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My Dog Killed my Other dog - Part 1

By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE

The following taboo topic article might come as a surprise for some, but I assure you dogs killing dogs within the same household is common. The reason you most likely have never heard of this phenomenon is that people rarely talk about the situation. Today, I want to shed some light on the problem and offer a few tips on how to prevent deaths. 

Second Dog Introduction 
When you decide to get a second dog, usually meetings and introduction processes take place before the second dog becomes a fulltime family member. The most common situation for a multiple-dog household is dog two (Fido) is younger than dog one (Rex). When Fido moves in, all is well, and friendship might start to blossom. Both dogs enjoy each other and seem to do everything together. In other cases, Rex and Fido tolerate each other; over time, tolerance turns to annoyance. 

Dog Aggression vs. Dog Attack 
There is a big difference between dog aggression and dog attacks. The former is a boisterous and fasts pace action exchange where individuals try to settle a conflict. The latter, on the other hand, is silent and somewhat stationary. A dog attack serves to kill the individual. In some cases, aggression can turn deadly, but in most cases, it never comes as a surprise. 

Multiple Dog Household Deaths 
Pet caregivers will consult when dogs with an age difference display aggressive behaviours. From there, we can work on behaviour modification and management. Clients leave with dog behaviour and training protocols designed to facilitate peaceful living arrangements. On other occasions, clients consult for aggression because one dog killed the other. This claim might surprise you, but unfortunately, it’s a real one. 

Younger dogs like Fido will often kill older, more vulnerable dogs like Rex. From a canine point of view, the kill behaviour is normal. Dogs are opportunistic predators who exploit vulnerabilities. When dogs see an injured, sick, juvenile, or otherwise compromised individual, their predatory brain tells them to kill. Humans have tried to breed this out of dogs; unfortunately, most individuals retain their genetic makeup. 

Death by Dog 
So far, in my career, I’ve evaluated over two dozen dogs for the death of an older dog within the same household. Clients present the case as a silent, unexpected attack. People are shocked about the situation and think Fido just turned into a monster. Fido rarely is a monster; he is merely a dog. The proof is in the pudding: when the household has more than two dogs, Fido never attacks or displays aggression towards the other canines. 

Most often, the attack occurs when people are in another room or out on a short errand. There is no sound from the attacker. The cries come from Rex. The high pitch cries serve to tell the attacker I am in pain, let me go! An attack never lasts long; it usually is over within a few seconds up to a minute or so. People never saw it coming, or more often than not, they could not recognize the subtle signs. Dog language is complex 

Take-Home Message 
If you have more than one dog in your household, learn dog language. You will need to identify the situation before it occurs. From there, you can separate dogs to manage the situation. Dog training can go a long way, but remember, we are working against natural behaviours. 

Please do not feel guilty about the death of a dog within your household; you didn’t know and couldn’t have prevented the situation. I recommend you take a dog language class and invite your friends with multiple dogs to join you. Make your experience know, for together, we can educate and prevent tragic deaths. 

I suggest you talk about the situation with or comment below to share the knowledge. If you recently lost a pet and need counselling, please drop me a line. I know how hard it is to lose a friend under such tragic events. 

For the second time now, this blog post has been removed (without and explanation from our web host) along with the nearly 200 comments that you shared. I am truly sorry and apologize for the problem. We read every comment and e-mail you send us, which is on average one a day. 

Please leave a comment, others seek solace in knowing they are not alone. Thank you for understanding this very frustrating situation.

11/15/2017

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in Behaviour, Aggression

132 comments

  • Emanuella
    Emanuella Mexico
    Jul 8 2020 10:47 AM
    Hello. I have just read an article about dogs killing another dog in the same home. I have 3 dogs. The two, have almost killed my 3rd dog 4 times since January. We have spent thousands on vets. I live in rural Mexico. To drive to a behaviorist is just not feasible at this time. I’m afraid my 3rd dog will not survive another attack. He may not survive this most recent one. Please if you think you can help me, email me back. I’ve been observing their behavior since February. Im trying so hard to understand what’s happening so I can address it and I can’t figure it out. I will gladly describe and answer any questions, but I hate to write out all of the little things they do only to be directed elsewhere. So again, please just respond and I’ll write the whole thing out. Thank you for your time thus far. I really hope to hear from you.

    Hello. I have just read an article about dogs killing another dog in the same home. I have 3 dogs. The two, have almost killed my 3rd dog 4 times since January. We have spent thousands on vets. I live in rural Mexico. To drive to a behaviorist is just not feasible at this time. I’m afraid my 3rd dog will not survive another attack. He may not survive this most recent one. Please if you think you can help me, email me back. I’ve been observing their behavior since February. Im trying so hard to understand what’s happening so I can address it and I can’t figure it out. I will gladly describe and answer any questions, but I hate to write out all of the little things they do only to be directed elsewhere. So again, please just respond and I’ll write the whole thing out. Thank you for your time thus far. I really hope to hear from you.

  • Jennifer
    Jennifer Texas
    Jul 10 2020 11:07 AM
    We just had our older Anatolian Shepherd kill our 9wk old miniature Red Heeler pup. I am so hurt over this. We've never seen any aggressive behavior towards other dogs in our Anatolian before. The pup got in a tiff with another red heeler and was yelping, the Anatolian grabbed the pup and crushed it's head. I am in shock. My husband is furious and wants to kill the Anatolian. I am wondering if this is normal dog behavior.

    We just had our older Anatolian Shepherd kill our 9wk old miniature Red Heeler pup. I am so hurt over this. We've never seen any aggressive behavior towards other dogs in our Anatolian before. The pup got in a tiff with another red heeler and was yelping, the Anatolian grabbed the pup and crushed it's head. I am in shock. My husband is furious and wants to kill the Anatolian. I am wondering if this is normal dog behavior.

  • Monika
    Monika Manitoba
    Jul 11 2020 11:28 AM
    I just found your article online after losing my old and increasingly sickly Brussels Griffon to an attack by my young female my pit bull (1 yr old.) For about 2 weeks prior to the fatal attack, both my young female Doberman (just over 1 yr) and my young female pitty began showing aggression toward my little old man. Of course my Dobe is easily called off and never laid a tooth on him, but the crabbiness toward him was definitely there. My pitty, though, got her ‘switch’ flipped and did the deed. I was present at the time of the attack (she literally snatched him from right under my feet,) and did everything in my power to get the dog to let go, but there was literally NO getting her off of him. A true case of ‘lights on, nobody home.’ It was violent and horrible. After yelling at my Dobe to get back, she hid under the kitchen table and stayed put. She is very trainable and respects my commands in every situation. My pit has never shown aggression toward any other dog or human... very loving and plays well with my other dogs... the Brussels included up until the 2 weeks prior. My question is this: Is this a case of an attack on an older, compromised dog due to the instinct to cull the weak pack member? Or is this the start of a behavioral pattern that will inevitably happen again? This dog is so precious to me and to my family, but we can’t risk a repeat with another dog, or worse, a child. Of course the rescue groups will not touch her with a kill history, so our only other option is euthanasia. I am anxious to hear your thoughts. Thank you so much for your time. Peace and Blessings

    I just found your article online after losing my old and increasingly sickly Brussels Griffon to an attack by my young female my pit bull (1 yr old.)

    For about 2 weeks prior to the fatal attack, both my young female Doberman (just over 1 yr) and my young female pitty began showing aggression toward my little old man. Of course my Dobe is easily called off and never laid a tooth on him, but the crabbiness toward him was definitely there. My pitty, though, got her ‘switch’ flipped and did the deed. I was present at the time of the attack (she literally snatched him from right under my feet,) and did everything in my power to get the dog to let go, but there was literally NO getting her off of him. A true case of ‘lights on, nobody home.’ It was violent and horrible. After yelling at my Dobe to get back, she hid under the kitchen table and stayed put. She is very trainable and respects my commands in every situation. My pit has never shown aggression toward any other dog or human... very loving and plays well with my other dogs... the Brussels included up until the 2 weeks prior.

    My question is this: Is this a case of an attack on an older, compromised dog due to the instinct to cull the weak pack member? Or is this the start of a behavioral pattern that will inevitably happen again? This dog is so precious to me and to my family, but we can’t risk a repeat with another dog, or worse, a child. Of course the rescue groups will not touch her with a kill history, so our only other option is euthanasia.

    I am anxious to hear your thoughts. Thank you so much for your time.

    Peace and Blessings

  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Spain
    Jul 12 2020 7:23 AM
    Hi, I just stumbled across this blog post, and would like to know if you could detect in these cases other similarities apart from the age gap, like eg. it's more common in same-sex dog households, or in specific breeds (eg. dogs with increased canine-aggression, like fighting dog breeds, livestock guardian dogs, etc.), or between dog with significant size/weight difference? I eg. have an old, arthritic, very sweet and gentle hound mix (male, intact, 42lbs/19kg), and a very obedient, now almost 2 year old, also very sweet spayed female, what I think is a Pit bull-Podenco-mix (44lbs/20kg), and which I found abandoned at around 5 months old. They get along very well, play gently with each other, although she does sometimes display dominant behavior, which I do not allow (like blocking his way, or gently pushing him away with her body when they walk up to me, and such), but there's no real aggressive behavior involved. I'm actually quite an experienced dog owner myself, but I never had such an age gap, at least not where the younger one would have been physically capable of doing harm to the older one (the only other time I had a large age gap was with the young female being a Chihuahua mix, and the male senior dog a large Spanish Mastiff-German Shepherd mix). However, this blog entry has raised concerns, so I'd really like to know if our situation is among the ones where these things commonly are prone to occur, and what I need to look out for. I do not want to risk any harm to my old boy. Thank you very much in advance!

    Hi, I just stumbled across this blog post, and would like to know if you could detect in these cases other similarities apart from the age gap, like eg. it's more common in same-sex dog households, or in specific breeds (eg. dogs with increased canine-aggression, like fighting dog breeds, livestock guardian dogs, etc.), or between dog with significant size/weight difference?

    I eg. have an old, arthritic, very sweet and gentle hound mix (male, intact, 42lbs/19kg), and a very obedient, now almost 2 year old, also very sweet spayed female, what I think is a Pit bull-Podenco-mix (44lbs/20kg), and which I found abandoned at around 5 months old.

    They get along very well, play gently with each other, although she does sometimes display dominant behavior, which I do not allow (like blocking his way, or gently pushing him away with her body when they walk up to me, and such), but there's no real aggressive behavior involved.

    I'm actually quite an experienced dog owner myself, but I never had such an age gap, at least not where the younger one would have been physically capable of doing harm to the older one (the only other time I had a large age gap was with the young female being a Chihuahua mix, and the male senior dog a large Spanish Mastiff-German Shepherd mix).

    However, this blog entry has raised concerns, so I'd really like to know if our situation is among the ones where these things commonly are prone to occur, and what I need to look out for. I do not want to risk any harm to my old boy. Thank you very much in advance!

  • Dogue Shop
    Dogue Shop
    Jul 12 2020 9:31 AM
    @AngelaBrown Yes, you are at risk. To put it simply, it is time to start a management plan to not leave these two dogs alone, even for a fraction of a second.

    @AngelaBrown
    Yes, you are at risk. To put it simply, it is time to start a management plan to not leave these two dogs alone, even for a fraction of a second.

  • Sarah
    Sarah Australia
    Jul 13 2020 1:05 PM
    Hi, About three months ago my husband and I got married and me and my dogs moved onto his place. He ranches and has four dogs, I have my two. All dogs have been integrating great and no problems. He has an 11 year old Aussie mix that is grumpy and in charge. She is growly over her food and lives outside most of the time, but never any problems and is in general a happy dog. I have a Rottweiler (Gypsy) age, 5, that has high anxiety, very attached to me, but no history of aggression. This past Friday we had all the dogs out (a common occurrence) and everything was smooth and happy. My husbands Aussie (Bailey) was lying a little off to the side of all the dogs. My husband walked over and started petting her, to which Bailey rolls on her back in a submissive position and he continues to scratch her tummy. Gypsy out of the complete blue runs at her and starts attacking her, with a locked jaw in between her legs, I run over and pull her off to which she runs and hides shaking. Bailey had two big puncture wounds on the inside of her leg, and limped inside. The next day she had a large Hematoma and I had to take her into the vet resulting in surgery. The vet is REALLY concerned about them doing it again, as am I. Gypsy has no history of aggression with any animal, but has been acting out of character since I moved. I am really concerned about her going after anohter animal or person and have lost all trust in her, which is hard because I have spent her whole life highly socializing her and working on her being very kind and going against her breed standards... and this was SO RANDOM and scary. I read your article "My dog killed my other dog" and it seems to pretty closely fit the situation, except my husband was literally petting Bailey and she was in a completely submissive position. Please let me know if you have ANY suggestions and how to proceed. Both dogs are obviously very loved and Bailey is my husbands own dog and Gypsy is mine... Thank you so much

    Hi,
    About three months ago my husband and I got married and me and my dogs moved onto his place. He ranches and has four dogs, I have my two. All dogs have been integrating great and no problems. He has an 11 year old Aussie mix that is grumpy and in charge. She is growly over her food and lives outside most of the time, but never any problems and is in general a happy dog. I have a Rottweiler (Gypsy) age, 5, that has high anxiety, very attached to me, but no history of aggression.

    This past Friday we had all the dogs out (a common occurrence) and everything was smooth and happy. My husbands Aussie (Bailey) was lying a little off to the side of all the dogs. My husband walked over and started petting her, to which Bailey rolls on her back in a submissive position and he continues to scratch her tummy. Gypsy out of the complete blue runs at her and starts attacking her, with a locked jaw in between her legs, I run over and pull her off to which she runs and hides shaking. Bailey had two big puncture wounds on the inside of her leg, and limped inside. The next day she had a large Hematoma and I had to take her into the vet resulting in surgery. The vet is REALLY concerned about them doing it again, as am I.

    Gypsy has no history of aggression with any animal, but has been acting out of character since I moved. I am really concerned about her going after anohter animal or person and have lost all trust in her, which is hard because I have spent her whole life highly socializing her and working on her being very kind and going against her breed standards... and this was SO RANDOM and scary.

    I read your article "My dog killed my other dog" and it seems to pretty closely fit the situation, except my husband was literally petting Bailey and she was in a completely submissive position. Please let me know if you have ANY suggestions and how to proceed. Both dogs are obviously very loved and Bailey is my husbands own dog and Gypsy is mine...
    Thank you so much

  • Molly
    Molly Corpus Christi
    Jul 14 2020 4:39 AM
    If still in shock and it makes it even harder she was my daughter comfort dog.my emtionless is me trying to my daughters rock but I really feel lost

    If still in shock and it makes it even harder she was my daughter comfort dog.my emtionless is me trying to my daughters rock but I really feel lost

  • Nikole
    Nikole Edmonton
    Jul 19 2020 3:08 PM
    I am not sure this is the right place, but there seems to be a lot of post about this subject. We have a combination of rescue dogs and dogs we have had since they were born. There is a total of 8: Buster (miniature greyhound), max (Jack Russell), Daisy (lab basset hound, Bear (great Pyrenees mix), Diesel (bully), Cherokee (red heeler)m, Tank (bully), Ellie (great Pyrenees). They have always been together and never separated from each other. Other than we were introducing them to a new dog, whether we basically be a temporary rescue or they became part of the family. Before Tank which is the last dog that was rescued and we have been unable to place there have been no signs of aggression and no dog fights. Tank has been in the picture for two years roughly and has become a large part of our one year's life.I came home yesterday to see our oldest dog Buster laying in a pool of his own blood and not moving. They were in a garage that is insulated, has old couches, food water and fans with ac. Its a two car garage. I chased the dogs out into the backyard and rushed my poor old man to the er vet. Two vet visits later he ended up passing away from his injuries, shock, and they think cardiac arrest. I cam home to evaluate the situation, but I only found a lot of blood all over our five-year-old bully Diesel. Now I am confused because Diesel has never shown any signs of aggression. To be honest, sometimes the other dogs picked on him (the smaller dogs because he was submissive) so that was always monitored closely. However, we believe that Diesel acted alone but some of the dogs have injuries on their snouts and a very small amount of blood. Diesel kept trying to come inside to see Buster. We don't know if we need to have him put down or if this is some crazy act of aggression. Literally, we are at a lost. Like I said we have many other animals, a one-year-old little girl, and we are expecting our second child, I have been raised around dogs my whole life. I knew this was possible when you have a large pack of dogs but for some naive reason, I thought it would never happen to us with how they always cuddled and played well together. Can you please give us some advice?? Our vet said he does not see why he would need to be put down, Rescue groups say rehab him, others say to keep him separate ( which we are), some say take him to the pound, and we dont know what to do.

