my dogs have just had a massive scrap!

fankino04

fankino04

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So im stood by the fire in an attempt to keep warm and eating my popcorn with dogs close by gazing longinly at the food - as they dont get treats I dont know why they bother but bless them they do persevere! Anyway a piece of popcorn falls on the floor and they both dive for it and all hell breaks loose. Get them seperated and see my boy is holding his paw up with blood dripping from it. Upon inspection there is a tiny puncture wound on both top and bottom just above what I guess it dog equivalent of an ankle. It doesnt seem overly sensative and neither is above or below all the way through his paws, so cleaned it with hibby scrub, wrapped in vet cotton wool a sock and vetrap bandage and he seems ok. Gave him lots of treats and he perked up and put on his usual "feed me" face and even got up and hopped / walked about a bit so is putting weight on it again within 20 mins. But as I am sitting stroking him his belly is being really load And he is sighing quite heavily do you think his gut is reacting to the shock that it seems upset or is that just a human trait?
 
He might just be stressed but I wouldn't overdo the sympathy and treats, sorry :o
The best thing to do after a fight, especially if you have a pack, is keep everything very businesslike and brisk and give the dogs something to do/think about. That's the difference between making a stressy dog stressier and giving a bolshy dog an even bigger sense of his own importance.
You could pop him to the vet to double check the wound to prevent further infection if you are worried.

And there may be a food aggression issue if they are scrapping over a bit of popcorn so I wouldn't have food anywhere near them in future to be on the safe side and watch high value things like food/a place by the fire etc.
 
They dont have tit bits or toys purely to avoid incidents like this, its only 1 that is territorial over food / affection / anything she can consider to be hers the trouble is of and its only happened once before in 6 months but IF she goes for him he wont back down! She is banished to the kitchen for the night so I can go to bed as he was a bit growly to her as she walked past him. He stopped when told off for growling but expect he might be a bit overprotective of his poorly paw and dont want to leave them alone just in case she takes exception to him telling her off. I think paw should be fine as cleaned and covered straight away and he is putting weight on it and didnt object to it being cleaned or poked or prodded but will keep an eye on it for the next few days, he is limponh but think that is more to do with the bandage restricting it than anything else.
 
Whether Im eating my dinner or nibbles the dogs are not allowed anywhere near me, they dont get treats that way so dont look for it. Diesel and Darcy sometimes have a bit of a scrap, no idea what over but its usually handbags but I never ever leave them alone together for both their sakes. I would rather they were safe than sorry and I am a bit of a safety freak but err on the side of caution.
 
Dogs ( like cats) have a large number of different bacteria in their saliva, and around their teeth so when they are 'injected' into the skin or flesh of another dog you have a great risk of infection. I would suggest you let your vet take a look especially as if it sounds as if it might be over a joint. Better safe than sorry. How are the dogs behaving towards each other - no lasting hatred I hope!
 
The perpetraitor was fine this morning she came strolling up to him tail wagging and licked his face, he still seems anxious around her but doesn't growl etc so think I might leave them separated when I go to work today until he seems a bit more back to himself.
 
That's what I meant about not over-fussing - it can make an anxious dog more anxious/can re-inforce anxiety. Isolating the aggressor immediately can also make them a bit more puffed-up and full of themselves. Difficult if you are on your own I know but try and keep everything moving along and normal.
 
I think you're over complicating the issue and increasing the likelihood of another fight by fussing one dog and putting the other in the kitchen etc. I would just check his leg is ok, then get on with things as normal. My dogs did it once, and my bitch was a bit nervy for an hour or two afterwards, but me just carrying on as normal gave her more support and confidence than treats and fuss. They won't fight while you're at work, the fight was over a piece of food, not them going for one another..
 
2 of mine had a fight for no reason last month. No food or toys involved. The jrt just got the hump and launched himself at the staffy repeatedly. Seemed like forever but can only have been 15 seconds max before I separated them. Cue 10pm vet trip for the jrt to have a fair few stitches.

He is now wary of Milo and I wouldn't leave them together alone again. Milo is happy and friendly towards him but Dooley holds a grudge, even thou it was him that started it.
 
The bitch can be a bit funny sometimes and didnt want him growling at her to stay away from his poorly paw and her taking exception at him telling her off. Although she would always be the one to lunge first he isnt a dog that backs down from an argument so isnt what you would call anervy dog. When I got back from work they were both Iin the sitting room together and although he growls if she gets too close when he is lying down its not a nasty snarling growl and they are ok. He has taken his bandage off and is severely limping on paw though which I had hoped this morning was the bandage making it difficult to walk properly not that he cant use his paw properly.
 
Two of my bitches fight, almost always over food if I am not careful enough with them - they are always back to being best buddies about 10 minutes later! So far I have been very lucky and they have only had relatively minor skin injuries, but when Flick got a punctured leg I did take her to the vets for antibiotics etc - you could see the individual tooth marks where Amy had got hold of the leg! Flick did limp for a few days and was obviously very sore on the leg, but it healed very well and quite quickly.
 
I took him to the vet after I saw how lame he was without bandage and how tender one of the wounds was also more swelling than I would have liked. Vet thinks there may be some damage around his dew claw possibly fractured bone but too much swelling to tell so have to go back in the morning when hopefully the swelling is reduced after ant inflammitories today. He is much happier on it now and although they are not quite themselves together yet they seem ok again. OH on other hand is already complaining about vet bills!
 
Once there has been a scrap I think the dynamics of a group change. Having been in the same situation as you, after the first fight I ignored it, then further fights occurred. Mostly they were due to silly food/bone issues and were so quick it was impossible to tell exactly what had provoked it. And there is also the problem that under certain circumstances, such as thunder, noisy planes or bird scarers going off, one dog becomes frightened and the other takes advantage to 'have a go'. Since these triggers can happen when the dogs are alone, I now know that they have to be crated when left in the house alone. Better safe than sorry. The carnage that I arrived home to once is something I don't want to see again - ever!
 
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