Hi i have recently agreed to look after my friends dog for her (molly) for acouple of month i have allready got 2 dogs of my own (kai and Hoogie) at first

Molly was a little aggressive with my dogs but after taking my time she settled in well just acouple of snaps a the outher dogs every now and again but last nite we had just go some rats and set all there cage up and as u can guess the dogs where very curious as to what they where.
So abit later my boyfriend was sat on the sofa bang next to the rat cage with Hoogie one of my dogs on his knee and molly tried to come over and Hoogie snapped at her but stopped when i said no then molly came back again and Hoogie went mental and attacked her and they started to fight we seperated them and they both ran of and laid in the bed together Molly kept her distance all nite but they slept together fine.

Then today seeminly fine Hoogie took another snap at Molly when Hoogie was again sat on my boyfriends knee but also this time he was near the girbil tank
is only hapened twice but we now dont trust Hoogie near Molly and try to keep them seperate i cant keep my friends dog while mine is reacting like this but it so out of caractor for her she really laid back and brilliant wih kids and has never gone for my outher dog Kai and we looked after another dog a while back (Cassie) and Hoogie never went for her she loves outher dogs and shes never gone for another dog before this insident alltho she has growled at Kai when she had a bone and kais gone to c what shes got but never biten her and was only a warning growl

I would appriciate anyone oppinions on this thanks carlee

It sounds to me like very normal behaviour for a dog that has some resource guarding (which again, is very normal).

I wouldn't call it aggression really - all dogs need to be kept an eye on for this because it's a natural thing for dogs to do and hasn't been fully bred out of them yet.

The real problem you have is that the other dog is retaliating - in many multiple dog households dogs will warn each other away from prized possessions such as bones and chews, favourite toys etc. but usually they heed each other's warning as opposed to fighting.

If Molly is no longer retaliating, you'll probably find that's the end of it but I'd make a point of being sure there's nothing lying around for them to fight over when you're not there to supervise and if it's when Hoogie is sat on your boyfriend's knee, then remove her privaleges so she's not allowed to sit on his knee whenever she acts like that. Not only do you tell her that being grumpy will get her kicked off onto the floor, but also remove the need for her to guard it.

It's also worth making a point of rewarding Hoogie for being good around Molly when she's sat on his knee. If she begins to give a little growl before she snaps, heed it and gently put her on the floor.

It's always harder to deal with dog-dog resource guarding than dog-human resource guarding but basically all she's doing is saying 'get lost, this is mine'. Be sure Molly responds to this and remember that dogs are very good at communicating and whilst dog fights seem horrendous they're often more noise than anything else and very ritualised to ensure the full impact gets across to the other dog with as little physical contact as possible.

Thanks alot shes calmed down alot but think my friend taking the dog back she just needs to find some1 to wach it for around 3 months then shes taking the dog back cause shell have somewhere shes allowed dogs hanks again carlee

If the dog is a staffie or any other 'fight' breed it is possible it may get more aggressive. it is not their fault- they have been bred to get on with people but not with other animals.

fakefreak - this is true of any breed of dog, not just staffs.

One of my dalmatians has a strong resource guarding instinct within her, whilst other dallies don't.

I know plenty of people with staffies who have other staffies and they get along together and with other dogs and cats.

It is a good idea, however to make sure you take time to take Hoogie out on her own to socialise with other dogs and make sure it's always a happy experience for her, just to top up her doggy socialisation and good temerament :)

Glad she's calming down - good luck with it - could you crate one of them when you're not around? Or separate them with a baby gate?

i crate my 2 dogs in a 4 ft crate and the outher my friends in a 3 ft so there not able to fight thanks.

As for your comment fakefreak Hoogie my dog is a shar pei cross and Molly my friends dog is a staffy but i have a staffy Kai aswell as hoogie and kai is bouncy at times as exspected for a staffy but compared to alot of staffys i know she really calm most of the time and loves to play with outher dogs would never bite ive never even herd her growl aggressivly.

I think i was just surprised at hoogie acting like this but it dose make sence and i feel fine about her temprament as i was very worried at first thanks for the help.

Anyone got any ideas how i could keep my dog busy and keep them from getting bored in house also would like to know if there anything i can do to there crate so they dont get bored there not in there alot so get abit bored when there in there thanks carlee