Daisy attacked Baby!.... When will the fighting END!!!

[shais_mom]

shais_mom, our living situation is a bit complicated right now.. My boyfriend (Ebony, Daisy, and Tikeya) and I are living with my parents, and their Two dogs (Baby, and Oscar). I have honestly thought that we may have to rehome one of our dogs.. But we cannot bring our selves to do it. I could never give up Tikeya, and my boyfriend would never give up Daisy or Ebony.. Its just really hard. I do think that Daisy may pose a problem with a new baby in the future because she is so fearful, but there has to be another option rather then to rehome her. She is so young *3 years*. And I figure she would be to fearful to rehome anyways, she would never trust anyone. We dont know anyone who wants her, because everyone we know is affraid of her.

Having four large breed female dogs in one house, is really hard to deal with. The only one female that doesnt want to be alpha is Ebony. Tikeya, Daisy, and Baby all want to be Dominant. Baby and Tikeya have had some really bad, bloody battles in the past over being alpha.. And niether of them want to give up. Now Daisy is deciding she wants to be alpha too.. so now we have three females who are going at it... I'm so frusterated.

Reggie: There is one male dog in the house already, his name is Oscar hes my moms little Shih-Tzu.

thank you for replying to me and not thinking that I'm just trying to be a bad guy altho in my email instant notification I did see the symbol which upset me b/c I didn't intend to make you mad at all. Rehoming one of my animals would be like cutting an arm or leg off - I couldn't imagine - so I did not suggest it lightly...
you DO have a lot on your plate right now -
I didn't realize there were so many dogs in the mix - adding a male to the mix would just make things worse.
There's a person in market place I think that is a animal psychologist.
http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthread.php?t=130834 send them a PM -
it can't hurt.
and again I say GOOD LUCK.

[Catty1]

tikeyas mom - less expensive than a trainer. Nancy Efrusy - she is a pet psychic that has a lot of credibility on PT. efrusy (the At symbol) yahoo(dot)com

She should be back from holidays any time now. Her rates per animal are goo, and she is flexible. She will read first and take payment later.

Just email her a pic of the animal; she is great at getting a sense as to what is going on in their minds, and sometimes the pet even has a suggestion as to what would make things better for them.

Maybe crate someone for now?

[tikeyas_mom]

thank you for replying to me and not thinking that I'm just trying to be a bad guy altho in my email instant notification I did see the symbol which upset me b/c I didn't intend to make you mad at all. Rehoming one of my animals would be like cutting an arm or leg off - I couldn't imagine - so I did not suggest it lightly...
you DO have a lot on your plate right now -
I didn't realize there were so many dogs in the mix - adding a male to the mix would just make things worse.
There's a person in market place I think that is a animal psychologist.
http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthread.php?t=130834 send them a PM -
it can't hurt.
and again I say GOOD LUCK.

No, you did not make me mad at all, we have honestly been thinking of all of our options. Your right adding another dog to the mix would most definatley make things alot worse, I would imagine. We dont need 6 dogs in the house anyways, as much as I would love to have a puppy . Thansk for the URL link, I'll check it out.

Catty1, I mean no disrespect, but I honestly dont really believe in the powers of pet psychics.

luvofallhorses, Daisy is three years old, so she is starting to mature.. I can really see it in her behavior, she isnt acting as much like a pup as she once was.. she is alot calmer lately, less mischievous.

[Seravieve]

I know its so hard when one dog attacks another. We've had multiple instances where Zeke (we assume he gets jealous..) attacks Bunny out of the blue.. like she's walking across the living room and he's laying down. The next minute he has her pinned against the wall and there are little tufts of B hair on the carpet.. And He's also attacked Eli a couple times. Probably within a month or so that we got Eli.

He never does any major damage.. Eli now has three puncture scars on his right cheek but other than that.. not a big deal. Im not too sure what Zeke's problem is.. or your dog(s) for that matter. I'd just watch them more closely.. We watch Zeke like a hawk.. he does tend to give of a low warning growl before anything else.. so we usually catch it then.

One observation though.. Daisy could have attacked Baby because she saw Baby as weaker than her because she is confined by a muzzle. So Daisy thought that she could gain dominance, etc while Baby was 'weaker'.

