I have a german shepherd/husky mix who will be 12 this summer. He is super sweet and loving and has never shown any aggression... towards people. His vision and hearing are getting pretty bad but otherwise he is in excellent health, no signs of arthritis or anything. We have two other dogs and recently there have been problems between them. It started after our 1 1/2 year old female got spayed. For a couple months after getting spayed she was very defensive and would snarl at the older dog whenever he got near. He began to get defensive in exchange and they started getting in fights when she'd growl at him. Then our six month old, but 85lb, puppy would start jumping in and they would both attack the older dog who would then escalate things even further. This has happened several times and even though the female has stopped with the snarling they are still getting in fights.
Just half an hour ago the older dog attacked the puppy (who is bigger than him) for no reason that we could see, though that doesn't mean there wasn't a reason. The other dog jumped in and then my husband unwisely decided to jump in to separate them. He accidentally fell on my old dog (who was also being attacked by the two other dogs) and my old dog bit him on the hand. I, meanwhile, grabbed the water dish and threw water on the whole mess and broke it up.
Unfortunately though my husband completely blames my old dog. He has one small hole in the top of his hand but the muscle is badly bruised. Now he is talking about my dog needing to live somewhere else.
What should I do? My idea was to keep the two younger dogs downstairs and the old one upstairs, but does anyone have any other ideas how to fix this issue that doesn't involve permanently isolating my old dog? He's been with me since he was a puppy and I refuse to part with him, especially since he's already a senior dog.
Just half an hour ago the older dog attacked the puppy (who is bigger than him) for no reason that we could see, though that doesn't mean there wasn't a reason. The other dog jumped in and then my husband unwisely decided to jump in to separate them. He accidentally fell on my old dog (who was also being attacked by the two other dogs) and my old dog bit him on the hand. I, meanwhile, grabbed the water dish and threw water on the whole mess and broke it up.
Unfortunately though my husband completely blames my old dog. He has one small hole in the top of his hand but the muscle is badly bruised. Now he is talking about my dog needing to live somewhere else.
What should I do? My idea was to keep the two younger dogs downstairs and the old one upstairs, but does anyone have any other ideas how to fix this issue that doesn't involve permanently isolating my old dog? He's been with me since he was a puppy and I refuse to part with him, especially since he's already a senior dog.