    I am not sure this is the right place, but there seems to be a lot of post about this subject. We have a combination of rescue dogs and dogs we have had since they were born. There is a total of 8: Buster (miniature greyhound), max (Jack Russell), Daisy (lab basset hound, Bear (great Pyrenees mix), Diesel (bully), Cherokee (red heeler)m, Tank (bully), Ellie (great Pyrenees). They have always been together and never separated from each other. Other than we were introducing them to a new dog, whether we basically be a temporary rescue or they became part of the family. Before Tank which is the last dog that was rescued and we have been unable to place there have been no signs of aggression and no dog fights. Tank has been in the picture for two years roughly and has become a large part of our one year's life.I came home yesterday to see our oldest dog Buster laying in a pool of his own blood and not moving. They were in a garage that is insulated, has old couches, food water and fans with ac. Its a two car garage. I chased the dogs out into the backyard and rushed my poor old man to the er vet. Two vet visits later he ended up passing away from his injuries, shock, and they think cardiac arrest. I cam home to evaluate the situation, but I only found a lot of blood all over our five-year-old bully Diesel. Now I am confused because Diesel has never shown any signs of aggression. To be honest, sometimes the other dogs picked on him (the smaller dogs because he was submissive) so that was always monitored closely. However, we believe that Diesel acted alone but some of the dogs have injuries on their snouts and a very small amount of blood. Diesel kept trying to come inside to see Buster. We don't know if we need to have him put down or if this is some crazy act of aggression. Literally, we are at a lost. Like I said we have many other animals, a one-year-old little girl, and we are expecting our second child, I have been raised around dogs my whole life. I knew this was possible when you have a large pack of dogs but for some naive reason, I thought it would never happen to us with how they always cuddled and played well together. Can you please give us some advice?? Our vet said he does not see why he would need to be put down, Rescue groups say rehab him, others say to keep him separate ( which we are), some say take him to the pound, and we dont know what to do.

  • Kelly
    Kelly Arizona
    Jul 20 2020 9:29 PM
    I had noticed some wierd injuries to my older dog over the last 4 years. He was beginning to loose hearing and did loose sight in one eye. Did my best to keep him separated when not supervised. The other morning let all outside early, was inside house and heard no sounds. Went outside 1 hr later noticed my border collie/aussie had blood all over his face/neck. My younger thought to be meaner dog had little blood. Found my old dog alive but completely in shock and mauled to point of needing to be put down. I am angry at my dogs, feel guilty I was not there to protect him and thought of putting my other dogs down as just cant believe after so many years they killed my older, passive and never aggressive dog. Makes me sick just to think of his last minutes in such fear and pain. I cant believe my border collie was capable of this, he is such a nice dog.

    I had noticed some wierd injuries to my older dog over the last 4 years. He was beginning to loose hearing and did loose sight in one eye. Did my best to keep him separated when not supervised. The other morning let all outside early, was inside house and heard no sounds. Went outside 1 hr later noticed my border collie/aussie had blood all over his face/neck. My younger thought to be meaner dog had little blood. Found my old dog alive but completely in shock and mauled to point of needing to be put down. I am angry at my dogs, feel guilty I was not there to protect him and thought of putting my other dogs down as just cant believe after so many years they killed my older, passive and never aggressive dog. Makes me sick just to think of his last minutes in such fear and pain. I cant believe my border collie was capable of this, he is such a nice dog.

  • Julie
    Julie Edmonton
    Jul 27 2020 10:46 AM
    Hello, I am extremely hurt, heartbroken, and untrusting as our newer female dog that we’ve had for 1.5 years who is almost 2 lunged at our 4 year old female dog for what seemed she was being protective of me during a group play between me and both of them. The 1.5 year old is extremely dog aggressive and reactive with all other dogs besides our dog and our friend’s 2 dogs. Well, she now seems to be aggressive with ours and we are worried. They have always been best friends since day one. When the 1.5 year old lunged at our 4 year old dog, she wouldn’t let go of her ear and eventually broke her cartilage and caused her to get stitches in her ear. She just bit down and shook her. Had it not been for my husband there, I think she would’ve killed our 4 year old dog. Our older dog was crying in pain and the pup would not let go. It has been 3 days since the fight and they both have been acting fine like nothing has happened - have been playing and sleeping in the same bed together. I just can’t believe the 1.5 year old that has always played submissive to our older dog attacked her so aggressively and viciously. She didn’t growl or give her any warning. I am so lost and don’t know what to do. I can’t trust her and her dog aggressiveness. I’m worried it will happen again, or worse, she will start to turn human aggressive and bite one of us or someone else. I don’t know what to do to prevent this other than to get rid of her. Please help us!!

    Hello,
    I am extremely hurt, heartbroken, and untrusting as our newer female dog that we’ve had for 1.5 years who is almost 2 lunged at our 4 year old female dog for what seemed she was being protective of me during a group play between me and both of them. The 1.5 year old is extremely dog aggressive and reactive with all other dogs besides our dog and our friend’s 2 dogs. Well, she now seems to be aggressive with ours and we are worried. They have always been best friends since day one. When the 1.5 year old lunged at our 4 year old dog, she wouldn’t let go of her ear and eventually broke her cartilage and caused her to get stitches in her ear. She just bit down and shook her. Had it not been for my husband there, I think she would’ve killed our 4 year old dog. Our older dog was crying in pain and the pup would not let go.

    It has been 3 days since the fight and they both have been acting fine like nothing has happened - have been playing and sleeping in the same bed together.

    I just can’t believe the 1.5 year old that has always played submissive to our older dog attacked her so aggressively and viciously. She didn’t growl or give her any warning. I am so lost and don’t know what to do. I can’t trust her and her dog aggressiveness. I’m worried it will happen again, or worse, she will start to turn human aggressive and bite one of us or someone else. I don’t know what to do to prevent this other than to get rid of her. Please help us!!

  • Erika
    Erika Montreal
    Jul 28 2020 9:43 PM
    I work for a yorkshire dog breeder and today was the most traumatic experience I ever lived. I was alone at the house with the dogs outside, I suddenly hear a big fight so I check in the windows and see them all ganged up so I run inside to get a broom and I run back outside and yell at them, they all moved and I saw Cinnamon, laying there eyes wide open, all covered in dirt with her stomach open, she was pregnant. I had the worst panic attack ever, I fainted and vomited, I’ve been crying for 10 hours now, I don’t know how to recover for this and i’m getting scared, is this PTSD? Please help me i’m scared

    I work for a yorkshire dog breeder and today was the most traumatic experience I ever lived. I was alone at the house with the dogs outside, I suddenly hear a big fight so I check in the windows and see them all ganged up so I run inside to get a broom and I run back outside and yell at them, they all moved and I saw Cinnamon, laying there eyes wide open, all covered in dirt with her stomach open, she was pregnant. I had the worst panic attack ever, I fainted and vomited, I’ve been crying for 10 hours now, I don’t know how to recover for this and i’m getting scared, is this PTSD? Please help me i’m scared

  • Gaby DufresneCyr
    Gaby DufresneCyr
    Jul 29 2020 4:02 PM
    @Erika (Montreal) I'm sorry you had to witness this event. First, breathe in deep a few times when the images come to mind and release your thoughts to the universe. The first thing to remember is that dogs do what dogs do. I know it sounds harsh, but it is their nature. We cannot ask of them to be people and act as we do, that would be unfair and cruel to both them and us. A panic attack doesn't mean it will develop into PTSD. Although traumatic, your resilience will prevail and the images in your mind should dissipate. Time, in this case, is the only remedy. However, if you feel you need counselling, please find and animal trauma psychologist who can help you through this event. I wish you the best and send my condolences to you and your breeder. Gaby

    @Erika (Montreal)
    I'm sorry you had to witness this event.
    First, breathe in deep a few times when the images come to mind and release your thoughts to the universe. The first thing to remember is that dogs do what dogs do. I know it sounds harsh, but it is their nature. We cannot ask of them to be people and act as we do, that would be unfair and cruel to both them and us.
    A panic attack doesn't mean it will develop into PTSD. Although traumatic, your resilience will prevail and the images in your mind should dissipate. Time, in this case, is the only remedy. However, if you feel you need counselling, please find and animal trauma psychologist who can help you through this event.
    I wish you the best and send my condolences to you and your breeder.
    Gaby

  • Sarah
    Sarah Indiana
    Jul 30 2020 10:40 PM
    I’m sorry to read everyone’s losses and heartaches. Yesterday my daughter and I witnessed our 1 yr old pitbull kill our 7 yr old Italian greyhound. It was over in a matter of seconds, we have had the pitbull since he was 5 weeks old and the ig for 6 yrs. both had/have strong personalities. I keep playing the screen over and over and seeing the IG staring up at me as I’m trying to help. I just wasn’t strong enough and I feel like a failure. The pitbull is a good pup but now I’m scared, how to I work to correct this? Will this cross over to people? I failed our Italian Greyhound , and I want to help our pitbull not become a statistic.

    I’m sorry to read everyone’s losses and heartaches.
    Yesterday my daughter and I witnessed our 1 yr old pitbull kill our 7 yr old Italian greyhound. It was over in a matter of seconds, we have had the pitbull since he was 5 weeks old and the ig for 6 yrs. both had/have strong personalities. I keep playing the screen over and over and seeing the IG staring up at me as I’m trying to help. I just wasn’t strong enough and I feel like a failure. The pitbull is a good pup but now I’m scared, how to I work to correct this? Will this cross over to people? I failed our Italian Greyhound , and I want to help our pitbull not become a statistic.

  • Betty
    Betty Alabama
    Jul 31 2020 10:31 PM
    Thank you for this information. We rescued a Schnauzer in January bringing her into our home with an older dog who is a small dog half her size. The past two weeks, the Schnauzer has attacked the older dog in a very vicious manner. I’m convinced she’s trying to kill her. I’m heartbroken and confused. I’ve been searching everything I can find on this topic and you’re the only information I can find on this subject. I’ve had dogs my entire life and have never witnessed these attack’s for no apparent reason. The older dogs doesn’t do anything, one time, she was sleeping and the Schnauzer jumped on her trying to kill her. This was in front of my grandkids!!

    Thank you for this information. We rescued a Schnauzer in January bringing her into our home with an older dog who is a small dog half her size. The past two weeks, the Schnauzer has attacked the older dog in a very vicious manner. I’m convinced she’s trying to kill her. I’m heartbroken and confused. I’ve been searching everything I can find on this topic and you’re the only information I can find on this subject. I’ve had dogs my entire life and have never witnessed these attack’s for no apparent reason. The older dogs doesn’t do anything, one time, she was sleeping and the Schnauzer jumped on her trying to kill her. This was in front of my grandkids!!

  • Catherine
    Catherine New york
    Aug 8 2020 9:56 PM
    My sisters pitbull has now killed a second dog. The first dog was his son about a year ago, and they were fighting over a female in heat. This time, it was an unprovoked attack on a Yorkie. He LOVED this little girl. They slept together, hung out, played, etc. My sister is besides herself. She has other dogs in the house and doesn’t feel safe having him around them. I don’t want her to euthanize him for something I think we can fix- if not maintain. I think rehoming him to a house that has no other dogs is the best option. Any advice?

    My sisters pitbull has now killed a second dog. The first dog was his son about a year ago, and they were fighting over a female in heat. This time, it was an unprovoked attack on a Yorkie. He LOVED this little girl. They slept together, hung out, played, etc. My sister is besides herself. She has other dogs in the house and doesn’t feel safe having him around them. I don’t want her to euthanize him for something I think we can fix- if not maintain. I think rehoming him to a house that has no other dogs is the best option. Any advice?

  • Aubrey
    Aubrey Texas
    Aug 9 2020 9:33 AM
    I have a dog fighting question. I have three wonderful dogs that are all mixed breed. They get along together famously, usually. My two youngest Velcro and Ethel play well together (share toys, cuddle, etc.) and the eldest Elvira kinda just hangs out and watches every now and then she will play. When I was at my mothers back in April there was a dog fight that broke out where my youngest, oldest and my mothers dogs jumped my middle dog, Velcro. I had to break it up as I am certain they would have killed her. She suffered lacerations to her hind leg and had to spend three days at the vet. I brought my babies back home thinking that it had more to do with the number of dogs in the pen than anything else, but unfortunately last night 8/9 I had to break up an attack once again. Ethel and Elvira had jumped Velcro again. Luckily Velcro seems to have only suffered some bruising and swelling on her front leg. I am heartbroken, but blessed that she is alive and will survive. Unfortunately now I am faced with the decision of rehoming one of the two that attacked Velcro, or attempting to manage them. Th problem is I didn't see the beginning of either attack, so I don't know who started it or why. The first time I think it was excitement over a dog on the other side of the fence, but this second one...I'm not sure what triggered it. As much as I want to keep them all with me, I just don't know if that is the right choice.

    I have a dog fighting question. I have three wonderful dogs that are all mixed breed. They get along together famously, usually. My two youngest Velcro and Ethel play well together (share toys, cuddle, etc.) and the eldest Elvira kinda just hangs out and watches every now and then she will play. When I was at my mothers back in April there was a dog fight that broke out where my youngest, oldest and my mothers dogs jumped my middle dog, Velcro. I had to break it up as I am certain they would have killed her. She suffered lacerations to her hind leg and had to spend three days at the vet. I brought my babies back home thinking that it had more to do with the number of dogs in the pen than anything else, but unfortunately last night 8/9 I had to break up an attack once again. Ethel and Elvira had jumped Velcro again. Luckily Velcro seems to have only suffered some bruising and swelling on her front leg. I am heartbroken, but blessed that she is alive and will survive. Unfortunately now I am faced with the decision of rehoming one of the two that attacked Velcro, or attempting to manage them. Th problem is I didn't see the beginning of either attack, so I don't know who started it or why. The first time I think it was excitement over a dog on the other side of the fence, but this second one...I'm not sure what triggered it. As much as I want to keep them all with me, I just don't know if that is the right choice.

  • David
    David Pennsylvania
    Aug 11 2020 6:16 PM
    We are currently in on vacation and I got the call two days ago that our German shepherd attacked our puggle while being boarded together. I am in total shock. The shepherd cried when we boarded the two little dogs first, then when we can back to get her she was anxious to leave to see where her friends went. When I let them out and she comes in first, she nervously waits by the door for them to come back. Three years ago she was boarded and she cried the whole time, the woman who boards them asked us to put (chewie) our puggle in the kennel with her, and it worked. Rey, the shepherd immediately calmed down. This time the border walked in after hearing the puggle screaming and saw the shepherd had his head in her mouth. The puggle died yesterday after being rushed to the vet. Injuries to the neck, near jugular, and shoulder of puggle. I am now overridden with guilt and maybe I misinterpreted these signs that looked like “dog love” as something else. I don’t know what to do when I get back as I will have the shepherd and another dog left,... a shitzhu. I’ve had dogs die before, but not like this, this absolutely kills me. The guilt is overwhelming and I feel I abandoned him and was helpless to do anything. Not being there when he passed also makes it difficult. I still haven’t told my children who were very bonded to the puggle. Should I get rid of the shepherd (who was my dog) ?? Are the kids in any danger ?? Was it separation anxiety, lack of water (it was in the ’90s), fighting over food,... or something much, much worse. I’ll never know. If anyone reads this and has any info to share, it would be appreciated. Thanks for reading, writing this helped a little.

