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  • Stupid Dogs

    My 2 dogs got into a fight last week. :aww: One definitely won and the other needed to go to the vet for some stitches. Now my wife wants to get rid of the winner (my dog) who we got from the pound 2 years ago.

    While the winner, Skully, is very protective of the house and family (read very aggressive to anyone and everyone not living in this house) she loves us to death and the 2 dogs have gotten along well for the last 2 years. I think she is over reacting.

    She insists that the dogs be kept separate. So, when we are both at work or when the wife is home Skully is kept in her kennel. When I am here and the wife is gone both (like right now) both are out and doing fine. Daisy is under my chair and Skully is 3 feet away.

    Anyone got some advice on this situation?

    Also, Daisy is apparently a slow healer. I was planning a camping trip this weekend but she needs to go back to the vet on Saturday. So the camping trip is off, or at least postponed.
    “I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority.”
    – E. B. White

  • #2
    Re: Stupid Dogs

    Do you have a dog behaviorist in your area? Maybe if you and your wife consulted one and understood what is going on between the dogs, she would be more open to letting you keep your dog. A behaviorist will explain the relationship between the dogs and help with a solution. Much different than a trainer in our experience.

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    • #3
      Re: Stupid Dogs

      Is this the first time they've gotten into a fight?

      If so, then replay the incident and try to determine what set it off. Common possibilities: food - any food - any where - any amount; possessions - toys, bones, bed, etc.; people - was there attention being given to one dog over the other, etc.

      Another thing to try to determine is which dog actually started the fight. Just because Skully won, doesn't mean it was Skully who started the fight. Which dog made the first move and what did she do.

      How old are the dogs? And what is the size difference between them (it sounds like Skully is medium/large and Daisy is small)? While Daisy is healing, keeping them separated while you're gone is a good thing so she doesn't re-injure herself. But when you're home, you should be evaluating their behaviors towards one another - and to do that, you have to let them be around each other.

      If they have fought before, then you need to determine what the pattern is. Depending on the pattern, it may be resolvable (e.g., feeding separately, etc.).

      If Skully was still a puppy when you got her (under 2 years), then it's possible she is coming into her own as an adult and is wanting to supplant Daisy as top dog. If that's the case, then working with a dog trainer can be very helpful to help her and Daisy figure it out.

      With one fight, I wouldn't go straight to "the dog's gotta go". It may never happen again. Dogs aren't people - they react physically not mentally to emotions. A jealous dog will react in much the same way as a fearful dog or an angry dog - there are subtle differences in the body language, but the obvious reaction is the same: bite. People aren't that good at identifying the underlying body language, so we see the dog's behavior as "aggressive" regardless of their real emotion.

      Since Skully has known issues, then I would definitely try to work with a quality dog trainer in your area. What appears to be protectiveness could very well be fear. My Bat-dog is very fearful around people. I have been steadily working with her for the past 2 years on this and she has improved about 80%. But she still has a long way to go. I use a water bottle to squirt her when she starts barking, growling, etc. at people. I ask people to just ignore her - don't try to make friends with her, don't look her in the eyes, don't lean over her or reach out to her. Her brother, Moose-dog, is very social. I let people visit with him as much as they want, and as she is usually attached to the same leash, this allows her to get accustomed to people being close without being the focus. She now can have friends stay in the RV with us overnight without freaking out.
      “One could not be a successful scientist without realizing that, in contrast to the popular conception supported by newspapers and mothers of scientists, a goodly number of scientists are not only narrow-minded and dull, but also just stupid.” - James D. Watson

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      • #4
        Re: Stupid Dogs

        It is a matter of your own risk management. Dogs fight sometimes, but rarely inflict enough damage to send the other dog to the vet

        Chances are, if Skully would injure Daisy, Skully would injure another dog and that could be very bad for you as well as the other dog and its owner

        Pound dogs and rescue dogs are always risky. Skully has to be considered a risk dog. I would certainly not let him around other dogs. You can choose to let him be with Daisy if you are willing to subject Daisy to that risk
        Last edited by Mike; 07-24-2014, 05:03 AM.

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        • #5
          Re: Stupid Dogs

          Actually, we don't know which dog started the fight. The dog that wins the fight is not necessarily the dog that created the problem. This is often true in cases with dogs of varying size - the small dog attacks the large dog, the large dog reacts, the small dog is seriously injured. Again, we can't demand that our dogs reason the problem out like people do. A large dog doesn't understand how small that dog attacking her is, she just knows that a dog is attacking her and she needs to stop it.

