My dogs are fighting, advice needed.

justaskin likeyakno

Hi,

Before anyone gets angry, I have thought long and hard about posting this as there is a similar thread here.
Rehoming is a last resort for this situation but I feel it may be necessary for the safety of my dog.

I have a Jack Russell, got as a pup and still have her 4 years later. Nuetered bitch.

A Rottweiler cross that I took in from someone emigrating, she is about 6-7 and is in good health. Nuetered bitch. Have her two and a half years.

A Rottweiler gotten as a pup, nearing one year old and going strong. Male not nuetered yet.

So what's my problem....

The Jack Russell keeps jumping up on the old Rottweiler and annoying her untill she looses her patience. As you can imagine she never wins, she is currently nursing a nasty wound but will be fine and has had two trips to vet to be sure.

Now that we can see the signs of it kicking off we can stop it before it happens, but the last attack happened while I was at work.

The Jacker has almost died once and now we have to keep them supervised all of the time, when they're together. They are all allowed inside in the evening and and the two fighters even sleep together, They can be best buddies snuggled up and are asleep at my feet while I type. When I leave for work I will separate them. But I can't be there all the time and I am doing the best I can.

I am bringing the rottweiler for a full check up on Friday and to get her yearly boosters.

The young Rottweiller has now started aggravating the Jack russell and if they start fighting it'll be a disaster. Obviously the fighting of the other two is having an impact on him.

Rehoming my Jack Russell would be a last resort but for the sake of keeping her alive I would.
Has anyone any suggestions or am I fighting a loosing battle. I'd never forgive myself if the Jacker pushed it too far someday. It would make sense to rehome the jacker as opposed to the rotties as she is definately the one causing the fights.

The rottie is older and I wouldn't put her through another house change as she was a long time adjusting to her new surroundings with us. Normally she is very placid, sleeps most of the time and loves the heat, could it be a jelously thing with the jack russel as the older dog is normally left inside most of the time.

Whispered

I don't think you're fighting a loosing battle if they can be together when supervised. Personally I would worry about leaving a small dog with one so much larger when unsupervised anyway - I'd imagine in play etc the smaller one might get hurt.

I know loads of multidog households where the dogs need to be separated when unsupervised. One of them has outdoor runs which keep them apart while the owner is in work, then they spend the evening walking together and inside together. Then when it's time for bed, 2 sleep in crates, one on the couch in the sitting room and one on the couch in the living room.

Another has 2 dogs, a large one and a small one too and during the day they are separated by a baby gate between the conservatory and the kitchen.

It works for them. I don't know if something like that would be an option for you?

boxerly

Are they all neautered? or just 2?sorry if I read it ars* ways :)Would training classes with the 2 who are fighting be an option?.Are they getting enough exercise?Not a nice situation to be in :(hope it all works out x


I also have baby gates would be lost without them :)have 2 cats aswell

RichieO

You can learn all you need to know about dogs here.....http://www.cesarsway.com/

Watching every one of these programmes should be mandatory, for anyone even considering getting a dog!

Read this first.... http://www.cesarsway.com/dog-training/the-basics/How-to-Be-Calm-and-Assertive

doubter

sounds to me like a bit of a ranking spat..the *new* boy is reaching sexual maturity, would recommend neutering as soon as possible to keep the hormones at bay.I've 6 dogs, and my 2 girls have regular spats with each other, which can result in a bitten tongue or a ripped ear..nothing too serious. But they are equally matched. I do keep them separate when I'm not there, it's just the safest way.An option would also be to crate the JRT while your gone, if I recall correctly she's there the longest and trying to stand her ground. If they don't fight when you as a packleader are there, it is quite defiantly a ranking spat.
Seperate them..JRT's, especially older ones, are known to be getting cranky ..

andreac

RichieO wrote: »

You can learn all you need to know about dogs here.....http://www.cesarsway.com/

Watching every one of these programmes should be mandatory, for anyone even considering getting a dog!

Oh god no, absolutely do not follow this person!!

His methods are cruel and outdated and i would never, ever recommend his training methods and you will find very few who will.

doubter

RichieO wrote: »

You can learn all you need to know about dogs here.....http://www.cesarsway.com/

Watching every one of these programmes should be mandatory, for anyone even considering getting a dog!

ewwwwww..not a fan of cesar, his methods are cruel. but thats of topic. sorry

justaskin likeyakno

I never though of the baby gate between rooms, I have one on the stairs.
The feckers are sleep side by side now. Sometimes the obvious just needs to be pointed out.

The two that are fighting are nuetered, the male isn't yet as he's not old enough. Vet said to wait untill he's fully grown.

I've looked into trainig classes for the rott pup but they never worked out logistically, I live rurally without much access to such services. Hence to rotties....got rid of some unwanted visiters.
The old rott would tell you to feck off if you tried to train her, that's if you got her off the couch.

What can anyone suggest I do myself in terms of training the pup.
He has a jammy paw and doesn't walk very far, he is the epitome of a byb, but I took him anyway. Lovely temperment.

Bullseye1

RichieO wrote: »

You can learn all you need to know about dogs here.....http://www.cesarsway.com/

Watching every one of these programmes should be mandatory, for anyone even considering getting a dog!

Awaits the condemnation:rolleyes:

I've a lot of respect for CMilan but he does not get much respect here even though he has helped a lot of people.

doubter

where in Ireland are you located..? there should be something out there.

justaskin likeyakno

We've addressed problems when we're there so I will keep them separated in future when I'm not.