Maybe 5 dogs is just too many with your living situation and the certain dogs you have.. I vaguely remember in the last Attack post that you had mentioned you'd be moving out sometime.. And that will definitely help end all of this stress. Maybe you could separate the dogs by baby gates or something.. Not sure what kind of house you are in.. but maybe one group upstairs, and one group downstairs.. Something like that so they wouldn't all be together, at least until they can get along.

I too agree that adding another dog would only worsen the situation.. why add a new dog to a group of unstable dogs.. that'd just create more chaos and problems. And I'll never resort to telling you to get rid of one of them.. It's like giving up a child.

Might just have to invest in multiple muzzles for a while.. =) I see an order for 4 muzzles in your future..
Im sorry that youre in this situation.. and I feel your frustration!

[Varga]

Have you read the books by Jan Fennell? She has a great understanding of dogs and it might help you to follow the advice she has in her books. Mostly it's about how you make small changes in your daily routine which make it obvious to your dogs that you are the alpha and not one of them.

It might be worth a try.. But obviously.. I still think a consulting a behaviorist is even better.

[tikeyas_mom]

Maybe 5 dogs is just too many with your living situation and the certain dogs you have.. I vaguely remember in the last Attack post that you had mentioned you'd be moving out sometime.. And that will definitely help end all of this stress. Maybe you could separate the dogs by baby gates or something.. Not sure what kind of house you are in.. but maybe one group upstairs, and one group downstairs.. Something like that so they wouldn't all be together, at least until they can get along.

Yes, we are definatley looking to move out ASAP. But, as of now we haven't found one place for rent that will allow our three dogs. Alot of home owners have turned us down as soon as they hear we own a Pitbull. I have already tried to seperate the dogs with a baby gate but, since we spend most of our time upstairs the dogs HATE it when they are confined to the basement. They just enmd up jumping the gate, or knocking it over to get upstairs. They are part of the family, and crating, or locking them away from everyone just doesnt really seem fair to us..

[Seravieve]

I totally understand having troubles finding a place that will allow dogs.. muchless three of them. And I know.. they do tend to jump the baby gate.. just a thought. We use one at night to keep the dogs upstairs.. but otherwise, if we are downstairs and we lock them up there, Zeke will jump it.. A behaviorist might help.. just seems that all dogs are different. Jealousy might have played into it.. and Daisy seeing her as the weak one in the group..

Sounds like you're between a rock and a hard place.. shoot. I have my fingers crossed for no more dog fights in your household!

[Catty1]

In Calgary, the Humane Society has a list of pet-friendly rentals; try your local ones. Having some letters of reference from your vet and/or a past landlord can't hurt either.


Also, how about placing an "Accomodation Wanted" ad? You can spell out your situation, offer references on the dogs (if you can get them, or offer to pay a small extra deposit or something). That way, if and when someone calls, they'll already know what the deal is with pets. (If the pittie has been with you since puppyhood, that's good to mention).

HUGS

[cyber-sibes]

They are part of the family, and crating, or locking them away from everyone just doesnt really seem fair to us..

Man, that's a tough situation, and I see red flags popping up because you are going to be bringing a newborn into this situation soon, too. The baby's safety & needs have to come first, even before the great love you have for all of your dogs. Could you live with something happening to your little one because of what a dog out of control with aggression might do? Look at what happened to Anna & Bon, she never imagined she'd get bit. In the heat of a fight, accidents happen. But, there are plenty of people on this board with more than one female and they get along just fine & never have a fight. I guess a lot of it depends on your dogs' personalities.

I hope you are able to find someone who can help you find a solution you can live with. It would be worth the investment. You know we're here to support whatever your decision is. (((hugs)))

[KittyGurl]

Is Daisy spayed? It is common for dogs that are not spayed/nuetered to become aggersive against other dogs.

I would recommend putting up baby gates to seperate your dogs so they won't fight. Also, give them the same attention, they might become jealous of eachother if you give one more attention them the other.

You should really get a trianer when you have a money. It will make a huge difference in your dogs' behavior.