    We are currently in on vacation and I got the call two days ago that our German shepherd attacked our puggle while being boarded together. I am in total shock. The shepherd cried when we boarded the two little dogs first, then when we can back to get her she was anxious to leave to see where her friends went. When I let them out and she comes in first, she nervously waits by the door for them to come back. Three years ago she was boarded and she cried the whole time, the woman who boards them asked us to put (chewie) our puggle in the kennel with her, and it worked. Rey, the shepherd immediately calmed down. This time the border walked in after hearing the puggle screaming and saw the shepherd had his head in her mouth. The puggle died yesterday after being rushed to the vet. Injuries to the neck, near jugular, and shoulder of puggle. I am now overridden with guilt and maybe I misinterpreted these signs that looked like “dog love” as something else. I don’t know what to do when I get back as I will have the shepherd and another dog left,... a shitzhu. I’ve had dogs die before, but not like this, this absolutely kills me. The guilt is overwhelming and I feel I abandoned him and was helpless to do anything. Not being there when he passed also makes it difficult. I still haven’t told my children who were very bonded to the puggle. Should I get rid of the shepherd (who was my dog) ?? Are the kids in any danger ?? Was it separation anxiety, lack of water (it was in the ’90s), fighting over food,... or something much, much worse. I’ll never know. If anyone reads this and has any info to share, it would be appreciated. Thanks for reading, writing this helped a little.

  • Lisa
    Lisa Wisconsin
    Aug 12 2020 9:12 AM
    I had a dog that killed one of our older dogs when we were gone and we thought it was the older dog who instigated it. We didn’t have the realization at that time so two weeks later he killed another one of our dogs who was also an older dog. We have Lived with him for two years after that but unfortunately he almost killed a neighbor’s dog who got into our yard and almost killed and has tried to killed out cat.Based on our vets recommendations and the rescue we rescued him from we are euthanized him last week. It makes me very sad because 95% of the time he was a very sweet and loyal dog but he would just snap and would become reactivity and it would cause him to kill. We still have three other dogs in the house, we alway had to keep them very separate from him because we never knew when he’s going to react. We’ve begun to realize this is no life for him, the other dogs or us. Plus I’d he killed another animal I would not be be able to forgive myself.

    I had a dog that killed one of our older dogs when we were gone and we thought it was the older dog who instigated it. We didn’t have the realization at that time so two weeks later he killed another one of our dogs who was also an older dog. We have Lived with him for two years after that but unfortunately he almost killed a neighbor’s dog who got into our yard and almost killed and has tried to killed out cat.Based on our vets recommendations and the rescue we rescued him from we are euthanized him last week. It makes me very sad because 95% of the time he was a very sweet and loyal dog but he would just snap and would become reactivity and it would cause him to kill. We still have three other dogs in the house, we alway had to keep them very separate from him because we never knew when he’s going to react. We’ve begun to realize this is no life for him, the other dogs or us. Plus I’d he killed another animal I would not be be able to forgive myself.

  • Marilyn
    Marilyn New Jersey
    Aug 12 2020 1:01 PM
    yesterday my akita male attacked my morkie male. I feel so responsible woulda coulda shoulda is now playing in my head. Im so torn what do I do I loved them both. I have other dogs and he never showed aggressive behavior with them. My husband was considering getting rid of him. For now he doesn't even want to see the dog, he walked this dog akita everyday. The akita looks to me like, he knows he did was wrong hes sniffing around and seems ok but sad i don't know maybe its me so im also grieving but for now Im taking him out for walks because the dog seems he wants to go but then when i bring him home he doesn't want to come in right away as if hes afraid He is such a sweet gentle dog im hurt but im going to try with him. I pray my husband can too otherwise Im hoping i find a could home for him but also afraid for him. So hurt and confused

    yesterday my akita male attacked my morkie male. I feel so responsible woulda coulda shoulda is now playing in my head. Im so torn what do I do I loved them both. I have other dogs and he never showed aggressive behavior with them. My husband was considering getting rid of him. For now he doesn't even want to see the dog, he walked this dog akita everyday. The akita looks to me like, he knows he did was wrong hes sniffing around and seems ok but sad i don't know maybe its me so im also grieving but for now Im taking him out for walks because the dog seems he wants to go but then when i bring him home he doesn't want to come in right away as if hes afraid He is such a sweet gentle dog im hurt but im going to try with him. I pray my husband can too otherwise Im hoping i find a could home for him but also afraid for him. So hurt and confused

  • Leslie
    Leslie Montana
    Aug 13 2020 4:56 PM
    Our 10 month old golden retriever just attacked our 9 week old puppy (lab) over a small stuffed toy. He's done it before over food but never over a toy. I never thought a golden could have these tendencies. He was a rescue and we aren't totally sure if he's purebred but he looks like a golden. He most definitely has behavior issues and something is obviously not fully right with him. But he's been so sweet until recently. We have an older lab (almost 2 years old) and he's done that to her but she can fend for herself and it's only been a couple times over food. Clearly, he has food aggression but is it now progressing into other areas? I'm afraid the puppy will be traumatized and I don't want that. Please, any advice is welcome. I love him so but I don't think I can trust him and we have 3 kids (teens) and I don't want them to have to deal with this if we're not home, etc.

    Our 10 month old golden retriever just attacked our 9 week old puppy (lab) over a small stuffed toy. He's done it before over food but never over a toy. I never thought a golden could have these tendencies. He was a rescue and we aren't totally sure if he's purebred but he looks like a golden. He most definitely has behavior issues and something is obviously not fully right with him. But he's been so sweet until recently. We have an older lab (almost 2 years old) and he's done that to her but she can fend for herself and it's only been a couple times over food. Clearly, he has food aggression but is it now progressing into other areas? I'm afraid the puppy will be traumatized and I don't want that. Please, any advice is welcome. I love him so but I don't think I can trust him and we have 3 kids (teens) and I don't want them to have to deal with this if we're not home, etc.

  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Canada
    Aug 14 2020 10:47 AM
    Here is the bottom line (in my opinion) after thirty years of experience rescuing and breeding German Shepherds and leading large and small packs of dogs including mixed breed pit bulls, terriers, etc. Unless an attack provokes a defensive aggressive behavior, there is no single incidence of dog bites or attacks on animals or people. If a dog bites or nips someone, they will do it again and again, given time and opportunity. If a dog attacks another dog within the pack, it will happen again. It might take two years but it will happen again and if it’s an older and/or smaller dog, it could well be fatal. Dogs are animals, they are not perfect and neither are human beings. However, it is your job as a dog owner to protect the young, aged, infirm and vulnerable members of your family or pack. Some dogs lose all aggression towards animals simply by making them the only dog in the household. Off property they can interact well with other dogs without incident. Aggression towards people is not something to fool around with. If your dog is aggressive towards you, euthanize immediately. If aggressive towards other members of your family, children or friends, euthanize it. In all other cases, isolate that dog from coming in contact with the animals or people that it is aggressive towards at all times. There is nothing more distressing than dealing with unprovoked aggression from an animal you love. Some dogs just can’t deal with living in a pack and some are just plain aggressive or aggressively protective or fearfully aggressive and some will resort to aggression whenever you as pack leader are not present. These dogs should be locked in a crate or kennel whenever you are not present.

    Here is the bottom line (in my opinion) after thirty years of experience rescuing and breeding German Shepherds and leading large and small packs of dogs including mixed breed pit bulls, terriers, etc. Unless an attack provokes a defensive aggressive behavior, there is no single incidence of dog bites or attacks on animals or people. If a dog bites or nips someone, they will do it again and again, given time and opportunity. If a dog attacks another dog within the pack, it will happen again. It might take two years but it will happen again and if it’s an older and/or smaller dog, it could well be fatal. Dogs are animals, they are not perfect and neither are human beings. However, it is your job as a dog owner to protect the young, aged, infirm and vulnerable members of your family or pack. Some dogs lose all aggression towards animals simply by making them the only dog in the household. Off property they can interact well with other dogs without incident. Aggression towards people is not something to fool around with. If your dog is aggressive towards you, euthanize immediately. If aggressive towards other members of your family, children or friends, euthanize it. In all other cases, isolate that dog from coming in contact with the animals or people that it is aggressive towards at all times. There is nothing more distressing than dealing with unprovoked aggression from an animal you love. Some dogs just can’t deal with living in a pack and some are just plain aggressive or aggressively protective or fearfully aggressive and some will resort to aggression whenever you as pack leader are not present. These dogs should be locked in a crate or kennel whenever you are not present.

  • Dogue Shop
    Dogue Shop
    Aug 14 2020 11:20 AM
    [Editor's comment] - Here is the bottom line (in my opinion) after thirty years of experience rescuing and breeding German Shepherds and leading large and small packs [Dogs are not pack animals] of dogs including mixed breed pit bulls, terriers, etc. Unless an attack provokes a defensive aggressive behavior, there is no single incidence of dog bites or attacks on animals or people. If a dog bites or nips someone, they will do it again and again [Not necessarily], given time and opportunity. If a dog attacks another dog within the pack, it will happen again [Not if the conflict that triggered it was resolved]. It might take two years but it will happen again and if it’s an older and/or smaller dog, it could well be fatal. Dogs are animals, they are not perfect and neither are human beings. However, it is your job as a dog owner to protect the young, aged, infirm and vulnerable members of your family or pack [Again, dogs are not pack animals]. Some dogs lose all aggression towards animals simply by making them the only dog in the household. Off property they can interact well with other dogs without incident. Aggression towards people is not something to fool around with. If your dog is aggressive towards you, euthanize immediately [Killing a dog is rarely necessary]. If aggressive towards other members of your family, children or friends, euthanize it. In all other cases, isolate that dog from coming in contact with the animals or people that it is aggressive towards at all times. There is nothing more distressing than dealing with unprovoked aggression from an animal you love. Some dogs just can’t deal with living in a pack and some are just plain aggressive or aggressively protective or fearfully aggressive [Fear aggression is not possible. I've discussed this at length on this blog] and some will resort to aggression whenever you as pack leader are not present [Dogs are not pack animals and people are not their leaders. This belief can lead to more aggression]. These dogs should be locked in a crate or kennel whenever you are not present.

    [Editor's comment] - Here is the bottom line (in my opinion) after thirty years of experience rescuing and breeding German Shepherds and leading large and small packs [Dogs are not pack animals] of dogs including mixed breed pit bulls, terriers, etc. Unless an attack provokes a defensive aggressive behavior, there is no single incidence of dog bites or attacks on animals or people. If a dog bites or nips someone, they will do it again and again [Not necessarily], given time and opportunity. If a dog attacks another dog within the pack, it will happen again [Not if the conflict that triggered it was resolved]. It might take two years but it will happen again and if it’s an older and/or smaller dog, it could well be fatal. Dogs are animals, they are not perfect and neither are human beings. However, it is your job as a dog owner to protect the young, aged, infirm and vulnerable members of your family or pack [Again, dogs are not pack animals]. Some dogs lose all aggression towards animals simply by making them the only dog in the household. Off property they can interact well with other dogs without incident. Aggression towards people is not something to fool around with. If your dog is aggressive towards you, euthanize immediately [Killing a dog is rarely necessary]. If aggressive towards other members of your family, children or friends, euthanize it. In all other cases, isolate that dog from coming in contact with the animals or people that it is aggressive towards at all times. There is nothing more distressing than dealing with unprovoked aggression from an animal you love. Some dogs just can’t deal with living in a pack and some are just plain aggressive or aggressively protective or fearfully aggressive [Fear aggression is not possible. I've discussed this at length on this blog] and some will resort to aggression whenever you as pack leader are not present [Dogs are not pack animals and people are not their leaders. This belief can lead to more aggression]. These dogs should be locked in a crate or kennel whenever you are not present.

  • Petra Wiederhorn
    Petra Wiederhorn Canada
    Aug 15 2020 7:02 AM
    If dogs are not pack animals, what do you call them when they live in large numbers? If dogs are descended from wolves, why is it called a wolf pack and not a dog pack? If a person provides all food, shelter training and discipline for a group of dogs he or she owns, why not call them a pack leader versus an owner? Is Cesar Milan not an expert in dog aggression and behavior modification? Do some dogs not attack out of fear aggression because they lack social skills or have been attacked themselves at a young age? Trying to respectfully understand your adversity to these ideas.

    If dogs are not pack animals, what do you call them when they live in large numbers? If dogs are descended from wolves, why is it called a wolf pack and not a dog pack? If a person provides all food, shelter training and discipline for a group of dogs he or she owns, why not call them a pack leader versus an owner? Is Cesar Milan not an expert in dog aggression and behavior modification? Do some dogs not attack out of fear aggression because they lack social skills or have been attacked themselves at a young age? Trying to respectfully understand your adversity to these ideas.

  • Carrie
    Carrie Maine
    Aug 16 2020 11:19 AM
    My husband and i had a 5 year old female bezenji. We rescued 2 catahoula sisters at 6 months. They got along great. Slept together, played together etc. No apparent issues. 2.5 years later one of the sisters attacked the bezenji. The other sister joined in and they were literally tearing her apart. My husband and i witnessed the entire event. There was no warning. It was out of nowhere. We couldn't get them away from her. Seems like the attack went on forever but in reality it was probably a few minutes. My husband and i both were bit trying to intervene. We finallt seperated them. My poor bezenji was very torn up around her neck and head. The animal hospital could not save her. We had her euthanized that afternoon. The next day we put both sisters down. We NEVER saw it coming. It was horrible. Nightmare. No signs of aggression. We are devestated to say the least. I can only shudder to think if they had attacked a child! This occurred nearly 2 years ago. We have sinced rescued an older king shepherd male, and more recently, a female siberian husky pup. So far so good. But we are on alert for any signs of aggression. Once this tragedy occurred we don't trust dogs like we had in the past. I still am in shock.

    My husband and i had a 5 year old female bezenji. We rescued 2 catahoula sisters at 6 months. They got along great. Slept together, played together etc. No apparent issues. 2.5 years later one of the sisters attacked the bezenji. The other sister joined in and they were literally tearing her apart. My husband and i witnessed the entire event. There was no warning. It was out of nowhere. We couldn't get them away from her. Seems like the attack went on forever but in reality it was probably a few minutes. My husband and i both were bit trying to intervene. We finallt seperated them. My poor bezenji was very torn up around her neck and head. The animal hospital could not save her. We had her euthanized that afternoon. The next day we put both sisters down. We NEVER saw it coming. It was horrible. Nightmare. No signs of aggression. We are devestated to say the least. I can only shudder to think if they had attacked a child! This occurred nearly 2 years ago. We have sinced rescued an older king shepherd male, and more recently, a female siberian husky pup. So far so good. But we are on alert for any signs of aggression. Once this tragedy occurred we don't trust dogs like we had in the past. I still am in shock.

  • Dogue Shop
    Dogue Shop
    Aug 17 2020 8:55 PM
    @Petra Wiederhorn When dogs are in large groups, they are called a group of dogs. Normally large groups come together to find mates. If they hunt, it's a disorganized event and the winner normally takes all because their pray is too small. We do not call people leaders because we are not dogs. We do not speak their language, thus, people and dogs interpret communication. That said, we can learn their language, so some extent, but I have yet seen the day when a "dominant" human has raised their hackles, pushed their ears forward and have raised their tail and tip tail wagged. Cesar Milan is not an expert, especially not in dog aggression. He doesn't even know how many aggression categories exist. When he went to Germany for his tour, he had to be certified by the government as it is their law. He failed all counts: behaviour, training, and management. No, dogs do not attack out of fear. Fear and aggression are 2 very different emotions, thus 2 very different chemicals released by the brain. My ideas are not adverse, they are simply based on science. The idea of pack leader was termed and presented to people by the Monks of New Skete in the early 90s. They have since then (which is a long time ago by now) retracted and explained that their training methods were wrong, based on scientific evidence. I've worked with wolves for nearly two decades now and can guarantee you that humans will never be pack leaders.

