I have 2 female dogs. One a purebreed Boxer the other a Boxer x American Bulldog. Both not spayed. Both 9months old. The purebreed has always been the more dominant one usually only around food. Which started at an early age as I was a foster career with a local dog rescue and unfortunately some of the dogs I took in were not the most well behaved dogs and my dog learnt some bad behaviours from the ( food aggression mainly). she also shows aggression towards other dogs when on the lead. Both dogs have been getting along untill recently. They have had 1 fight which after being broken up were fine for a few months. It usually starts with the purebreed being possesive over food and the boxer x puts up with her dominance for several hours untill she gives in and they then have a massive fight. Yesterday this happened and my partner did get bitten in the prosses. The Boxer x is happy to be friends again but the purebreed is on edge and not willing to back down. We have had them seperated all day and are hoping we will not have to seperate them forever. We are looking at getting the purebreed desexed but not sure if this would help. Does anyone have any advice that could help. We really don't want to have to give her up but unfortunately we have children and I am fearfull that this agression could lead to other attacks. I also don't want the Boxer x to change her temprement as she is so gentle and friendly.

Think that this problem of fighting between bitches has been covered before.

If bitches fight you have to keep them separate for ever, anything unusual, children shouting, someone at the door could set them off.  Sometimes dogs, like people just do not get on.

You cannot put your children at risk, these are big dogs and could do a lot of damage in the heat of the moment.

I would be feeding them in seperate rooms, and never have them together with food about.

Although dogsdinner is right, and you could be facing very serious trouble eventually.  You know what they say.  Dogs fight to breed, and bitches fight to breathe.

In your position, with children around, I would be keeping the boxer cross, and rehoming the other bitch to a dog knowledgable home.

Spaying doesn't help at all in these situations I'm afraid -UNLESS the problem started with one or both coming into season (or are about to very soon). Some bitches don't get on with others when in season or pregnant, but are fine the rest of the time. Your biggest problem is that they are the same age -it is a recipe for disaster to have two bitches the same age, especially when they are of breeds like yours -I don't mean that in a bad way, just that certain breeds are more likely to get on under circumstances that are almost impossible for others. As they've started fighting so early on, I'm afraid there is a very big risk that you will soon be unable to have them together at all. :(

Boxers have memories like elephants and won't ever forget.

The old saying is very true "dogs fight to breed, bitches fight to breathe".

You have to be so careful, they are both of a similar age to which can itself cause problems.
Both entire, and it maybe tha your Boxer X is starting to challenge subtly for top spot.
The "aggression" you are seeing from your Boxer towards other dogs could be 'fear' and under the right tuition (by a reputable trainer that is very good with Boxers/bullbreeds) you can turn this around but you need to act and quickly as the longer you leave it the less likely the Boxer can be turned around and 'unlearn' the undesireable behaviour and it will be a damage limitation exercise.
It could be because she hasn't had the right/enough socialisation/training when younger.

9 months can be the starts of hormonal surges - I had a Boxer that came into season at 9 months old.
Sorry to say that alot of people I know have ended up homing one of their Boxer bitches once they start fighting.
Neutering will not help with getting the undesireable behaviours unlearned but it may settle hormones but you
will need to know which one of the pair to get neutered. If you neuter the wrong one it will not help.
So you need someone that is very good with behaviours to get the right one.

I have two Boxer litter sisters coming up 3yo this year. It wasn't through choice (I bred them myself and only intended on keeping 1)
but I do watch them both carefully to nip any rivalry in the bud.
But I am lucky as one is the more bossy/dominant of the pair, the other is quite happy to 'bumble' along.
So I have one leader and one follower.
It sounds like in your pairing you have a leader and a wannabee leader = conflict waiting to happen.

I'd never advise to get dogs of a similar age, asking for trouble even experienced dog people can have problems.
Best to leave at least 12-18 months between them.
Get any behavioural issues with the first dog sorted and into a well trained/adjusted canine member of your family
and then think about another dog.

It is possible to have all females that do get along, I've had upto 5 bitches some spayed and some entire.
They were all really well balanced and happy 'pack' members. But the spacing was 11yo, 8yo, 5yo and 2yo.
Each had their own rank within that little 'pack' and were happy with their place.

