Female Dog On Leash Shows "Fear" Aggression Towards Other Dogs

by Mich G.
(North Carolina)

We have a 4 year old spayed female pointer-chow-lab mix - "Rita."

Rita is a sweet, affectionate family dog who loves our children and especially loves the "alpha female" of the family (me). She gets along with most dogs and is decently socialized. Meaning, we don't do dog parks but she is around quite a few dogs. She does have a consistent issue with dominance/aggressiveness towards small dogs. I believe this stems from her experience with some small dogs in a neighboring yard who had come through our fence to attack her as a pup. Those dogs have since moved away, but she continues to show aggression and dominance toward small dogs, especially if they bark at her, so we are careful whenever small dogs are around. Rita has been boarded at a doggy "day care" where she's been exposed numerous times to packs of dogs and has not had issues. However, there have been a few occasions where Rita has been on-leash for a walk, has been approached by off-leash dogs, and has become aggressive towards those dogs on approach. Overall, we've determined that Rita is an alpha female who nevertheless submits to her human alpha.

Our recent problem is with a rescue dog that my recently widowed father would like to adopt. This dog, "Petunia," is a 2 year old pit bull mix who was found abandoned and is being fostered by a family with other pit bulls. The foster family describes Petunia as an alpha female, but she gets along with their own female pit bull who is also an alpha. Petunia was sweet, affectionate, and wonderful with my children. When Petunia met Rita she was receptive towards Rita, and wanted to greet and play. But Rita was not at all receptive to Petunia; upon approach, Rita withdrew, her hackles raised, lips curled, and she growled and snapped. Petunia responded in kind, but I do not feel she became aggressive (she was just responding to the affront). This did not improve over the course of an hour. We tried walking outside, no difference. Rita moved quickly into an "avoidance" behavior which meant no outward aggression during the walk, but whenever Petunia approached to smell or greet again, Rita reverted back to the aggression (frequently with tail tucked, eyes averted, and panting nervously). What is Rita trying to tell us?


I would really like these dogs to get along, because I want to be supportive of my dad so that he can adopt Petunia and I would be able to keep her at my home with Rita when he travels. But I need to feel comfortable that I won't end up with a dog fight! Is there hope for this pair??

Note: the initial meet-and-greet took place at my dad's current home, which Rita is familiar with but is not her "territory" or so I'd think. Both dogs were on leash the entire time.