    @Petra Wiederhorn
    When dogs are in large groups, they are called a group of dogs. Normally large groups come together to find mates. If they hunt, it's a disorganized event and the winner normally takes all because their pray is too small. We do not call people leaders because we are not dogs. We do not speak their language, thus, people and dogs interpret communication. That said, we can learn their language, so some extent, but I have yet seen the day when a "dominant" human has raised their hackles, pushed their ears forward and have raised their tail and tip tail wagged. Cesar Milan is not an expert, especially not in dog aggression. He doesn't even know how many aggression categories exist. When he went to Germany for his tour, he had to be certified by the government as it is their law. He failed all counts: behaviour, training, and management. No, dogs do not attack out of fear. Fear and aggression are 2 very different emotions, thus 2 very different chemicals released by the brain. My ideas are not adverse, they are simply based on science. The idea of pack leader was termed and presented to people by the Monks of New Skete in the early 90s. They have since then (which is a long time ago by now) retracted and explained that their training methods were wrong, based on scientific evidence. I've worked with wolves for nearly two decades now and can guarantee you that humans will never be pack leaders.

  • Jag
    Jag NY
    Aug 18 2020 1:04 AM
    Back in February, my 2 year old staffy went after my 12 year old corgi mix. They are both females. (I have a 2 year old male dog too) My corgi did not like the other dogs and repeatedly try to go after my staffy, who just wanted to play. We knew that if my staffy ever fought back it would be bad. So we separated them. My corgi would try to instigate her through the dog gate. Well one day in the process of letting the dogs out (I didn’t put them out together), it happened in an instant. My son was there and tried to stop it but got all bitten up too. I had to take my my girl to the emergency clinic and I had to put her down. Then I had to go home where there’s another dog that loves me too. I feel like I’ll never get over this. :(

    Back in February, my 2 year old staffy went after my 12 year old corgi mix. They are both females. (I have a 2 year old male dog too) My corgi did not like the other dogs and repeatedly try to go after my staffy, who just wanted to play. We knew that if my staffy ever fought back it would be bad. So we separated them. My corgi would try to instigate her through the dog gate. Well one day in the process of letting the dogs out (I didn’t put them out together), it happened in an instant. My son was there and tried to stop it but got all bitten up too. I had to take my my girl to the emergency clinic and I had to put her down. Then I had to go home where there’s another dog that loves me too. I feel like I’ll never get over this. frown

  • Marilyn
    Marilyn New Jersey
    Aug 18 2020 5:09 PM
    ITS been almost a week since my Loki is gone Im moving but still so heartbroken.I miss this little guy he had so much personality. My akita OB1 killed him with his bite. All the other dogs have been doing well and the all seem to be getting along as if nothing happened except for the akita hes been sleeping alot and looks as if he is looking for Loki. Could it be possible that OB1 thru his aggression not realizing he harm him and now missing him. The akita OB1 is younger then my Loki was. And since this happened he has also been like glue to me.

    ITS been almost a week since my Loki is gone Im moving but still so heartbroken.I miss this little guy he had so much personality. My akita OB1 killed him with his bite. All the other dogs have been doing well and the all seem to be getting along as if nothing happened except for the akita hes been sleeping alot and looks as if he is looking for Loki. Could it be possible that OB1 thru his aggression not realizing he harm him and now missing him. The akita OB1 is younger then my Loki was. And since this happened he has also been like glue to me.

  • Gillian
    Gillian England
    Aug 28 2020 5:35 PM
    Our much loved family labradors have killed another Labrador at our home - I have a mother and daughter (Not spayed) Labradors who share a home with a male Related neutered Labrador. In March the family homed an other female lab (not spayed) because our elderly neighbour sadly passed away. All animals got on very well. A slight growl over food but no other aggression ever witnessed. This attack happened whilst we were on holiday and was witnessed by other family members who were looking after them. The heartache and upset is unbearable for all. How can we forgive the bitches that have done this and why would they do this? How should we now treat them? Punish them? Can we trust them with other animals? We have since spayed the older bitch and will do with the younger one as I’m assuming we shouldn’t breed from her? They are well bred, well trained and have tons space and plenty of exercise. I can’t get my head around this and I’m terribly terribly upset.

    Our much loved family labradors have killed another Labrador at our home -
    I have a mother and daughter (Not spayed) Labradors who share a home with a male Related neutered Labrador. In March the family homed an other female lab (not spayed) because our elderly neighbour sadly passed away.
    All animals got on very well. A slight growl over food but no other aggression ever witnessed. This attack happened whilst we were on holiday and was witnessed by other family members who were looking after them. The heartache and upset is unbearable for all. How can we forgive the bitches that have done this and why would they do this? How should we now treat them? Punish them? Can we trust them with other animals? We have since spayed the older bitch and will do with the younger one as I’m assuming we shouldn’t breed from her?
    They are well bred, well trained and have tons space and plenty of exercise. I can’t get my head around this and I’m terribly terribly upset.

  • Catherine
    Catherine Woodstock
    Aug 31 2020 9:53 PM
    I answered an ad 2 years ago. It was regime for a dog cane corso/pit bull female, 3 years old. No real history to give and was told she took her in to prevent her being put down but she decided for whatever reason she couldn't keep her. Making ,me her 3rd owner. I let her get pregnant by accident and the dad was 100%pit bull. She was FANTASTIC with her litter of 8 puppies. Couldnt have asked for better mother. Beautiful, not kidding, gorgeous pups. I decided to keep one, a male. They got along so well, played morn to night. Golden family until suddenly at 14 weeks old out of no where she attacked him to kill. I'm losing my mind trying to understand it. Got pup to emerg vet, fixed up took him home well if she didn't immediately do it again, we were luckily sort of ready for it so acted quickly but just the same....I'm gutted, I had to surrender her. I wanted to urbanize but the vet wouldn't but she took a cat's eye out before in a snap and this is her 3rd attack that I am witness to. However I now suspect is the reason she was almost put down before. I was yelled at and almost name called by the facility that was supposed to Handel the surrender. Long story bad very bad hillside kennel in innerkipp fyi. I was so angry that my vey sent me there. I miss her so much. I hate this but I have 2 grandsons and live in a community of 100 homes closely joined all families with kids and various pets. I had no choice. What went wrong. How could this happen to her/The pup/ to us. I need to understand what went so very wrong. Sickened by it all and desperately need to know if I made the right call here

    I answered an ad 2 years ago. It was regime for a dog cane corso/pit bull female, 3 years old. No real history to give and was told she took her in to prevent her being put down but she decided for whatever reason she couldn't keep her. Making ,me her 3rd owner. I let her get pregnant by accident and the dad was 100%pit bull. She was FANTASTIC with her litter of 8 puppies. Couldnt have asked for better mother. Beautiful, not kidding, gorgeous pups. I decided to keep one, a male. They got along so well, played morn to night. Golden family until suddenly at 14 weeks old out of no where she attacked him to kill. I'm losing my mind trying to understand it. Got pup to emerg vet, fixed up took him home well if she didn't immediately do it again, we were luckily sort of ready for it so acted quickly but just the same....I'm gutted, I had to surrender her. I wanted to urbanize but the vet wouldn't but she took a cat's eye out before in a snap and this is her 3rd attack that I am witness to. However I now suspect is the reason she was almost put down before. I was yelled at and almost name called by the facility that was supposed to Handel the surrender. Long story bad very bad hillside kennel in innerkipp fyi. I was so angry that my vey sent me there. I miss her so much. I hate this but I have 2 grandsons and live in a community of 100 homes closely joined all families with kids and various pets. I had no choice. What went wrong. How could this happen to her/The pup/ to us. I need to understand what went so very wrong. Sickened by it all and desperately need to know if I made the right call here

  • Isabel
    Isabel N. California
    Sep 3 2020 11:06 PM
    There is no way how to start this but just wanted to share. I had two dogs in my household. Chloe the chihuahua who was 9 years old and Mia a lab/pit bull mix who we rescued from a shelter around 5 years ago. Chloe was always grumpy and would want to show dominance towards Mia. Chloe was attacked twice with Mia and luckily those times I was there to save her and she would get taken to the vets and get stiched up. Last week Thursday, Chloe growled and Mia and this time she attacked her bad that she mailed my baby to death. My whole family feels to blame as we have Mia so many chances and always thought she changed. I know Chloe was no angel but she did not deserve to die this violet death. She died and took her last breath in my arms. Our hearts our so broken, our house is so quiet without her. We still have Mia but we leave her outside now as we cannot bear to see her and it reminds me of that tragic night. I miss my fiesty Chloe, the way she would protect us, how she loved playing fetch, loved her daily snacks, miss taking her to the park, miss our rides in the car. I miss her sooooo much. I’m so heartbroken writing this but I know my Chloe is in a better place and she will always be in our hearts. She is waiting for us at the Rainbow Bridge. Miss you Coco 💔😢🐶🌈

    There is no way how to start this but just wanted to share. I had two dogs in my household. Chloe the chihuahua who was 9 years old and Mia a lab/pit bull mix who we rescued from a shelter around 5 years ago. Chloe was always grumpy and would want to show dominance towards Mia. Chloe was attacked twice with Mia and luckily those times I was there to save her and she would get taken to the vets and get stiched up. Last week Thursday, Chloe growled and Mia and this time she attacked her bad that she mailed my baby to death. My whole family feels to blame as we have Mia so many chances and always thought she changed. I know Chloe was no angel but she did not deserve to die this violet death. She died and took her last breath in my arms. Our hearts our so broken, our house is so quiet without her. We still have Mia but we leave her outside now as we cannot bear to see her and it reminds me of that tragic night. I miss my fiesty Chloe, the way she would protect us, how she loved playing fetch, loved her daily snacks, miss taking her to the park, miss our rides in the car. I miss her sooooo much. I’m so heartbroken writing this but I know my Chloe is in a better place and she will always be in our hearts. She is waiting for us at the Rainbow Bridge. Miss you Coco 💔😢🐶🌈

  • Aaron
    Aaron MIssissippi
    Sep 6 2020 10:13 AM
    I’ve been having trouble with my two dogs fighting. For 3 years I never had a problem. Then I finally got my medium younger dog (Luna) fixed. The day she got fixed my larger older dog (Cassie) attacked her. Since then (6 months ago) I have stopped 6 different dog attacks. The most recent one was yesterday. In the midst of separating them I was bit a few times on my hand. Nothing serious but a reality that the dogs could not remain together any more. My sister took Luna to live with her for the dogs protection. The attacks are hard to pin point what provokes them but it was just best to separate the situation before one of the kids was accidentally hurt. Also for anyone with attacking dogs, I stopped the attack by pulling out the hind legs of the aggressor (Cassie) which forces her to let go because she could no longer stand. I only got bit when Luna came back to continue fighting and I put my hand out to separate them further. But pulling or kicking out the hind legs can also result in a bite just a warning. But it does work good for stopping it.

    I’ve been having trouble with my two dogs fighting. For 3 years I never had a problem. Then I finally got my medium younger dog (Luna) fixed. The day she got fixed my larger older dog (Cassie) attacked her. Since then (6 months ago) I have stopped 6 different dog attacks. The most recent one was yesterday. In the midst of separating them I was bit a few times on my hand. Nothing serious but a reality that the dogs could not remain together any more. My sister took Luna to live with her for the dogs protection. The attacks are hard to pin point what provokes them but it was just best to separate the situation before one of the kids was accidentally hurt. Also for anyone with attacking dogs, I stopped the attack by pulling out the hind legs of the aggressor (Cassie) which forces her to let go because she could no longer stand. I only got bit when Luna came back to continue fighting and I put my hand out to separate them further. But pulling or kicking out the hind legs can also result in a bite just a warning. But it does work good for stopping it.

  • Mikayla
    Mikayla Atlanta
    Sep 24 2020 7:22 PM
    I recently adopted a puppy, marcie and I was so in love with her. Not long after I got her I let a family member watch her while I ran some errands. Another dog bit her while I was out. She is alive but she is blind And has neurological problems that require special care. I can’t afford her medical attention and surrendered her to a medical foster. I feel so sad and guilty. She is just a baby and my first puppy and I just wish I could go back and just bring her with me to run errands. I can’t seem to move past it. I want another dog eventually but I just don’t know if I can get over the guilt of what happened to marcie.

    I recently adopted a puppy, marcie and I was so in love with her. Not long after I got her I let a family member watch her while I ran some errands. Another dog bit her while I was out. She is alive but she is blind And has neurological problems that require special care. I can’t afford her medical attention and surrendered her to a medical foster. I feel so sad and guilty. She is just a baby and my first puppy and I just wish I could go back and just bring her with me to run errands. I can’t seem to move past it. I want another dog eventually but I just don’t know if I can get over the guilt of what happened to marcie.

  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Wales
    Sep 25 2020 10:50 AM
    Can anyone give me any help iv never heard or seen this before. We recently got a new dog and our older dog we’ve had her since a pup herself she’s 5 and half now they both got along fine not the best of buddies I thought it was to do with the age gap our older dog lays about most the day and our new dog just does her own thing so that was fine. BUT our new dog she’s had some puppies there 4 weeks old now the mum and pups have always been separated from our old dog The mum gets time out from the pups and when she’s out the door we’re the pups are in side stays open until she’s ready to go back to her puppies 2 weeks ago we heard crying our older dog carried 1 of the pups outside so we were shocked at first but just put to down to her wanting her own pups. But as of today our older dog as sadly killed 2 puppies by going inside when mum is out taken a pup 1 week crushing it in her mouth and next week going back in and crushing another poor puppies in her mouth we are so shocked and hurt she’s done this she’s always been a really loving dog and a brilliant mother when she had her own puppies we really don’t understand we’re this is coming from ??

    Can anyone give me any help iv never heard or seen this before. We recently got a new dog and our older dog we’ve had her since a pup herself she’s 5 and half now they both got along fine not the best of buddies I thought it was to do with the age gap our older dog lays about most the day and our new dog just does her own thing so that was fine. BUT our new dog she’s had some puppies there 4 weeks old now the mum and pups have always been separated from our old dog The mum gets time out from the pups and when she’s out the door we’re the pups are in side stays open until she’s ready to go back to her puppies 2 weeks ago we heard crying our older dog carried 1 of the pups outside so we were shocked at first but just put to down to her wanting her own pups. But as of today our older dog as sadly killed 2 puppies by going inside when mum is out taken a pup 1 week crushing it in her mouth and next week going back in and crushing another poor puppies in her mouth we are so shocked and hurt she’s done this she’s always been a really loving dog and a brilliant mother when she had her own puppies we really don’t understand we’re this is coming from ??

  • Carole
    Carole Tennessee
    Oct 4 2020 5:45 PM
    Ok I recently obtained a 1 year old german shepherd, Have 2 other dogs, a small 12 year jack russel and a mixed breed beagle about 2. and cats, ( we live on a farm). They all got along, life was good, she never bothered with the cats or kittens. Played with the other dogs. Not too much with Jack, she was old and just layed around. Out of the blue she started after the cats and killed one yesterday, ( she was caught ) today she attacked and killed the Jack Russell and it was gruesome, layed her open, she didn't have a chance. She wasn't caught in the act but she had the evidence all over her. I don't know what to do, I have small grandchildren, I don't know what provoked her, and don't trust her.

    Ok I recently obtained a 1 year old german shepherd, Have 2 other dogs, a small 12 year jack russel and a mixed breed beagle about 2. and cats, ( we live on a farm). They all got along, life was good, she never bothered with the cats or kittens. Played with the other dogs. Not too much with Jack, she was old and just layed around. Out of the blue she started after the cats and killed one yesterday, ( she was caught ) today she attacked and killed the Jack Russell and it was gruesome, layed her open, she didn't have a chance. She wasn't caught in the act but she had the evidence all over her. I don't know what to do, I have small grandchildren, I don't know what provoked her, and don't trust her.

