Need help/advice - Gracie is fighting with Dallas

[VTbxrFan]

A brief background - Dallas and Gracie are both rescues. Dallas is 5 1/2 yrs old and has been with me since he was 2. Gracie's age is unknown, but definitely younger than Dallas. I would guess about 2 or 3 yrs old. We adopted her in May after fostering her.

These two dogs have mostly gotten along really, really well. Of course anytime two dogs are around, I expected scuffles here and there. Until recently, their scuffles were infrequent and only happened when they both got overly excited about something (like sometimes the doorbell ringing or a strange dog appearing on our deck). Gracie appeared to be the one to start the "fights" in these cases. We were always able to pull them apart quickly, and they immediately forgot it and would be playing again within minutes. These fights were loud but neither dog was ever hurt beyond a very minor scratch.

Recently, that has changed. In the last month or so, Gracie has repeatedly attacked Dallas for no reason that is apparent to us. He will be just lying down somewhere minding his own business, not even looking at her, and she just pounces on him. A couple of times we have seen a look on her face and in her body language indicating that she was about to and we have been able to distract her so the fight never starts. I'm very concerned about this because the fights are getting worse - Dallas now has two major gashes on his ears from recent fights. It's also becoming harder to separate them. Once they are separated, Gracie pretty quickly forgets it and tries to play with Dallas. Dallas is usually scared and will keep some distance from her for an hour or so, but eventually he gets over it, too.

I'm frustrated because most of the time they seem to be best buddies - they run around and play together, share toys, have no issues at feeding time, and frequently curl up together to sleep. I don't know what is causing this recent change. Both have been to the vet for a full checkup and don't have any health problems. I'm very concerned that one of them (most likely Dallas) is going to get seriously hurt. (Dallas is bigger than Gracie, but she's much more aggressive, agile, and quick.) I'm also concerned because I'm 7 months pregnant and it's increasingly difficult for me to manage fights - fortunately my husband has been around for the worst ones and was able to separate them. But of course he's quite concerned now about me getting hurt accidentally, and we are both very concerned about how we are going to deal with fighting dogs and a baby at the same time.

Sorry for the length of the post - I'm just trying to give as much information as possible so I can get some helpful advice. We love both of these dogs and want to make this work. I can't imagine getting rid of either one of them, but I don't want them to get hurt, me to get hurt, or the baby we are expecting to get hurt.

I would really appreciate any advice on how to deal with this recent fighting and put a stop to it. Thanks!

 

[sgbtab]

well it does sound like a dominance issue. I also had a gracie who was dog aggressive. and also her and mattie were always best friends before the aggressive issues came up. and I will tell you that for me I tried everything I could to help gracie and keep mattie safe. it seemed that every fight was worse then the one before. I have written some threads on this same thing. in the begining it was a fight here and there but before I knew what hit me it became almost a daily thing. I would have to keep them apart all the time.if one was in the back yard the other was in the house and if both were inside one was on the other side of a gate. you need a behaviorist to help you. I was trying to find one when the biggest fight broke out. so all I can say is keep them apart as much as possible. the fights will get worse. don't take any chance's I don't mean to sound so doom and glume but gracie being gone is still fresh in my memory. I wish you luck and keep me posted. and if I think of anything I will post you.

 

[Julie P.]

I know how hard it is....

I had a boxer that was dog aggressive. At first, he seemed friendly to other dogs then, something would happen between him and another dog that would make him snap. I was not always strong enough break-up the fights between the dogs and most always had to get help.

Anyway, if my boy reunited with the other dog the fight got worse. I contacted a trainer she did not give me hope. She said that each time I broke-up the fight the two dogs would remember where they left off. When they reunited again they would start fighting right where they left off. Their previous fight was in their memory as if it had just happen even if a lot of time past by. She also said it would get worse and worse until one died; they would fight until death. At first, I did not believe her until I actually saw the fighting progress into horrible vicious fights.

I tried to keep the dogs separated but it was so hard. (I was living with someone who had a hound dog) They seemed driven to seek each out just to finish what they had started. It was very hard to deal with and made me a nervous wreck. I wish I had good advice to give you but I honestly do not know what to do. I finally had to give my boy to a man who was stronger than I to deal with his behavior. It was a very difficult time for me and it still hurts to think about it.

I sure wish things could be different for you. I hope it gets better for your babies.

