Fight between my dogs yesterday evening has me concerned

[Deborah and Molly]

Last night I was in the kitchen cleaning up after supper and my two smaller dogs (Jug – 20lbs and Bug – 40+lbs) got into a fight over a rawhide bone.  This is a fairly regular occurrence with these two.  They are vicious, serious, “I want to rip your head off” fights when they occur and have sent both of them to the vet for facial injuries.  The fight last night was different because Molly, my 7 month old doodle, heard the commotion and jumped in herself (in the past she has tried to run from it.)  Molly immediately grabbed the smaller dog by the scruff of the neck and began to shake her while the other dog continued to bite.  I couldn’t believe what I was seeing!  I grabbed Molly by her collar and pulled her away, she let go of the small dog but definitely wanted to get back into the fight.  My husband managed to get the two smaller dogs separated.  My poor little Jug was trembling and breathless.  I inspected her and found that her ear had been bitten…again and she had 2 puncture wounds on her neck.  As of last night, there will be no more rawhides in the presence of the two smaller dogs; Molly will only be allowed those when she is confined to her crate.

My question is what happened to my sweet, loveable, furry 7 month old puppy?  Is this a sign that she will be aggressive or was she caught up in the moment?  I was so upset by this last night, and I’m still in shock this morning wondering what I need to do now so that this doesn’t happen again over something else.

Has this happened to anyone else, what did you do, did it happen again?

 

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

Dog fights can really freak you out.  Good that your husband was there to help out.  Aside from the advice of getting rid of the rawhides and I think the two 7 year olds need a good dose of "Who is in charge here?"  Since clearly they will fight over a possession and give each other what I call the "stink eye" and the fight starts over seemingly nothing. 

If you can afford it, I would hire a trainer to come to your house and help you establish who is boss.  Then at least there will be peace when you or your husband are around and you can crate them all when you leave if necessary.