[chicago7164]

I have 4 dogs, Midnight-12 yrs Lab/Sheppard, Cuddles - 8 yrs Black Lab, Otis - 3 yrs Dachshund & Misty - 1 yr German Sheppard. My oldest dog, Midnight has become extremely aggressive only toward Misty. They are supervised when left outside, but this past weekend it escalated into a fight which took myself and my son to pull them apart. The encounter left Midnight with a single bite wound and Misty with 3 bite wounds and her left ear partially biten off. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[german sheep]

ok, they were under supervision but I guess you have made the experience that dog attacks are so fast that the human is not quick enough to prevent the escalation respectively can see what will happen in the next moment.

to give a guidance is impossible when not seen in your home with all the occuring situations. Please understand that this would be not professional and maybe would make the whole situation worse then it is at the moment.

As I said in other posts: please look for a professional to home-school you where the problem appears.

LG
gs

[Marlene]

I think you have to observe the behavior of your dogs toward each other to figure out the aggression.

My father used to have four doberman before at our store. Everyday, when the store closed, two came down to watch the store while the other two are put in the kennel, so their duty time rotates each day.

Out of the four dobermans, only the two Gina and Jing-jing fought with each other. So my father observed them and saw that the reason why Gina hates Jing-jing was because whenever Gina was in the kennel, jing-jing would go over and teased her, like saying you are in there while I am out here. So this behavior from Jing-jing caused their friction.

One time, Gina was able to break away from her kennel while jing-jing was on duty and you can imagine the terrible fight they had. They wouldn't break free but hanged on to each other neck to neck with gnashing teeth!

To make the long story short, my father had to give Jing-jing to my uncle to save both their skin

Anyway, check this article regarding canine aggression. It is never too late to tame your dogs

Dog Owner's Guide: Canine Aggression

[leashedForLife]

QUOTE - excerpt
>> The late Dr. Harvey Braaf VMD listed the following symptoms of dog aggression... each can be a predictor of serious aggressive behavior.
A professional trainer should be contacted if the owner cannot deal with the problem. (snip 1 sentence)

If you think your dog is aggressive check the following symptoms
* Excessive barking;
* A tendency to snarl, growl, or snap to protect food;
* Overprotectiveness of possessions;
* Fearfulness in new situations or around strangers;
* Severe attacks on other animals, such as cats or livestock;
* Attempts to mount people's legs;
* Snapping and snarling when petted, groomed, or lifted;
* Frequent attempts to chase moving objects such as bicycles, skateboards, cars and trucks;
* Repeated escapes from home and long periods spent roaming free

=========== End pasted copy ==============

NONE of those are necessarily indicative of aggro!
a barking Sheltie or terrierist may just love the sound of their own voice - nuisance barking can become a problem in almost any breed or mix, some are more prone than others.

chasing moving objects? herding breeds / mixes will often do that, duh.
snapping when petted? how about PAIN? ear infection, hip dysplasia, etc.

======= snipped sentence: ============
>> In no case should the animal be abandoned to a shelter or rescue organization for adoption by an unsuspecting new owner. <<

TRUE - no one should re-home a dog with issues without total disclosure to the person(s) taking that animal in, as a surrender or as an adopted pet.

in some USA-states
it is illegal to re-home ANY dog with a bite-history, even with full and free behavioral history given; and any dog re-homed with ANY prior history of aggro, can mean that the *former owner of record* who had the animal at the time of the bite/event, can be held LEGALLY * LIABLE for any future aggro-incident.
U can be sued, or held criminally negligent, or charged with a misdemeanor or felony, for having re-homed a dog with a bite history... and it might be ten years later, and U have never seen the dog in all that time!


Q re the 2 Dobes -
----------------------------------
were both F? were they both intact?
bitch to bitch aggro can be extremely serious - most dogs fight over objects (bone, bowl, food, treat, toy... ) or a privilege (the sofa, etc).
bitches go to war over TURF -
there jest aint enuf room in this hyar town fer the tew of us, Daisy-Mae - i hate to do it, but ahma gonna have ta call yew out...
spaying as juvies (before 1st-heat, preferably no later than 6-mos and aftr 16-WO to avoid the increased risk of bladder incontinence) usually avoids most of the F to F aggro - Not All.


cheers,
--- terry