 

[BeckyNC]

Susan--what a bummer. I'm sorry you are going through this. Have you talked to a behaviorist at all? I've worked with a women who's really good. If interested, her website is http://www.dogdynamicsnc.com/index.html. She costs a little to get started, but once you are a client, you can call or email her at any time--at least that's been my experience. She was trained by Jean Donaldson.

I hope you are able to find a good resolution to this!

 

[VTbxrFan]

Thanks everyone. I know a behaviorist is probably the way to go. Unfortunately that's going to be really tough - I was laid off right after finding out I was pregnant and still haven't found work. That has made our finances extremely tight, but we'll have to see what we can do.

Fortunately the last few days have been incident free. It's as if none of the fighting ever happened.

 

[ladyluck_t]

Susan,

Have you read the dog listener yet? it is one of the books tulsa-dan recommends for aggression issues. it might help, i had the same problem with my last foster except he was the one that attacked. and the dog listener helped so much that my katie girl doesnt need to be in her crate any more.

Good Luck

 

[VTbxrFan]

I have read the dog listener, but it's been a while. Maybe I'll read it again.

 

[Aimee]

We had this same problem with Lexi and Baxter. Lexi would attack Baxter everyday for what appeared no apparent reason. Sometimes we could catch her and prevent it but most of the time it was pretty quick. We also had this problem with Lexi and Dusty. Obviously, is was typically Lexi starting the fights. I can tell that we all live harmoniously now without a fight in over a year. But it doesn't happen on it's own. You will have to work to make it work.

First and foremost you have to go back to basics and establish yourself as the alpha. This is what is typically lacking in most of these types of situations. In order to establish yourself as alpha, you must control everything. This is very similar to the nothing in life is free program if you are familiar with that. Everything is earned. Toys are earned, treats are earned, food is earned. Your attention must be earned. Also at feeding time, it is important that you enforce your rank. Put both dogs in a sit stay and then you give the release command when they can eat (they cannot be free fed). I also found the recommendation of ignoring both dogs when you first get home and then acknowledge them once they have settled and you have called them to you to be extremely helpful. The Dog Listener was a great resource for us as was a pamphlet about managing a multidog household. (Can check on both of these at home if need more information on them). I also keep a can of Direct Stop (citronella spray) made by premier on hand. It is an excellent tool to break up/stop fighting. Mine are familiar with the can so if I get it out, they know I mean business. Prevention is far better in our household! Good luck and if I can be of further help, let me know!

Aimee

 

[VTbxrFan]

Thanks Aimee. We have started doing more of the "nothing in life is free" stuff lately and trying to make it very clear to both dogs that we are the alphas. I'm sure it's too soon to say for sure if it's helping, but at least there have not been any fights in the last few days. Somewhere around here I have a book on managing multi-dog households. I need to pull it out and read it again. I don't really remember much of what it said the first time I read it since I wasn't having any problems then.

Where do you get the direct stop? That sounds like something I should have on hand.

 

[ulbsterx]

same situation

I am in what sounds like the exact same situation as VTbxr explained to start this thread. My entire situation is very, very similar and is explained in detail in my previous posts.
Our rescue Sugar is the instigator. There had been no fights at all for a very long time. They had one in Jan and then one about a month ago. Both times, my husband was here and we were able to sep. them. Two wks ago, I was in the yard and they started fighting. It was different from previous fights and there was blood. It took everything for me to sep. them and they seemed determined to continue no matter what. After they calmed down, things were fine. On tuesday, they fought after my husband fed them (i wasn't home.) Again, fine until yesterday when everything got out of hand. They had a total of 4 fights and each one was much worse. The last fight they locked on eachother and we could barely get them apart. I took sugar to the ER for some minor cuts. When we got home, we had them sep. w/ a baby gate. They sniffed and wagged thru the gate. Then the next moment Sugar was back to her staring and posturing at Reznor thru the gate and a fight would have been next if the gate weren't there. We have been working on this for over a year using trainors, books, this site and any other advice that we could find. I am at the end because each fight is worse and they really seem like they would fight to the death. It is just like someone else said...they seem to start the new fight where the old one left off so that each one is much worse and much more violent.
What do you do when everyone has been injured (especially myself pretty badly) and you can't feel comfortable in your home? I don't want to give up but I can't stand to have someone that I love hurt. The main problem now is that their sep. w/ the gate is making them both very stressed out and seems to be making the general atmosphere worse. I don't know what else to do.
To everyone else on this thread, I understand how horrible this is and I wish all of you luck. I look forward to any advice.
Thank you.