Triple Dog Dare: Dog Pack Hierarchy, Part 2

February 2010 will go down in our family’s history as the month of the dog wars. 

And God willing, it will get better after this.

If you read my first blog on this subject, The Top of the Bottom of the Pack, then you’ve been introduced to Nastia and Lilija, two of our five German Shepherds, and their first two dog fights.

Well, that was nothing compared to what happened on February 25.

Just to recap:  Nastia and Max ( 1 1/2) are brother and sister and Lilija (10 months) is the newest addition to our family.  Lilija and Nastia were best, best buddies until . . . they decided to find out which of them would reign over the top of the bottom of our dog pack.

Nastia must have forgotten that she's not allowed on the furniture.

At the time of my blog, Top of the Bottom of the Pack, the two girls had gotten into two fights, both while all five of our German Shepherds were outside with my son (15).  It’s important to include that my son, Jake, is Nastia’s person.  She LOVES him.  She sleeps in his room of her own choosing and practically melts every time he walks by. 

And, evidently, Nastia doesn’t want to share her boy . . .

The third fight started like the first two:  Jake was outside with all five dogs going through the morning routine of cleaning up, brushing, and filling the water bowls.  As he walked Lilija into the dog run to brush her Nastia evidently decided they were too close and jumped on Lilija.

Now, Jake had received some very specific instructions about the dogs and was told NOT to walk away with Lilija if Nastia was in the yard, but as kids go, he probably didn’t listen.  And placing blame doesn’t help anyone.

Nastia launched herself at Lilija and Lilija fought back–but what made matters worse was that Max, the alpha male (1 1/2 years old and 95 pounds) decided to get involved.  He pushed Nastia out of the way and went after Lilija.

I was just out of the shower, in a robe with bare feet and wet hair when I heard the commotion.  There’s nothing like the sound of a dog fight to stop your heart.  I looked out the window and saw Jake trying to hit Max with the poop scooper to divert his attention. 

At least he had listened to my instructions NOT to ever get in the middle of a dog fight.  Thank God.

He was hitting, but they weren’t stopping and I knew I had to get out there.

I ran outside into the snow in barefeet and screamed my head off.  I have no idea what I was saying, I just knew I needed to make as much noise as was humanly possible.  They say that it’s nearly impossible to break up a dog fight by shouting, so I must have been a scary sight to behold because all three dogs stopped what they were doing and just looked at me before I was within five feet of them.

We immediately brought the two aggressors into the house to “lay down the law.”  Although I was worried that Lilija was injured, I need to let Max and Nastia know immediately that their behavior was intolerable.  We used firm voices, grabbed them by the sides of their heads and looked them right in they eye as we shouted, “No!” and gave them  scruff shakes.  They got the message and crouched into down stays at our feet.  So we crated the two culprits and went to find Lilija.

She had a large, long cut along her right elbow and a cut on her shoulder–she definitely needed a vet’s attention.  Poor Lilija came home later that day with 11 staples between all her injuries.

We took Lilija into our home because she was being bullied by her kennel mate.  When she came to us, she had three large open sores on the top of her head that have turned into large scars.  We worried that she wasn’t safe.  And, as my husband said, she’s a sweetheart.  We love her to bits–but we have wondered and worried about her place in our dog pack.  Are we doing her a disservice?  Will the girls resolve their pack issues without any more blood shed?  How can we  keep the peace in our family?

And then we had to create a strategy–obviously the little girls had some issues to work out . . . and Max complicated matters . . . and something about the dogs all being out alone with Jake created the scenario that emboldened Nastia to push the boundaries.

So, we rearranged the laundry room to make sure we always have two crates available.  Set up firm rules that Jake is not to be out alone in the morning, when energy levels are high and all three fights started, with all five dogs at once.  And we started supervising the girls Nastia and Lilija very closely.

Now, exactly one and a half months after the dog fight, the girls are playing together like old times, but a few things have changed.  We’ve had one more small skirmish–again instigated by Nastia.  Their play is rougher than before.  That took some getting used to.   And, when energy is running high, we separate the young girls.

And for now, we seem to have things under control.

There has been an interesting shift, though.  Nastia had a bit of an ear infection before the last skirmish and Lilija bit her sore ear.  For a few days, Nastia held her ear in a funny position and walked around with a started look on her face.   

Will that have an overall impact on the hierarchy battles?  It’s too soon to tell . . . but I’ll tell you when I know more!