Dog fight

Thank goodness that he didn't hurt your daughter. A lot of times people are injured trying to break up dog fights.
If it were me, I would not be able to keep him. The solution here is to take a biter to the animal shelter, where they are euthenized. They would not adopt out such a dog, and ask when you bring a dog in.

Have you considered consulting with a dog behavior specialist?

I used to have a big hound mix (neutered) who was the only dog in an adult household shared with about four cats. Then I adopted an adult female (spayed) shepherd. Things went well for a while, and then the hound attacked the shepherd. It was quite scary as they were both big dogs; it happened in the house; and the hound ignored my attempts to separate them. The shepherd did not fight back.

After a couple of trips to the vet for repairs, we put the hound on medication that was supposed to calm him. Whenever the hound attacked the shepherd, something in the back of my mind made me think a cat was somehow involved. Most of the time, the dogs got along fine.

After one attack too many, I had the vet put down the hound. A few months later I read that some dogs will "possess" or own the cats in the house. That had to have been the situation here. The hound apparently didn't want another dog anywhere near his cats, so he attacked to get the point across.

As I recall, the article didn't provide a good resolution to the cat ownership problem. At any rate, a behavior specialist might be able to observe your dogs' interactions and be able to advise you on how to keep peace in the "family".

Good luck! It is so hard to put down an otherwise healthy animal. The danger to your human family could be high if they try to intervene in another attack.

Personally I would get rid of the beagle if I had to choose one. If the mastiff knocked it over accidentally, just by being a big clumsy playful galoot, the beagle is the one that crossed the line from play to fight. Since it has a thing about being alpha dog, maybe it's been tormenting the mastiff when you're not looking- smaller dogs do this- and the mastiff had just taken enough. Just because the mastiff is larger, has a fearsome image, and is more capable of serious damage doesn't mean it's the bad guy here.
Could be the beagle had it coming- you know what its personality is like.
Most alpha dogs can distinguish rough play from a challenge to their position in the pack. If things go to far they usually can remind the other dogs who is boss with a mere warning snarl. I think the beagle reacted inappropriately and overly aggressively. It's smaller but it would be the dog I would watch for further behavior problems, not so much the mastiff.

I have friends that have three purebred Mastiffs. They had four but had to have one put down. This fourth dog went crazy one day. My friends heard a disturbance in an upstairs bedroom. When they went to see the one dog was fiercely attacking the other dog. It was not giving up and was not responding to anything. Somehow they got the dogs separated and the attacking dog into a crate. The dog was still flipping out in the crate, even on the way to the vets. Turns out the dog had some type of attack or seizure because of a very large brain tumor. The bloodwork somehow told them that there was a problem so they went and did neurological tests leading them to the brain tumor. The dog had to be put down. The other dog lucked out only having a few stitchable wounds.
My friends love their Mastiffs. They say they have never shown any kind of aggressive behavior. I met them and they are BIG gentle babies. They want to sit in your lap (at least try to).
Do you have any idea what breed your Mastiff is mixed with? Perhaps the other breed has an aggressive tendancy? Do be careful with this dog. I've been told that once a dog shows this type of aggressive behavior it can never be fully trusted.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
Jen

When my new DH moved into my house, we had a similar problem. I owned 3 aussies. 1 old male, 1 female, and 1 young intact male. DH owned an intact hunting lab male. My aussies are from champion working lines, bred to work cattle. We had LOTS of problems with these 2 young males, very scary fights, my aussie almost lost his eye in one. The lab outweighs him by 30 lbs and was not well socialized with other dogs as a pup. The aussies were very used to having visiting dogs of both genders since I had done quite a bit of boarding before getting married. The aussie has never fought with another dog. The lab has

We spayed the female (she was 7, no time for us to deal with puppies or to even find a suitable male... we were newlyweds for gosh sake!) and neutered the lab. We keep them under very strict control in situations where they get excited. For a while, we kept them separated too, then re-integrated. We've had a couple of fights since then, both dogs get punished by us... held on the ground on their backs, chewed out, and crate-isolation time. We do this when things start getting too rowdy... aussie starts herding lab when he's running around with his toy... growling starts... they get in big trouble. We also NEVER feed them together... also no beef bones. Those are things they can get too possesive over and are too easy to trigger a dissagreement.

So, I can well relate to your situation! Neither of us wants to give up our respective dogs... the lab is DH's hunting partner, water and upland. Aussie has competed in herding and has a lot of natural talent. It would be difficult for us to manage our sheep without him. Excercise, supervision and avoidence of things that could trigger a fight will all help! Good luck to you!

I am glad you are trying to work it out. My dog grace attacked my dog marlyn once and NEVER did it again[ boy did she get yelled at] and they were together for fifteen years. just make sure they dont get a chance to do it again and come down hard on them if they get stiff legged at each other.

Have you considered the dog may have an allergy to something in it's food? Another list I"m a member of had a thread on this subject about three years ago. The dogs' name was Harry and when the owners changed his food the aggressiveness stopped and he was able to be around other dogs with no problems. Dogs are allergic to things just like people are. It pains me to think a good dog would be put down because of a misunderstood food allergy. One of the symptoms is behavioral changes.

