Horrible start to my birthday.. :( Poor Kaedyn..

[Twisterdog]

Dog fights among your own dogs are one of the worst things to deal with, because you feel SO bad for the one that got the worst of it, yet you love the one that did the damage, too.

I just went through this exact thing last month. I rescued an ACD/border collie cross last Christmas, we found her wandering in a truck stop parking lot. Someone had dumped her. I had no intention of keeping her, but we just fell in love with her. She is the sweetest dog, but jealous and not used to other dogs. It should have been against my better judgement to keep her, but our hearts were talking louder than our heads.

We had a few scuffles, but nothing major, until last month. Then, my three female terriers ganged up on her, and beat the snot out of her. So, a thousand dollar vet bill later, she lived, but the aggression level was seriously ramped up around our house. We kept her in the living room away from the other dogs while she was healing, but that couldn't go on.

The vet tech who took care of her for her week of in-clinic ICU just fell in love with her. She has one old, mellow dog and has been looking for a year for the "perfect" second dog. Apparently, Karma was the one. So, I gave her to Stacey, and it's been a perfect situation. I miss her very much, but it's for the best.

I also found a home for one of the terriers involved in the attack. Same thing - we took two pups and their mother from a nasty BYB. Found a home for the mother, but my husband wanted to keep the puppies, "for the boys". Well, the boys are 15 and 17, and frankly could care less about puppies, they are into cars and girls now. I should have put my foot down, because from 4 weeks of age I could tell this puppy had very little canine social sense and was quite aggresive. In this dog fight, she was not just fighting, she was literally trying to kill Karma, she pretty much ripped her throat out. If I would have been one minute slower breaking up the fight, she would have killed her. Ugly. I gave her to a wonderful couple who own a ranch, where she can be an only house dog. Working out great.

So, I feel your pain very freshly. But, let me assure you, IF you do have to re-home your dog, the fact that all dogs and people involved are happier and in a better situation makes the loss bearable. Sometimes it's just the right thing to do.

[ramanth]

I'm so sorry they had a fight and hurt Kaedyn. Hope he heals up soon.

[Kfamr]

I, too, know how you feel. Nala and Mufasa got into it the other day. Moo's got a pretty decent puncture wound on his leg. I've been keeping it clean.

The vet wanted to give Nala stiches when she busted her lip, but I couldn't afford them, so I just went with antibiotics and keeping it clean myself. Turns out she healed perfectly fine without stitches.

Hugs to Kaedyn and Keeva (and Kai too!)

[Giselle]

HUGS.


Do NOT feel bad. When food is involved, the gloves are off and the dogs are crated. I don't care how many years they've been living together and how well they get along during all other times of the day. I don't care. When resources are involved, the dogs are supervised like a hawk/confined.

At least Kaedyn isn't a greyhound, or else you'd have this one your hands:

This was Ivy's first and only scuffle with Giselle, but she has had *many* scuffles with Lucky. We know what Ivy's triggers are and how she'll react. Is she sorta "not right" in the head? A little, but we know that and we made a commitment to her. She's workable and managable, and, for all of that, we just can't give her up.

MANY hugs to you. I definitely feel your pain!

[mr.chiwawa]

Hugs and kisses go out to you and the pup. I am sure all will turn out to be just fine in the end.

[binka_nugget]

The vet visit went pretty well. The vet said she only spotted one new wound. It was inside his ear, which is probably why he was whining. The other two I found looked old. One was scabbed over but looked like it was aggrevated in the fight, and the other was trying to heal but had puss and hair in it. She flushed them out and said they both should heal fine on their own. All I need to do is keep it clean and give him his meds.. he should heal up fine.

We did, however, find out that he needs a tooth removed, and a dental cleaning. I knew it was coming but again, I've been so caught up in paying past vet bills that I really couldn't afford to do this right away. It's not super urgent so I have time to save the $700..

My vets must love me.

[Lori Jordan]

I know exactly what you are going through,My Lacy and Molly have had there rounds at eachother too,Things are better now but i now know what to look for and when they get grumpy with one another i remove them from the situation immediatly.Molly and Lacy are never left alone when we are not here,I dont take that chance anymore.

I said too that i would rehome Molly but i just could not come to terms of not having her around.It has been months since there last skwable so things seem to be working out.

Hugs to Kaedyn and Keeva hopefully this is there first and last fight!

[dreamparkingspace]

Tatum and Shawnee used to fight. One of their fights once was just brutal. But if it makes you feel better, I've gotten the staples for Shawnee (as opposed to the expensive stitches) and there were no scars left or no spots where hair wouldn't grow back -- nothing like that. She heeled just fine. Also, Shawnee and Tatum haven't fought in almost a year which I credit to walking them side by side practically every day for the past 11 months. It really does help. I really hope everything works out well for you.

[cyber-sibes]

Oh, poor guy, hope he heals up quickly.
we've had dog fights here too. Very difficult to deal with, I hope you can find a livable solution.

[Alysser]

I'm sorry this happened, especially on your birthday. I've never been in a situation with owning two dogs, but I've seen two dogs fighting before and it was awful. They often sound alot worse then they are. I'm glad Kaedyn is alright though! =)

[bckrazy]

Oh noooo!

I'm so sorry, Ashley. What a terrible birthday present, indeed.

I really hope Kaedyn heals quickly and easily, and I hope this doesn't ever happen again. I think it's more about management than anything, and yes, scuffles do happen... just like with people! I bet Kee and Kae will kiss and make up. Now that you know they're iffy together, I'm sure you can work something out that prevents any more spats.

[AdoreMyDogs]

What a scary way to start your Birthday I hope you were able to have a nice Birthday, dispite the dogs' scuffle. I've never had a dog fight with my dogs but growing up we had a GSD/beagle mix, Keefer, who just hated other dogs. I remember my mom opening the front door to grab the newspaper off the porch (this was when I was a small child and we didn't know about dog training) and Keefer bolted out the front door and went right towards a lady walking her sheltie. Keefer picked up the sheltie by the neck and shook him. It was so traumatic. I was maybe 7 years old and I still remember it. I wish I didn't see it. The sheltie ended up doing OK, but his voicebox was destroyed, so he could no longer bark after that incident. How scary it is when dogs hurt each other. We love them so much and hate when they disagree and resort to violence.

I hope everything is starting to return to normal now and the naughty Keeva is behaving herself around her siblings.