Husky Sudden Agression

Kmn111

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#1
Hi, I own a 2.5 year old Siberian Husky (from a breeder) and a 7 year old Torkie. They have been together since the Husky was brought here as a puppy. All of a sudden, the Husky has become extremely aggressive towards the Torkie, biting him to the point of puncture wound that required a vet visit. She has always playfully chased him, but lately has taken to deliberately blocking his way through rooms and hallways.

I have always fed them separately (the Torkie used to just eat dry food whenever all day long, but I knew not to do that with the Husky) but now the Husky picks up her bowl and carries it or lies down and wraps herself around it, so my first assumption was food issues, even though the Torkie has never, ever eaten her food.

As of today, I took her food away from breakfast (uneaten, guarded) and will offer it to her again later. If she eats it, great, if not, I will take it away again.

Also, she has been a VERY mellow Husky and this behavior has started on the heels of yet another intestinal illness. She was given incorrect meds during the spay process and has suffered intestinal issues ever since, requiring expensive and gross dog food. At first I thought she was just hungry, but she often leaves her food for a full day before she will eat.

The Torkie is now in total fear mode and just hides all day.

Your thoughts?
 

milos_mommy

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#2
Unfortunately, siberian huskies are a dog breed known for having a high prey drive, which commonly translated to aggression towards small dogs. I don't know what a "torkie" is, but I imagine it's not all that much bigger than a yorkie. Dog-dog aggression and prey drive often surfaces at maturity, between 2-3 years of age for larger dogs.

Does she only injure the smaller dog when she's chasing it? For example, is this only outdoors, in larger, open rooms, or when the smaller dog makes a sudden movement? How is she with the small dog if they're hanging out calmly together?

If it's not due to prey drive, it very well may be related to her medical issues. I'd ask your vet about that and do a full medical workup, and if the issue is in the process of being treated, possibly separate the two until it's resolved, and see if the aggression gets better.

I'm assuming your husky is not guarding her food from you, but either way, taking her food away in the wrong manner might cause her to begin resource guarding from you. I'd be sure you're offering her a reward for taking her food away and watch for any signs that she's uncomfortable with you approaching her bowl (such as ears back, lip licking, the whites of her eyes showing).

Don't ever, ever leave them unsupervised together, and depending on the size of your smaller dog, I might keep them entirely separated when not on-leash...a husky could EASIER snap a yorkie sized dog's neck, or puncture a lung or something, even if the bite isn't intended to kill.
 

Cali Mae

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#3
Milos mommy post pretty much covered it.

However, please be very careful and supervise them closely. Just this year, a girl in my class lost her chihuahua after her dad's new husky attacked him because the chihuahua was trying to steal some food from bowl. I would keep the husky in a separate room entirely while eating until the issue is sorted out, because as was said, even a small bite could end up with the loss of your yorkie.
 

Lyzelle

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#4
This has nothing at all to do with prey drive. Blocking, posturing, guarding...none of it relates to PREY DRIVE.

The food issue was probably caused by the medical issues, behavior changes follow. She doesn't feel good, and instead of hiding away in a room, she's going to take it out on the other dog and make SURE he knows not to mess with her by blocking, guarding, posturing, and aggression. She feels like crap, so she's going to act bitchy and guardy. On top of it, she's right at that age where female Sibes are going to start acting bitchier regardless.

Separate when feeding, pick up the food after a short period of time. Separate them until she feels better. Lessen the stress and step in, let her know YOU are taking care of the situation and that you will separate them and you will handle her food. Then she doesn't have to be aggressive to get her point across because there is no other dog to worry about bothering her. No other dog to guard her food from. You should ALWAYS separate sick/ill/recovering dogs from the rest of the pack, IMO. Just to be safe, just "in case" of behavioral changes.

Do not introduce them again until she's further along in her recovery and eating normally. She's a big dog, he is a little dog. She can hurt him seriously even if she is only trying to throw out a warning snap.

If you reintroduce and she's still acting this way, you have a crate and rotate situation. Dog aggression isn't common in Sibes, but IF it is going to happen, it will be females. And once you've made them mad once, it's hard to get back in their good graces.
 

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