hopesmom

Hello everyone, I need some ideas/advice. My husband rescued a female basset a year ago out of shelter before she was euthanized. She was not in the best condition when he got her. She had the run of the house for a little under a year when he brought home a nearly dead, extremely emaciated female basset from the streets of tulsa.

I have had "Hope" since November 29th, 2010 and she is getting bigger and stronger everyday. When my husband brought her home, she was 20 pounds, she is now up to 41 pounds.

Baby is still around 35, healthy just a smaller basset. Baby was always a little possesive, but after Hope had more intestinal issues and spent 2 days in the vet, they have gotten extremely agressive toward eachother, to the extent that if left unattented or even brought into the same room with restraints, the draw blood on eachother..

I have kept them seperated or restrained from one another, but I feel I need more help on what I can be doing to get my household back to normal.

What advice can anyone give me to A. stop them if they do get into a altercation and B. get them to stop the agression towards eachother

Any help would be greatly appreciated

SophieB

That's a shame... personally I have never seen an aggressive Basset in many years of ownership and being friendly wtih some breeders who show them. Any stories on here about them being aggressive seem to involve males, especially if there are two in a house and one is probably trying to exert his authority over the other. Females are generally (I want to say 'always') very placid so perhaps one of them isn't well and it's making her bad tempered!

Hopefully Mikey will be along soon and will help you!

hopesmom

Baby came from an abusive home.. She had the run of the house for a little under a year when my husband brought Hope home. The thing that gets me is that before this last vet trip (where Hope stayed 2 days) they played well and only had one or two scuffles.. Now.. I can't have them in the same room without them trying to draw blood.

It is hard keeping them away from eachother becuase I want both of my babies lounging with me at home..

Bassets are generally really sweet and docile.. I do have to take into consideration their history though..

Baby, like I said was abused before my husband got her.. And Hope, as lovable as she is, was left in a backyard when a family moved out. She was 20 pounds soaking wet when we picked her up in November and now she is up to 41 pounds.. Bigger than Baby now..

I wish there were someone here in Oklahoma that could help me resolve this situation..

sadeyes2

Hopesmom, bless you for taking these two poor souls.Can I ask if they are both spayed or what? The reason I ask is because I have read that if it is a fight for dominance then to get the less dominant one spayed, can sometimes help the situation.

However I do know of a basset breeder who knew just about all there was to know about bassets and she ended up almost halving her house in two because after much work, research, animal behaviourists etc, she came to the conclusion that the two females were never going to get along.

Hopefully Mikey T will come on soon and give you some advice.

P.S. Love the name 'Baby'

hopesmom

Both Baby and Hope are spayed.. Baby had the run of the house for about a year before we picked up.. I just don't understand why when Hope came back from the vet, it became all out war at my house between my two girls.

I think getting a behaviorist is my last option... I really want to have a warzone free home again..

SophieB

Hopesmum, I hadn't realised that your poor Bassets had a sad, neglected life before you had them! I just cannot begin to understand how anyone can be cruel to such beautiful animals and I am full of admiration for you and hope things turn out well for everyone!

hopesmom

you can see pictures of Hope's progression from the night we picked her up to now at my facebook page.. Lindsey Patterson.. To identify, there is a pic of me in a red shirt at work..

There is also an album of some of the fosters I have had since Hope

SophieB

I'm not sure whether I can bring myself to look Hopesmom as it upsets me to see a neglected Basset Hound!

hopesmom

It was hard to see in person...

Mikey T

This point the only Advice is to keep them separated and/or muzzled Keep in mind if using a muzzle for any prolonged period the only safe muzzle is a basket type muzzle as it allows the dog to pant,. There is not enough info to be of any help. You need to keep a diary of incidents that includes all the particulars, you may be able to determine triggers or circumstances that percipitate the the problem then you can see if their might be a managment or a behavior modifcation solution.

As mentioned above the best approach is to get a certified animal behaviors or a veterinary behaviorist involved. If there is non in the area (google search under both terms will provide directories for both) some vet schools have a fax service for remote help but it is not as good because the are regulated to working from what you tell them which is most likely somewhat biased.


For resourse that may be helpful check out Fight! - A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO THE TREATMENT OF DOG-DOG AGGRESSION

for a fair review click here

If you can not keep them separated 100% of the time successfully muzzle each one except to eat As for seperating the dog Some recomend throwing water on the dogs I have never found that use full. Some times a large blanket over one or both dogs can give you physical control an minimize the chance of being bitten, A break stick a dowel or metal rod the can be used to wedge the mouth open to release a bitten dog can be an escential tool as well to keep from being bit when interceeding is a fight.

see What is a breaking stick and how do I use one?


How to Safely Break Up a Dog Fight with a Parting Stick