Came home from work yesterday (Thurs) to find my Jack Russell with a number of puncture wounds to his neck and other lacerations after getting attacked by my Staffie - to say the family and I were gutted and shocked would be the understatement of the year. The attack could have went on and off for up to several hours, I just don't know?
I don't give a damn about this, but there was a couple of huge heavy plant pots knocked over and smashed during the incident, so I shudder to comprehend what went on if they managed to topple them over.

The Staffie is just a year old and in heat right now and both she and the JR (male) don't get along and never did due entirely to him. The JR's 8yrs old and a typical JR, set in his ways, who generally likes to be left alone, unlike the Staffie who's just your typical hyper young dog full of life.

Considering what he's been through the JR's doing as fine as can be expected. Being the tough little warrior he is, he'll be on the mend soon, but that's besides the point. What has taken me by surprise is the Staffie was such a docile dog, has never been aggressive towards any human at any time in the past, and I've no reason to believe she will at any time in the future. And besides, having children, it wouldn't be an option to have an aggressive dog about home.

Despite there being no love lost between both pets, they were always kept together in the back yard while at work without any problems.

There would never have been any instance whereby the JR would have set upon the Staffie, so any injuries incurred in this attack were as a direct result of an onslaught by the Staffie only.
A few nights prior to this attack and completely out of the blue, the Staffie attacked the JR (which was the first time). They were quickly seperated, which resulted in total segregation for both while at work with the Staffie being locked up considering she was the one who attacked the other dog first. However, I put it down to a one off incident and decided to put both together again - a decision I now regret.

It might sound silly, however could this incident be connected to the Staffie being in heat? are there any dog owners who can advise me here because I'm at my wits end. Getting rid of the Staffie isn't an option as she's a dearly beloved pet. Saying that, the JR is also a dearly beloved pet, and is probably more thought off because he's been in the household the longest and to see him battered and bruised wasn't a nice experience.

If anybody has had similar experiences or could offer any advice it would be greatfully appreciated. Thanks.

sounds like just a little falling out to me....if your Staffie meant serious business i don't think your JT would have just a few puncture wounds!

My 2 GSD'd often have 'arguments' just like my 2 kids do-but being dogs the only way they express themselves is by seemingly 'fighting'.

I would highly recommend getting your Staffie spayed-bitches in season (any breed) can be very hormonal. (my 2 are bitches....so i know!)

Do you have a crate? I would recommend crating your Staffie when alone and whilst in season.

You need to get the Jack Russell to the vets to get his wounds treated and just looked at in general.

It is a bad idea to leave dogs together when one or both is in heat.

Get your bitch castrated.

Keep them seperated when you are at work and probably/possibly for their safety all the time when the bitch is in season but inquire now about getting her/him castrated for safety and health.

I would imagine the aggression if sudden is down to being in season but also being left for long hours maybe boredom as well??? Are they exercised before you leave and when you come home?? Are they left with stimulation to keep them occupied while at work? Kongs etc??

Good luck.

i agree, get him to a vets for a check-up asap.

as to the leaving them alone together, i would never leave 2 dogs together with nothing to spearate them such as a tall dog gate, or a door. its asking for trouble IMO as the leaders of the pack (you or your family members) arent around. we have had 2 dogs before, and they would get on famously when we were with them, but as soon as we went upstairs/outside they would start to fight. they were never left alone together, too much of a risk.

I cannot agree Kelly, 2 dogs or even 3 (when we had a 3rd) have always been left together with no problems at all - if mine fought when I left the room I would be very worried indeed.

When we first get a new dog obviously we separate them until we are sure they are OK, but in all the years we have had multiple dogs we have only had two fights, one when one of our girls was in season and another when we left chew toys and they argued over them. We learned from both those occasions and never leave food or chews for them now, and they just lay down and go to sleep as we leave and wake up manic when we return.


However the OP should IMO get the dog neutered ASAP, and then find a way to keep them apart when unsupervised as when I say ours fought we had no injuries we just knew because a neighbour said she heard them and they both looked rather ashamed when we returned.

*coughs*

Got to agree with Mollie. In a multi dog household you have to get to know your dogs. Until you do, separating them is sensible. But once you know the triggers likely to set off a fight, you make sure these don't occur.