  • Devastated
    Devastated Texas
    Oct 8 2020 2:55 PM
    It's heartbreaking to think so many people can relate to this situation, but more-so makes me feel guilty for claiming to ever 'know' dogs. I'm 31 and I've always had a dog in my life/home/family - most of the time it was two or more. I loved them so much that I believed I would be a veterinarian one day and help them... until I got to college and didn't make the cut. So I decided my contribution would be adoption and I adopted my first very own dog. She was an Australian Shepherd mix from the local humane society. She was only weeks old - we had to wait a week after adopting her so she met the age requirement for spaying. She was an only child for almost a year, lots of love and attention. When along came a female Whippet/Min. Lab mix from the side of a major highway. She was also very young, just months, you could still see the puppy all over her. I made sure she was spayed and chipped, just like my Aussie. I had both of these sweet girls for almost 6 years with no issues. The Whippet suffered from little dog syndrome and was sassy but the Aussie treated it just as that. Never a fight or bite between them, just some rough housing from time to time. It seemed to be how the Aussie got past the grumpiness of the Whippet. Then we took in a young male Pit Bull mix, probably 2-3 years old at the time. My neighbor was terrible at keeping him in the yard and always got home late. So on the days I came home from work and found him roaming the neighborhood, I invited him in to wait for his owner. This Pit mix was the sweetest and calmest dog I had ever met, and my girls typically were praised for those two things. The three of them got along well and maintained this as the visits became more frequent. Eventually I had enough and asked my neighbor if he truly wanted the Pit back, and I wound up with my third dog. I forgot to mention that in both the 2nd and 3rd dogs I tried desperately to find them good homes before deciding to keep them - three dogs is a lot to manage, if you don't think so then you're probably not managing them as closely as you should be. I learned this the hard way... The three dogs continued to get along well. They all lived in the same house, unseparated, and unsupervised for about 8 hours a day during the week while we went to work. They ate, played, and slept together for years. Never a single fight. About 2.5 years ago we took in my parents 3 Labradors for a week while they went on vacation. They were all male, varying in ages from 4 - 13. All 6 dogs had been in the same home before, visiting around the holidays, although it was a bigger/more spacious home. We had no issues then, and sadly assumed this time would be the same. The first day that we had all 6 dogs went well - we even went to dinner and came home with all wagging tails and no sign of an issue. Day two was a very different scene. We went on a 2hr grocery run and came home to what looked like a dateline murder scene. My Pit mix had brutally attacked and almost succeeded in killing one of the Labs - the middle aged one. There were pools of blood everywhere, the walls were covered, and it even looked like our Aussie tried to step in and stop the assault. The lab survived after a gruesome recovery period and we kept our Pit mix, chalking it up to a male/territorial issue. Like I mentioned, this Pit mix had a perfect demeanor up until this point - I mean flawless. This however was a reality check for me and I decided the Pit needed to be separated from my girls when I wasn't home. I maintained this practice for almost a year when my family, friends, and boyfriend all said it was time to let it go - "he would never hurt the girls." Well, I'm here, because nearly three years after the first incident, we were proved to be wrong. Monday October 5th at 3:35 I got a call from my husband who had just arrived home to find our lifeless Whippet in the front room and another dateline-like murder scene around the house. It was evident that this poor 35lb dog had been beaten and bitten to death despite her attempts to escape. The Pit mix was curled up in a corner several feet away with the same look of remorse as if he had gotten into some trash, not taken a life. Yes, I know, it's because he's a dog - not a human. I guess when we treat our dogs so similar to humans we forget what they really are. Again, my Aussie appears to have tried to step in and stop the slaughter as she received several bites to her face and a large gash in her ear. The Pit mix was unscathed with exception to a small scratch on his nose - and of course covered in blood around the mouth and neck. In both attack cases, his victims were the most likely to have snapped/growled/bitten first. The lab was a huge pansy, but had been known to get vocal over a bone or food. The whippet had small dog syndrome and was notorious for trying to play referee or act dominant, also mostly vocal. Although we have no evidence, we fully believe that in both cases the Pit mix was retaliating to some display of bad attitude/temper in a situation that had both dogs worked up. However, we also believe the Pit mix has full intent and ability to kill once he becomes engaged. About a month prior to the second event the Pit mix caught and killed a stray cat that wandered through our yard. I always assumed he had done this in his past simply because of his history of being out/roaming the neighborhood with his previous owner. My husband thinks that this recent cat event peaked his 'wild' side and he was more prone to kill/attack violently. But again, we clearly don't know as much as we thought we did. With this now unpredictable violent history, our remaining Aussie, a 19-mo. old child and new baby due in November - we decided the most humane thing to do for the Pit mix was to euthanize him. I refused to put him in a shelter that he will not adopt out of just to be euthanized after a couple months of being scared and confused. I held him and loved on him as he was put to sleep in my arms, as if he hadn't just murdered one of my other babies. I've made peace with that decision, but not with the pain associated yet. Please know if you're considering it, it almost hurts more than the loss of the pet that was attacked. This is 100% on the owner - you are voluntarily taking this (physically) perfectly healthy animal's life. Don't make that decision in haste or anger. You have to live with it. They say hindsight is always 20-20, so the regrets and self-blaming in this situation are endless... Regardless of background, age, breed, or size - please protect your pets. As their owner, I put my Whippet in the way of danger and am ultimately responsible for her unnecessary and extremely tragic death. Albeit unknowingly, that doesn't excuse me. As pet owners we should be as educated as possible to protect our animals, especially from one another. I hate that this is what it took to open my eyes. I went from trying to be a savior to a killer, as both lost lives were in my hands. - Devastated

    It's heartbreaking to think so many people can relate to this situation, but more-so makes me feel guilty for claiming to ever 'know' dogs.

    I'm 31 and I've always had a dog in my life/home/family - most of the time it was two or more. I loved them so much that I believed I would be a veterinarian one day and help them... until I got to college and didn't make the cut. So I decided my contribution would be adoption and I adopted my first very own dog. She was an Australian Shepherd mix from the local humane society. She was only weeks old - we had to wait a week after adopting her so she met the age requirement for spaying. She was an only child for almost a year, lots of love and attention. When along came a female Whippet/Min. Lab mix from the side of a major highway. She was also very young, just months, you could still see the puppy all over her. I made sure she was spayed and chipped, just like my Aussie. I had both of these sweet girls for almost 6 years with no issues. The Whippet suffered from little dog syndrome and was sassy but the Aussie treated it just as that. Never a fight or bite between them, just some rough housing from time to time. It seemed to be how the Aussie got past the grumpiness of the Whippet. Then we took in a young male Pit Bull mix, probably 2-3 years old at the time. My neighbor was terrible at keeping him in the yard and always got home late. So on the days I came home from work and found him roaming the neighborhood, I invited him in to wait for his owner. This Pit mix was the sweetest and calmest dog I had ever met, and my girls typically were praised for those two things. The three of them got along well and maintained this as the visits became more frequent. Eventually I had enough and asked my neighbor if he truly wanted the Pit back, and I wound up with my third dog. I forgot to mention that in both the 2nd and 3rd dogs I tried desperately to find them good homes before deciding to keep them - three dogs is a lot to manage, if you don't think so then you're probably not managing them as closely as you should be. I learned this the hard way...

    The three dogs continued to get along well. They all lived in the same house, unseparated, and unsupervised for about 8 hours a day during the week while we went to work. They ate, played, and slept together for years. Never a single fight. About 2.5 years ago we took in my parents 3 Labradors for a week while they went on vacation. They were all male, varying in ages from 4 - 13. All 6 dogs had been in the same home before, visiting around the holidays, although it was a bigger/more spacious home. We had no issues then, and sadly assumed this time would be the same. The first day that we had all 6 dogs went well - we even went to dinner and came home with all wagging tails and no sign of an issue. Day two was a very different scene. We went on a 2hr grocery run and came home to what looked like a dateline murder scene. My Pit mix had brutally attacked and almost succeeded in killing one of the Labs - the middle aged one. There were pools of blood everywhere, the walls were covered, and it even looked like our Aussie tried to step in and stop the assault. The lab survived after a gruesome recovery period and we kept our Pit mix, chalking it up to a male/territorial issue. Like I mentioned, this Pit mix had a perfect demeanor up until this point - I mean flawless. This however was a reality check for me and I decided the Pit needed to be separated from my girls when I wasn't home. I maintained this practice for almost a year when my family, friends, and boyfriend all said it was time to let it go - "he would never hurt the girls." Well, I'm here, because nearly three years after the first incident, we were proved to be wrong.

    Monday October 5th at 3:35 I got a call from my husband who had just arrived home to find our lifeless Whippet in the front room and another dateline-like murder scene around the house. It was evident that this poor 35lb dog had been beaten and bitten to death despite her attempts to escape. The Pit mix was curled up in a corner several feet away with the same look of remorse as if he had gotten into some trash, not taken a life. Yes, I know, it's because he's a dog - not a human. I guess when we treat our dogs so similar to humans we forget what they really are. Again, my Aussie appears to have tried to step in and stop the slaughter as she received several bites to her face and a large gash in her ear. The Pit mix was unscathed with exception to a small scratch on his nose - and of course covered in blood around the mouth and neck.

    In both attack cases, his victims were the most likely to have snapped/growled/bitten first. The lab was a huge pansy, but had been known to get vocal over a bone or food. The whippet had small dog syndrome and was notorious for trying to play referee or act dominant, also mostly vocal. Although we have no evidence, we fully believe that in both cases the Pit mix was retaliating to some display of bad attitude/temper in a situation that had both dogs worked up. However, we also believe the Pit mix has full intent and ability to kill once he becomes engaged. About a month prior to the second event the Pit mix caught and killed a stray cat that wandered through our yard. I always assumed he had done this in his past simply because of his history of being out/roaming the neighborhood with his previous owner. My husband thinks that this recent cat event peaked his 'wild' side and he was more prone to kill/attack violently. But again, we clearly don't know as much as we thought we did.

    With this now unpredictable violent history, our remaining Aussie, a 19-mo. old child and new baby due in November - we decided the most humane thing to do for the Pit mix was to euthanize him. I refused to put him in a shelter that he will not adopt out of just to be euthanized after a couple months of being scared and confused. I held him and loved on him as he was put to sleep in my arms, as if he hadn't just murdered one of my other babies. I've made peace with that decision, but not with the pain associated yet. Please know if you're considering it, it almost hurts more than the loss of the pet that was attacked. This is 100% on the owner - you are voluntarily taking this (physically) perfectly healthy animal's life. Don't make that decision in haste or anger. You have to live with it.

    They say hindsight is always 20-20, so the regrets and self-blaming in this situation are endless... Regardless of background, age, breed, or size - please protect your pets. As their owner, I put my Whippet in the way of danger and am ultimately responsible for her unnecessary and extremely tragic death. Albeit unknowingly, that doesn't excuse me. As pet owners we should be as educated as possible to protect our animals, especially from one another. I hate that this is what it took to open my eyes. I went from trying to be a savior to a killer, as both lost lives were in my hands. - Devastated

  • Mia Gad
    Mia Gad Northern Arizona
    Oct 12 2020 10:04 PM
    Hello. I just lost my tinkerbell. Literally like this evening. She was a chihuahua. I've had her since I was 16 years old. I am now 27, Married and have my own human children. ⚘ she truly was my best friend. When I was sad and crying she always came up to me and would lick my tears away. She was an amazing fur baby to me. She died in my arms. I'm so hurt. I feel as if my heart is broken. It hurts I won't see her again when I look out the window, I won't hear her little paws running on my hardwood floors. I won't ever hear her barking her telling me she wants in. I'm going to miss you baby girl. My sweetheart. Our pitbull we've had since a puppy , he is now about 4 years old. It was all over a bone, when they each had their own. 😭 I wasn't watching as I was tending to my 7 month old while we were outside. It happened so fast!!! I just heard sammy growl I got up and told him to go! There i seen my baby. she was laying on her back. At first I thought she just submitted to him but I seen her stiff. I started yelling at sammy , my pit. Balling. Freaking out. I held my sweet girl in my arms as she slowly drifted away.. I've never felt such hurt in my body, my soul. I held my scarf I had on me around the knot on her head. He had put his canine into her scalp, which automatically would kill her and I knew already there was no saving her. So I prayed , I talked to her and sang to her, I told her to go on. To go on her journey to rest. That I love her and hope to see her again. for her to watch over us all. My little boy Emilio was so hurt also, just balling. him asking me why it happened, with no words or explanation could I tell him. Now I'm so lost, my girl. I miss you so much already. We are going to bury you even though its night. I don't even know the plans right now as to regarding my other dog I cant even bare to think right now. I pray we all just find peace. I love you mama. My fur baby. You'll always be with me ⚘⚘⚘💔💔💔🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾👑👑👑 Tinkerbell "precious" Ludlow 2020 Oct 12th ⚘🐕

    Hello. I just lost my tinkerbell. Literally like this evening. She was a chihuahua. I've had her since I was 16 years old. I am now 27, Married and have my own human children. ⚘ she truly was my best friend. When I was sad and crying she always came up to me and would lick my tears away. She was an amazing fur baby to me. She died in my arms. I'm so hurt. I feel as if my heart is broken. It hurts I won't see her again when I look out the window, I won't hear her little paws running on my hardwood floors. I won't ever hear her barking her telling me she wants in. I'm going to miss you baby girl. My sweetheart. Our pitbull we've had since a puppy , he is now about 4 years old. It was all over a bone, when they each had their own. 😭 I wasn't watching as I was tending to my 7 month old while we were outside. It happened so fast!!! I just heard sammy growl I got up and told him to go! There i seen my baby. she was laying on her back. At first I thought she just submitted to him but I seen her stiff. I started yelling at sammy , my pit. Balling. Freaking out. I held my sweet girl in my arms as she slowly drifted away.. I've never felt such hurt in my body, my soul. I held my scarf I had on me around the knot on her head. He had put his canine into her scalp, which automatically would kill her and I knew already there was no saving her. So I prayed , I talked to her and sang to her, I told her to go on. To go on her journey to rest. That I love her and hope to see her again. for her to watch over us all. My little boy Emilio was so hurt also, just balling. him asking me why it happened, with no words or explanation could I tell him. Now I'm so lost, my girl. I miss you so much already. We are going to bury you even though its night. I don't even know the plans right now as to regarding my other dog I cant even bare to think right now. I pray we all just find peace. I love you mama. My fur baby. You'll always be with me ⚘⚘⚘💔💔💔🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾👑👑👑
    Tinkerbell "precious" Ludlow
    2020 Oct 12th ⚘🐕

  • Lacy
    Lacy So Calif
    Oct 20 2020 1:16 AM
    My 2 year old pit attacked and mauled my poor small mix dog. He was aging and they got along well. Playtime, snacks, baths, everything was equal between all 3. I have large backyard and they lived outside mostly. No aggression during meals and playtime. The pit mauled and killed our small dog in less than a minute. I got rid of the pit and had my small dog cremated. We all discussed their behavior but there were no signs. We are very heartbroken 😔

    My 2 year old pit attacked and mauled my poor small mix dog. He was aging and they got along well. Playtime, snacks, baths, everything was equal between all 3. I have large backyard and they lived outside mostly. No aggression during meals and playtime. The pit mauled and killed our small dog in less than a minute. I got rid of the pit and had my small dog cremated. We all discussed their behavior but there were no signs. We are very heartbroken 😔

  • Lynnda
    Lynnda Alberta
    Oct 23 2020 6:28 PM
    We have a 6 month old German Shepard we just introduced to the family. We live on a farm and have an 11 yr old Black lab which is arthritic and lives mostly on the kitchen floor. We had 5 adult cats and two litters of kittens, and 4 goats. 3 weeks ago we came home to the new German Shepard chewing the neck of one of the dead goats. The goat was notorious for escaping. We then out the dog on a leash and introduced her to the other remaining goats and she did not seem aggressive towards them. So we assumed it was an accident if the goat had been aggressive ( it was a head butter). Then we had a kitten turn up dead with no blood. We thought it had succumbed to the weather. Then another kitten. We then witnessed the GS with one of the kittens in its mouth and we were able to rescue it. We were able to quickly find homes for the remaining small kittens. We had one more mature kitten waiting to be honest. This morning that kitten was found and had evidence of blood on her face. We no longer have any small kittens left. We have consistently been working with the GS on commands but she seems less receptive when cats are around. Plus we both work and can not be watching all day. This afternoon I noticed her go after the next size up of a cat and she had her mouth on it as well though I was there to get her to come and sit and reward her before she did anything. I am now afraid we will watch her kill all our cats one by one and then turn on our older dog. My kids are traumatized. They love all their animals and we do not want to see any of them lost or rehomed. We do not know what to do. We are looking into training programs but in the meantime need reassurences.

