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Sbts Fighting


tesslc
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Hi all

Some of you know I have two SBTs - male and female. They had pups 9 weeks ago and immediately after there were a couple of minor scraps when dad got between mum and the whelping room. I wasn't too concerned as I figured it was mums natural instinct. It stopped when the pups were old enough to be introduced to dad.

Now they have had quite a few serious fights over food. Before they had pups they would eat out of each other's bowls. Now they dagger fighting when I am getting their food ready.

We still have one pup he will be going to his new home in August. I don't know whether that us causing a problem or if it's the girl trying to assert dominance but she's ended up with 7 punctures in her face this morning.

Obviously I will keep them separate while getting their food but I'm concerned this is going to escalate further.

Any ideas.

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I think your best bet is to get a good behaviourist to come and look at them personally. You've got a few complications going on with the pups, your girl becoming a mum and also that she would have been coming into maturity anyway. Given the seriousness of the fight this morning I don't think it's worth the risk of trying to figure out what's happening without seeing them :(

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Keep them separated by secure doors or gates and out of eye sight until you get this sorted. You and your dogs don't need to be dealing with fights and vet visits. And also feed the dogs in order of dominance in the pack to reinforce that. Google Gesture Eating too and give that a try in the interim. In a pack situation the Alphas (that's you) eat first and they eat as much as they want. They then decide who eats next (in order of heirachy) and how much they get so gesture eating is designed to reinforce that there is no competition for food between the lower dogs, that food comes only from the alpha so there is no point scrapping amongst themselves for food. It is simple and quick to do.

Others with the right knowledge will be able to tell you why this might be happening but you now have three dogs - two of them are males and the older male doesn't know the younger male is going to a new home and he just might be letting this young one know he is top dog and not to bother trying anything. Edited to add - even though your male has fought with your female this could still be linked to him feeling potentially challenged by another male and wanting to give both dogs the idea he is still the strongest after the alpha.

Edited by Little Gifts
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I'd really recommend you get professional help from a proper behaviourist..

Personally, I'd highly recommend Gaille Perry as a behaviourist veterinarian. It will cost you a bit of money but I really believe getting an appointment with her (or someone she works with) is the best way forward. They'll be able to recommend you a behavioural trainer who can help you assess the situation, implement management strategies and look into behaviour modification training.

Please, stay clear of franchises and unqualified trainers. There is an awful lot of cowboys out there...

In the meantime, I would separate the 3 of them before you even start preparing their food, and obviously feed them all separately.

The 2 adults are just getting out of puppyhood and reaching social maturity, showing their "true colours". Your girl would have had a awful lot of hormonal changes over the past few months too.

I'd be super cautious there's nothing else lying around that could trigger resource guarding (chew toys, sticks etc...) and keep them separate when you aren't around to supervise.

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Personally, I'd highly recommend Gaille Perry as a behaviourist veterinarian. It will cost you a bit of money but I really believe getting an appointment with her (or someone she works with) is the best way forward. They'll be able to recommend you a behavioural trainer who can help you assess the situation, implement management strategies and look into behaviour modification training.

Please, stay clear of franchises and unqualified trainers. There is an awful lot of cowboys out there...

I'd second that recommendation. Gaille Perry used to be in Qld... & was on the staff at the University of Qld. When a Brisbane children's hospital first introduced pet therapy dogs, it was Gaille Perry who was selected to do the sensitive work of screening, selecting & training dogs and owners. Only the best behaviorist would do in that situation...

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You need professional help as already suggested. The sooner the better.

Don't ever feed them near each other until this is sorted (if it ever is)..

Personally, I wouldn't be leaving any resources around that could cause a scrap between them - toys, bones or food/treats.

I would also be keeping the pup out of harms way - the last thing you want is a pup in the middle of warring SBTs

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Thanks guys - I will look into options available in our area. My girl is going in to be spayed on Thursday and will have to be kept seperate from the other dogs for a few days. I figure it is a mix of hormones, her growing up, and having another dog in the house.

The strange thing is it is her that starts the fights. She starts biting the boy's face, witout growling, but in an aggressive manner. The first few times, you could tell he was very reluctant to snap back at her, but this morning he was obviously over it, because he was a lot more agressive. :confused:

They are completely seperate during the day, so it will just be a matter of keeping them seperate in the evenings until we get it sorted.

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You may well find that they can never be left alone together again. Even with professional help, the best you are going to do is manage the situation and put measures in place to avoid conflict. An SBT bitch that has decided for whatever reason to fight can no longer be trusted with another dog.

Dogs posture and carry on, the signs with bitches are generally far more subtle, watch for them laying their ears flatter, twitching, licking lips, staring etc.

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Check through Nekhbets posts, she wrote something a while ago about how her dogs primary bond is with her and then with each other, I think it was in regards to introducing a new dog into the pack.

Triangle of temptation is pinned in the training and obedience section courtesy of Steve Courtney, K9Pro.

I find it quite effortful to be "dominant" but pretty easy to be the dispenser of all the good stuff. Jake gets the royal canin french bulldog food mostly because its quite big and moist and apparently tasty enough to be worth working for. You can go through a quick 5 minute training session instead of bowl feeding your dog, you should probably separate them anyway but making them work for food that only comes from you gives them a whole different attitude. Just stuff you can start on while you wait for a trainer.

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Check through Nekhbets posts, she wrote something a while ago about how her dogs primary bond is with her and then with each other, I think it was in regards to introducing a new dog into the pack.

Triangle of temptation is pinned in the training and obedience section courtesy of Steve Courtney, K9Pro.

I find it quite effortful to be "dominant" but pretty easy to be the dispenser of all the good stuff. Jake gets the royal canin french bulldog food mostly because its quite big and moist and apparently tasty enough to be worth working for. You can go through a quick 5 minute training session instead of bowl feeding your dog, you should probably separate them anyway but making them work for food that only comes from you gives them a whole different attitude. Just stuff you can start on while you wait for a trainer.

I wouldn't be starting on anything without a professional consult. What the OP needs is to manage these dogs to prevent any chance of biffo - completely. That means keepig the two dogs separate at all times. This is a pack issue, not a "training" issue IMO.

Trying to bust up a fight between these two will be difficult and dangerous - for owner and dogs. SBTs may be not be quick to anger but once in fight mode they are tenacious. It is virtually impossible for one person to separate two dogs hell bent on bloodshed and I doubt the OP wants to place his/her family members at risk helping.

I suspect there is a lot more going on here than competition for food. The dynamic between the two dogs has changed. I'd not be delaying calling in decent help.

Edited by Haredown Whippets
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yeah, this is not going to go away, and it will and has already escalated.

keep them apart, get help, not from a franchise .

get help and accept it may never be happy families again for these two.

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Good news guys - Took our girl in to get speyed this morning and turns on she's on heat! Accounts for her being aggressive!

We didn't realise as she has had a little bit of ongoing discharge since the pups were born (which, when we took her to the vets again a couple of weeks ago, they said was normal). She we didn't pick up that she was bleeding. She has been sooky the last few days, but I put it down to her feeling sad because one of her pups has been rehomed. It's only been four months since her last heat.

Hopefully that is what the problem is and once she comes home everything will settle down.

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puppies are 9 weeks old - and she is in season? That seems odd to me - but , being speyed will certainly put a stop to those hormones.

That's why I didn't give any thought to her being sooky. It works out to be 18 weeks from her last season. I know some dogs do come into season more regularly, but given she was eight months before her first season I thought she would go longer, rather then shorter.

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