Why has my dog turned aggressive to a puppy?

Hi, so I have a 2 and a half year old miniature schnauzer ( Minnie ) who is the biggest softy ever, the only problem we’ve ever had with her is that when she sees another dog she will bark and go ballistic just so she can go and play she never does it in a violent way. In February ( 4 months ago) we welcomed a new puppy into the home, a little french bulldog ( Bonnie ).She is a wonderful dog, who is very confident and was not shy at all with settling in. They loved to play together, and I really think Minnie enjoyed having a sister. At the end of may Minnie came on her period and we noticed a big change in her, i walked her in the park and usually she just barks at dogs so when we see one I pick her up straight away while i walk past. However, this time when we walked in the park a man walked past us, and she jumped up to him and bit his backside. I had a panic attack in the middle of the park as this or anything like this has never happened before, Minnie was the softest dog ever !!! Around this time Minnie would start snapping at Bonnie, sometimes when they were both watching me eat and Bonnie moved in the slightest Minnie would grab her by the neck and will not let go until I scream. This happens 2-3 times a day, they still play as normal with Minnie being a bit more rougher than she was when we first brought Bonnie home but nothing worrying, as they’re just playing. But these little attacks she keeps doing... after one happens I am breaking down and crying wondering why she has turned into this. I really thought Minnie was in awe of this new puppy we brought home, she wouldn’t want to play with me anymore she would just want to be around the puppy and play with her. Please please can someone advise me on why Minnie is like this? She has just came off her period and is still doing these mini attacks... thank you

Deb A.

You've got a serious problem here. You need to seriously address it, beyond just being upset after incidents happen.

You need to contact a trainer who has expertise in this area. Openly tell him or her of all the incidents (where, what was involved- dogs, objects, etc) and confirm the trainer can work with you to resolve this. I'd recommend searching out positive trainers who will work with you one on one in the home.

Until you get Minnie's behavior 100% under control, you need to create space between your dog and anyone whose path you might otherwise intercept. That likely means using a 4 foot leash for Minnie and your walks may involve going unplanned directions (turns, going other way, going more than 6 feet away from others) to avoid intersections. You may even have to walk Minnie separately from Bonnie (twice as many walks for you until this is fixed). It's not okay for your dog to bite another dog or human eve! Before actually biting, dogs give signals (such as growling, air snapping) that sometimes us humans miss, but need to pay attention to and react accordingly. That man could have called animal control to assess the situation with Minnie, who based on their evaluation may have been quarantined and or euthanized, and he could have sued you and collected damages. I'd recommend separate Minnie from Bonnie until you resolve this, using crates or gates or playpen if that will contain the dog. You must prevent future incidents through appropriate measures.

Also: at 2.5 years old, you need to spay Minnie. By doing so, Minnie will have a healthier life (including reducing her chances of uterine infections, breast tumors, cancer) and you'll spare her, you, your home, etc of her heat cycles.

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Why has my dog turned aggressive to a puppy?

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