These following symptoms may manifest but are rare:
asthma like symptoms
behavioral changes
diarrhea
flatulence
seizures
sneezing
vomiting
http://allergies.about.com/cs/canine/a/aa091800a.htm

Just a thought.

My husband and I also have a "lovey-bear" that is friendly only to us (well, he does like my husband's brother). Fritz is our lab-chow mix that I found wandering in the street when he was 8 weeks old. We had another dog at the time that we had to put to sleep a couple of years ago - she was 16. Fritz has adjusted to being an only dog. I have thought about getting another dog, but Fritz's reaction to other dogs is not friendly so we'll probably have to wait until he passes on (he is 6 now).

I worked extensively with Fritz when he was a puppy to socialize and train him. I hired professional dog trainers that specialize in agressive dogs to help me learn how to train him. He is extremely intelligent and stubborn. He cannot be let off leash outside (he wants to hunt, would chase cars, etc.) and I have to put his pronged collar and leash on when people come to the house. His watch dog tendencies are so strong that he barks at pedestrians when we drive down the street in town. I think that some dogs just have these kinds of traits. These kind of dogs need to be under tight control at all times. He is pretty well behaved at the vet although as you can imagine needs to be muzzled for any close inspection or nail trimming.

I know many people disapprove of allowing a dog like this to live but we are way too attached to him. He is my hiking and jogging partner, officemate, bodyguard, the smartest dog I have ever known and a good mouser!

A lot of times people are injured trying to break up dog fights.

That is so true. And don't take this the wrong way but it made me laugh... reminded me of my greatgrandmother. I think she was the first to stress to me how dangerous fighting dogs can be. She had this big, heavy, old broom (well thats how I remember it.. I was under 12) she would use to "get thier attention" anytime a dog fight broke out. She would also stand guard anytime they were fed scraps. She always had shepards and I remember a time or two when she used that broom to break up a fight. Of couse she told me she did that to my dad and his brothers when they would get into a knock down - drag out fight also. :haha:

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i would agree that the beagle sounds like the potential hazard. they do like to be in charge. aussie hog hunters use mastiff in their crosses to improve handling qualities as well as adding size & substance. just a little side note nuetering is not a cure all. after some discussion on a protection dog board it was determined primarily from anecdotal evidence of 2 vets that nuetered males were responsible for more attacks on people other non canine animals. some dogs are so dominant that nuetering doesn't stop them from challenging for higher position in the pack. also we had 25-30 dogs together on tuesday for some bear hunting most of them intact. only one was trying to pick fights and he stopped after the third time getting zapped.
based on what you have written & my own experiences, if i had to get rid of one right now it would be the beagle.

Thank you all for your replies.

This isn't the first time the mastiff has stepped on, rolled, or knocked down the beagle playing. He's big, clumsy, loves to play, and has knocked down my DD and I once or twice, but it is the first time he attacked the beagle for barking at him. Champy (beagle) did get in his face and really bark at him, again not the first time for that either. There hasn't been any problems since the fight. These dogs all live in the house (usually on the couch, or in front of the woodstove) and going outside to play is a big deal-I really think Seamus (mastiff/lab) got overexcited and just couldn't handle it. We're handling situations much better now tho. The mastiff and the lab/husky go out together to go to the bathroom. Jack (the lab/husky) is younger than Digger (the retriever/lab) or the beagle and seems to tolerate his play better. If anyone looks the least bit grumpy all are separated. If Seamus shows any sign of aggression he'll be put down that day (crying teenager or not). My DH bought me the beagle when I first got sick and he's stuck to me like glue ever since-I can't get rid of him. It's my fault that he is as alpha as he is as I've treated him like a friend rather than a dog. He sleeps with me, sits with me, goes to the barn with me, we travel together, we're practically inseparable. It hurts me to see him in pain like he is (the wounds were large enough for several metal sutures) but I can't put Seamus down for one incident that may never happen again.

Again, thank you for your help. Merry Christmas, and Bright Blessings.

Stacy in NY

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Kincora,

Can you kust keep one in a run perhaps? My dogs will fight also..(I have six)..its my Cocker that starts it by growling at the big mutt ..the big mutt mix will growl back..my collie will jump in.....then my Golden retr will join the fray. A horse whip or broom will seprate them..never were they ever aggressive with my family
NOw, my big mutt is notorious for being jealous..if another dog runs up to one of my kids..OH BOY..DOG FIGHT. He apparently thinks he is protecting them...so he gets tied up..and everyone is happy. If he is on the leash..there isn't any fighting..only when he is off.

10 year old Beagle who apparently views himself as Alpha. 3 year old mastiff entering the prime age of contention for such a title and sporting the largest size and bred-in fighting ability. Frankly what this sounds like is nothing more than a changing of the guard. The fact that upon re-introduction the (formerly) Alpha Beagle kept his peace indicates to me that the changing of the guard may already be complete and he, perhaps grudgingly, accepts this. As others have noted, you have a pack and they will behave accordingly. With the disparity of ages and sizes you have to expect some shuffling of the pecking order, sooner or later, and it won't always be accomplished through peaceful negotiation.

So long as the "Alpha" understands he is secondary to the human Alpha I don't think you have an ongoing problem.