Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi Pam/Guys:
This isn't directly related to Roxy, but it could affect her so I thought i could get by with soliciting some advice here. As some of you know I have three boxers. Kali - 4 yo female, purchased as a pup in 2007. Dakota - 7 yo male, adopted in 2008. Roxy - ??? stray came along in 2009. Kali and Dakota have always been great friends and have now been together more than 3-and-a-half years. Kali is the type that likes to dominate, but when Dakota came in, being 3 years older, he quickly showed her he was dominant. Kali also has the type of personality that she gets jealous. If someone else is getting attention you can actually see this dog sulk.
Ok, so there's some background. Now to the issue. About 2 months ago Kali started attacking Dakota. (Ge'Lena, I just felt you get a shiver) If there's a toy present, if Dakota's getting attention, and sometimes even if Kali is getting attention and Dakota is in the room. It's not every time, and it isn't every day. But once is too many. And on more than one occasion she has drawn blood on Dakota's face. When she gets irritated you can see her stiffen up, her tail tucks, she eyeballs Dakota, and sometimes she even shakes. Then, if we haven't already picked up on it and separated them, she attacks. Now Dakota, if he senses this coming, he tries his damnedest to avoid her, he won't even look at her. But once he's attacked he defends himself. Guys, these dogs are 75 and 85 pounds. The ONLY way I can separate them is if I grab their collars and twist so they can't breath. It's HORRIBLE! And I feel HORRIBLE! It happens in the morning time more often than any other. And these dogs are alone all day and we never see evidence of a fight while we're gone.
Our vet originally said that Kali could have a thyroid issue. But the more we discussed it she said it probably wasn't that because Kali will let our cats rub all over her face and knead her back (and they aren't declawed) and she doesn't care. Roxy gets attention and toys and she doesn't do anything, althought I understand this could change at any time. Her aggression is focused on my Dakota-Bear. Honestly I'm starting to resent Kali, and I hate that. But our house has been peaceful and loving, and now this. I don't know if it's related but...do any of you remember me talking about the black lab mix we fostered this summer? Well, him and Kali became great friends. They were always together. And the attacks started happening about a week after he was adopted.
So....any suggestions? My husband puts Kali in a crate when she attacks him. But I think this would only make her more jealous of Dakota. I'm so lost. And I'm scared worse things are going to happen.
Thanks,
Leslie
That definitely sounds like a jealousy thing. Have you tried giving her a little extra attention (when she's being good, of course)? If the fights are only happening when you're around, then it has to do with leadership. That being said, I don't honestly know what the answer is, but a trainer might.
We had a dog who used to "school" any other dog that came into our home -- at the dog park she was fine, interacted peaceably, but at home, this was HER turf and she wouldn't take any crap off anyone. If I instructed the other dogs to sit, and they didn't she'd get up in their business. She and I had words on more than one occasion about who really was boss, but she still was very much the boss of the dogs. And the only person that she ever really submitted to was my husband. (She and I butted heads up until the time she passed -- both of us were stubborn little bi***es.)
We finally had a trainer come into our home and watch our interactions with the dogs and their's with each other, and she was able to point out some really interesting things like who was actually starting the fights, who was instigating the negative behaviors, etc. And, surprise, surprise -- it wasn't who we thought it was. Her insights were well worth the $60 per hour that she charged. We were able to resolve a lot of the problems that we were seeing in a single consultation. Just being aware of the triggers, etc. goes a long way towards resolving them.
Wishing you the best of luck with your pups,
Micki
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~ ~ Rio ~ ~ |
I agree with Micki, it does sound like a jealousy thing to me too. Our non-tripawd, Finchy, is a Boxer- a very submissive one. The people who gave him to us for free pretty much abused him. It took a year before he would go near my husband because he was afraid of men, especially if they had a book, magazine, or newspaper in their hand. He's good now. When we were first researching Boxers to see if we wanted to put him and Chili Dawg together as brothers, I remember reading something about Boxers rarely being aggressive, but they could hold grudges if they start to not get along. Maybe you could try working with a behaviorist, like Micki said? We did that with our first dog who became aggressive, and it was successful.
Jenna
Diagnosed with OSA: 5/2/2011 Ampuversary: 5/11/2011 OSA returned in hip: 8/26/2011
Chili Dawg crossed the Rainbow Bridge on 8/30/2011 & is now pain free. He was my heart dog, and I miss him every day.
I had this problem with Tazzie and Kona. Kona weighed about 65 pounds (pit bull) and Tazzie was our 190 pound Mastiff. They both got along well with Loki (our male) but sometimes Tazzie would go after Kona and only if I was around. I learned that I had to supervise all new toys and I always fed them separately. Kona was the dominant female and she never started the fight nor would she fight back but she often started things by stealing Tazzie's stuff.
A consult with a behaviorist that can come to your home is money well spent. Positive reinforcement with a clicker or treats is very valuable if done at the proper time. Some dogs benefit from natural hormones such as the DAP collar or spray diffuser. Our local behaviorist sometimes uses drug therapy for these dogs (prozac and/or alprazolam) but only as a last resort.
Pam
YES! You did hear me shiver and breathe in really fast!!!
OMG, I'm so sorry, Leslie! OMG! OMG! It just sucks when this happens!
Since you don't have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from the fights like I do, then I would consult a behaviorist, like everyone said. I'm too far gone and cant deal emotionally with it when Cosmo and Rocket tussled. That's what my vet recommended to do but the flashbacks of dog fights were too scary for me to ever face them again. My biggest fear in life is having one of my dog's die from a dog fight since it almost happened. So, Cosmo had to get rehomed. Rocket is really happy now (and Cosmo is doing great too), so i have no regrets.