In our case, fight only ever happened when we were around - it was us humans that made mistakes with food and we are major resources that 'needed' guarding - very few fights and none since we became a whole neutered household (worked for us but isn't a guarantee)

Being in season can cause major personality changes and I suspect this is the main cause of problems, though being shut in the 'yard' while you are out could indicate too much of the wrong stimulation.

I would definitely separate them for now - you don't want the fighting behaviour to become ingrained. Once the season is passed, try reintroducing them under supervision and try to be aware of any triggers (can be very hard to spot) that might lead to fighting. Then as soon as you can (8 - 12 weeks after the season) get your girl spayed.

molliepops has given very sensible advice. However, having had a multi - dog household for many years, IMHO it is ME who is always in charge and as a result, I have not had any problems. I have 2 (entire) males and 3 females living together without any issues for a long time. Yes, the in season girls are isolated when in season but I have never had arguments over food/treats etc because I am in charge and when I say 'NO' they know that I mean No! When I am not at home they are all left together (apart from the in season girls - but even they are let out in the garden with the boys WHEN I AM STANDING OVER THEM, WATCHING EVERY MOVE and I would be totally shocked to come home and find the problem that the OP had. My males are not castrated and only the old girl is spayed. You have to be the one in charge at all times and then, even in your absence, the boundaries are in place. I'm not expert but after 30 years of having a multi-dog household (they all live in, not outside in kennels) I have never had a irreconcilable problem. I hope the OP finds a way to sort her problem out

why on earth did you think it was a good idea to leave an in heat bitch alone with a dog all day?!? Get her neutered.

Hello folks thanks for the replies.

While the Staffie isn't neutered, the JR is, and besides he wouldn't be getting too frisky with her even if he wasn't neutered. He's getting on a bit, set in his ways and not interested in the Staffie - he really hasn't much time for anyone or anything let alone the Staffie.

She's a very dominate dog and would have tried to overpower the JR in the past in a playful manner being young and lively, but he wouldn't have stood for any of that nonsense, and a quick snap and bearing of the teeth was enough for her to back off. However lately she appears to have grown in confidence which is slighly worrying considering what happened a couple of days ago. My opinion on it would be she knows she can now take him on and have the upper hand, whereby in the past the JR as I've already mentioned kept her on the back foot with a simple bearing of the teeth, although he's never bitten her.

I'll continue to observe things. They're still being kept apart which maybe isn't the best course of action because how will I determine if this was simply a one off attack or is there more to come.

Somebody mention exercise in an earlier post. They do get walked, maybe not as often as I'd like, but the back yard/garden is quite sizeable and they've the full run of it which they make good use off, especially the Staffie who's never done running the full length of the garden like a greyhound after a rabbit.

More I read OP the more worried I become, keeping dogs especially powerful breeds cooped up in a garden or yard with out giving them a lot of walks is storing up trouble. If the staffie is
that sounds like she needs a lot more exercise to keep her happy.
If the JR is getting older there could be some changes in their relationship with the staffie vying for top spot.
Even neutered boys can get excited when confronted with a female in heat and left alone and bored with not enough exercise is a recipe for disaster IMO.

How much is the Staffie walked each day? he will need two good walks,about an hour long each, running in the yard is simply not enough, they need to be out fo their environment, sniffing new things, greeting other dogs, exploring the world.There is not enough mental or physical stimulation in the back yard.
Make it your priority

You mention nothing of intending to get her neutered.
How old is she?
And i personally don't think any dog should be left in the garden for any long period of time.
Boredom+Heat+dominant dog+JT= big trouble.

I think you should get your Staffie neutered. If you're not going to breed from her, she's more likely to get cancer of the uterus if you don't.

She'll also be less moody.

Also it sounds as if she should be walked more.

Just thought - are you sure it was the Staff that bit the JRT?

Putting a bitch in heat unsupervised in the garden is a giant, flashing neon sign for all the entire males in the area. You might think your yard is secure, but some dogs are mighty determined!! JRT defends his territory, big male dog looking for some sweet loving tells him to back off in no uncertain terms.

