6.04.2011

June 4, 2011

White dog dashed in through the dog door looking distraught at the same time we heard Quinn's plaintive screams coming from the back of the yard.We leaped--me to the patio door and Steve to the kitchen--to get outside. YoYoMa had poor Quinn pinned on his back and was mouthing his exposed neck. Poor Quinn thrashed and cried and lost control of his bowels.

Steve shouldered YoYoMa out of the way and cradled the stunned gentle Quinn in his arms. YoYoMa crashed through the dog door and pressed up against my legs panting heavily. While Steve check over and calmed TOWD who was shaking with fear, I worked to calm YAWD, the aggressor, who was confused and in his blindness pushing hard to find some kind of reassurance. White Dog sat on the bed and softly growled at YoYo; Puff and Nuka stood at Quinn's side as Steve lead him in.

The boys have had moments in the past where there has been some bumping and shoving and trash talking but this is the first time we have experienced a full out fight. Neither of us has ever owned male dogs and this was a frightening moment.

The advice on line was all over the place...we should let them work it out and not interfere...we should exercise the aggressive one more...we should keep the 2 dogs separated. We understand that the new boy is just trying to find his place but the problem is that Quinn refuses to make a stand...to defend himself OR to put YoYoMa in his place. Basically TOWD just falls into the victim role the minute he is pushed but he is not content to be a subordinate dog...after each challenge he hides and refuses to interact and gets more and more withdrawn. There is not room in our small house to draw a dividing line.

We made every attempt to reinforce Quinn's position by feeding him before YoYo and by making YoYoMa wait for attention as Quinn is recognized. Usually things are passable, the two are not friends but they coexist in peace. For the most part these moments seem to take place when Steve is home and we suspect that dad jealousy might play some role but usually the fights do not break out over Steve or in his presence.

Right now the White Dog Army is shunning YoYoMa and I can see him laying forlorn on the floor down the hall. Quinn is hidden deep in the closet where he slept when he first came to us over 1-1/2 years ago and he refuses even Steve's gentle coaxing. Steve is frazzled and worried about what happens if we can't get the boys to respect each other. And White Dog and I just keep telling our pack over and over to have a little faith that things will settle into place...after all we have love on our side.

Suggestions? Advice? and maybe some Encouragement, too?

11 comments:

Brian's Home Blog said...

WOW! I wish I had some really good advice for you, but I don't. But I'm sure you can figure it out, after all, love conquers all, and the love is there. We're trying to get Sister Precious comfortable with the sight of us, so we can kind of relate!

The Slimmer Pugs, Kitties, and Mama said...

You are not alone. Any one with a multi-baby household has these problems. We have 5 pugs...and the little girls Lily and Mimi are the one's that seem to show these aggressive tendencies toward one another. We are told it is normal and that as long as no blood is shed to just let them find their way into the pack. However, we do break it up if we think it has escallated too far. So...no advice...but some comfort in knowing you are not alone.
Much love,
Mama Mindy of The Slimmer Puggums
P.S: These same girls that fight over territory and attention are also likely to play with eachother afterward. :)

Hansel said...

ohhh noooo poor quinn!!!!!! That's awful! :( we wish we could come cuddle him and make him feel better! i think that's the hardest thing sometimes with animals is that you want so hard to comfort them and sometimes- it just can't be done. We had an episode last night with hansel with big boomies with the thunder and i tried and tried to calm him and he was just frantic and i had to put him in the carrier so he wouldn't hurt himself or anyone else. Luckily the small space seemed to calm him a bit and we closed that door so it muffled the noise... not the same but just saying we understand the helplessness of not being able to calm him.

Tesla gets very grumpy at hansel- i means she will hiss and growl and swat and bite if pushed too far. We just use the squirt bottle to break it up and tell them each to lie down.

Make sure that you are not showing favoritism to either animal- because it could cause more harm than good. If yoyo is pushing quinn around, and quinn is really upset and you give him food first and treats first and THEN yoyo sometimes that can cause animosity too because he doesn't understand WHY he is not getting the attention at the same time. I know its hard but it could actually do more harm than good. I guess with the boys for now i would make sure that if someone is petting quinn make sure someone is petting yoyo at the same time. So he understands he is JUST as important.

