BEST FRIENDS ONE MINUTE , DRAWING BLOOD THE NEXT.

1127 Views 8 Replies 7 Participants Last post by tootsie, May 19, 2007

cammochick

Discussion Starter · May 18, 2007

i have two boxers, a boy and a girl , both just two , and only a few months apart. The boy bart came first, then i got little fudge two months later. Bart is very jealous and dominant , ive never seen his behaviour in other boxers , and it makes me sad to watch poor little fudge cower away and hide alot of the time because bart is fighting with her. Its gotten that bad that i feel fudge is not happy living with me , and i should find her a new family that will love her and she wont get bashed up constantly, but that would break my heart too. Bart has at least 4good fights with fudge a day, he always starts it, nothing stops him, some say try putting the hose on them, that doesnt work, i have to go in and peel him off her. The only time i can spend anytime with fudge is if bart is locked up, but that means i can never have the two out together, and that doesnt seem much of a life for them. I feed them seperately , They sleep in seperate beds in there divided dog trailer, and when i go out i put them in seperate day runs. Bart then gives me the lonely look , but if i try and put fudge in with him for the day he bashes her up. Yet other times they run and play , and snuggle together and seem best friends, but as soon as im around or my daughter the fights begin and fudge turns to a wobbly mess. After the fights i now lock bart up where he cant see us, and i give little fudge sum us time, and give her a big cuddle so she knows im sorry and i still love her. I think she likes that but i still can tell shes sad, she sits on my lap and looks at me and does that little grunt when i tell her im sorry.
As for breeding the two well i guess that will never happen.
Can anyone shed some light on why bart does this, and what can i do to help little fudge. yes by the way bart is my favourite and did come first, but ive always treated them equally , everything bart has , fudge has too. They both mean the same to me.

See less See more

Save

1 - 9 of 9 Posts

jeanathanh2o

· #2 · May 18, 2007

OOOH scary! I am so sorry to hear you are having this trouble.
sounds like bart needs more training and to understand that he is not the dominant member of your family- YOU are and he need to know that.

You came to the right place :wink: I am sure there are other members who will chim in with more specific advice- I just don't know how I would handle this in your place so I can't offer any ideas.

Best of luck 8)

Save

beckhamboxer

· #3 · May 18, 2007

eek! as 1stBoxer said, I think reestabilshing ground rules of who's boss is absolutely necessary. I would look into training/rehabilitation programs in your area for Bart.

Save

samsonsmom

· #4 · May 18, 2007

Wow, what a mess...First of all, how long have you had both dogs? Are they both spayed/neutered? Going back to the basics would not be a bad idea. What you need to establish is "who's the boss"..that is definitely you...It may be necessary to seek a behaviorist in this to help resolve your issues....I wouldn't ever want to see this happen, but I had a friend that had to find another home for one of her boxers due to the fighting. The one was always attacking the others and had caused some severe injuries to both the dogs and her & her husband..Some dogs just cannot get along in a mutiple dog household. Please keep us posted on what you decide..It's not an easy decision to make, but in the long run, it could be the best one for everyone....

Save

JessiesMom

· #5 · May 18, 2007

I agree with Samsonsmom... I would recommend a behaviorist before you give fudge away!

Save

Flutterby

· #6 · May 18, 2007

Our dogs don't fight (knock on wood) and know that we are alpha.. Start putting Bart on NILIF (Nothing in Life is Free - you can google it). Other than that I would recommenda behaviorist as well...

Save

tootsie

· #7 · May 18, 2007

First of all I have to say some things you have mentioned in your post have me wondering. Have you had Bart since he was a pup?

cammochick\";p=\"9222 said:
They sleep in seperate beds in there divided dog trailer,

Are these dogs outside dogs confined to a trailer at night? What type of trailer is this?

cammochick\";p=\"9222 said:
and when i go out i put them in seperate day runs.

What kind of run? A fenced in kennel? On a long lead?

cammochick\";p=\"9222 said:
As for breeding the two well i guess that will never happen.

So I take it neither one has been spayed or neutered? Was the breeding your intention when you aquired fudge?

You have a pretty serious problem with these two dogs. I would get Bart to the vet to rule out any medical conditions first. Thyroid levels could be off, he could be in pain, could be an infection somewhere, etc... If after you get a clean bill of health from your vet, I would then find a behaviorist for some training. Your vet can probably help you with that also. Good Luck with Bart, I think once he is neutered and has training with a behaviorist to undue these unwanted behaviors you will have better luck with him and fudge getting along. You can read through this link for some more info.

http://www.wonderpuppy.net/canwehelp/1others.php

See less See more

Save

cammochick

Discussion Starter · #8 · May 19, 2007

hi all and thankyou for all replying, i guess i need to answer a few questions, firstly i got both these dogs from the same breeder when they were about 10weeks old, but as i said bart came first then fudge about two months later. yes my intention was to breed them. At present neither are desexed. As for their night trailer , it is a custom made dog trailer, very large with an open front when they were little they slept together in the trailer , but then the fighting began, so i put a divider in the middle, they cannot see each other . As for there day runs they are huge areas fully fenced with dog mesh 6foot high, grassy and deckings with beds and a kennel , and a clam shell pool, and toys slung up. They are seperate but can see each other , i have five of these big runs. i was planning on getting one more brindle and white girl, but my chances of that now are slim. Both my dogs are lovely dogs and i adore them both, but as i said i just really feel for poor fudge. As i said earlier i am a security dog handler, so i have no problems pulling a dog in to line, but bart is very handler sensitive, and will hit the deck if i go to correct him; and then he fears me . For some reason he allready fears my husband; when bart sees him he cowers and hides and acts just like fudge does when bart is around and im there. if it was just bart and fudge and no me to get jealous over i dont think there would be fights. A good example is i cant put them into their day runs ( as in the two of them in one pen together) keep in mind this area is the size of alot of gold coasters back yard , so its ample of space. So i tried gettn my daugher of ten years old to do it, bingo they both went together in the one pen, . This was fine for months but now bart is reacting to her in the same way as me, now if she is outside playing with them both , he starts fights, and she can no longer put them into the same dog pen.
hopefully i have answered all your queries, and once again thankyou,

See less See more

Save

tootsie

· #9 · May 19, 2007

The thing that bothers me here is that you are saying Bart fears you when you go to correct him. How are you correcting him? He should not be fearing you at all. I think that may be a big part of your problem. You really need to consult a professional trainer. One that will come to your house and work with you along with the dogs. That way you can be taught the correct way to train and handle these dogs.
Good luck and please keep us posted on Bart and Fudges progress. :wink:

Save

1 - 9 of 9 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.

Top Contributors this Month