It may be better for both bitches to be seperated.
The pure bred Boxer needs a home that is willing to put the commitment, work & time in to turning her around.
You have to be honest with yourself and really consider if you are that kind of home.
If not you may be better to find her a home that can do those things.

Sorry if it's not what you wanted to hear.

It usually starts with the purebreed being possesive over food and the boxer x puts up with her dominance for several hours untill she gives in and they then have a massive fight.

Was the food out for several hours? Not sure if this is what you meant :)
If the problem is resource guarding,  it may be that this situation could be remedied (resource guarding is much easier to work with than hormonal stuff) with the help of a good professional behaviourist.
In case you want to try this route, I'd suggest www.apbc.org.uk

However, the longer it goes on for, the worse it will get so my advice would be to get some help asap, and in the meantime work out how to manage the problem so as not to allow it to worsen.

Hth
Lindsay

Personally I would be re homing the easier of the two... the xbreed!!  as if she is as you say  got a good nature, you are more likely to find a forever home for her , than the Boxer...  if the Boxer is the only dog in the house, you will then have a better chance of helping her through her problems.

I also think although commendable  helping with rescue is a rewarding  experience, but you also have to put your own dogs first, and if  bringing in dogs with iffy temperaments  is going to influence  your existing dogs,   then, it may have been wiser not to do so.  please I am not having a go , but  from what you say,  the experience of having problem dogs around her , has maybe contributed to her  character...specially is she was not a very confident dog  to begin with.

I also agree with the others, fighting bitches can for the most part only end one way,  having to re home one,  for both their sakes, I would think both are living on their nerves, the xbreed may not be as anxious or show it as much.

I hope you resolve this soon, for all of your sakes,  but as I said above, if it was me, the easier dog would be the one I would rehome.

Thanks for that. Yes I agree fosteering others dogs was not the best for our boxer and we stopped after a month but by then it was probably to late as she had experienced food aggression from another dog. I also think that keeping the Boxer would not be the best of the two as I have a young child and I can't face the risk of her turning on him although we never let him play outside alone with the dogs it's just a risk I can not take. Thanks for the advice though.

Thanks for the helpful advice Boxacrazy. Unfortunately we have seperated them by building a fence but the boxer will not stop trying to fight our other dog through the fence. She just won't stop. We have sent her to a friends who has a male Staffy that she grew up with when she was a pup, to give her some chill out time for a week and am hoping to try and bring her back but would know that even if they did get along they would have to be seperated at all times. I don't believe she will be any better which means we will have to rehome her. Very sad for us.

tracyc4 - I feel for you - I've had to re-home a bitch for the same reasons.  We had 3 and the 2 youngest [who were very close in age] were fighting a lot, with the eldest joining in.  It's a terribly sad thing to do, but, so long as you get a good home for the one that's going, it can be best all round -for dogs as well as people and kids.
Better to do it whilst the dog is so young though.  From my experience separating them then bringing them back together can be difficult and I would advise you keep your kids out of the way.  This should help you relax and then help the dogs meet  in a more relaxed manner. 
I also know how hard it is to stay relaxed when this sort of situation has developed - constantly on your guard in case something happens.  This tension can add to the problems your dogs have with each other - they really do pick up on how we feel.  Just saying be careful how you feel when you get then back together.

> I also think that keeping the Boxer would not be the best of the two as I have a young child and I can't face the risk of her turning on him

I agree.  You have  to make the right decision for your circumstances. 

To be honest as you've lost confidence in the Boxer you'd be better rehoming her
as you will never feel 100% with her.
I wouldn't try bringing her back after chill out time.
As I said earlier Boxer's don't ever forget anything...she'll still try to fight the mix-breed when she comes back.
Keeping two dogs seperate in one household isn't easy and as you've got kids accidents can happen.
I.E. Even thou you drum into the kids to keep doors/gates closed they may forget one day (as kids do) and in a worse case
scenario you could end up with one dead dog, one badly injured and humans injured trying to seperate the fighting dogs.
Ask yourself is it really worth it?
I know for some people they have managed this (keeping dogs seperate) but with kids in the house it's always harder.
Mostly the humans are always on tenterhooks and it can be quite stressful if the house isn't set up that you can give
both dogs seperate access to the garden without having to see the other dog etc.

