How not to start your Saturday morning

[TWISTEDWILLOW]

pre warning images at the bottom are not for the weak of stomach, turn back now!!

So my wife took our Aussie to the groomer yesterday because he was pretty raggy and needed a bath an a haircut,

in all the years since we’ve had em there has never been a single issue between our dogs

But when he arrived home yesterday afternoon one of the other dogs didn’t recognize him an attacked him right outta the gate for some stupid reason,

I got em broke apart but they tore each other to pieces before I could get them drug apart

We kept the Aussie in the house all night to let them both cool down and give ‘em time 

this morning it was time to let him out to do his business, so both me an ash kept em apart to try an re introduce them slowly an avoid another fight

it worked for about 20 minutes then the one broke free an attacked the other…

I hadn’t got dressed in jeans an boots yet for the day so I was still wearing pjs an I was barefoot…(yes I shoulda known better)

anyways all xxxx broke loose, blood an fur flying everywhere… ash was screaming bloody murder an crying… max had woke up in the house an was watchin everything through the window screaming for me an crying…

an I was tryin to pull them apart again… the fight turned around an before I got out of the way my leg was smack dab in the middle of it…

one latched onto my leg and tore me up pretty bad. I had to reach my hands into his mouth and pry his jaws off my leg… 

I got his jaws of my leg an hands then I limped over to the garden shed and grabbed a shovel while reciting some very colorful language…

then I proceeded to smack them both upside the head an pry them apart with the shovel till they let go of each other an I got the one drug back inside

I limped inside to take a look at the damage and ash went ballistic when she saw it so to the ER we go..

the doctor said it was pretty bad an it went deep an took a pretty good chunk off but it didn’t tear anything to the point of needing surgery, 

he stitched the front of my leg up as best he could an their putting me on some meds That I can’t take lol so I got to call an get them to prescribe something else

now we are discussing what to do with the one dog, Even though he’s been here for for years he can’t stay any longer, I won’t have him around max,

he didn’t mean to bite me but it’s to dangerous with a toddler in the house, We hate to put him down so we are talking about taking him to the shelter,

it’s a bad time of year for me to be down it’s my busy season so I can’t afford to shut down… ah the joys of bein self employed and not having any help! Lol

so now my legs throbbing in pain an I’m limping everywhere with a cane… worst part is I missed an auction at a HUGE machine shop today!  lol 

anyways that’s my story for the day, sorry for my caterwauling just thought I’d share, 

[Scott NC]

  It's never a good day to start off like that!  It looks mighty painful all the way around from here.  I'm glad Ash and Max were safe from the fiasco.  I've never had to put a dog down for that or give one up so that hurts as well.  I hope you heal up fast.  I can gaurantee if I was in your area I'd lend a hand with anything I could.  Sorry to hear of this, Billy.   I'm sure there will be other auctions come down the pike as well... 

[ThomasPowers]

Do not feed self to the dogs!     Hope it heals fast and well; but you will be feeling it for quite a while I bet.  Do you have a good rolling stool and chair to take the weight off while you do as much as you can for work?  

 

[George N. M.]

Ditto on what Nodebt said.  One of them has to go.  That's tough but Max's safety is too important.

GNM

[TWISTEDWILLOW]

28 minutes ago, Nodebt said:

I can gaurantee if I was in your area I'd lend a hand with anything I could

Thanks Scott, I could definitely use some help, this coming weeks gonna be brutal between the heat and my leg, an I’m way backed out as it is,

I’ve already had some machines picked up because I couldn’t get to them fast enough, now I’m gonna be moving even slower lol

21 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said:

Do not feed self to the dogs

Lol I’ll try an remember that Thomas!

24 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said:

Do you have a good rolling stool and chair to take the weight off while you do as much as you can for work?

I don’t have a roller but I do have some old fold up chairs I use around the shop,

George, 

yes we will be getting rid of the one that started the both the fights an torn my leg up,

Even if I was just caught in the crossfire an he didn’t mean to get me, I still don’t want him here,

I’ll probably end up taking him to the vet to get him fixed up, an then I’ll prolly turn him over to the shelter, they hand over the shelter dogs to the aspca every two weeks to be shipped out an re homed

he’s always been wonderful with children, an people, Even strangers! He loves people, 

so when I take him in I’ll just make sure to tell them not to send him to a home with another male dog, or no other dogs,

I hate to send him away after having him for four years, but like you said Maxs safety is priority, 

I don’t even wanna think about if he had been caught in the middle instead of me…

[Glenn]

The new dog looked different, smelled different, and most likely had a bit of a different attitude. From the dogs point of view, It was protecting YOU from the new dog that came onto the property.  In the heat of battle, there was not time to sort out friend or foe, so you got nailed.

I agree, one dog must  go in order to protect YOUR family.  The remaining dog needs to be reintroduced to the family and the family rules.  YOU and your family are the alpha dog.  He is a guest by invitation.  

[TWISTEDWILLOW]

 it wasn’t a new dog he just had a bath an a haircut, they’ve lived together for 4 years now with no issues, 

you would think he’d recognize his buddy but I guess not,

I agree with though that’s why one’s leaving,

it’s kinda sad an kinda funny at the same time all three of us are stove up an can’t move, one outside, one inside an me,

I’ll be locking one up over infront of my repair shop to keep ‘em seperated till Monday when I can take him to town, to avoid any further fights

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Like Glenn said the Aussie didn't look or smell right so the fight was on. I know this is a day late and a dollar short but an old dog trainer we knew gave us the best way to break up a dog fight, is to grab the aggressor by both back legs and lift it off the ground. That will usually make it let go and settle down some. I had to use that years ago when our Irish wolfhound and Rottweiler got into it over a food bowl and it worked.  Another way is to use a water hose and soak both combatants faces.

