It WILL happen....

I dont even know where to start with this... about 2 hours ago i heard my dogs in the backyard growling and barking and it sounded different from usual so i went to look. i found all three of them in a dog pile ripping at each other. my girl was on top of the boy locked on his throat and shaking her head and my boxer was just biting where he could, pulling on legs and biting stomachs and stuff. i yelled at them trying to get them to break it up because they have got in tussles before but they just ignored me... i went and grabbed the waterhose to spray them and it didnt bother them either. by this time they had moved into a separate pen from the main fence and my girl was on top of the boy just ripping into him all over his face and throat. i managed to snag the boxer and carried him into the house then i grabbed a leash and looped it into a lasso and went to the dogs leash in one hand waterhose in the other. when i walked up they both stopped and looked at me for about .02 seconds. they were both panting and tired and i seized this opportunity and got the leash around my girls head. i chose her because she was the obvious aggressor in this fight. i started pulling her off of him and spraying him dead in the face at the same time. i was dragging her to the house and they were still fighting the whole time, the water had no effect on them. i finally got her inside and in a kennel. i checked all 3 of them out and my boy got the worst of the fight but there is nothing serious to the cuts. i put the boxer out on a runner and kept my girl in the house kenneled. im not sure where to go from here and im waiting on my bf to come home so we can discuss it. feel free to flame away. or offer advice. i just felt i needed to tell my story because my dogs were all raised together and have never had a problem in the last 2-3 years and today they just flipped. it can and will happen.

 

yes, it can and WILL happen. i have to wonder- you knew this was emminent-yet you still left not 2 but 3 dogs unattended in the yard???
it doesnt matter HOW long they get along for, if you have more than 1 of these guys they WILL get into it at one point in time.
moral of the story- never leave your dogs unattended and know how to break up a fight ( at least you didnt try and utilize the wheelbarrow method)

 

now you know if you take them anyplace they will more then likely put a investigater on you for dog fighting just be prepred

 

....Why? You don't pull dogs off each other that way. Were they all running around unsupervised? Not to sound mean but you kinda went looking for that, chica

 

yes, they were all unsupervised just like they always are. thats why i gave yall the heads up to flame away. i dont know what the wheelbarrow method is but i just tried to separate them the best way i knew how to considering there was only one of me and 3 dogs to handle.

 

I have been telling folks this for years! Newbs & those with your heads in the clouds listen up! It does NOT matter how you train them! It does NOT matter if they were raised together! APBTs were a breed created for dog vs. dog combat. They are genetically programmed to fight! Sure, you will get some who are "cold" but the majority will fight! It's not a matter if "if" but a matter of "when!"

Kitty, I am sorry to hear of your accident & I hope all your dogs will be OK. I do truly hope as well that you will be able to convince your BF to keep the dogs separated now b/c once a fight happens once it will almost always happen again.

Good luck.

(P.S. Get some breaking sticks ASAP. Stillwater used to have some nice ones. Don't know if he still does or not. But that is an investment you will need. )

 

thanks abk, im just not sure where to go from here. i dont want to get rid of my dogs because i love them all but my bf was set on it when i called him. i think either the boy or the girl would be fine with the boxer since he is nothing but a big dummy anyways. but those two are the ones i have to worry about and honestly, i feel this is my bed i need to lay in it and work this out someway.

 

I would not leave ANY of the dogs together! Even if the Boxer is a big dummy, APBTs have VERY long memories & they will often attack a dog they have fought with in the past. I even had a male snip at a female through a fence & the moment we were both gone (& this was a week later!) she climbed out of her kennel & into his & killed him!

I would NOT try to re-introduce the dogs to the Boxer as this could erupt into another fight! Buy some nice crates & learn to crate & rotate. Or set up some nice chain set ups in the yard & chain & rotate. But do not think life will go back to normal, as it will not.

Trust me, I have been in the exact same spot you are now & I can tell you from experience that things between your dogs will never be the way they used to be.

But it is easy to work out. Crate & rotate.

Good luck & do not forget those breaking sticks.

 

thanks. i know not to trust them together now. but when i threw the female inside she and the boxer were together while i checked out my male and they werent bothering each other. then i came inside and kenneled her and checked out the boxer, put him on the runner, and then checked out the female. i can leave the boxer on the runner and he will be fine. its one of those clothesline looking things. but i have no where else to put anything for the female... so i can either rotate dogs in and out of the back yard or get rid of someone(s).

 

You got lucky your female didn't kill your Boxer. But even if they didn't fight then, you can never ever trust her not to attack him (or him her), b/c she (or he) will. It's just a matter of where & when.

You do not have to get rid of your dogs if you don't want to. Like I said, crate & rotate or chain & rotate. Most APBTs live happy lives like this. Right now in fact, my male is sleeping next to me while my female is asleep in her crate. Later today the roles will be reversed, he will be put up & she will be out.

You can do the same thing. Crate one, leave one on the runner & one loose in the house & rotate as needed.

 

gah well today just gets better and better. went ot check on the boxer and he had snapped the hook off the chain so i had to go chase him across the neighborhood. so there goes my runner. so now i have girl in kennel, male outside, boxer locked in back room

 

It would be a good idea to bring them to your local vet - get the incident documented and your dogs wounds treated and by all means get a proper set up!

 

i have a 10 month old that i let play w/ my parents lab. guess i better stop letting that happen. thanks for the reality check. (im sure thats all you were trying to do w/ this thread not really to get flamed). and should she really get the incident documented?

 

IT WILL HAPPEN- Ya Dont SAY!!

 

Yup.....happend to me during a family bbq, luckily we were home. My (female) boxer and (male) apbt got into it... took me a bit to get them seperated, luckily there wasent to much damage done.

**PLEASE TAKE THE ADVICE given to you...next time it may happen when you or anyone else is not there to break it up.**

 

youv been here nine months. im sure ouve been told. i feel not one ounce of pitty for you. you knew better and you chose to ignore the people that tried to inform you.
i feel so sorry for our breed. normal pet owners will never understnad this animal....

CLOSE THE CIRCLES

 

my bf came home and we talked about it and we are going to try the rotating thing and see how that works out... if it all goes well then we will keep everyone. if not, we will find rehome.

 

i must say thank you for comeing out and saying you were in the wrong and for trying to fix the problem instead of just putting them back together

 

Sounds like u got 1 or 2 quitters on your hands. We all know what the solution to that problem is

 

I guess this is a good message for people to hear, kinda. Most here I would hope already know that it's not a matter of "if" but "when." If you're not prepared for the "when," then you're not prepared for the breed. A momentary indescretion and you've got two dogs rolling all over the place while you're going from disbelief to OMG! Complacency is the enemy.

Either way, good luck to you. Hope you're able to work out the best way to maintain these dogs fight-free from here on out.