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I have five small dogs - two older Yorkies, and three Doxies. The Doxies are all 3 years old and female. Two of them are sisters. One of the sisters and the third Doxie like to fight. When they start, the other Doxie always joins in. This happens about once a month or so. The fights are pretty brutal and extremely difficult to stop. The sisters never attack each other, but will gang up on the third Doxie (who is definitely wanting to be the Top Dog in the household). The third Doxie wants all the attention and is very jealous. I don't know what to do about the fighting. At some point I will hire a behaviorist, but right now I can't afford to do that. I don't want to have to rehome any of them, but I am afraid one of them is going to lose an eye or get an ear ripped off (the fights are that ficious). I have gotten bitten pretty good attempting to seperate them. Any of you Doxie owners had this problem and successfully resolved it?
are these dogs spayed?
there is NO dog more prone to agression than intact females in a pack situation.
youve got a few options here but they need to be imediate as this situation could escalate very quickly.
1: rehomd doxie #3, shes obviosuly not fitting in with the group dynamic and causing friction, she would do better in a home where she is an only dog and can be "top girl"
2: hire a profiesiconal IN HOME trainer NOW...money may be tight but itll be even tighter if you have to head off to the vet with 2 doies that have torn eachother half to peices. doxie are hunting terriers, bred to go after BADGER, *badger are large and incredibly visious (think tasmanina devil vicious)* if blood gets flying there not going to stop with a torn ear or a fe little puncture wounds.
3: Crate and rotate...NEVER EVER allow the 2 opposing females to be in a room together...crate and rotate means you crate (or put 1 in a room) for part of the day, then the other part of the day that one gets to come out and the other gets locked up...this can be done in cycles (1 hr out 1 hr in ect) of in shifts (1/2 the day in 1/2 the day out) but either way the 2 agressors are NEVER in a room together.
personally as hard as it is, i woudl try and rehome the none sister doxie to a home with no other dogs, because even with intense training, theres ALWAYS going to be the risk for regression and youll still probably have to crate and rotate if you want to be certain your safe...
You are having issues with them asserting dominance towards each other... They will not go at it long enough to cause damage and never put your hand near their mouths if you are trying to seperate them. Good luck with it but I don't think you have much to worry about dogs are going to be dogs.
considering you seem to be a pitty person...this is REALY bad advice...
ive personally seen the results of female on female fights, and the results can be Deadly.
ive helped stitch up everythign rom chihuhauas to great danes after B*tch fights, there NOT something to be brushed off as something you dont have to worry about.
a TRUE B*tch fight is not just noise and farce...its REAL serious and can be dangerous.
considering you seem to be a pitty person...this is REALY bad advice...
ive personally seen the results of female on female fights, and the results can be Deadly.
ive helped stitch up everythign rom chihuhauas to great danes after B*tch fights, there NOT something to be brushed off as something you dont have to worry about.
a TRUE B*tch fight is not just noise and farce...its REAL serious and can be dangerous.
You are so right. These are not just little fights. They are VERY bloody. My black doxie has tons of white in her fur now where there was scarring and the hair grew back white instead of black. I have had to WASH DOWN walls from the blood.
All of the girls are spayed. They get in fights only about once a month and sometimes go longer. All the rest of the time they play and even "groom" each other. I love them all so much but I don't want to allow them to injure each other.
im sorry your going through this, its so furstrating when you "do everything right" and still have issues.
my female and my mums female cant be alone together if theres something one of them considered a treat around (this can be a food treat, a special toy or a person) as they get into it something wicked.
generally mums chihuahua would start it specially if it was a case of "your too close to my person") but my girl is twice her weight and not interested in backing down if someone else starts it. never got far enough to cause any injuries but had they ever been alone together and a fight start out, ive no doubt it woudl have eded in blood...
When male dogs "fight" in these situations its often macho dominance, generaly alot of noise alot of "serious" looking teeth baring and hair poofed, but for the most part, males will eventually back off after some noise and going through the motions...
Females however seem much more intent on serious damage between eachother when dominance issues arise.
might be worth keeping track, looking back to see if theres a common trigger in al the fights, was a person sat with them? mabe a toy or treats or chewies ect...
i definalty wouldntbe ever leaving them alone together unsupervised and id probably personally be looking into finding the one sister a single dog home where she can be queen bee (or a home with a neutered male dog as a companion, generally male/female pairs do much beter than female/female pairs. (even 2 intat males often get along better than 2 spayed females lol)
I would establish yourself as the pack leader and not the mother of the 5 dogs ,show dominance over the pack and dont allow them to fight. I had 2 male doxies that each wanted the role of leader of the pack so I spent many hours establishing a no fight policy to them and dont panic when they fight, grab firmly and separate and convey this isn't acceptable behavoir........easy as pie.......not!
You are having issues with them asserting dominance towards each other... They will not go at it long enough to cause damage and never put your hand near their mouths if you are trying to seperate them. Good luck with it but I don't think you have much to worry about dogs are going to be dogs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by htlong
I would establish yourself as the pack leader and not the mother of the 5 dogs ,show dominance over the pack and dont allow them to fight. I had 2 male doxies that each wanted the role of leader of the pack so I spent many hours establishing a no fight policy to them and dont panic when they fight, grab firmly and separate and convey this isn't acceptable behavoir........easy as pie.......not!
There is nothing here about being the leader of the pack, nor is there anything about "dogs are going to be dogs". B**** aggression, pure and simple, and it only gets worse. "Grabbing firmly" may grab you a trip to the ER.
Separate these dogs, re-home the 3rd dog, crate and rotate, do something - B**** aggression is very real, very brutal, and there's no forgiving a lot of the time.
Foxywench, as usual, has provided the insight you need, OP. I am not a fan of re-homing just because a dog isn't what you thought, but for situations where there is intense animosity present, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. If you can do the great doggy shuffle for the rest of their lives, I commend you and think that can definitely be an option....it just doesn't work for most multipet owners. It requires extreme dedication and vigilance, and you need to always remember that separation, even for long periods of time, can blow up in your face if you have even the slightest slip up. I've never had 2 females who were intent on destroying each other magically work it out, even with a behaviorist. The 3rd dog may do well in a home with another male or best as an only dog, but to try to integrate her into your pack seems to be an effort in futility.
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