Dog fights

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#21
Thats why my dogs are seperated. Caza is alpha and Neeko started to change his mellow ways and has been "challenging" Caza. So they dont play together anymore. I really am not looking to break up dog fights everyday. And my dogs are big, VERY strong dogs. Neeko is almost 90lbs and Caza is over 100lbs (he's too big, it really hinders his woking ability because he is not as agile and quick as the smaller dogs). The last straw was when they got into it for no operant reason (I am ALWAYS watching my dogs if I am running them together) and Neeko just "attacked" and Caza being alpha decided to fight back. It took 5 people to pry them off each other, we tried to leash thing where we wrap it under their legs, and they were still holding each other, then we tried a water hose didnt work, eventually my grandmother said "scr*w this" grabbed a 2by4 and bashed them on the head (something that should ONLY be done if the dog's lives are at risk and there is no way to pry thm off). That fight was a fight I will NEVER forget, and lets just say I didnt get a paycheck that week (or the following week), all my money went towards vet bills. So now I dont even take chaces. Do not leave your dogs together unless you are 100% positive they will not get into it, the trouble isnt worth it.
 

Pharlap290

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#22
In response to oc_spirit:


I can't quite remember exactly what happend at the kennel since it was about two years ago. I don't believe that Diver and Shadow were taken down the hallway together; just one at a time. All the dogs were barking very loudly like they always do when new dogs come in. The kennel didn't say anything had happend like any fights breaking out. I don't believe any of the dogs were put together; I think they all had seperate kennels and seperate play times. I didn't think anything of it because immediately after nothing serious had happend. But little by little Shadow had become angry and growling at Diver. And the only thing that ever happend in Shadow's life that would even point to the cause was the kennel incident.

Shadow was actually from a family oriented breeder. The woman said that she wasn't selling the puppies for high prices (I think my mom and I only payed $300-ish) because she wanted them to be family dogs. He was always with his mom and before we even got him he was already potty trained. He was very sweet and cuddly from the very beginning. Diver was the one that was from a puppy mill. I'm not sure if she's a reputable breeder. It sounded as though she had bred before because she sounded as though she knew what she was doing and knew what she was looking for in the owners. No young children to be loud and tail-pull type of situations.

As far as the fights themselves. At first they were just to knock each other down. A lot of noise and spit, some fur. Then it got pretty bad. Diver has really soft skin, velvety fur so he is scarred very easily. He has bite scars all over his front arms, face, and ears. He's beautiful and shiny, but sometimes he looks as though he could be a professional fighting dog, which I feel so sad about. One time when I wasn't around my mother exclaimed that when the two rushed at each other Shadow got a chunk from Diver's head and the piece of skin was missing. Not too big; more of like a 1/4"X1/4" gouge. We took him to the vet to see if they thought it needed stitches, which it didn't. But the last time when it was really bad Shadow was trying to bite Diver's ear and got his tooth stuck behind more on his neck and I jumped toward him and took hold of Shadow's mouth to keep him from ripping and Diver accidentally snapped and got my hand.

I can tell Diver is scared but is always willing to fight for his place I guess. Because he always tends to shake afterwards like his nerves are going crazy and he can't keep himself calm. I feel bad for him, but then I feel bad for Shadow. I can't take sides, and I don't want to give either away.

It seems like both tend to start the fights. They both stare at each other and glare, bark and growl when passing each other's cages. Diver seems like he never takes his eyes off of Shadow because he's afraid of a sneak attack or ambush. Diver gets anxiety and Shadow is calm.

Yesterday I looked into ordering a greyhound-like muzzle.


Just to even try and socialize him without any risk to the other dog. I would start with Diver of course.

An embarrassing story my mom told me one time. She wanted to walk Shadow around the neighborhood and I guess one of the neighbors had a loose dog. He must have been a terrier size but my mom said he just Picked him UP! It didn't sound like anything bad had happend; he dropped the dog right away. But I mean, seriously! It seems kind of funny but then scary at the same time.

Sadly now, most the people in the neighborhood know now to stay away from Shadow but can approach Diver.
 

Pharlap290

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#23
GSDlover_4ever:

That actually sounds quite similar to Shadow and Diver. Diver had already situated himself into being the Alpha since he was older and bigger, but Shadow decided that he wanted to take his place. Diver never would lay down and let this happen. I often wonder if he's smart or stupid. I've been very cautious with the two. I've once or twice had them in the house "out" together. I tied Shadow to the piano and Diver to a La-Z-Boy chair and had the piano bench in the middle so they could never actually do anything. I think at full length they couldn't even touch each other. I set out a water bowl for both of them and let them go outside one by one if they had to go potty. I could see them start to give looks and start to twitch a lip. It sucks because now I've had so much experience that I can see the actions before the fight actually happens. They both perk up and hunch their backs a little, stepping forward slowly and giving little growls. I can tell just by the look in their eyes now what their intent is.
 

Whisper

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#24
I don't think this will be something easily fixed over the internet. It seems like you need to contact a professional who can actually WORK with you and your dogs. Think about seeking out someone like this who can oversee your situation 1-on-1 and help.
 

dojo

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#25
Juni got into 2 fights at all. When I was not attentive they just started fighting. Both times he fought bigger dogs than him (I think he has a size perception defficiency :D). We got him out in 2 seconds so nothing happened in the end
 

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