There is a chance that the Staffie was 'visited' by a loose male dog,she could have been made pregnant.

Well yes that could well be the problem, dogs from up to 3 miles away can smell an entire bitch in season !

I once watched through a crack in the door to see what my normally sweet-natured, loving, obedient dog did while I was out and was shocked to see her trotting over to the fishtank and terrorizing the fish - who she'd never even glanced at before. I got the impression this was a regular pastime! One of my current dogs climbs up onto the coffee table and stands wagging his tail in triumph, something he'd NEVER do if I was in the room - he's got no idea I know this

I think most people would be shocked to see what their dogs get up to when they think they can get away with it. Just because we impose our will on them it doesn't mean they're incapable of individuality, spontaneity and deception as soon as your back's turned.

A neighbour of ours used to leave his bullterrier and Yorkie together in his yard while he was out at work. Pretty much on a daily basis the bullterrier would attack the Yorkie until some of us contacted the RSPCA and the bullterrier was removed. The attacks were horrendous to watch and listen to and the bullterrier could easily have killed the yorkie but never went quite that far - presumably because it knew it would get into trouble with the owner. I think as far as the bullterrier was concerned it was "something to do" and it had no intention of stopping for as long as it could get away with it.

Don't risk leaving them together again op. Is your yard/garden big enough to section off?

Hi NRG,

Sorry to hear your having problems....

Wolf packs are now known to live very peacefully as a family most of the time, there will be aggression feeding on a kill as each wolf has to defend its food and the part of the animal its allowed to feed on.....

The only period of time when the whole pack becomes more aggressive is when the alpha female is on heat / in season......which if you think about the above it fits in with your situation....ie they haven't fallen out before until the staffie came into season.....

I think there is a danger of making female dogs aggressive if you have them neutered as the process removes their bodies ability to produce the natural calming hormones, with human women that are 'neutered' they sometimes have to have hormone replacement therapy in the form of a patch on the belly to replace the missing calming hormones....

Its hard to know for sure what is going on here from written text but if its coz of the staffie being in season then things may calm down once her season has finished and things will return to normal, if that is the case then I would suggest keeping them separate at the times when she is in season....

Another possibility is that the staffie is coming of age of her natural role in a pack and that may cause more problems in the future,especially if her role conflicts with the jack russell, plus you have two breeds that have a very strong will, my worry would be that one day you will come home and find a dead jack russell.....see how things go and perhaps re-homing of one of the dogs in the end will be the best course of action all round.....

Never read such rubbish, spaying frequently calms females down, not removes calming hormones.
And as for your comment on human HRT, utter rubbish again...

I'd have her spayed asap and keep them apart when you're not thereat least until her season is well and truly over.
As other posters have said they need regular exercise and stimulation, not just running around the garden, I wonder too if it's possible that another dog has either got in or been the other side of the fence and got them worked up by the scent of a possible intruder and then they've turned on each other. Being in season can affect even a neutered male and he could've been bothering her, even if you've never seen him do it before, causing her to turn on him.

I've got 4 dogs all neutered or spayed and luckily they never fight at all but they know who's the boss, and it's me.

Hope the wounds are healing up ok and they've settled down again. You do need to take extra care for a few days after a fight as they can still be worked up about it for some time afterwards and more likely to fight.

You're more worried about your plant pots than your pet?

Perhaps they were worried that the pot plants might have hurt the pets?

Spaying removes the production of progesterone, which is a natural calming hormone and a Serotonin uplifter. Spaying may therefore escalate any observable aggressive behaviour, either to humans or other dogs Despite popular belief spaying does not calm a female dog down. It may help to calm certain behaviour's in males, but not female dogs. How could it when you are removing hormones that raise serotonin?

Some other things to consider on the subject.....

http://www.doglistener.co.uk/medical/neuter.shtml

Say what?


That's exactly my point! and besides, the reason the pots were mentioned in the first instance was due to the ferocity of the attack that two huge pots managed to get toppled over and broken - which if the OP have read the next line, they'd have realised that.

No further incidents to report - both dogs are being kept seperate. Thanks for the replies. Some very good points made and sound advice given.

Get the Staffie PTS while you are at the VETS - horrible nasty dogs IMHO!