Tl;dr: Littermate has started attacking her bonded sibling at age 5. Could be littermate syndrome but could be rage syndrome. Last time I got in the middle and was bit. Is it better to rehome or keep pushing? What do we do next?
At a loss for what to do.
Our GSD/Collie-mix girls were adopted to us as bonded littermates. They love each other deeply, sleep cuddling together, worry when the other isn't around. We had these girls for two years without issue, and they had no prior aggression history.
Then in the last year Selkie has started attacking her sister Puca. She's a very timid, cuddly, couch potato of a dog normally. When she attacks its like her eyes glaze over and she is no longer "present." It's vicious and prolonged. She breaks skin. If we weren't there to intervene we think she would do very serious damage. These attacks sometimes coincide with overstimulation, but often have no lead up or warning at all.
(I should mention Puca has also started these fights a few times, but she doesn't go vicious the way Selkie does. Puca's is more akin to sibling bullying [tackling and jumping without knowing when to stop], whereas Selkie actually goes for serious pain.)
We took Selkie to the vet who thinks it might be rage syndrome based on the no-warning behavior switch, but the other clear possibility we see is littermate syndrome. Its just weird that it would start as adults.
We started Selkie on daily gabapentin. Started walking them seperately, only letting them outside seperately, and keeping them in seperate parts of the house for large portions of the day. For a while things seemed to be getting better. Selkie was still starting shit, but a quick grab now pulled her out of it, whereas before she had to be dragged off, restrained, and calmed.
Then a few days ago we were having a calm night when Selkie lunged at her sister again. When I pulled her off she kept going and chomped onto my arm. No blood, but there's two puncture marks and a big bruise. I don't know if she intended to bite me or if I just got caught in the crossfires, but she kept snapping and trying to pull away from me. I had to put my body weight on her and shove her head down onto the floor until she calmed down long enough I could get her in a room and shut the door. And she was still low growling even at that point.
We have a converted shed in the back that my husband uses as a music space. Right now thats where Selkie lives until we get her a new muzzle (she learned to take off her old one).
My husband wont ever give up on Selkie, but since I was bit he's left it to me what happens next. We got them from a last home rescue, and if we did rehome Selkie she would go back to the same rescue. The girls actually were fostered the owner of the rescue, and I know she has a particular soft spot for them and their wellbeing. I still send her pictures of them sometimes. And we could always surrender Selkie, but offer to foster until they've found the right home for her.
I'm trying to focus on what's best for both girls.
I just don't know what quality of life they'll have apart. Even when she's just been attacked, Puca mopes and leads us to her sister when they're seperated. Neither has slept well since they've been split up. And when we let Puca outside she goes straight to Selkie's door.
If we give up Selkie we imagine both dogs going through a deep depression - possibly always carrying that dark cloud over them. But together feels like a big tragedy waiting to happen.
This could just be littermate syndrome. We have another dog and a cat and neither of them have ever been the target. Its always poor Puca who takes the brunt of all this. And she doesn't seem to rage out if Puca isn't there. So far anyway. If this is actually just littermate syndrome, I worry we're doing a disservice by keeping the girls together.
But if it IS rage syndrome then I worry about putting a dangerous dog out onto another family, and that she might start attacking people at some point. I worry that we're putting an inevitable BE on someone else. I also feel like my husband has a rare patience and capacity for Selkie's behavior. He's the guy that will stand by her and add all the extra routines to his day while she tries different epileptic medications until we find the one that works. He doesn't want to split the family. He wants to keep trying and making this work.
What would you do in my shoes?
At a loss for what to do.
Our GSD/Collie-mix girls were adopted to us as bonded littermates. They love each other deeply, sleep cuddling together, worry when the other isn't around. We had these girls for two years without issue, and they had no prior aggression history.
Then in the last year Selkie has started attacking her sister Puca. She's a very timid, cuddly, couch potato of a dog normally. When she attacks its like her eyes glaze over and she is no longer "present." It's vicious and prolonged. She breaks skin. If we weren't there to intervene we think she would do very serious damage. These attacks sometimes coincide with overstimulation, but often have no lead up or warning at all.
(I should mention Puca has also started these fights a few times, but she doesn't go vicious the way Selkie does. Puca's is more akin to sibling bullying [tackling and jumping without knowing when to stop], whereas Selkie actually goes for serious pain.)
We took Selkie to the vet who thinks it might be rage syndrome based on the no-warning behavior switch, but the other clear possibility we see is littermate syndrome. Its just weird that it would start as adults.
We started Selkie on daily gabapentin. Started walking them seperately, only letting them outside seperately, and keeping them in seperate parts of the house for large portions of the day. For a while things seemed to be getting better. Selkie was still starting shit, but a quick grab now pulled her out of it, whereas before she had to be dragged off, restrained, and calmed.
Then a few days ago we were having a calm night when Selkie lunged at her sister again. When I pulled her off she kept going and chomped onto my arm. No blood, but there's two puncture marks and a big bruise. I don't know if she intended to bite me or if I just got caught in the crossfires, but she kept snapping and trying to pull away from me. I had to put my body weight on her and shove her head down onto the floor until she calmed down long enough I could get her in a room and shut the door. And she was still low growling even at that point.
We have a converted shed in the back that my husband uses as a music space. Right now thats where Selkie lives until we get her a new muzzle (she learned to take off her old one).
My husband wont ever give up on Selkie, but since I was bit he's left it to me what happens next. We got them from a last home rescue, and if we did rehome Selkie she would go back to the same rescue. The girls actually were fostered the owner of the rescue, and I know she has a particular soft spot for them and their wellbeing. I still send her pictures of them sometimes. And we could always surrender Selkie, but offer to foster until they've found the right home for her.
I'm trying to focus on what's best for both girls.
I just don't know what quality of life they'll have apart. Even when she's just been attacked, Puca mopes and leads us to her sister when they're seperated. Neither has slept well since they've been split up. And when we let Puca outside she goes straight to Selkie's door.
If we give up Selkie we imagine both dogs going through a deep depression - possibly always carrying that dark cloud over them. But together feels like a big tragedy waiting to happen.
This could just be littermate syndrome. We have another dog and a cat and neither of them have ever been the target. Its always poor Puca who takes the brunt of all this. And she doesn't seem to rage out if Puca isn't there. So far anyway. If this is actually just littermate syndrome, I worry we're doing a disservice by keeping the girls together.
But if it IS rage syndrome then I worry about putting a dangerous dog out onto another family, and that she might start attacking people at some point. I worry that we're putting an inevitable BE on someone else. I also feel like my husband has a rare patience and capacity for Selkie's behavior. He's the guy that will stand by her and add all the extra routines to his day while she tries different epileptic medications until we find the one that works. He doesn't want to split the family. He wants to keep trying and making this work.
What would you do in my shoes?