Before Comet came, Mugsy, my boxer/lab mix (the instigator) would attack my very docile chow, Snooker. My chow would always win the fight but never started it. Theirs were full blown massive stitches at the vet fights! The triggers were always outside if someone came by the fence. (we lived by the entrance to walking trail) I never let them outside together and Snooker would stay locked in a bedroom when I was gone. (she didn't mind, Mugsy would have chewed the door off)
I was lucky it didn't happen in the house. But my chow wasn't a toy player. And outside, I had to use the water hose on them. Even that started not working as well.
Someone recommended having a 2x4 wood board handy, so you can slip it in their mouth during a fight and they'll bite the wood - that way you can break up a fight without getting bit. I don't know if it works. But I wished I had something the day Mugsy and Dot attacked Comet. I pulled off both of their collars trying to break it up! I was helpless.
I'm just so sorry it's happening Leslie. It is horrible. I know.
Comet - 1999 to 2011
She departed us unexpectedly January 23, 2011 at the age of 12 1/2.
She was born with a deformed front leg and a tripawd all of her life.
If you have time and can afford an animal behaviorist, I would say it is worth a shot.
My Chloe was submissive around the other dog she grew up with before her amputation, but if we went to the dog park, she would nearly pee herself with fear or get a bit aggressive if we stayed too long.
Now its been almost 1.5 years since her amputation and its hard to have her be around other dogs at our house (public places, short encounters are OK, just some sniffing and moving on). Granted she is now an only dog since I took my dog with me when I left my parent's house, but I think she is aggressive because she is compensating for her missing leg. She does get along with another dog Bailey (who is very laid back and not super excitable) as of now, but in the beginning there was some friction. Basically when I am dog sitting Bailey and all three of us are together, I make sure no toys, food bowls, or any other "belongings" are laying around the house for Chloe to get aggressive over. I praise her with food and love when she is not growling at him like when she is on the couch and he walks by (she used to growl in this situation) or other situations like that. Instead of baring teeth, fur raised like a mohawk, and loud growling, she will only sometimes (mabye a couple times a week) have a barely audible grumble from her throat. The rest of her body language appears calm and comfortable, so I see that as a huge improvement.
Since Bailey is only a dog that is over sometimes, this has been my solution which has worked. However if I were to be in a situation where another dog were in the house full time, I would probably end up in a situation like yours and would have to consult a behaviorist. Best of luck, fighting dogs can be stressful for you and your pooches.
-Nicole
Chloe became a rear amp tripawd on 7-29-10. Another tumor was removed on front leg 2-20-14. Found 3rd tumor on neck 2-2015, but she's still kicking cancer's butt at age 14. Chloe's blog
After Shy died, the boys got into growl sessions to see who was going to be the next dominate one. My boys are Sammy 100 lbs, and Titan 160 lbs. It wasn't pretty! We kibosh-ed that by letting them know WE are the dominate ones, not them. Also no unsupervised toys, and make them work for their play time.
Example, if we are giving attention to one of them, the other has to go lay on their bed and not interrupt. When we are done petting the first one, we get treats and give them first to the second one, along with pet time and praise. Then the original one gets a treat when he is laying on his bed and being quiet while the other is petted.
I may be a softie when it comes to my dogs, but I REFUSE to allow them to fight with each other. Before we lost Jazzy, we had four dog crew, a rottweiler, a german Shepperd/rottie mix, a mastiff and a Newfoundland. All big dogs. Two want to be dominate boys, two want to be dominate girls.
I make sure they know, I am the leader, you will do as I wish because that is the way it is. It has been a learning experience for me because it hasn't been my nature. But, if I wanted to have these dogs in my life, it has to be this way for us. It has worked out well and I have learned alot from it. Even though our dogs are family and this is their home, this is my home, everything in it is mine and I will share it with them when I feel like it.
So, the boys get along great now, they sleep together and seem to be joined at the shoulder when they go outside together. When they are chewing on their toys I go and touch them and take their toys and look at them before I give them back. I feed them and have them go through a series of different things like "shake", "lay down", blah blah before they get their meal.
I also love them with all my heart! I had lots of trouble when we first adopted Titan, he was very food aggressive with me and other dogs, and refused to let me go in the back yard. Two different trainers told me to put him to sleep. He got into a fight with Shy in the first month he was here, and Sammy got several stitches from the fight they got into.
My husband saw the good in him, and though I was scared, Titan was only 4 years old, I knew he had lots of time left if we could find the good boy inside. He has it in spades, he is a wonderful dog, a wonderful wonderful boy. It took me learning the right way to deal with him.
I hope this helps,
Elizabeth and the boys
Diagnosed with osteosarcoma in the right front leg 8/23/10,
leg fractured 8/27/10,
leg amputated 8/30/10
http://sammyand.....pawds.com/
I couldn't begin to say how special Sammy is to us. Living and laughing with and loving this wonderful boy is priceless.
no much to add, other than we agree with elizabeth. when we first moved to ET, a neighbor looked at jane and gayle and asked 'who's the alpha'? i replied, I AM. it's always been that way with pups and kitties alike. i make the rules, you don't have to like it, but i control the treats as well. this works well and has kept scuffles at a minimum. don travels alot, and when he's home, they know they can guilt him into getting them treats or doing their bidding.... but, if i chime in, they just give it up...
good luck, boxers are lovable, but they are big strong dogs.
charon & gayle
Life is good, so very, very good!!! Gayle enjoyed each and every moment of each and every wonderful day (naps included). She left this world December 12, 2011 – off on a new adventure.
Love Never Ends
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