you fed Burns before and can'r remember their behaviour then its likely that they were all ok ;)  if they weren't you'd remember ;)

That's what we cannot understand.
a) She loves the postman and always waited for him to call and would go out to meet him, now she screams and goes berserk,
b) she loves the car, except during the day if we leave her to shop etc we will return to a dog covered in saliva with all the frantic activity, now we don't leave her. BUT if you go out in the evening, or leave her overnight as when we are away in the caravan she is PERFECT!! same car, same cage, same everything.
c) As for showing her, we are taking her out of the ring for the time being. Again she is okay, no problems at the venue, in the ring her attention span just goes , she will stand for a couple of seconds then appears to have an urgency to do something else.
This morning she has had a little pasta and tuna, instead of her PAH biscuits.

Dogs make associations to things very quickly unfortunately so it could be that she was left outside in the car whilst you popped in the shop and something scared her.  Have you tried putting her in and out of the car at different places and giving her treats?  Take little steps away and come right back - dont actually leave her to start with.  Then build up to going out of sight and then coming straight back and so on.  Time consuming I know but it might help her get her confidence back in the car during the day.
The postie again try and now make him associated with a good thing instead of the scary monster she seems to think is coming to the door.
You might also consider giving her the Bach Flower Remedies, don't know if you have heard of them.  Rescue Remedy/Five Flower Remedy contains star of bethlehem for shock, rock rose for fear and panic, impatiens for mental and physical tension and cherry plum fo loss of emotional control.  It might be of help whilst you try and guide her through her troubles.  These remedies have proved very effective in my treatment of dogs with behaviour problems. & my own nerves and trials and tribulations.  I personally always take rescue remedy before I go in the ring!!
There are some very good websites for Bach flower remedies if you put it in any search.  If you have any wuestions about them I will be pleased to offer what advice I can.