Three weeks ago I came home from work and Andy (6 yr old GSD) had attacked Wylie (5 yr old GSD from the same owner-surrender at the pound) again - was attacking him as I came in the gate, as a matter of fact. It was another $600 vet bill. And who do I blame - the dog that asked for it or the dog that responded? I had been separating Wylie in the pony paddock while I was at work, but the hose to the horses’ trough froze, so I opened that up so the horses could drink from the small troughs in there. I could’ve put Wylie in the dog kennel, but didn’t think about it - I just assumed he’d be okay as usual. And now Wylie and I will have to pay for my negligence.
Wylie’s been pushing at my two other young neutered male dogs for about a year. He wants to move up in the pack, I think, but they aren’t having any of it. Mostly they ignore him when he rushes up barking in their face, but it seems like he pushed the wrong buttons. And this same thing happened several months ago. At first he was chastened and quiet around the others, but gradually he regained his moxie.
The vet has told me that I need to either always keep them separated when I can’t supervise them, or rehome Wylie. Wylie is fine with the female dogs, the horses and the cats. Andy is the same, unless he’s pushed too hard. Neither is food aggressive, and I don’t leave food down anyway. And I’ve never rehomed an animal in all my 52 years. I’ve dealt with it, whatever it is. Wylie’s young and healthy. I have the facilities to keep them separated when I’m not at home, and when I am at home a strong “knock it OFF!” takes care of it.
I had been crating Wylie, but the weather was beautiful today. I had him in the outdoor kennel, with the other dogs in the yard. When I got home I let him out and fed the horses. I went down to toss them some hay. I wa sout of sight for maybe 4 minutes, and Andy attacked Wylie again. I’m at my wits end. I can’t keep doing this. It’s $600 each time to fix him, and he didn’t even have his stitches out from the last time. It’s his fault, I know it is. But it’s my fault too for not watching them every minute. I was only down in the barn about 4 minutes. I’m at the point where I think I might have to put him down. I can’t find him a home, I can’t afford to keep on going through this. My heart is breaking, I’m mad at him, I’m mad at Andy, I’m mad at myself. Damn.
I think part of the reason this is so difficult is that there haven’t been many times in my life where being smart and hard-working haven’t allowed me to see a way through my troubles. Shit happens, but I’ve usually had a contingency plan, a savings reservoir, I can figure out a solution. I’m good at solutions. This situation doesn’t have a solution that I readily see.
StG