I'm guessing the aggressor was the bigger pit bull mix. I'm afraid the shelter won't take him, after being in a fight or at least require you to keep him for a ten day observation, to make sure he isn't rabid. Then your only other option will be to put him down.

I sure wish we were closer and Debi wasn't recovering from her hip replacement surgery. I would help you out in the shop being I'm still a pretty good mechanic. Debi said if she didn't need it, she would donate her walker so you could hobble around the shop.

[TWISTEDWILLOW]

Lol I’ll get by with a stick I don’t quite need a walker,

I did use the hose this morning to try an drowned em out I sprayed em an even shot a stream down their noses an mouths hopeful it would choke em up an make em back off,

the bull dog mix is actually smaller then the Aussie, he’s only 40-50 pounds and the Aussie is around 65-70,

but I hadn’t thought about grabbing his rear legs… I wish I’d have known that before all this mess

 thanks for the offer to help Randy I’ll get it figured out!

[George N. M.]

TW, you implied something that may have contributed to the situation.  Were both dogs whole males?  If so, that may have been a contributing factor since unneutered males can have a higher territorial defense and protection reaction.

GNM

[JHCC]

I’m so sorry to hear about that. I’ve got scars on my arm from where the larger of our two pitbulls lunged at his sister and I happened to be in the way.  Breaking up a dog fight is one of the scariest things there is, and ours had more than a few. (They’ve sorted things out now and haven’t had a fight in years, so there’s hope.)

 Get better soon, but don’t rush things. Let me know if you need me to send you any reading material.  

[TWISTEDWILLOW]

George,

yes they are both uncut males,

I realize that could put a chip on their shoulders, 

never been a problem for four years they played, napped, ate, Barked at wildlife an hung out every day all day together, an no fights

I’ve never had an issues with any intact male dogs I’ve ever owned, but I do understand that can be a contributing factor

I might understand if there had been previous problems but these to have always got along,

John

hes not a real bull dog he’s just a mutt,

im sorry to here you got chewed up too!

thank you for the offer! I might take you up on that sometime!

[arkie]

Billy, get well soon!

On a side note, according to most law enforcement types, domestic disturbances are one of the most dangerous situations to encounter (chime in there, Randy).  That goes for dog fights, too........!!

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Of course I retired in 2013 so for the past nine years, I haven't had the ability to check with any LEO only sites.

I don't know about dog fights, but the as I remember, DOJ statics on officers killed was 40% were related to domestic disturbance calls.

In my experience, dealing with domestic violence calls, were the most dangerous call we were detailed to.

[Glenn]

Lifting the back legs off the ground reduces the bite power of a dog.  

[Frosty]

That sure looks painful Billy, looks like he took a patch off your shin bone. Once they take to fighting two intact males aren't going to stop, they both have something to prove now.

Why are they still intact? It's not like you're going to breed them and while it's not a guarantee they won't fight it sure hedges the bet. Now unfortunately the Aussie like boy has learned to express his dominance violently. Even if you have him neutered he'll be a lot more likely to fight. Getting a new male dog would be a bad idea, you'd be introducing it into his home territory. A female would help mellow him out AFTER he's been neutered.

This is a hard one Billy but even a scratch on Max or Ash is more important than any dog. When you get to feeling blue give your boy a hug and play. 

I'll say a few words with higher for you and yours.

Frosty The Lucky.

 

[Anachronist58]

Those wounds are cater waller worthy.  Heal fast, Billy.

Robert Taylor

[JHCC]

Or cauter-waller. 

[Scott NC]

I can now see where a re-tooled delivery bot would have it's place in the universe.  "Hand me that wrench", "Bring in that mower", "Change that piston out", "Move that hoist", "Bring me a cool one".... Etc....  We are pulling for you Billy....   

[mcostello]

Delivery Bot- break up that dog fight!

[TWISTEDWILLOW]

Maybe I need to build a robot this winter when things slow down, to be a shop helper,

[Frosty]

You could build a zero turn transformer!

Frosty The Lucky.

[Frazer]

Geez hope you heal up quick Billy. Dog fights are no joke and they can happen so fast. My mom used to foster dogs (mostly pit bull mixes). I was dog sitting my uncles pup (Roxie) for a few days and I brought her down to the lake where my mom and her foster dog were. The pit bull (I forget her name) was pretty well socialized and had never had any issues in the past. Later in the day we were all inside and my mom gave a piece of food to Roxie, and the foster dog must have been jealous because she came in and in the blink of an eye had latched right onto Roxie face. I jumped in grabbed the pit by the collar, lifted her up in the air with one arm and started pulling up on it's nose and hitting it in the face with the other until it let go. That's probably not the best way to break up a dog fight, but in the spur of the moment I wasn't sure what to do other than get them apart somehow.

Luckily I don't think she had time to get a good grip, the whole thing took maybe 20 seconds to resolve. But it was very bloody and violent. My mom got rid of the other dog the next day.

[anvil]

Yea, take care, thats a tough one!

[ThomasPowers]

So have you started foaming at the mouth and avoiding water yet?  Gives a totally new layer to being a "rabid blacksmithing fan".

My Daughter the Veterinarian; had to get the Rabies shot series in Vet school as part of their classes.