          Now, I'm not saying that Skully is innocent, I'm saying we don't know what the cause of this single incident was. That needs to be considered before taking action against a dog. Especially if the action is going to be sending the dog away. Taking Skully to a shelter and telling them that she attacked Daisy could result in Skully being deemed unadoptable - and if the fight wasn't Skully's fault, you've condemned her to death for another dog's actions.

          Determine what the issue is, decide if it is something that can be corrected (with or without professional help), and THEN decide what to do. Skully appears to have issues, but they aren't necessarily issues that can't be corrected. Daisy may have at least some culpability in this incident and shouldn't automatically be identified as "poor victim" just because she is injured.
          “One could not be a successful scientist without realizing that, in contrast to the popular conception supported by newspapers and mothers of scientists, a goodly number of scientists are not only narrow-minded and dull, but also just stupid.” - James D. Watson

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          • #6
            Re: Stupid Dogs

            The same thing happened in our family. I had a female dog; my husband had one, too. Once we were under the same roof, the dogs would fight occasionally. Over the years, the fights would get worse with both dogs taking trips to see the vet (A golden retriever and a husky, by the way). The straw was when I got caught in the middle once and ended up with stitches. After that, mine became the yard dog and his became the house dog. There's definitely no winner when it comes to dog fights. Separating them this way was the only option because there was no way either of us was giving up our dogs.

            The only thing I figured is that they were both single alpha dogs before DH and I got together. DH would give attention to his dog before mine, and I would give mine attention before his. Jealousy? Confusion- meaning they couldn't get their cue from their "alpha dogs" (me and DH) as to which of them was top dog, so they had to fight it out? Who knows.

            I hope you and your wife find a solution that works for both of you. I hate seeing dogs sent to shelters for any reason.

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            • #7
              Re: Stupid Dogs

              When we brought Skully home two years ago they got into a couple fights. Turns out that it was Daisy starting them out of jealousy. After giving them both a bath and me paying more attention to Daisy there hasn't been a problem since....well, not until the other day.

              My wife and daughter were both home when the fight broke out and both say that Skully started it. There was a storm at the time and I just think it was mostly the static in the air that caused it.

              (During a storm the static electricity in the air will cause a dogs fur to build up a charge and be prickly. Some dogs get very anxious or even panicky when this happens. Wiping them down with a dryer sheet will usually give them instant relief)

              The sad part is that right now my wife has a plastic storage bin in our bedroom doorway to separate the two (I keep letting Skully out of her kennel) and the dogs are being annoying about it. both wanting to be on the other side. Last night Daisy was laying down next to Skully's kennel. I personally think they miss each other.
              “I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority.”
              – E. B. White

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              • #8
                Re: Stupid Dogs

                I think it really ends up as to how much you are willing to do to keep Skully. Your wife seems pretty set on Skully goes. You're going to have to come up with a plan that your wife will be willing to go along with. If it were me, I would contact a quality dog trainer/behaviorist (preferably one who does both rather than focusing solely in one area) and meet with him/her with your wife and discuss the problem and possible solutions. An outside voice providing rear answers might be what is needed for both of you to make a decision that is best for Skully and Daisy.
                “One could not be a successful scientist without realizing that, in contrast to the popular conception supported by newspapers and mothers of scientists, a goodly number of scientists are not only narrow-minded and dull, but also just stupid.” - James D. Watson

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                • #9
                  Re: Stupid Dogs

                  Might be easier to keep the dog and replace the wife.
                  “I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority.”
                  – E. B. White

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Stupid Dogs

                    We have 3 dogs. Our 2 younger ones (3-4 yr olds) are about 60 lbs each. Most of the time, they are best friends. Sometimes they even lick each others ears and faces. But there can be jealousy. Like was said earlier try to identify what the triggers are. Ours are bones and toys. They seem to want what the other one has. So we separate them when they get a new bone. We have had a couple dog arguments. Never and medical attention needed, but they were mad. I believe it is very hard to have multiple dogs and never have an issue.
                    If you continue to keep your dogs separate you will never solve the problem and you will forever worry about what will happen if they get together. So my suggestion is to get them more comfortable with each other. Both of our dogs have had obiedence training. This can be very useful in getting them to stop during a fight. Our dogs learned, "Leave it" as a command . It means stop, drop what you have and stand still. This even works when our dog gets a stray bunny, or squirrel. Yell leave it and she stops persuing or will drop it if she already has caught it. Don't give up on your 2 dogs. They are a huge part of your family. Good luck.

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                    • #11
                      Re: Stupid Dogs

                      Originally posted by James. View Post
                      Might be easier to keep the dog and replace the wife.
                      Good luck with that!
                      “One could not be a successful scientist without realizing that, in contrast to the popular conception supported by newspapers and mothers of scientists, a goodly number of scientists are not only narrow-minded and dull, but also just stupid.” - James D. Watson

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