UGH... I'm at my wit's end!!!

[ddnene]

Many of you know about my issues w/Wally & Willow... they aren't exactly the BEST of friends, but honestly things had gotten MUCH better the last couple of months until 2 days ago.

We went for a walk, and I had both of them on their own leash... AND we walk by dogs barking in their own fenced yard. NORMALLY I have to keep an eye on Willow because she gets agitated and goes after Walter... this has happened when someone is petting them, or if another dog is around. THIS time Walter went after Willow... and they both are fighting which lasted a good 5 minutes while I'm desperately trying to get them away from each other while keeping myself from getting bit. They finally stop after I'm yelling my head off that I'm going to beat the living out of BOTH of them!!! We get home, and they're fine... and seriously are acting like nothing happened, just a normal walk

What should I do at this point?!! I can walk them separately or make sure someone else walks with me to definitely keep them separated. This just sucks because I don't understand what starts this damn madness... Ugh!!!

 

[oscarmayer]

It seems to me that Willow is jealous of Walter getting any attention...and now Walter has had enough of her BS. Walk them separately thereby eliminating any situational trigger...and ensuring that you do not, again, get caught in a dog fight that injures you and/or your kids, doggy kids.
I'm confident that this will get worse unless you intervene. We've never seen this happen on a lead while walking but we always keep moving and we are 2 people with 2 dogs.
It may also be that you(unbeknownst) are losing some of your Alpha control and THEY are vying for it.

 

[helsonwheels]

Try walking but with someone else. Like that easier to control n discipline if they get at each other. Hard to split up 2 bullies fighting. I’ve been there with Jake n Nyala. I would grab Jake as if I raise my voice it’s Nyala that’s going to listen. I basically grabbed the harder head.

 

[ddnene]

It seems to me that Willow is jealous of Walter getting any attention...and now Walter has had enough of her BS. Walk them separately thereby eliminating any situational trigger...and ensuring that you do not, again, get caught in a dog fight that injures you and/or your kids, doggy kids.
I'm confident that this will get worse unless you intervene. We've never seen this happen on a lead while walking but we always keep moving and we are 2 people with 2 dogs.
It may also be that you(unbeknownst) are losing some of your Alpha control and THEY are vying for it.

I totally agree w/you, Wally has HAD enough... and I agree that I may be seriously losing control. Any advice on how to remedy this?!!

 

[Cbrugs]

I agree with walking them separately. Jax and Louie are fine together walking on the double lead but if we go to events or anywhere with people gathering, I have to keep them separate because the moment Jax gets attention, Louie loses his **** and acts like an a$$hole and will start lunging at the person. So then Anthony will usually have Jax and I will have Louie in those instances.

 

[cefe13]

Sorry to hear this and being a single-bully-mom I have no experience or advice to offer, but I guess that if you are to train them to not fight in such situations, you need to take them out together. Having someone with you sounds like the way to go.

 

[oscarmayer]

There may no way to train this behavior out of them. I'm thinking that this behavior has grown to where it is over a long period of time. That said, I would never suggest that you not try training...just be prepared for what may end up being disappointing results and a lifetime of management. I sincerely hope I'm wrong with my guesswork.

If we had this scenario we would knock them down a few notches...like all the way to the bottom. No furniture, no bed, no chew toys, no interaction together, more time in the kennel, short leads attached to both of them ALWAYS. They eat, drink, go in their kennel, poop, pee, walk...not necessarily in that order when we want them to and that's it...until they have earned the privilege to do something they want. Sounds a little harsh, eh? It is...but necessary for you to gain complete control.

We run a very structured home in regards to the dogs but we are, at present, blessed with 4 really good dogs. The only one that gets out of order is Zoey. We call her "the fun police". Whenever any of the other 3 start getting fired up playing around, here comes Zoey. As soon as I see her moving in I yell, "Go to bed, Zoey!...and she promptly does a U-turn and goes to her kennel. It's over that quick. She's been trained to respond to that default command. She could be eating breakfast and in the middle of it I could tell her that and she'd do it. The default behavior command has prevented many altercations.

 

[Dollys Owner]

I had the same problem with my 2 bulldogs, couldn't overcome it, it just got worse over time, and rehomed the newer one. So be tough to be kind, like [MENTION=15364]oscarmayer[/MENTION] advised.

In news today a French bulldog mauled his new adopted owner to death. He had been bred for fighting in a ring. These dogs can be tough !

https://globalnews.ca/news/6937575/french-bulldog-woman-mauled/

 

[2BullyMama]

Agree... separate walks, and rebuild the alpha as Chip has suggested


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[ddnene]

There may no way to train this behavior out of them. I'm thinking that this behavior has grown to where it is over a long period of time. That said, I would never suggest that you not try training...just be prepared for what may end up being disappointing results and a lifetime of management. I sincerely hope I'm wrong with my guesswork.

If we had this scenario we would knock them down a few notches...like all the way to the bottom. No furniture, no bed, no chew toys, no interaction together, more time in the kennel, short leads attached to both of them ALWAYS. They eat, drink, go in their kennel, poop, pee, walk...not necessarily in that order when we want them to and that's it...until they have earned the privilege to do something they want. Sounds a little harsh, eh? It is...but necessary for you to gain complete control.

