Aftermath of a fight...

[Wienergal]

Well, Angie, my boss's most recent rescue girl, finally made her move to topple Farfel from his position of power yesterday. <IMG SRC="http://dachsie.org/ubb/cwmsmilies/cwm31.gif" border=0> Angie weighs 13 pounds and Farfel weighs 29, but Angie is one dominant little girl, and I figured it was only a matter of time. In the office, she ran at him and tried to take a toy away. The result...well, YOU know the result--mad dog fight! Terrible snarling and biting and hoopla. The only way we could get them apart was to insert a handy clipboard between them and each of us then grabbing our dog. No blood (it always amazes me!)--just lots of wet fur on the ears and around the neck. (The funny part of this story is that, once we had them separated, Arnold--the world's most omega omega dog--charged at Angie and snarled in her face. He's like the little skinny kid who follows the bully around....)

Both dogs were very subdued yesterday, but we figured today everything would be back to normal. We've adjusted Angie's place in the four-dog pack--she's moved up to second and Peaches (who just doesn't give a rat's patoot any more) moved down to third. Arn, of course, is at the bottom of the heap.

Well, things are definitely NOT normal. Angie is just terrified. If she can't be in one of our laps, she hides under a table or desk. She avoids Farfie like the proverbial plague. Farfie, on the other hand, always has a toy in his mouth when he's in the office. I mean, ALWAYS.

So here's the question: Will they just work this out and eventually things will be back to normal? Or are the two of them just going to maintain this uncomfortable stand-off? It's very distressing, really.

H*E*L*P!!!

[Mark]

Hi Pamela,

No, unfortunately IMO it is not over. Since the challenge was interrupted (it sounds like it needed to be) . . . there was no decision or conclusion to the challenge. I think it will happen again until there is a decision. It is very similar to the Top Spin/Duck Butter issue we had. The good news is that the decision could come fightless, as did ours. There were several instances where we had to break up the fight (we let it go to a point) before blood was drawn and then he (Top Spin) approached Duck Butter one day and she simply rolled on her back! The decision for the "big boy" was complete!

My advice, keep a close eye on them that they don't really hurt each other and try to let there be a decision. It's one of our toughest roles as alpha. Once the conclusion is reached, be sure to show immediate support to the top dog.

Good luck and keep us posted,
Mark

[pluto'slanie]

I have a similar problem with Shana & Pluto. She seems much more agressive -- he sounds like Arnold, very laid back. <FONT COLOR="Red">BUT DON'T TOUCH HIS TOYS!</FONT c> In the week that Shana's been with us, they had one really bad fight. I broke it up and both dogs backed off.

Now I'm afraid to leave them w/o putting Shana in her x pen. Having never penned any dog, I think she looks depressed. Oy! But I'm afraid I'll come home to 2 bloody dogs. Any suggestions for Pamela will be gladly appreciated by me too. Lanie

[Mark]

Hi Lanie,

I'm not sure seperation is the answer and understand your concern. Is there a "reason" that would trigger a fight, available to them when you're gone . . . like a favorite toy, chewies, etc.? Most times that a fight broke out here, it was triggered by Top Spin challenging Duck Butter via trying to take her toy or chewy, etc.

Sometimes though, he simply challenged her because he wanted the top spot. During the era of his challenging her, we did leave them all loose in the house together without incident. Since that one day that he cut his leg so bad . . . Top Spin get's crated when we're gone and the 2 girls are loose.

Things have been pretty peaceful since the pack found it's new order. http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/biggrin.gif And I know I haven't said much to solve your situation, other than to share what happened with our kids. Maybe we were just lucky.

Please keep us posted and I wish a speedy resolution for you & Pamela,

Mark

[Roxane]

Hi Pamela:
I'm not sure I throw anything valuable into the mix. Like Mark, I can only relate what happens here on the home front.
Greta and Baylea get along very well. Early on they had a few "squabbles", we were fortunate to be able to keep it from becoming serious. When they play we watch to make sure they do not get to a level where it turns from play to...
Going out the door, Baylea growls if Greta gets in front of her. In the house Greta growls if Baylea gets too close when she has a favorite toy. One growl and the other backs off. They are so even in temperament it is difficult to say there is an Alpha here. Very unusual.
If Angie still seems to be frightened then perhaps Farfel (being a bit over reactive) made his point, "Don't mess with me, baby."
(I think what Arnold did is hysterically funny!)
Imposing any barriers or restrictions may not be necessary since you and your boss are always around. However, if it is making you nervous I would wonder if you can keep them apart without having clients jump high hurdles to reach you?
It is so difficult to predict animal behavior, your observation would be the best indicator.
Sorry this happened,
Roxane

[Susan'sFreddie98]

EEKS Lanie! Sounds like Shana is the BOSS....so far! Poor Pluto, I bet he's thinking "How DARE she come into MY home and tell me what to do"!<IMG SRC="http://dachsie.org/ubb/cwmsmilies/cwm36.gif" border=0> Keep us tuned, will ya? Gosh, I feel for ya, as I don't know what I would do, and one of these days I may be in your shoes! I know that Freddie IS dominant. He could either stay as the Alpha, or become the Omega.
I would just try as much as possible to let them work it out WHEN you're at home, until the order is finalized. You just can not trust them together when you're gone. No sense in taking a chance on a bloody mess, especially for Pluto at his age, it's not fair to him, he's an old man.http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/biggrin.gif If he were younger and stronger, that would be different.

Pamela, yikes! Poor Arnold takes a lot of c**p!http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/frown.gif Do you think he was tryin to protect Farfel when he lashed out at Angie? I'll tell ya, this is SERIOUS business between dogs!<IMG SRC="http://dachsie.org/ubb/cwmsmilies/cwm31.gif" border=0>

Susan

[OwnedByChaucer]

We're in the same boat as Roxanne--our two little ones are pretty even temperament, and get a long pretty well, but it's like THEY can't even decide who's the alpha.

Chaucer, who seriously outweighs Gidget often looks like he's in charge, but she has NO fear. As Gidget gets older, she's gettting sneaky too--she'll distract him, or wait for him to get distracted, and then she'll "pounce" on his toys, or whatever he was playing with. At which point, he'll generally stand there looking confused. Then, she'll leave, once she's figured out he's not going to rumble with her. If he barks or trys to reclaim whatever she stole, she yips, runs away, and then comes back to chew on his ears and legs, which he always seems to take without incident.

Sometimes, he'll be trying to be in charge (mouthing her neck, humping etc...), and she's fine with it--to a point, at which time she lets out this very distinctive "yip" and he freakin' runs away

They are both pretty mellow though, and seem almost to take turns with it though...I'm still always afraid that Chaucer is going to accidentally hurt Gidget, since he outweighs her by about 12 pounds. (almost 2x her body weight). As a result, they play in their crates while mommy and daddy aren't home.

[Wienergal]

Progress today: After not seeing each other for three days, Angie and Farfel were better. Several times she ran up to him and kissed his face, nice and submissive, and later in the afternoon, she curled herself up next to him on one of the dog beds and went to sleep with her head tucked under his back leg. Farfel still seems stand-offish, and we can't let them have any toys unless we're playing with them, but it's better than it was.....

[Roxane]

Good news! Best idea in the world to keep anything they would fight over away from them.
Sounds like it's going to be okay.
http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/bounce.gif
Roxane and crew

[Mark]

Hi Pamela,

That's great news! It sounds like Angie has recognized Farfel as top dog (kissing the face is a sign of submission, as you know).

Hopefully their resolution is a permanent one.

Thanks for the update,

Mark