    We have a 6 month old German Shepard we just introduced to the family. We live on a farm and have an 11 yr old Black lab which is arthritic and lives mostly on the kitchen floor. We had 5 adult cats and two litters of kittens, and 4 goats. 3 weeks ago we came home to the new German Shepard chewing the neck of one of the dead goats. The goat was notorious for escaping. We then out the dog on a leash and introduced her to the other remaining goats and she did not seem aggressive towards them. So we assumed it was an accident if the goat had been aggressive ( it was a head butter). Then we had a kitten turn up dead with no blood. We thought it had succumbed to the weather. Then another kitten. We then witnessed the GS with one of the kittens in its mouth and we were able to rescue it. We were able to quickly find homes for the remaining small kittens. We had one more mature kitten waiting to be honest. This morning that kitten was found and had evidence of blood on her face. We no longer have any small kittens left. We have consistently been working with the GS on commands but she seems less receptive when cats are around. Plus we both work and can not be watching all day. This afternoon I noticed her go after the next size up of a cat and she had her mouth on it as well though I was there to get her to come and sit and reward her before she did anything. I am now afraid we will watch her kill all our cats one by one and then turn on our older dog. My kids are traumatized. They love all their animals and we do not want to see any of them lost or rehomed. We do not know what to do. We are looking into training programs but in the meantime need reassurences.

  • Dominique
    Dominique South Africa
    Nov 8 2020 7:14 AM
    My lab snapped at my tea cup yorkie and she just dropped to the ground. Blood coming out of her mouth and ears. So much blood 😭 she died within minutes. Her body was limp. She was unresponsive. She had no bite mark on her. It felt like her jaw was loose / broken. I wonder if my lab possibly clipped her in the side of the mouth and hit a main artery? Is this even possible? I had put food down for the lab because she hadn't eaten her food that morning. The teacup yorkie went near her and she just snapped at her. I dont believe the lab meant to kill her. I never thought my lab would ever harm anybody. Could my yorkie have been sick and with animal instinct, the lab tried to kill her off? Was it just a mistake? It just doesn't make any sense to us. And today i write this with a really heavy heart. My yorkie seemed offish the past 2 weeks. Very much to herself, and sleeping all day. I definitely noticed a change in her behavior. However she was always an anxious and nervous dog Thanks for your time

    My lab snapped at my tea cup yorkie and she just dropped to the ground. Blood coming out of her mouth and ears. So much blood 😭 she died within minutes. Her body was limp. She was unresponsive. She had no bite mark on her. It felt like her jaw was loose / broken. I wonder if my lab possibly clipped her in the side of the mouth and hit a main artery? Is this even possible?

    I had put food down for the lab because she hadn't eaten her food that morning. The teacup yorkie went near her and she just snapped at her. I dont believe the lab meant to kill her. I never thought my lab would ever harm anybody. Could my yorkie have been sick and with animal instinct, the lab tried to kill her off? Was it just a mistake? It just doesn't make any sense to us. And today i write this with a really heavy heart. My yorkie seemed offish the past 2 weeks. Very much to herself, and sleeping all day. I definitely noticed a change in her behavior. However she was always an anxious and nervous dog

    Thanks for your time

  • Maggie
    Maggie Oregon
    Nov 11 2020 3:17 PM
    Just last week my young Dane, 4, and my 8 year old pit attacked my senior Dane 10, while I was out of the room. It was horrible and very hard to get two large dogs of my one senior. My young Dane has shown aggression towards my senior before but the behavior has always been corrected. Like everyone else has said nothing this bad has ever happened. And my pit has never shown aggression EVER. I'm sure my pit only joined in because of my younger Dane. My senior was bit pretty bad and she had to have stitches and drains put in her. Does this mean I have to get rid of both of my young Dane and my pit? I would hate to have to get rid of my babies I love them so much and they're such good dogs. Help😢

    Just last week my young Dane, 4, and my 8 year old pit attacked my senior Dane 10, while I was out of the room. It was horrible and very hard to get two large dogs of my one senior. My young Dane has shown aggression towards my senior before but the behavior has always been corrected. Like everyone else has said nothing this bad has ever happened. And my pit has never shown aggression EVER. I'm sure my pit only joined in because of my younger Dane. My senior was bit pretty bad and she had to have stitches and drains put in her. Does this mean I have to get rid of both of my young Dane and my pit? I would hate to have to get rid of my babies I love them so much and they're such good dogs. Help😢

  • Laura J
    Laura J Upstate New York
    Nov 19 2020 8:46 AM
    I used to have a small male dachshund mix (fixed) named Yoda who was about 4 years old when my husband and I moved in together. He had a 1.5 year old German Shepherd (unfixed). I went out to run an errand one afternoon and my husband went to work. Shortly after I get a call from my neighbor that my son - who had just gotten home from school - found Yoda bleeding and his stomach ripped open and intestines protruding... they rushed him to the emergency vet immediately while I left work and met them there. He was so badly mauled that he did not make it and passed away the next day. Watching our Nest cams later showed the the German Shepherd had attacked out of the blue, unprovoked and killed him. I was so distraught and utterly devastated and heartbroken. Yoda was like my second child, I loved him so much and he was the sweetest dog you could ever know. This happened 3 years ago now, and I still don’t think I’m truly over it. We had a new baby last year and I just couldn’t trust the GSD around him, sometimes she would nip/snap at him - never actually biting him - but I couldn’t trust her not to hurt him. We ended up finding a home for her on a cattle ranch and horse farm further upstate. She is doing great there. I’m glad I found this site so at least I know I’m not the only one who has gone through something like this. For years I have been trying to figure out what went wrong, why she would just snap like that. Was it something we did? Was it just her nature? We were never cruel or mean to either of the dogs and they both got lots of attention and love before that incident and Yoda never antagonized the GSD in any way to set her off either, he pretty much just kept to himself. It was such a shock and a tragedy. I still miss my little baby terribly. He would be 7 this year.

    I used to have a small male dachshund mix (fixed) named Yoda who was about 4 years old when my husband and I moved in together. He had a 1.5 year old German Shepherd (unfixed). I went out to run an errand one afternoon and my husband went to work. Shortly after I get a call from my neighbor that my son - who had just gotten home from school - found Yoda bleeding and his stomach ripped open and intestines protruding... they rushed him to the emergency vet immediately while I left work and met them there. He was so badly mauled that he did not make it and passed away the next day. Watching our Nest cams later showed the the German Shepherd had attacked out of the blue, unprovoked and killed him. I was so distraught and utterly devastated and heartbroken. Yoda was like my second child, I loved him so much and he was the sweetest dog you could ever know. This happened 3 years ago now, and I still don’t think I’m truly over it. We had a new baby last year and I just couldn’t trust the GSD around him, sometimes she would nip/snap at him - never actually biting him - but I couldn’t trust her not to hurt him. We ended up finding a home for her on a cattle ranch and horse farm further upstate. She is doing great there. I’m glad I found this site so at least I know I’m not the only one who has gone through something like this. For years I have been trying to figure out what went wrong, why she would just snap like that. Was it something we did? Was it just her nature? We were never cruel or mean to either of the dogs and they both got lots of attention and love before that incident and Yoda never antagonized the GSD in any way to set her off either, he pretty much just kept to himself. It was such a shock and a tragedy. I still miss my little baby terribly. He would be 7 this year.

  • Eliana
    Eliana Virginia
    Nov 26 2020 9:01 AM
    I'm so sad I can't stop crying my pitbull grew up from a puppy with my pomeranian and after 4 years of being together she killed my pomeranian yesterday PRINCESS live to be 14years old i need help i don't know how im going to get over this

    I'm so sad I can't stop crying my pitbull grew up from a puppy with my pomeranian and after 4 years of being together she killed my pomeranian yesterday PRINCESS live to be 14years old i need help i don't know how im going to get over this

  • Karen
    Karen Long Island
    Nov 30 2020 11:10 AM
    I am hoping for some advice before anything happens. I have a 9 year old pit who was as sweet as can be but we brought in a 9 week old puppy and he has attacked the puppy. What is scary is he doesn't stop when the puppy is crying. I am watching his body language and trying to distract the older dog when I see the ears up with tight tail wagging along with a death stare. I will never leave them alone just to be safe. They walk well on leashes together and for the most part it's quiet but the attacks are so scary.

    I am hoping for some advice before anything happens. I have a 9 year old pit who was as sweet as can be but we brought in a 9 week old puppy and he has attacked the puppy. What is scary is he doesn't stop when the puppy is crying. I am watching his body language and trying to distract the older dog when I see the ears up with tight tail wagging along with a death stare. I will never leave them alone just to be safe. They walk well on leashes together and for the most part it's quiet but the attacks are so scary.

  • Anonymous
    Anonymous CA - California
    Dec 3 2020 1:17 PM
    I had no idea that so many people had to endure this kind of pain. We lost our little Millie, 12 week old Jack/Chi mix on October 2 of this year. She was the first little dog we ever got. I've had many dogs throughout my life, but never one so tiny, so full of energy, so snuggly, so adorable. She brought so much joy to our house for the short time she was with us. We had three dogs, including Millie at the time. A 14 year old Shepherd/Mutt rescue, who passed in her sleep on October 25, she battled cancer and type 2 diabetes. She was an awesome dog, but it was her time to go, I was able to deal with that, we saw it coming and prepared ourselves. We also have an 8 year old Pyrenean mastiff mix, 85 lb, intact male. That evening I was outside, family was inside. I asked my youngest son to feed the older dogs. That usually occurs in the kitchen. He fed them and the the little dog jumped from my husbands lap, in the living room, and ran to the mastiff's bowl, within an instant he had cracked little Millie's skull. She was still alive, crying so loud, yelping in short bursts. The rest seems like a blur. We wrapped her in a towel and sped to the emergency vet. I lost it, I mean really lost it. I was screaming and crying and yelling outside the facility while my husband took her in. He came back, doctor said she was in very bad shape, my husband had to choose to put her down on his own as I was too far gone. I could NOT believe what had just happened. I have a picture that was taken of the two of them sleeping next to one another, it was taken 2 hours before this happened. As another post mentioned, then we had to come home to the other dog.....what do you do then? The other dog is still with us, he is very sweet, obedient, easy going. I have never believed that he meant to do it, he's a dog, not a human. It's very hard and I can see that I'm not alone. We miss that little puppy so much, she had already become the apple of my husband's eye and mine too. There are nightmares and feelings of guilt and anger at the other dog (which fades quickly). It's just hard. I want another puppy so bad. However, I will not get another dog until the other dog has passed. I cannot put myself and my family through that type of pain again, I refuse to take that chance. I am glad I found this website, it helped to get that out and to see that I'm not alone. Take care.

    I had no idea that so many people had to endure this kind of pain.

    We lost our little Millie, 12 week old Jack/Chi mix on October 2 of this year. She was the first little dog we ever got. I've had many dogs throughout my life, but never one so tiny, so full of energy, so snuggly, so adorable. She brought so much joy to our house for the short time she was with us.

    We had three dogs, including Millie at the time. A 14 year old Shepherd/Mutt rescue, who passed in her sleep on October 25, she battled cancer and type 2 diabetes. She was an awesome dog, but it was her time to go, I was able to deal with that, we saw it coming and prepared ourselves.

    We also have an 8 year old Pyrenean mastiff mix, 85 lb, intact male. That evening I was outside, family was inside. I asked my youngest son to feed the older dogs. That usually occurs in the kitchen. He fed them and the the little dog jumped from my husbands lap, in the living room, and ran to the mastiff's bowl, within an instant he had cracked little Millie's skull. She was still alive, crying so loud, yelping in short bursts. The rest seems like a blur. We wrapped her in a towel and sped to the emergency vet.
    I lost it, I mean really lost it. I was screaming and crying and yelling outside the facility while my husband took her in. He came back, doctor said she was in very bad shape, my husband had to choose to put her down on his own as I was too far gone. I could NOT believe what had just happened. I have a picture that was taken of the two of them sleeping next to one another, it was taken 2 hours before this happened.

    As another post mentioned, then we had to come home to the other dog.....what do you do then? The other dog is still with us, he is very sweet, obedient, easy going. I have never believed that he meant to do it, he's a dog, not a human. It's very hard and I can see that I'm not alone.

    We miss that little puppy so much, she had already become the apple of my husband's eye and mine too. There are nightmares and feelings of guilt and anger at the other dog (which fades quickly). It's just hard.

    I want another puppy so bad. However, I will not get another dog until the other dog has passed. I cannot put myself and my family through that type of pain again, I refuse to take that chance.

    I am glad I found this website, it helped to get that out and to see that I'm not alone.

    Take care.

  • Cristina
    Cristina Cadiz
    Dec 5 2020 2:25 AM
    I had fostered about 100 dogs, mostly found wandering on the street, some from dog rescue orgs. In January I had four dogs of my own, two 8 kg females, 8 and 7 years old, Amanda and Mielinda. Amanda might have Yorkie, Mielinda was terrier type. Then an 11 year old, gentle terrier, 12 kg but mostly due to lipomatosis, and a very gentle five year old SWD mix. All castrated. They never had problems with fosters, all being well socialized, experienced and friendly, a very balanced group. I took in a Podenco (a breed said to be if gentle character) in December/January. He was in terrible condition, the (private) shelter didn't want him. So I took him in, pampered, fed him, gave meds. He blossomed, gained weight, the wounds healed. He was away a week for filaria treatment. When he came back, it was as he had never left. On January 30 we had a five dog "good morning" greeting. A short sniff walkie before I left for work - I have over 2000 m2 garden, several resting areas and water bowls distributed. There are trees, grass, bushes. When I came home, the makes were at the gate, howling and extremely distressed. One ran away and returned immediately. I came in, walked around the corner. Mielinda was lying dead, a deep bite in the neck had opened the carotidea, hematotórax, some broken ribs. Blood everywhere. It seems that a larger dog took her by the neck, bit deep and flung her to the ground. Amanda was standing by her, growling and barking at the Podenco, 5 m away, highly aroused, ears, tail up, on his toes, fixating her. I yelled and he ran away. The Podenco had 12 kg at that moment, all.muscles, not neutered. The only dogs who could inflict such a wound on my girl were the Podenco and my SWD cross, who was howling at the gate. The others are too small. The Podenco left the same day, I don't know where he is. As I insisted that he was IMO the killer and, at least, should be mentioned that he was involved "with high probability", given only to experienced hands and met smaller dogs first on a long line and get muzzle training (Podencos do have a high prey drive), I was shunned, bullied etc etc. The fact that he had never shown aggressive behaviour made it more difficult to believe - they even suggested another dog had entered the garden (there are no wolves, coyotes etc in Spain) or that a big cat had killed her. I am in psychological treatment - I have a disability with chronic pain and progressive denervation of the left leg, which got worse during the last year. Still I can't get over the death of my girl. I cry every day. If it were not for my other dogs, who needed over a month to return to normal - able to go out alone into the garden, able to eat or sleep each in a box or bed alone instead of clamming together in one, etc - I would have killed me. I work, I function, I take care of my dogs, I got an e-bike so they can have their daily long walkies (they are a mostly off leash, we have areas with no traffic and it is allowed). I do as always all I can do for them. But it's so hard to bear the pain. I still wish I could kill me. But my dogs trust me to look after them, to care for them and to keep them safe, like Mielinda did. I failed her, I cannot fail them too.