We run a very structured home in regards to the dogs but we are, at present, blessed with 4 really good dogs. The only one that gets out of order is Zoey. We call her "the fun police". Whenever any of the other 3 start getting fired up playing around, here comes Zoey. As soon as I see her moving in I yell, "Go to bed, Zoey!...and she promptly does a U-turn and goes to her kennel. It's over that quick. She's been trained to respond to that default command. She could be eating breakfast and in the middle of it I could tell her that and she'd do it. The default behavior command has prevented many altercations.

I have NEVER had this issue before, BUT truth be told... I've never had 2 bulldogs before. My boxer Roxie got along w/everyone... so of course things were smooth sailing with our female bulldog Bella.

I've had a trainer involved twice for Walter, and he knows when to leave the room and go to the bedroom... and he will do it on command. I honestly think that he's just tired of Willow's SH*& and I can pretty much predict when Willow gets started, but now w/him it's a mixed bag. I know the triggers... strangers in the house, the doorbell and obviously other dogs barking in their fenced yards!!!

I think MY mistake was thinking that this was resolved... they hadn't had a fight in a very long time. I let my guard down, and they totally took advantage of it.

Here's my question though... WHO should I put in the crate? Whichever one starts it?!! Before it was always Willow, but NOW after the other day I'm not sure... Walter went after Willow.

 

[ddnene]

I had the same problem with my 2 bulldogs, couldn't overcome it, it just got worse over time, and rehomed the newer one. So be tough to be kind, like @oscarmayer advised.

In news today a French bulldog mauled his new adopted owner to death. He had been bred for fighting in a ring. These dogs can be tough !

https://globalnews.ca/news/6937575/french-bulldog-woman-mauled/

View attachment 119093

Believe me it HAS crossed my mind to rehome... I refuse to let anyone get bit, we had an incident 2 summer's ago and I completely lost it w/both of them!!! Personally I think that Walter would be MUCH happier alone... and we got Willow as his companion. Ugh... so frustrating.

 

[oscarmayer]

Here's my question though... WHO should I put in the crate?

When you brought Willow into the fold you had the best intentions in mind...that's a good, no, that's a great thing. Unfortunately, it doesn't always work out as we hope, expect. Behavior like you are experiencing can upset the whole family dynamic and sometimes drastic measures must be taken. The first steps you take toward resolution should be about protecting people from injury...that's you, your family, and anyone else that might come in contact with your bully kids. Once someone gets bit...that changes everything. Should it come down to re-homing...You do not want to try to re-home any dog that has bitten a human, by accident or not. Reputable rescue groups will not take a known biter...the liability is simply to great. Willow may need to be in a single dog home. I can tell you from lots of experience...the choice to re-home is very difficult but often for the best.

Who to put in the crate???...The one acting out as Alpha the most is the one needing AA...(Alphatude Adjustment). Yes, I just made that up...Google it...nothing comes up. :D

 

[cefe13]

I had the same problem with my 2 bulldogs, couldn't overcome it, it just got worse over time, and rehomed the newer one. So be tough to be kind, like @oscarmayer advised.

In news today a French bulldog mauled his new adopted owner to death. He had been bred for fighting in a ring. These dogs can be tough !

https://globalnews.ca/news/6937575/french-bulldog-woman-mauled/

View attachment 119093

I read about that. Absolutely terrifying. She had several dogs, apparently, and I wonder which one did it. The other dog looked more like an EB. There is a clip from CNN in a Swedish paper but I cannot find it on CNN. Hopefully you can access it here https://www.expressen.se/tv/nyheter/kvinna-dodad-av-sin-egen-hund-grym-attack/ The other dog comes in at 0:55.

 

[Dollys Owner]

I read about that. Absolutely terrifying. She had several dogs, apparently, and I wonder which one did it. The other dog looked more like an EB. There is a clip from CNN in a Swedish paper but I cannot find it on CNN. Hopefully you can access it here https://www.expressen.se/tv/nyheter/kvinna-dodad-av-sin-egen-hund-grym-attack/ The other dog comes in at 0:55.

Blue, the bulldog that killed her, was a Shorty bulldog who was raised to fight. He weighed about 55 pounds, so in no way was he a French bulldog. Shorty bulldogs are supposed to be a mix of English bulldogs and French bulldogs and Staffordshire bull terriers etc. but mainly no boston terrier or pug in them. The discerning part is that the other bulldog also had blood on him, so he was either curious or also attacked his master. There's no way a French bulldog would attacks its master so that makes me think it was either curious, or was also a dog fighting ring rescue. The border collie had no blood on it.
[MENTION=15310]helsonwheels[/MENTION] Is Nyala a Shorty bulldog ? I can't remember what you classified her as.

https://people.com/crime/woman-killed-by-french-bulldog/

 

[Hankster]

I had the same problem with my 2 bulldogs, couldn't overcome it, it just got worse over time, and rehomed the newer one. So be tough to be kind, like [MENTION=15364]oscarmayer[/MENTION] advised.

In news today a French bulldog mauled his new adopted owner to death. He had been bred for fighting in a ring. These dogs can be tough !

https://globalnews.ca/news/6937575/french-bulldog-woman-mauled/

View attachment 119093

wow!! what do you think????? It would be so sad if that dog fought of a neighbor dog to save owner and in the mist of it got blood on it. Dang sad story