Help - Our Greyhound attacked his housemate grey

[jointhedotz]

Hi All,

I have a bit of a situation and could really use some advice.

Last night at about 3am we were woken by one of our dogs screaming, the other dog had bitten her but the injury didn't look too bad so we went back to bed having decided to take her to the vets this evening.  There were no further issues through the night so we went to work this morning as usual.  Our dog walker called just after lunch to say that she now had 2 further, and quite serious wounds.  My partner then left work and took her straight to the vets where she's currently sedated so the vets can inspect the wounds more closely and we're waiting on the outcome of this.

We've had the first dog, the aggressor, since dec 2012 and our bitch since august last year so they're not unfamiliar with each other.  Their beds are a good few feet apart at night as we did have another incident about 3 months ago which was put down to sleep aggression.

The dogs are fine together usually, no signs of aggression and often play in the garden together so we're currently rather shocked at the savagery of these attacks.

Has anyone experienced anything similar, do you have any advice?

Many thanks in advance

[Andy & Justine]

Maybe the boy got startled by the girl while he was asleep - we had an incident at night in the settling stages with our two a few years ago and we have muzzled them at night ever since to no other incidents. The girl came off worst in our case too. Ours are also fine generally...it transpired a few months later that our boy has arthritis in his back and hip so whether this makes him a little more defensive of his personal space I don't know. The muzzles don't bother them and gives us peace of mind. Hope all will settle down for you and that your girl heals ok J

[samburns]

I would get your lad checked out by the vet in the first instance as it may be that if he has a problem it is making him tetchy.

Personally I wouldn't be happy with muzzling dogs for any period of time while you're not there......it would be safer in my view to either separate them completely or to use a crate. 

[samburns]

Just to add.....one of my (four) greyhounds has space issues but has never actually hurt any of the others, he does growl and bare teeth and if woken suddenly will air snap and do a very high pitched bark....it is all very much a warning though and the others do tend to be quite careful around him. 

I would be concerned with two incidents so close to each other that there is something else going on.  Sensible precautions when you have multiple dogs are not to leave things like food & toys around that might cause a row but that's usually something you would pick up on early on if it was an issue.

[julies]

I agree with the others plus my grey has a high prey drive and when she first came to live with me she would belt down the landing barking and growling, mine sleep in my bedroom so I simply shut the door so she couldn't zoom out but my lurchers have always thought she had the right idea and it wouldn't need much for all this excitement to spillover into aggression - we had a dreadful incident in the Midlands a couple of years ago when three greys turned on their little terrier companion whilst they were left during the day and killed him

For me I'd do a vet check for both and crate one (in a huge greyhound crate) when you're not there ... it's not worth the risk.

Julie

[jointhedotz]

Hi,

Thanks for the replies everyone. Our girl seems happy enough in herself now thankfully and was even playing with our boy in the garden yesterday....very strange how quickly they forgive.

At present we're keeping them separate if we aren't present and awaiting a reply from a dog trainer/behaviourist we've used in the past.

There were a couple of mentions of vet check-ups, out of interest what would they be looking for? Both dogs have been to the vets following the attack (boy dislodged a tooth) and he didn't seem to think there was a need/medical reason for it.

They did have fleas (treatment we bought didnn't work) if that could be a factor?

Thanks again.

[samburns]

Jun 30, 2014 8:28:35 GMT -5 jointhedotz said:

There were a couple of mentions of vet check-ups, out of interest what would they be looking for? Both dogs have been to the vets following the attack (boy dislodged a tooth) and he didn't seem to think there was a need/medical reason for it.

They did have fleas (treatment we bought didnn't work) if that could be a factor?

Thanks again.

A generalised vet check would mean the vet going over the whole of the dogs body to check there were no aches or pain anywhere (eg limbs/spine/feet/abdomen) and checking the ears and mouth for any signs of infection/discomfort.

Fleas could be a factor.....they will cause irritation and may for example cause the dog to air snap or jump up suddenly which are the sort of sudden movement/behaviours that may have caused the other dog to react.  Hope you've managed to get on top of the fleas now

[Lisa]

this does not sound as straight forward as a sleep related attack. Full vet check blood work and thyroid would be the first to check for. Does he have any visible signs of weight gain, drinking more or losing fur? It definately sounds like there is more to it. Are you leaving toys or treats around etc? Definately get a behaviourist in and I would be seperating them either in different rooms or if they are not comfortable with that using a cage for one one day then possibly the other the next

[jointhedotz]

Jun 30, 2014 10:46:17 GMT -5 samburns said:

Hope you've managed to get on top of the fleas now

Yup, fleas sorted, a little annoyed the stuff from pets@home didn't work though...

lisa, No toys or anything out, no food etc. He isn't gaining/losing weight or acting any different tbh. I agree though, the sleep aggression we saw when we first got him never involved biting, just barking and snapping (scared my poor girlfriend quite badly a couple of times) although that was at people rather than another dog (and I can understand mimi may be annoying, she's very 'affectionate' where as he's fairly calm. It just scares me that he's acted so out of character.

Quick question while I have your attention, he also yawns when my 16 month old daughter goes near him......that means stress/uncertainty doesn't it? Any tips? Should I worry?

Looks like we need to get him to the vet anyway, suprised he never recommended that himself tbh.
Thanks again, very helpful forum

(edit: formatting is weird here)

[jointhedotz]

Ok, so my partner's just got off the phone to the dog trainers, after describing his behaviour to them they think he's stressed with the situation at home. I know how he feels in all honesty, 16 month old babies are no walk in the park...... They're popping round thursday for a proper look at him and to observe his behaviour so hopefully that may shed some light on events. And pose more questions in all likelyhood. Will update further asap

[julies]

Definitely a good idea to have a behaviourist .. also check out Turid Rugaas' book something like - On Talking Terms with Dogs - Calming Signals. Now yawning can mean a number of things BUT one of those is that the dog is concerned by whatever is approaching and yawns to say to whatever is heading its way that it (your dog) is not a threat and basically don't be horrible to me ... so if your daughter is allowed to toddle at your dog or be rough with him (especially if your dog has any 'ouches' or soreness) then your dog could be worried by her and that could mean he's more likely to react with a bigger 'signal' if he doesn't think she's listened to him ... there's loads of advice around about children and dogs so please be careful especially if the behaviorist thinks he's stressed ... Crates are great places to allow dogs their own space .. ask the behaviourist

Good luck

Julie