I knew a girl that used to give her dogs these big bones, and one would take his AND his brothers and collect it. SO they would take the bone away from that dog and give it back to the other one. She didn't think anything of it. If one dog was on the bed the other would come and growl and fight for a spot, and they would remove the growling one and keep the other one. Seems natural right? Well it escalated the aggression and soon the dog started to really hate the other one- thinking it was favored and it started biting.

I don't know if this helps at ALL but just my thoughts as i remember little things here and there. I would make sure that the boys have no rank- no one is favored- no one gets treats before the other- both at the same time always. Separate feeding rooms might be good if there is aggression there, but that's all i can think of. hope it helps some, and please give our love to quinn. My poor quiet sweet boy. :(

Teddy Bear said...

Wow, we don't know what would work. Poor Quinn. We hope things have worked out or will work themselves out in the next few days/weeks. LOVE is on your side.:)

Love,
Teddy Bear & Sierra

♥♥ The OP Pack ♥♥ said...

Whenever you have a pack of dogs, there is always going to be some squabbling. Dakota could be pretty bossy but the boys both ceded to her. In your case, it could very well be that YoYoMa is going to be the lead male dog and maybe you need to be doing the out the door first, treat first, food bowl first for him. YoYoMa may also sense a weakness of some sort in Quinn. When we had two cockapoos here with Dakota and Phantom, both of the smaller dogs were old and ill. The black one was the one with no eyes and Dakota would pick on him for no obvious reason. Then when he was gone, the white one Shamrock was pretty sickly and Dakota picked on her. But in your case, the aggressor is the one with the weakness. Do you know much about his background to know what sort of pack he had then?

Just a thought, but could this also be connected to his recent neutering, the recent heat in the house, and his wanting to be superior to Quinn?

Wish we had more concrete advice, but hang in there and good luck.

Woos ~ Phantom, Thunder, and Ciara

TimberLove said...

Oh dear Quinn!~ We'll defer to the excellent advice already pawed above- sending lots of pawsitive siber vibes and encouragement to you all! We admire your willingness to take on so much! Be well furiends, and give Quinn a special hug from us:)

RA & Isis

Sagira said...

I am not really good at dog behaviors so I will not waste your time on advice. But just want to say keep your chin up and things will settle in...they have to, it is meant to be.

rottrover said...

The OP's offered some great advice. We might add walking the boys together or perhaps with White Dog. Mom's a big Cesar Millan fan. He advocates the idea that walking together forms a pack. A review of any of his DVD's or books might help. It's so scary when there's discord among those we love.

ThePainterPack said...

I know this feeling very well. Only, it's my girls that do not get along. Mya (husky) and CoCo (shep mix) used to get along until about 2 years ago. Now, they seem to hate each other. They can never be out at the same time or there will be bloodshed. The best advise I have read online is to begin walking the dogs outside, together. Help them build a bond on neutral ground. I have yet to try this, but it makes sense.

Sally Ann and Andy said...

Hi white dogs,
I don't really know that much, but I am sorry that poor Quinn was treated poorly. When big brother Mack was sickly, and Mommy really didn't know what to do; Mommy had Mack talk to a pet talking person. It seemed to help. Y'all did come in flat form to my party today, if that makes y'all feel better.
A one year old Eskie man dog,
Andy

Suka said...

hey White Dog Army,

Sorry to hear about the turbulence in your back yard. Quinn, I hope you are feeling better. It is a scary thing to have a fight with a brofur.

YoYoMa, I hope you feel better and understand that Quinn is your brofur and loves you.

Perhaps, as some others have suggested, YoYoMa was just reacting to all the events going on the house and in his life over the past few months. Plus, add the heat you are experiencing, and I can see where tempers would flare. Since YoYoMa is blind, and older, he is probably feeling very out of sorts with so many new dogs and humans around him, and probably just felt the need to lash out and announce his place to the World/the Pack/etc. Stress and/or insecurity can do that. I am sure being blind, and being older, is really difficult and adds to the emotions he must feel.

My paws are crossed that YoYoMa feels more secure and relaxed in his new environment and will not feel the need to be aggressive again. And paws crossed that Quinn can feel comfortable letting YoYoMa know that they are brofurs and brofurs stick together. :->

Good luck! Sending lots of peaceful vibes your way!

Suka (and K)