    I had fostered about 100 dogs, mostly found wandering on the street, some from dog rescue orgs. In January I had four dogs of my own, two 8 kg females, 8 and 7 years old, Amanda and Mielinda. Amanda might have Yorkie, Mielinda was terrier type. Then an 11 year old, gentle terrier, 12 kg but mostly due to lipomatosis, and a very gentle five year old SWD mix. All castrated. They never had problems with fosters, all being well socialized, experienced and friendly, a very balanced group.
    I took in a Podenco (a breed said to be if gentle character) in December/January. He was in terrible condition, the (private) shelter didn't want him. So I took him in, pampered, fed him, gave meds. He blossomed, gained weight, the wounds healed. He was away a week for filaria treatment. When he came back, it was as he had never left. On January 30 we had a five dog "good morning" greeting. A short sniff walkie before I left for work - I have over 2000 m2 garden, several resting areas and water bowls distributed. There are trees, grass, bushes.
    When I came home, the makes were at the gate, howling and extremely distressed. One ran away and returned immediately. I came in, walked around the corner. Mielinda was lying dead, a deep bite in the neck had opened the carotidea, hematotórax, some broken ribs. Blood everywhere. It seems that a larger dog took her by the neck, bit deep and flung her to the ground. Amanda was standing by her, growling and barking at the Podenco, 5 m away, highly aroused, ears, tail up, on his toes, fixating her. I yelled and he ran away.
    The Podenco had 12 kg at that moment, all.muscles, not neutered.
    The only dogs who could inflict such a wound on my girl were the Podenco and my SWD cross, who was howling at the gate. The others are too small.
    The Podenco left the same day, I don't know where he is.
    As I insisted that he was IMO the killer and, at least, should be mentioned that he was involved "with high probability", given only to experienced hands and met smaller dogs first on a long line and get muzzle training (Podencos do have a high prey drive), I was shunned, bullied etc etc. The fact that he had never shown aggressive behaviour made it more difficult to believe - they even suggested another dog had entered the garden (there are no wolves, coyotes etc in Spain) or that a big cat had killed her.
    I am in psychological treatment - I have a disability with chronic pain and progressive denervation of the left leg, which got worse during the last year. Still I can't get over the death of my girl. I cry every day. If it were not for my other dogs, who needed over a month to return to normal - able to go out alone into the garden, able to eat or sleep each in a box or bed alone instead of clamming together in one, etc - I would have killed me. I work, I function, I take care of my dogs, I got an e-bike so they can have their daily long walkies (they are a mostly off leash, we have areas with no traffic and it is allowed).
    I do as always all I can do for them. But it's so hard to bear the pain. I still wish I could kill me. But my dogs trust me to look after them, to care for them and to keep them safe, like Mielinda did. I failed her, I cannot fail them too.

  • Dylan
    Dylan Michigan
    Dec 7 2020 12:03 PM
    Thank you for the post and everyone for the comment. I'm sitting here writing this with so many emotions right now. It's been a very bad year for our pack. We lost one last year (out of 7 total) due to kidney failure. This year we lost 3 more due to old age and health issue. Today is different. We lost one due to a fight between two of the 3 remaining dogs. The pack dynamics in the house has been greatly altered with all the losses. We are not sure what caused this as they have always been great together and played, sleep, ate and loved on each other. The worst part about this is knowing our poor baby was hurting on her last breath and we couldn't make it there to be with her. STUPID COVID!. I'm sitting here not knowing what to do with the other dog. It's easy to say don't feel guilty but I very much do. I feel if I were to have been more attentive this wouldn't have happened. Thanks for listening.

    Thank you for the post and everyone for the comment. I'm sitting here writing this with so many emotions right now. It's been a very bad year for our pack. We lost one last year (out of 7 total) due to kidney failure. This year we lost 3 more due to old age and health issue. Today is different. We lost one due to a fight between two of the 3 remaining dogs. The pack dynamics in the house has been greatly altered with all the losses. We are not sure what caused this as they have always been great together and played, sleep, ate and loved on each other. The worst part about this is knowing our poor baby was hurting on her last breath and we couldn't make it there to be with her. STUPID COVID!. I'm sitting here not knowing what to do with the other dog. It's easy to say don't feel guilty but I very much do. I feel if I were to have been more attentive this wouldn't have happened. Thanks for listening.

  • Paul
    Paul Tennessee
    Dec 7 2020 3:32 PM
    I am so glad I found this site. I have 3 dogs (had 4 but one died at 12 years old from liver failure). The most recent addition came about almost 4 years ago. She was a stray pit bull mix that we found in our sun room, very young and starving. We took her in, got her fixed and gave her her shots. We noticed she was aggressive when she played and we had to remove toys because she tried to take them all even if they were the same toys. Over 4 years we saw she would occasionally attack the smaller dogs and our indoor/outdoor cat. But she never attacked the collie who is the same size as her. In the last year both she and the collie have been attacking the smaller dog. It is at the point now where I have to lock the smaller dog away from them if no one is going to be home. They will attack him for no reason. I was bringing him inside one day and they both attacked him. We paid over 1500 for a fenced in back yard but the dogs all live inside with us. I told my partner that from now on the 2 big dogs will live outside in the back yard and will only be brought in at night when it gets cold. At least then I can keep the smaller dog with me in the bedroom. I am ready to get rid of the two big dogs but both of them are older and I don't know if I can find them a home. I know that if they got ahold of the smaller dog when no one was home they would easily kill him.

    I am so glad I found this site. I have 3 dogs (had 4 but one died at 12 years old from liver failure). The most recent addition came about almost 4 years ago. She was a stray pit bull mix that we found in our sun room, very young and starving. We took her in, got her fixed and gave her her shots. We noticed she was aggressive when she played and we had to remove toys because she tried to take them all even if they were the same toys. Over 4 years we saw she would occasionally attack the smaller dogs and our indoor/outdoor cat. But she never attacked the collie who is the same size as her. In the last year both she and the collie have been attacking the smaller dog. It is at the point now where I have to lock the smaller dog away from them if no one is going to be home. They will attack him for no reason. I was bringing him inside one day and they both attacked him. We paid over 1500 for a fenced in back yard but the dogs all live inside with us. I told my partner that from now on the 2 big dogs will live outside in the back yard and will only be brought in at night when it gets cold. At least then I can keep the smaller dog with me in the bedroom. I am ready to get rid of the two big dogs but both of them are older and I don't know if I can find them a home. I know that if they got ahold of the smaller dog when no one was home they would easily kill him.

  • Victoria
    Victoria California
    Dec 26 2020 8:56 PM
    As horrible as these have been to read through, it's been somewhat comforting to know other people are experience the same guilt and shame and confusion following this sort of trauma. Yesterday, in the middle of my family's Christmas celebration, my 7 year old pit attacked and killed our sweet senior chihuahua. It was totally unprovoked and sudden. They had lived together over 4 years, slept together every night, had never had any fights save for the occasional snap over food or toys VERY rarely. They were literally sleeping side by side one second and my pit had the chi in her mouth shaking her the next, in front of the whole family. It took my dad, me, and my wife to pull her off after a whole minute of wrestling and screaming. There was blood everywhere and my chihuahua died about a hour afterwards, her skull was fractured and her jaw broken. It was absolutely horrible. I used to work as a dog trainer and pride myself on dispelling tension, managing behavior, and setting out dogs up for success. I can read behavior well and anticipate fights, and am so ashamed that I didn't see this coming. It was so shocking. Our pit has had a history of selective territorial based aggression, but usually on leash and NEVER with our other dog. I still have no idea what happened and even with my extensive knowledge of dog behavior and experience with aggressive dogs, I don't know what to do with my pit right now or the anger and hurt and betrayal I'm feeling. We have cats and she's never acted aggressive towards them save for the occasional snap over food but now I know I can't trust her. She's NEVER bitten or even growled at a person before but after seeing how sudden and unprovoked this was I feel like I just don't know her anymore. Ive had her since she was a year old and put so much time and energy into her. She's an impeccably trained dog who knows a ton of commands and listens spectacularly but I can barely look at her right now and I just feel like maybe its more humane to euthanize her than it is to muzzle and crate her as much as I'm anticipating she would need to be muzzled and crated with our cats. I'm devastated and at a loss and can't stop replaying the incident and remembering how it felt to pull my chihuahua's broken teeth and jaw out of her throat to try to clear an airway before she died. It was so traumatic and I have no idea how to move on.

    As horrible as these have been to read through, it's been somewhat comforting to know other people are experience the same guilt and shame and confusion following this sort of trauma. Yesterday, in the middle of my family's Christmas celebration, my 7 year old pit attacked and killed our sweet senior chihuahua. It was totally unprovoked and sudden. They had lived together over 4 years, slept together every night, had never had any fights save for the occasional snap over food or toys VERY rarely. They were literally sleeping side by side one second and my pit had the chi in her mouth shaking her the next, in front of the whole family. It took my dad, me, and my wife to pull her off after a whole minute of wrestling and screaming. There was blood everywhere and my chihuahua died about a hour afterwards, her skull was fractured and her jaw broken. It was absolutely horrible.

    I used to work as a dog trainer and pride myself on dispelling tension, managing behavior, and setting out dogs up for success. I can read behavior well and anticipate fights, and am so ashamed that I didn't see this coming. It was so shocking. Our pit has had a history of selective territorial based aggression, but usually on leash and NEVER with our other dog. I still have no idea what happened and even with my extensive knowledge of dog behavior and experience with aggressive dogs, I don't know what to do with my pit right now or the anger and hurt and betrayal I'm feeling. We have cats and she's never acted aggressive towards them save for the occasional snap over food but now I know I can't trust her. She's NEVER bitten or even growled at a person before but after seeing how sudden and unprovoked this was I feel like I just don't know her anymore. Ive had her since she was a year old and put so much time and energy into her. She's an impeccably trained dog who knows a ton of commands and listens spectacularly but I can barely look at her right now and I just feel like maybe its more humane to euthanize her than it is to muzzle and crate her as much as I'm anticipating she would need to be muzzled and crated with our cats. I'm devastated and at a loss and can't stop replaying the incident and remembering how it felt to pull my chihuahua's broken teeth and jaw out of her throat to try to clear an airway before she died. It was so traumatic and I have no idea how to move on.

  • Michelle
    Michelle Whyalla
    Dec 28 2020 6:34 PM
    My 9 year old American staffordshire terrier has attacked my American pit bull terrier in last 3 years once in each year but the last attack was bad tht wen I thout i could just clean him up i didnt realise he was dying off shock he had shock last time so didn't think it was life threatening & my vet was on holidays so didnt think he answer phone,i thout clean him up patch the wounds keep him warm but didn't know wen read up later tht u had to lye them on right side & elevate them for behind to get blood t o heart for shock & get to get asap,if knew my vet would off answered wen I did ring 2 hours later cozz my dog started crying & a horrible howlling I knew something ing was we o by & risked tht vet would answer which he did i rushed him to vet but died in my arms as i carried,my older dig has known the dog since it was 5mth old he was turning 4 wen died never had issues threw year but one time wer dogs all around r on heat or getting out but the time I did tf know wth the trigger was or i would off separated them wen im not home all the time,i only did it once a attack happened then i tried to get ther friend ship back by walks after few weeks i aloud them be k together all good for a year,but the older dog did attack a dog i brought in t o the pack a year b4 all was fine,he got on wth my pitbull & played ruff wth him,but my older dog I came home at the end off them fighting they had each other by back off knock but they only had mild cuts nothing bad & all good once i broke them up,but the last attack on my other dog was bad found him lying on his right side not moving but his eyes,he could stand so i carried him,thought he was badly bruised but i think now he might hav a fracture or something i was concentrating on cleaning him up from dirt in bath tub so i could clean the wounds, now i wished i just rang vet to hope he answer & got him ther sooner he b alive now,sore but alive,why was ths attack more aggressive,& why only the last 3 years once in each year ths happening,they wer close so why hurt him tht badly im deverstated & hating my other dog right now as well as myself, was it coz i brought in the other dog 4 years ago or is a trigger happening & he took it out on my other dog c o z can't get to why he after,the neighbour dog years ago use to bang on fence driving my dog crazy to the point he smash his face to try get at it,but thts b4 i got other dogs only had two all dogs which he was great wth never hurt them I still hav one them he classed in the p back a Alfa so none hav ago at him he gets respect which i s good & my larger dog is second dig in p a k the one tht died is the third,then my girl who is also same age as the dead dog,then the rescue dog,all was desexed young but the new dog,he was 1.5years wen got him then he got desexed,now he done tf play wth his toys coz other dog gone,my girl walks around lookin & sniffing yard for him,older d o g is picking up on my angry & grief & is punished by not gettin my attention ive kicked him outside all day coz can't stand to look at him,ive yelled at him about Kiah,i know i shouldn't, it im hurting,he shaking wen he see me even if i ignore him,he won't eat in morn i ng d o by know he grieving coz Kiah not ther for breakfast he do start eatin tea but only twice,i was con ordering putt ijng him down coz dogs hav tiffs but to course the death off his friend upsets me,id get him a vet check up but he closed & right now im angry,my rescue dog lyin here winging,he loved playing wth the toys wth Kiah they did ths every day but now has no interest coz Kiah not here & he was the one tht did ruff play wth him, so he grieving too,my houshold has bn turned up side down & i don't know how to fix ths or make everyone including me feel better

    My 9 year old American staffordshire terrier has attacked my American pit bull terrier in last 3 years once in each year but the last attack was bad tht wen I thout i could just clean him up i didnt realise he was dying off shock he had shock last time so didn't think it was life threatening & my vet was on holidays so didnt think he answer phone,i thout clean him up patch the wounds keep him warm but didn't know wen read up later tht u had to lye them on right side & elevate them for behind to get blood t o heart for shock & get to get asap,if knew my vet would off answered wen I did ring 2 hours later cozz my dog started crying & a horrible howlling I knew something ing was we o by & risked tht vet would answer which he did i rushed him to vet but died in my arms as i carried,my older dig has known the dog since it was 5mth old he was turning 4 wen died never had issues threw year but one time wer dogs all around r on heat or getting out but the time I did tf know wth the trigger was or i would off separated them wen im not home all the time,i only did it once a attack happened then i tried to get ther friend ship back by walks after few weeks i aloud them be k together all good for a year,but the older dog did attack a dog i brought in t o the pack a year b4 all was fine,he got on wth my pitbull & played ruff wth him,but my older dog I came home at the end off them fighting they had each other by back off knock but they only had mild cuts nothing bad & all good once i broke them up,but the last attack on my other dog was bad found him lying on his right side not moving but his eyes,he could stand so i carried him,thought he was badly bruised but i think now he might hav a fracture or something i was concentrating on cleaning him up from dirt in bath tub so i could clean the wounds, now i wished i just rang vet to hope he answer & got him ther sooner he b alive now,sore but alive,why was ths attack more aggressive,& why only the last 3 years once in each year ths happening,they wer close so why hurt him tht badly im deverstated & hating my other dog right now as well as myself, was it coz i brought in the other dog 4 years ago or is a trigger happening & he took it out on my other dog c o z can't get to why he after,the neighbour dog years ago use to bang on fence driving my dog crazy to the point he smash his face to try get at it,but thts b4 i got other dogs only had two all dogs which he was great wth never hurt them I still hav one them he classed in the p back a Alfa so none hav ago at him he gets respect which i s good & my larger dog is second dig in p a k the one tht died is the third,then my girl who is also same age as the dead dog,then the rescue dog,all was desexed young but the new dog,he was 1.5years wen got him then he got desexed,now he done tf play wth his toys coz other dog gone,my girl walks around lookin & sniffing yard for him,older d o g is picking up on my angry & grief & is punished by not gettin my attention ive kicked him outside all day coz can't stand to look at him,ive yelled at him about Kiah,i know i shouldn't,
    it im hurting,he shaking wen he see me even if i ignore him,he won't eat in morn i ng d o by know he grieving coz Kiah not ther for breakfast he do start eatin tea but only twice,i was con ordering putt ijng him down coz dogs hav tiffs but to course the death off his friend upsets me,id get him a vet check up but he closed & right now im angry,my rescue dog lyin here winging,he loved playing wth the toys wth Kiah they did ths every day but now has no interest coz Kiah not here & he was the one tht did ruff play wth him, so he grieving too,my houshold has bn turned up side down & i don't know how to fix ths or make everyone including me feel better

