Pat
11-27-2007, 10:39 PM
My dogs (Sammy and Otto) had another knock down, drag out fight a week or so ago. By the time I got them to stop they were both bleeding. I was sitting at the computer, and I don't remember now what exactly they were doing. I don't remember if they were just laying around or if they had been playing. Anyway, Sammy (the dad) went under the computer desk. He goes there if he feels the need to get away from Otto because Otto is bugging him to play/wrestle and he doesn't want to, or he sometimes takes a toy back there. I don't think he had anything with him this time, but he was under the desk. For some reason Otto decided to go under the desk too. They were instantly on each other, biting, snarling, growling, etc. Sammy ended up with a couple of punctures on his chest, and Otto had either a scratch or bite under one eye and a bleeding ear. I got them into their respective crates and sat down to make sure I wasn't going to have a heart attack.
This is the second time they've done this. I called my daughter and she came over to look them over to make sure neither was hurt enough to need a trip to the vet. She offered to take one of the dogs home with her for a few days to separate them for a while. I agreed because I'm afraid to have them together. They both seem happy enough being apart, and I think they're both behaving better separated than they were when they were together. They always seemed to feed off of each other, going berserk when we were out walking as soon as they'd see other people and/or other dogs.
I don't think I can bring Sammy back here. I'm to the point where I'm not sure they should be together. My daughter brought him over the other day so I could give him a bath and the two could play together a while. Otto was happy to see his dad, but Sammy really didn't want to have anything to do with Otto. Sammy wouldn't even look at him, looking the other way as if "I don't see you, so you don't exist." I think Sammy needs to be in a home where he's the only dog. My daughter also has two cats, and she lives in an apartment, so I'm not sure it's fair to ask her to keep him indefinitely. But overall he seems to be doing fine.
This brings me to my question. Since being at her apartment, Sammy has scraped his nose, and she said he keeps rubbing his face. She thinks he's lost some hair on his face. Is this a stress thing? Or maybe an allergy? If it gets worse or doesn't get better we'll have to take him to the vet to be checked. She called the vet today and asked about dry skin with the winter weather. They said to add 1-2 tsp of veg oil to his food each week. He'll absorb it through his skin. Will this cause loose stools?
One last comment. A couple of days after the fight, the scratch/bite under Otto's eye became infected. The whole side of his face swelled up. We took him to the vet and he's on a 10-day course of antibiotics. I know Sammy's face problem isn't a result of the fight, or at least didn't look like this after the fight.
Sorry for the length of this post, but I wondered if anyone has any thoughts. I'm feeling pretty disheartened right about now. I feel like I've failed these dogs after agreeing to take them in.
Thanks.
This is the second time they've done this. I called my daughter and she came over to look them over to make sure neither was hurt enough to need a trip to the vet. She offered to take one of the dogs home with her for a few days to separate them for a while. I agreed because I'm afraid to have them together. They both seem happy enough being apart, and I think they're both behaving better separated than they were when they were together. They always seemed to feed off of each other, going berserk when we were out walking as soon as they'd see other people and/or other dogs.
I don't think I can bring Sammy back here. I'm to the point where I'm not sure they should be together. My daughter brought him over the other day so I could give him a bath and the two could play together a while. Otto was happy to see his dad, but Sammy really didn't want to have anything to do with Otto. Sammy wouldn't even look at him, looking the other way as if "I don't see you, so you don't exist." I think Sammy needs to be in a home where he's the only dog. My daughter also has two cats, and she lives in an apartment, so I'm not sure it's fair to ask her to keep him indefinitely. But overall he seems to be doing fine.
This brings me to my question. Since being at her apartment, Sammy has scraped his nose, and she said he keeps rubbing his face. She thinks he's lost some hair on his face. Is this a stress thing? Or maybe an allergy? If it gets worse or doesn't get better we'll have to take him to the vet to be checked. She called the vet today and asked about dry skin with the winter weather. They said to add 1-2 tsp of veg oil to his food each week. He'll absorb it through his skin. Will this cause loose stools?
One last comment. A couple of days after the fight, the scratch/bite under Otto's eye became infected. The whole side of his face swelled up. We took him to the vet and he's on a 10-day course of antibiotics. I know Sammy's face problem isn't a result of the fight, or at least didn't look like this after the fight.
Sorry for the length of this post, but I wondered if anyone has any thoughts. I'm feeling pretty disheartened right about now. I feel like I've failed these dogs after agreeing to take them in.
Thanks.