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Why do my spayed female dogs suddenly fight when I'm not home?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Large (61lb +) | Female | spayed | 1 year and 11 months old | 65 lbs

Confused about my female dogs aggression. Both girls are spayed and show no aggression when I am home. They generally lick on each other and play and have slight separation anxiety for one another. Sometimes when I come home from work, I find they have gotten into a minor fight, no blood just limping and sore. They never fight in front of me or act aggressive. They have no food out for them to fight over when I am not home, and this only happens once in a great while. What should I do?

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Jyothi Alagappan

Answered By Jyothi Alagappan

Veterinarian

Published on May 21st, 2018

Hi and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I am so sorry that your two pups have not been getting along recently. I would separate both dogs while you are away until you can figure out the issue. A lot of times housemates will fight due to phobias (thunderstorms, loud noises), separation anxiety or aggression. Also, sometimes one dog may have a medical issue presenting it self to be weaker than the other dog. I would make sure both pets are pain free and have no concerning issues like vomiting, diarrhea, weakness, pain etc.

A lot of the time, the newer dog in the household tends to be the aggressor. I would work with each dog separately and together for obedience training. If possible, i would get a professional dog trainer to help. A lot of the time it is the people that need training on how to properly time commands for their pups.

Once they have a solid foundation of obedience training I would try a few things that will test ability to ignore one another in the same room, then give one dog attention while the other one ignores it etc. I would reward the dogs for remaining calm. This will help teach them that they can be in the same space and tolerate each other.

These can be some helpful training tools that you can start with. However, if the fighting escalates, getting a professional trainer would be highly recommended sooner rather than later!

I would really appreciate if you could mark this question as helpful or not as helpful. It allows us to improve on the quality of our answers to other pet owners!
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