I didn't see it as a spat thing and I guess it's so frightening to see it as a human you don't see it from the dogs point of view.

I've had various opinions on when to neuter the male, he is really hitting maturity now, peeing inside but luckily I am there to reprimand him/put him outside.
The vet said I'd find it hard to keep his weight down but so far he's ok, he's on a good food and exercised.

andreac

How old is the male thats not neutered? I have an entire male and he never goes to the toilet in the house. There is no reason other than medical reasons, that your dog should go in the house if he is house trained.

Unless you plan on showing/breeding then you really should get him done. A fully grown entire male rottie can become a handful and even more of a reason to get him done if theres trouble starting in the house between them all.

Have you any females that arent spayed in your house?

** Sorry just read your first post properly and see hes nearly 1. You could get him done anytime from now on as from 1 year they have most fo their growing done.

doubter

justaskin likeyakno wrote: »

We've addressed problems when we're there so I will keep them separated in future when I'm not.

I didn't see it as a spat thing and I guess it's so frightening to see it as a human you don't see it from the dogs point of view.

I've had various opinions on when to neuter the male, he is really hitting maturity now, peeing inside but luckily I am there to reprimand him/put him outside.
The vet said I'd find it hard to keep his weight down but so far he's ok, he's on a good food and exercised.

Rescues will neuter their dogs when they are 6 months old, I'm not sure where you are and who you're vet is, my boys were all neutered between 6 and 9 month and it did them no harm.Non of mine are overweight either, so if your boy is exercised, i wouldn't pay too much heat to what the vet says in regards to weight...just my 2 cents though.

andreac

Males and females will rarely have full blown fights and tend to get on very well together.But two females or two males are a different story.

Are you sure when the jack russell and the male rottie fight its proper fighting? You sure its not play fighting? If you saw the way my two rotties play sometime you wouldnt think it was playing,lol.

westies4ever

OP, id agree with others, its the female/female issue. If they can co exist peacefully when supervised, theres always hope. Could it be a jealousy issue?

One small tip, which helped when I got my second dog (he picked on my exisiting dog for a while), I always kept a full water pistol to hand. Any wrestling or play fighting which got out of hand was nipped in the bud with a quick squirt!

borderlinemeath

doubter wrote: »

Rescues will neuter their dogs when they are 6 months old, I'm not sure where you are and who you're vet is, my boys were all neutered between 6 and 9 month and it did them no harm.Non of mine are overweight either, so if your boy is exercised, i wouldn't pay too much heat to what the vet says in regards to weight...just my 2 cents though.

For larger breeds it's advisable to wait until they're at least a year, maybe even a little bit older as there is a significant increase in the risk of the dog developing bone cancer/tumours.

Here's the first link that came up, and it specifically mentions rottweilers at the top of the page.

http://www.vetcancerspecialists.com/resources/osteosarcoma/

boxerly

I got my male boxer done at 6/7 months vet recomended it,thought I was doing the right thing ((((

fatmammycat

boxerly wrote: »

I got my male boxer done at 6/7 months vet recomended it,thought I was doing the right thing ((((

Don't beat yourself up over it, you were following your vet's advice.

meow

Any chance they're fighting when there's toys/treats/food around?
Or does it all just take off for no reason?

You could look at getting a behaviourist in, but thats going to cost...
You could muzzle the perpetrator...
Or you could rehome the Jack Russell. I would imagine they're both quite stressed with the situation (as you are) and she may thrive in another single dog household. And although it would break your heart to do it, both dogs would be safe and maybe happier...

But if you're going to rehome her please don't put her up on DoneDeal or similiar, some sick people out there.....

LoopyLolly88

I had this problem with my jack russell & staffy,they were fine best of friends when we were around but when they were alone the odd time they started fighting & obviously the jack russell was coming out worse. We made them 2 seperate dog runs & kennels so when were not around they go in there & know they wont be fighting. When were with them theres not a bother on them,there both female jrt is 5 & staff is 18mths.

justaskin likeyakno

Hi,

Thank you for the replies. I think it's less of a problem than I thought now that I know it's really a jelousy or rank spat. The two of them are snuggled up by fire as i type. I'm not going to let them out together unsupervised anymore, just in case. Sometimes it's unprovoked and other times you can see it coming and intervene.


The young Rott is actually 14months, I checked his cert today. I'II be booking him in for a routine check and shots next week so will discuss nuetering again.

The old rott is having a full checkout on friday and if she is in pain or anything that's making her extra cranky I will know. She had a problem when she first came to us and lost all the pigment in her nose and mouth, that's nearly sorted now. She acts a lot older than her 6-7years and maybe she's just not able for the Jack Russel anymore.

Thanks again.

Bid08

ah I really feel for you. I have 3 boys. we got 2 together as young pups and then got another one 7 months later when he was 4.5 months. the lab I had from the start kept attacking the new pup (he hates change and didnt want him here) so after getting a trainer to come see the problem we neutered the lab made absolutely no difference at all. He would randomly just attack him for no reason for about 6 months (luckily the new pup was never hurt) he stopped and now they love each other, when we are on the beach they look like simeese twins running with the one stick in their mouths.

we just had to ride it out and keep punishing the lab everytime he started. we would put him into their room on his own and tell him he was very very bold. we found a great thing was putting stones in a platic bottle and rattling it at him when he started, they all hate that bottle, then I would leave it on the counter when he could clearly see it

I hope you find a solution