My moms dog is trying to attack my dog and I need help

[narniaforever]

(South Carolina) I (20f) apologize for this being so long, I just REALLY need help.

My mom woke me up a half hour ago saying "OP, OP COME GET YOUR DOG QUICK!" My mom was laying down on the couch, my dog, B (almost 2 years old, female, my moms dogs daughter) at her feet and her dog, Z (4-5 years old, female and possibly pregnant) on top of her about to jump my dog. I quickly grabbed my girl and took her to the other couch and sat with her.

Z kept eyeing B. My mom got up and went to the back of the house (think of the house as a rectangle split in 2 long ways. Living room and kitchen in the front, bedroom and bathroom in the back. The front and back are separated by one door. We sleep in the front with the door to the back closed because the back of the house gets way too hot during summer) to use the bathroom. Z got off her couch, walked past me and B and opened the door to the back to be with my mom. I shut it behind her because 1. I didn't want the 2 dogs near eachother and 2. Leaving the door open would have caused heat to get into the front of the house.

After my mom came out with her dog I saw Z unblinkingly watching B while coming closer. B was on my couch trying to sleep, not even looking at Z. I knew the look though and immediately got up and stood between them and kept telling my mom to get her dog. Well that's when Z snarled and lunged for B. She almost got my forearm but LUCKILY I was able to grab her my the skin on the side of the neck and drug her away while she was snarling and showing her teeth. I blocked her view of B and told her she was VERY bad while still holding her. My mom finally got Z and to separate them quickly I had to put B in the back of the house. Once I did and shut the door Z tried to go open the door and get after B again!!!

Well being separated, away from me, is punishing my dog who did absolutely nothing wrong. Z has a history of picking fights with other dogs. Before it was my brother's dog who we had before we got Z. They were best friends at first but after Z got pregnant the first time things were hot and cold between them. After about a year of it Z finally decided my brothers dog wasn't good anymore ever so we had to keep them separated 24/7 for 5+ months (sometimes they would still fight because one would get out of whatever room they were in, pretty inevitable sadly). My brothers dog hasn't lived with us since last December so we haven't had to deal with the fights. But since then my moms dog has fought 2 random dogs in the neighborhood and theres been a couple times when she has snarled/death glared/almost fought B. B has never been in a fight and is a huge sweetheart, she never does anything at all to provoke Z and even when the first growling was happening this morning B was just laying there clueless and scared.

Here comes another issue. B is locked in the back of the house essentially being punished because yet again my mom is refusing to put her dog back there. Saying things like "this is Z's house!" But the thing is that is isn't!! My dogs and Z all moved into this house together. Just because it's my moms house does not mean by any standards that the dogs think "humans house = humans dog's house" if that makes sense.

Z is being petted and babied and belly rubbed on the couch after trying to attack B while B is alone in the back of the house hot and crying because she wants to be out here with me. I would go back there with her but due to my asthma the heat makes it too hard for me to breathe so I can have an asthma attack from it.

I have no idea what to do. Z has a temperament issue and my mom is biased and tells me to shut the fuck up anytime I try telling her B shouldn't be the one separated. We don't have a kennel and can't get one right now. I know I need to get B away from my Z asap. I am trying to move out but I am broke and can't find a place right now. I don't know what to do. It wouldn't be so bad if the back of the house wasn't so hot, we literally sleep in the front on the couches because it gets so hot back there.

I've told my mom before that if her dog ever hurts mine I'll do whatever I need to do to get the attack to stop then I'll call animal control on Z because her dog has bad issues and she is being an irresponsible owner for thinmkg her dog is perfect and can do no wrong. She tells me that I have no ground to stand on because it's my moms house and therefore her dog can't get in trouble since it will have happened on her property. Thing is, I live here too, so do my dogs. Is she even right, is there nothing to be done if her dog attacks mine in the house where we both are residents?

I don't know what to do so if anyone has advice I'd greatly appreciate it. I really don't know what to do and my mom won't even listen when I try talking about it. I was up 16 hours yesterday and only had gotten 1 hour of sleep before I got woken up about this so I am extremely sleep deprived and need rest but I am afraid if I go to sleep Z will try to get into the back of the house again, plus I really don't want B alone in the heat so idk what to do.

 

[disjardin]

@narniaforever Animal control will generally not seize dogs due to dog to dog conflicts. Only bites to humans generally warrant animal control. Obviously depends on where you live.

Can you not separate the dogs? Seems like the only logical solution here.

 

[disjardin]

You can also just move out...

 

[narniaforever]

@disjardin Idk if you missed it in my post but I did mention I am trying to move out but I am broke and can't currently find a place, I am trying though.

And I am trying to keep them separated but like I said the only way to separate them is to put one in the back of the house where it is very hot. If I have to put one back there I think it should be my mom's dog bc she is the problem, however my mom won't hear anything said about her dog if it's negative

 

[mpaper345]

@narniaforever It could be due to the fact that they're related. Or it's simply because your mom's dog is unaltered/pregnant. Your mom sounds like an asshole and she needs to fix her dog. But since that won't happen you need to move out or put your dog with a friend for a while. I'm pretty sure there's nothing legally you can do about it because you're choosing to live there with your dog.