If the Boxer's breeder is a reputable one they may well try to help you with either taking her back and rehoming her or
helping you find a home for her. Or if they aren't interested then a good breed rescue may help find her the right home.
But please do be honest with her behaviour as they may well know of an experienced home
that can help turn her around and give her the best chance possible.
Rather than place her in an inexperienced home that won't be able to help her and her behaviour could get worse.
It's just that she needs training and has behaviourial problems.
So her next home needs to be an experienced home that can help her with these problems.
She's only young at 9 months old, she still has a chance of becoming a well behaved dog with the right training.
Althou it's sad in one respect, you've learned a valuable and hard lesson, and you won't make these mistakes again.

We kept two bitches separate (as I have said elsewhere on this forum).   However, you have to have the correct set up as someone else has mentioned, we had kennels, so that neither of them could see each other.   Each had a share of the time during the day in the house, but we would not even consider letting them pass by each other, it would have been like a red rag to a bull.  It meant that we had to exercise them separately, you could take them out together if they were on leads, but you had to be ever vigilant, it was not a relaxing enjoyable walk, as walks should be, it was much easier to take them separately, although more time consuming.

You must think of your family, especially the children, as someone else has said, children forget to shut doors etc., it would also be difficult if they invite their friends round to stay.   You would never forgive yourself if a child was bitten accidentally.

[url=]I also think that keeping the Boxer would not be the best of the two as I have a young child and I can't face the risk of her turning on him although we never let him play outside alone with the dogs it's just a risk I can not take[/url]

I`m sorry, I did not realise the Boxer was people aggressive as well!!

In the circumstances  I agree with BC, if your confidence is lost with her, then its best she is the one  re homed.

No she's not people aggressive at all. She's just gorgeous with our son and anyone who comes and visits. She has never showed aggression towards anyone before. It's just that she has it in her head that our other dog has to go.  I realise after her chill out time she may not be any different but it is so hard to come to the realisation that we have to let her go.  Even if she stops trying to attack the other dog she would always have to be kept seperate just in case and it's not fair to either of the dogs or our family. Definately a lesson learnt for us. We bought the boxer x to keep the purebreed company and now it's the purebreed we have to get rid of :( our boxer x is already missing her friend. Thanks everyone for the thought and suggestions. Much appreciated.

Then shes no more likely to turn on a child than she was before she displayed her aggression to your other dog. Dog aggression does NOT equal human aggression.

Rehome the one who will find a home more easily, the world is NOT an easy place for a dog who has displayed even dog/dog aggression, let along a big dog who has done this.

[url=]Then shes no more likely to turn on a child than she was before she displayed her aggression to your other dog. Dog aggression does NOT equal human aggression.

Rehome the one who will find a home more easily, the world is NOT an easy place for a dog who has displayed even dog/dog aggression, let along a big dog who has done this[/url]

I have to agree, 

I did wonder why the poster said she was worried for her sons safety...but  I agree 100% with you about re homing the easier of the two dog that will find a new home.

Owning a dog aggressive Boxer,  finding the right home for her (if needed ) would be extremely difficult.
that's why I said, re home the dog without the issues..after all it was the second dog in, the Boxer was there first and without another dog in the home,   the issues will no longer be a problem.

But the poster must do what she feels right, if she no longer feels she is capable of keeping the Boxer, then its best it is re homed, but please make sure you go through Boxer rescue  for help, a Boxer with issues needs a special home, and I am sure the last thing you would wish to see is her being passed from pillar to post, in unsuitable homes.

Just to say I'm so sorry it turned out like this. I have 2 boys the same age which have to be kept seperate if anything exciting is going on, and watched carefully when together, and I know I could not have managed to keep both if they weren't small breeds.

Don't think that I said that dog aggression equals human aggression.

What I meant was that if dogs were squaring up to each other and a child happened to be in the same room at the same time, they could very easily get in the way and accidentally get bitten!

but that would not be an issue here if the easier to re-home dog is homed, leaving just one.