Help-advice for our two fighting female weims... (aggressive, training, rescue)

[brussell]

Hi,
We have 2 female weims who do not get along. They have a love hate relationship and we are just sick about what has happened.

Last week I was walking both and the dominant one attacked the other one-for no reason(that I could tell)...she grabbed her ear and caused it to bleed..it was a terrible sight and i was very upset.

today i came home and it happened again. both were beaten up this time...bottom line, i am concerned they might turn on our other dog...he just stays away from them when they act this way, but hangs on them when they don't......I love dogs and would not want to get rid of either of them or put them down....but i'm doubting if this is possible....

please advice on how to handle this...they are weimaraners and approximately 4 years old-both spayed-one is on medication for night terrors (non dominant one) and sleeps in a crate..the other is drug free and slees on her bed/outside of a crate....they are both rescue dogs...

thank you.

[Sam I Am]

They are not, most likely, going to turn on the other dog unless he gets in the middle of things. However - you do most likely have an issue - b*itch aggression is not to be taken lightly. The first thing you need to do is buy a collection of baby gates and get those two separated. The next thing you need to do is see if you can figure out what the trigger is, and sometimes you just can't tell. If you are totally committed to both dogs, which I hope you are, you may have to do what we called "the great doggy shuffle", where they are not allowed to be together without supervision and where one is blocked even while taking the other outside....never together. Even if they appear to have kissed and made up, it's dicey - weims are large and one person cannot handle the fight that can start.

I'd get me a fine collection of pie pans and spread them around the house and if one so much as looks at the other over the baby gate, I'd beat the thunder out of the closest hard object with that pan and do a very strong, very serious "NO!". Bang it on a table, a door frame, whatever you have to, but get their attention and quickly.

Their desire to please you may be your ace in the hole, but for now with everything so up in the air, the main thing is to get them apart and keep them that way until you can reassess the situation. If you have a good behaviorist around you might invest in some time there and see what their thoughts are.

The most important thing to remember is not to put yourself in harm's way at any point, and there's a natural urge to stick your hand in the fracas and grab a collar....just say no. An air horn in a can is sometimes a good distraction - it may give you that split second to get control of the situation.

[cleosmom]

Sam I Am gave you some awesome advice. You say you have one dominant dog, when in reality you have two and they are both trying to capture the Alpha position.

[riveree]

Originally Posted by Sam I Am

The first thing you need to do is buy a collection of baby gates and get those two separated. The next thing you need to do is see if you can figure out what the trigger is, and sometimes you just can't tell. If you are totally committed to both dogs, which I hope you are, you may have to do what we called "the great doggy shuffle", where they are not allowed to be together without supervision and where one is blocked even while taking the other outside....never together.

Perfect advice Sam I Am . I am doing this right now with my 2 females (one is a brand new rescue). Even when play gets too excitable, I seperate them.

Even if your dogs got along fine before, there's nothing wrong with seperating them now. It's just for a period of time and then see how they do later. It might just be a stage and they'll move past it......let's hope !

[_redbird_]

Originally Posted by brussell

Last week I was walking both and the dominant one attacked the other one-for no reason(that I could tell)...she grabbed her ear and caused it to bleed..it was a terrible sight and i was very upset.

How did you handle the situation on your walk? Do your dogs see you as the dominant leader?

I agree with SamIAm's proactive approach. Which illustrates YOU are controlling them.

Good luck and please let us know how things work out. I would be interested to hear the progress reports.

[Keeper]

How long have you had them? I agree with Sam, it appears to be a case of one showing the other who's the boss. Get a crate and put one of them in it while you are gone.

Rescue orgs normally require you to sign a contract stating you will return the dog to them if they don't work out. Putting a dog down because they don't get along is not the answer, weim rescue will take the dogs and find them a home.

[Sam I Am]

brussell -

do you mean you got the dogs from a rescue, or you rescued them yourself? I've got it in my head this was a private rescue, as most rescue orgs are hesitant to put two same-sex dogs together for exactly this reason...although I've got 4 males and 3 females, so go figure!

I would bet that Weim rescue is just like every other - full to the hilt and with a waiting list - and I will be honest, it will be your more submissive one that most likely would have to be rehomed. It is very, very difficult to rehome a dog aggressive dog. I'd encourage you to get with a behaviorist first if this is something you are willing to attempt to work through. However, if they've never really liked each other, I'm thinking this will only escalate in the future. It takes some fancy footwork to keep them separate - it can be done, but only if everyone in the household is totally committed to that strategy and on board with it.

[brussell]

Thank you so much to all who gave us advice on our weims...
We did rescue them from Weimaraner rescue of North Texas and we would most definately return them to WRNT if they weren't considered "family"....
we have made MANY changes since I posted this...our behavior has changed towards both girls and we now let Pippi know that she is dominant and let emmy know that she is loved too but not dominant..i swear i see relief in her behavior...hmmm???....we have used the spray bottle before so that was not an issue..in fact when i took it out they both knew i meant business...so thank you for that reminder...they are never together when we gone. They both go into a crate which emmy loves and pippi hates...but she will get used to it. I am determined to be a good dog owner (which means training and consistency) i love my weims and i'm kicking myself for acting irrational at a time of panic....
so again, thank you for your time and energy....your suggestions and your good luck wishes! i will not let my guard down and will let them know that i am the queen now I love that!!
life is good in Denver with the Weims!

[Sam I Am]

Don't kick yourself - it hurts, we've all done it...complete with squawking and waving of arms...

Good luck - and you're right, consistency is the key; if anything will work, that will. Be careful and watchful and keep us updated on their progress as they begin their new lives!

[jadedSOUL83]

if you're crating the non-dom but not the dom that is just giving the dominant one more sense of dominance. you either have to switch roles, or crate both of them (which is what I recommend over just one of them) the one that isnt being crated probably doesnt respect you as much as you think she does, as she is going above your authority when she is attacking the other dog. This probably stems partially from the view of the non-dom dog being crated aka you're giving her less freedom than the dog doing the attacking which might be allowing the behavior to continue and the dom dog to respect your boundaries less. On a lighter note I saw 3 weims in the last 2 days and I just love them so much (not that I hadnt seen them before, but its just awesome to see them out--absolutely beautiful dogs)