Keeping your dog there is just putting both dogs and everyone in the house in danger. If they get into a fight I'm assuming you guys are not trained in how to break it up safely. I'm sorry, I'm not really sure what kind of answers you're looking for. If your mom won't listen, you need to get out.

 

[narniaforever]

@mpaper345 I do know how to break up a dog fight, I just am scared of what could happen before I'm able to get them separated.

Yeah my mom is totally being a complete asshole. I have nowhere to take the dogs unfortunately so that's another reason why I am so stressed about it

 

[mpaper345]

@narniaforever What kind of time frame are you looking at? Best case scenario, how soon are you looking to move out? Boarding probably isn't an option, as it's rather pricey. You could try reaching out to a shelter to see if they have resources for you. They won't take the dog unless you surrender it but they may be able to point you in the direction of someone who could foster it for you while you figure it out. I wish I had better advice for you. All I can say is try to keep them apart to avoid any injury in the meantime. Good luck.

 

[narniaforever]

@mpaper345 Thank you for the advice. Since we are actually being evicted I'm trying to find my own place in the next couple of weeks. I'm just panicking because I am completely broke.

 

[mpaper345]

@narniaforever Also try Facebook pages for any shelters/lost pet pages in your area. Just post in the pages that you need temporary foster for your dog while you change living situations. Somebody would probably happily do it for free, assuming you would provide the food for the dog.

 

[narniaforever]

@mpaper345 Thank you I didn't even think of this

 

[jesuslover34]

@narniaforever I'm currently in the same situation. But both dogs are mine and ones a 7 month puppy named rezzy and the older dog iris is about 5 years old. Ironically I got the puppy so she'd have a friend to play with. But anyway they do play alot together but under certain situations iris becomes hostile. After talking to the vet she recommended a doggy type prozac which has helped alot. It doesnt stop it completely but gives her a longer fuse to notice when it's about to happen. Start looking for triggers that set your moms dog off first so you can avoid the situation. And it can be just about anything from a kid in the house to just coming inside from outside. But once you find the triggers itll be easier to prevent them before they happen. And if they do get into a scuffle the vet suggested a light choke hold (dont go extreme) but slowly apply pressure n she'll just give up. Hope this helped a little and good luck

 

[mpaper345]

@jesuslover34 I've never heard this suggested before. FFS do not choke the dog. You're going to get yourself bitten or you're going to hurt the dog. First and foremost try a noisemaker or some kind of distraction. This could be a can full of change that makes a loud noise when you shake it, or have a squirt bottle ready to squirt the aggressor. If it's more severe, please look into the wheelbarrow method. Be sure that IF you have to PULL them apart, that they don't have a hold on one another or you will make the wound much worse.

All that being said, the ONLY SAFE THING for you to do is get the dog out of the house. The more fights they get into, the less likely it is that they're ever going to tolerate each other.

 

[narniaforever]

@mpaper345 I'd like to say that I've used this method in plenty of dog fights and it works every time. The dogs weren't hurt by it, you literally do it to cut off their air supply so within 2 seconds they let go. The trick is to get them to let go on their own so the flesh doesn't rip as you pull them apart.

I've never been bitten while doing the choke either, but trying the wheelbarrow method has only worked once or twice for me, water does absolutely nothing at all, and noise doesn't phase them. Cutting off air supply is the only efficient way to get them to stop.

 

[mpaper345]

@narniaforever LOL sorry but that's just absolutely not true. Noise makers can work in the right situations. Wheelbarrow method was the most used method in our shelter and it always worked. I mean you can say you like your method more but it doesn't mean others aren't efficient. Different methods work for different dogs.

Somebody inexperienced reaching into the middle of a dog fight to grab a dog's throat will likely get bitten.

 

[narniaforever]

@mpaper345 You're right - different methods work for different dogs. In my particular situation the choke hold works and leaves no damage and immediately stops the fight. But if you would rather risk dislocating a dogs legs, ripping a dogs flesh, then I can't stop you.

 

[mpaper345]

@narniaforever You are risking all kinds of things in either situation, my friend. It's a dog fight. In your situation, you're just putting yourself more at risk.

Did you miss the part where I warned against ripping the flesh? There are specifically ways to avoid doing this with the wheelbarrow method. That's why I said "look into it."

In all of my particular situations, the wheelbarrow method has worked, nobody got bitten, no flesh was ripped and no legs were dislocated. Different experiences.

 

[narniaforever]

@jesuslover34 Z and my brothers dog have literally been in no less than 40 fights. I started doing the choke hold, me and my brother would go in at the same time to do it, and it always worked so I can vouge for that. It just makes me nervous because I know B might not even fight back. Thank you for the suggestion

 

[jesuslover34]

@narniaforever Yeah at some point water & noise makers just wont work. I tried em and it only ended in worse injuries. But def sounds like your moms dog needs some kind of medication or to work on getting out sooner

 

[narniaforever]

@jesuslover34 I agree on the medication. I'm trying to move out rn but I am completely broke. I've tried the water and noise methods and it has never once phased the dogs.

 

[narniaforever]

@jesuslover34 Thank you, I'll try and figure hers out and hopefully that'll help