  • Michelle
    Michelle Whyalla
    Jan 2 2021 4:38 AM
    My 3 year old American pitbull terrier,would bn 4 in few weeks,died off shock 7 days ago from my 9 year old American staffordshire terrier,ther wer no signs but the attacks started 3 years ago only once in each year he got my pitbull twice my rescue dog once which was miner just all wounds,but the last attack i only went out four few hours found my Am/staff & staffy x Kellie at back door wagging ther tails my Am/staff covered in deliver & blood i found my pitbull lying on ground,all dogs r desexed the last attacks was coz a dog was trying to get at them throu fence she was on heat so not sure if ths happened again wth different dog,everyone was happy wth ther they,the pit & staffy x was playing wth ther Xmas toys wen i left,they don't fight over food or toys but thes two do play ruff,don't understand why attack worse the time & i didn't notice any aggression as ther normally best friends,i didn't realise his shock was bad,& I realised later i may hav made it worse by reading up on it tht ur meant to put them on ther right side & elevate ther lower back,i gav him warm bath to clean him up ascovered wth blood,dirt & deliver so i didnt want to put creams on till i cleaned him up,i didnt realise coz he b still damp tht ive made his shock worse even tho i put a blanket on him,i couldn't ring vet as he was closed so i thout id just clean him up lol last time he b sore but ok,but he lifted his head up fast started winging so i thout he needed toilet so carried him out but he collapsed so brought him back in covered him but then he started panting so i thout he was hot so i uncovered him put fan on gav alittle water,later read u wer not meant to give water or food,he lied ther then he starting crying then let out the horrible howlling ths continued,wth heavy breathing continuing but stopped let out deep breath the done few times then the crying & howlling i touch his mouth it was lik ice i new then something bad was tapping,i tried ring vet & he did answer,told me to get him to clinic,my dog had tongue hanging out will crying im sayin hang on Kiah wer getting help but the 7 mins drive their & as i got him out car he flopped he died in my arms b4 i got him in the door,id did everything wrong if i only rang vet soon as i saw my dog he b alive,if only i kepted them separated wen not home instead off listening to a trainer saying they b ok now,& they wer for 4 mths im angry wth my older dig coz after it happened he acting everything ok,till he realised i was upset & his friend not come home i had 5 dogs one was young female desex around same age as the pitbull & staffy x & i hav two o older dogs the Am/staff & a terrier x staff x pit mix the size off terrier but they all know he Alfa then it's the Am/staff then the pitbull then my girl then the rescue dog they all new ther places they all knew ther commands they all got treated the same so don't understand why,just hard to love the dog tht did the atte k but i blame myself f oir his death as i didn't know wht i was meant to do as i was in shock myself in how bad he was,i lost my baby coz i couldn't read up on shock wen first happened few years ago as never had phone tht i could look things up till now which is too late😭😭😭

    My 3 year old American pitbull terrier,would bn 4 in few weeks,died off shock 7 days ago from my 9 year old American staffordshire terrier,ther wer no signs but the attacks started 3 years ago only once in each year he got my pitbull twice my rescue dog once which was miner just all wounds,but the last attack i only went out four few hours found my Am/staff & staffy x Kellie at back door wagging ther tails my Am/staff covered in deliver & blood i found my pitbull lying on ground,all dogs r desexed the last attacks was coz a dog was trying to get at them throu fence she was on heat so not sure if ths happened again wth different dog,everyone was happy wth ther they,the pit & staffy x was playing wth ther Xmas toys wen i left,they don't fight over food or toys but thes two do play ruff,don't understand why attack worse the time & i didn't notice any aggression as ther normally best friends,i didn't realise his shock was bad,& I realised later i may hav made it worse by reading up on it tht ur meant to put them on ther right side & elevate ther lower back,i gav him warm bath to clean him up ascovered wth blood,dirt & deliver so i didnt want to put creams on till i cleaned him up,i didnt realise coz he b still damp tht ive made his shock worse even tho i put a blanket on him,i couldn't ring vet as he was closed so i thout id just clean him up lol last time he b sore but ok,but he lifted his head up fast started winging so i thout he needed toilet so carried him out but he collapsed so brought him back in covered him but then he started panting so i thout he was hot so i uncovered him put fan on gav alittle water,later read u wer not meant to give water or food,he lied ther then he starting crying then let out the horrible howlling ths continued,wth heavy breathing continuing but stopped let out deep breath the done few times then the crying & howlling i touch his mouth it was lik ice i new then something bad was tapping,i tried ring vet & he did answer,told me to get him to clinic,my dog had tongue hanging out will crying im sayin hang on Kiah wer getting help but the 7 mins drive their & as i got him out car he flopped he died in my arms b4 i got him in the door,id did everything wrong if i only rang vet soon as i saw my dog he b alive,if only i kepted them separated wen not home instead off listening to a trainer saying they b ok now,& they wer for 4 mths im angry wth my older dig coz after it happened he acting everything ok,till he realised i was upset & his friend not come home i had 5 dogs one was young female desex around same age as the pitbull & staffy x & i hav two o older dogs the Am/staff & a terrier x staff x pit mix the size off terrier but they all know he Alfa then it's the Am/staff then the pitbull then my girl then the rescue dog they all new ther places they all knew ther commands they all got treated the same so don't understand why,just hard to love the dog tht did the atte k but i blame myself f oir his death as i didn't know wht i was meant to do as i was in shock myself in how bad he was,i lost my baby coz i couldn't read up on shock wen first happened few years ago as never had phone tht i could look things up till now which is too late😭😭😭

  • Tina
    Tina Croatia
    Jan 3 2021 2:15 PM
    I have 3 dogs, a Alpine Duchsbrack female of 8 years and two male Golden Retrievers (brothers from a same litter) 2 years of age. And reading this post and then comments I got little bit scared and I am just wondering how many of dogs that attacked or killed another dog were working dogs or dog that had a very active life - mental stimulation?

    I have 3 dogs, a Alpine Duchsbrack female of 8 years and two male Golden Retrievers (brothers from a same litter) 2 years of age. And reading this post and then comments I got little bit scared and I am just wondering how many of dogs that attacked or killed another dog were working dogs or dog that had a very active life - mental stimulation?

  • Nicole
    Nicole England
    Jan 10 2021 2:46 PM
    My husky recently just got attacked at a local park and his leg is injured and he can barely walk at the moment. I also have a jack Russell who is very protective and was protecting the husky during the attack. But, since we got home the husky had been very aggressive and territorial towards the jack Russell. I am worried because he is very small and the husky could be down with him in 10 seconds he has already tried to attack him just because my jack Russell walked close to him. What should I do?

    My husky recently just got attacked at a local park and his leg is injured and he can barely walk at the moment. I also have a jack Russell who is very protective and was protecting the husky during the attack. But, since we got home the husky had been very aggressive and territorial towards the jack Russell. I am worried because he is very small and the husky could be down with him in 10 seconds he has already tried to attack him just because my jack Russell walked close to him. What should I do?

  • Kristin
    Kristin Texas
    Jan 12 2021 5:53 PM
    I came here today because I’ve noticed an increasing trend for one of my dogs to be overly aggressive to another (same one every time). It became readily apparent today when my small terrier mix Penny merely walked in the house from going potty, and immediately my much larger and younger German Shepard mix Lola attacked her. There was no food, toy, or anything else anywhere near, and Penny was preceded by our even smaller Chihuahua mix Daisy who was ignored completely by Lola. Besides a few bleeding cuts and her cute little personality being quite subdued currently, Penny is okay. I think the problem may be that Lola is a bit of a bully, and while our other dogs all seem to defer to her, Penny does not. It could also be a jealousy issue as Penny generally likes being wherever I am and Lola until about two weeks ago (when things started to get worse), seemed perfectly content to be across the room from me in her spot on the couch. This article and many comments and questions, have made it perfectly clear that I, and my family need to alter what we’re doing at home and keep Penny safe from Lola at all costs, and potentially our other pups, because after reading all these I’m afraid for my other dogs if they should ever get tired of, or try challenging Lolas bullying. For now, we have come up with a plan to keep Penny and Lola separate at all times. It may be that we’ll need to keep Lola separate from all our other pups, if we can convince my hubby, that is. I thank all of you for sharing your heartbreaking stories. My heart aches for you all because I know how I would feel if we hadn’t managed to get Penny away from Lola today.

    I came here today because I’ve noticed an increasing trend for one of my dogs to be overly aggressive to another (same one every time). It became readily apparent today when my small terrier mix Penny merely walked in the house from going potty, and immediately my much larger and younger German Shepard mix Lola attacked her. There was no food, toy, or anything else anywhere near, and Penny was preceded by our even smaller Chihuahua mix Daisy who was ignored completely by Lola. Besides a few bleeding cuts and her cute little personality being quite subdued currently, Penny is okay. I think the problem may be that Lola is a bit of a bully, and while our other dogs all seem to defer to her, Penny does not. It could also be a jealousy issue as Penny generally likes being wherever I am and Lola until about two weeks ago (when things started to get worse), seemed perfectly content to be across the room from me in her spot on the couch.
    This article and many comments and questions, have made it perfectly clear that I, and my family need to alter what we’re doing at home and keep Penny safe from Lola at all costs, and potentially our other pups, because after reading all these I’m afraid for my other dogs if they should ever get tired of, or try challenging Lolas bullying. For now, we have come up with a plan to keep Penny and Lola separate at all times. It may be that we’ll need to keep Lola separate from all our other pups, if we can convince my hubby, that is.
    I thank all of you for sharing your heartbreaking stories. My heart aches for you all because I know how I would feel if we hadn’t managed to get Penny away from Lola today.

  • Deanna
    Deanna Texas
    Jan 14 2021 8:12 PM
    I have 2 yorkies . An older one male snd a young female. I moved in with my b/f and he has a 7 yr old unfixed jack Russell. We have had a routine of feeding them but my older guy decided he would stop snd eat some dry food that we leave out all the time. The jack russell out of nowhere attacked him and might as well say he killed him. We had to put the old guy down. He has Shown aggressive behavior one time before when he was around him but there was also another dog around so we thought it was because of that. After reading this I’m wondering if it was because my Yorkie was older I am so heartbroken and wish I would have done things differently. I wish I had read this article sooner. I hope someone sees this and possibly saves their pet. Don’t really know if we should get rid of jack russell around my other Yorkie or what.

    I have 2 yorkies . An older one male snd a young female. I moved in with my b/f and he has a 7 yr old unfixed jack Russell. We have had a routine of feeding them but my older guy decided he would stop snd eat some dry food that we leave out all the time. The jack russell out of nowhere attacked him and might as well say he killed him. We had to put the old guy down. He has Shown aggressive behavior one time before when he was around him but there was also another dog around so we thought it was because of that. After reading this I’m wondering if it was because my Yorkie was older I am so heartbroken and wish I would have done things differently. I wish I had read this article sooner. I hope someone sees this and possibly saves their pet. Don’t really know if we should get rid of jack russell around my other Yorkie or what.

  • Jennifer
    Jennifer NC
    Jan 20 2021 9:33 PM
    We have been married for 26 years and have owned dogs that entire time. We have fostered, rescued, bred, you name it. We live on a large farm with chickens, goats, pigs, dogs, cats, you name it. We thought we were incredibly experienced. We were wrong. Currently, we have 9 dogs in the family but two come and go to school with our daughter. - leaving 7 at home full time. They range in age from 4 months to 13 years and are a mix of pure breeds (pugs, a german shepherd) and rescue mutts (a husky mix and a pit mix). We have had great harmony until very recently. One of the pugs, age 5, was singled out by the pit mix, also age 5. These two had lived together since the pit was rescued at age 10 months - basically their entire lives. In October, the dogs were in the house and a serviceman came by. I stepped outside to talk for 5 minutes and in that short time, the pit attacked the pug and tore her eye out. I rushed her to the emergency vet and 2 surgeries and $4000 later, Pearl came home. We were devastated but thought we had it under control. We had a routine - the pit would sleep with us at night while the others were crated, then the pit would crate during the day while the others were out. Worked like a charm. Until this week. My husband was quarantined from COVID and was home which is atypical. He slept in so instead of crating the pit, I put her in the bedroom with him while I took some work calls. He got up, let her and the others all out together and was on watch when his phone rang. He took a 2 minute work call. When he called the dogs back up, all came but the pug. The pit and the shepherd were covered in blood and the pug was in the yard, mauled. She died minutes later in my arms. We are gutted - it happened so quickly. I thought we are the worst dog parents ever and that we were the only ones until I just found this site. I do not know what to do. I feel like euthanasia is the only way but do only know that the pit cannot EVER be trusted even though we love her with everything - she is an absolutely wonderful dog save for the fact she just murdered our girl. I am not sure about the shepherd. She was an accessory. I am meeting with a trainer tomorrow to look at a plan for her, but just do not know what to do about the pit. It is awful because we, like all of you, basically lost two absolutely beloved dogs yesterday. My condolences to each and every single one of you - this is just awful.

    We have been married for 26 years and have owned dogs that entire time. We have fostered, rescued, bred, you name it. We live on a large farm with chickens, goats, pigs, dogs, cats, you name it. We thought we were incredibly experienced. We were wrong. Currently, we have 9 dogs in the family but two come and go to school with our daughter. - leaving 7 at home full time. They range in age from 4 months to 13 years and are a mix of pure breeds (pugs, a german shepherd) and rescue mutts (a husky mix and a pit mix). We have had great harmony until very recently. One of the pugs, age 5, was singled out by the pit mix, also age 5. These two had lived together since the pit was rescued at age 10 months - basically their entire lives. In October, the dogs were in the house and a serviceman came by. I stepped outside to talk for 5 minutes and in that short time, the pit attacked the pug and tore her eye out. I rushed her to the emergency vet and 2 surgeries and $4000 later, Pearl came home. We were devastated but thought we had it under control. We had a routine - the pit would sleep with us at night while the others were crated, then the pit would crate during the day while the others were out. Worked like a charm. Until this week. My husband was quarantined from COVID and was home which is atypical. He slept in so instead of crating the pit, I put her in the bedroom with him while I took some work calls. He got up, let her and the others all out together and was on watch when his phone rang. He took a 2 minute work call. When he called the dogs back up, all came but the pug. The pit and the shepherd were covered in blood and the pug was in the yard, mauled. She died minutes later in my arms. We are gutted - it happened so quickly. I thought we are the worst dog parents ever and that we were the only ones until I just found this site. I do not know what to do. I feel like euthanasia is the only way but do only know that the pit cannot EVER be trusted even though we love her with everything - she is an absolutely wonderful dog save for the fact she just murdered our girl. I am not sure about the shepherd. She was an accessory. I am meeting with a trainer tomorrow to look at a plan for her, but just do not know what to do about the pit. It is awful because we, like all of you, basically lost two absolutely beloved dogs yesterday. My condolences to each and every single one of you - this is just awful.

  • Kathleen
    Kathleen Philadelphia
    Jan 31 2021 7:21 PM
    My pit attacked my golden doodle out of nowhere. She was a rescue at Six weeks. She came into the house with the golden just being one year old. They have been best buddies. Now 3 years later she is aggressive and he is submissive. Unfortunately she attacked him for no apparent reason. Do I need to put her down? Can something be done? Medicine maybe?

    My pit attacked my golden doodle out of nowhere.
    She was a rescue at Six weeks. She came into the house with the golden just being one year old.
    They have been best buddies. Now 3 years later she is aggressive and he is submissive. Unfortunately she attacked him for no apparent reason. Do I need to put her down?
    Can something be done? Medicine maybe?

  • Gaby
    Gaby Holland
    Feb 4 2021 1:58 PM
    We had this wonderful, playful, loyal German spitz. We live in the countryside with few neighbours and only their dogs in the neighbourhood that were all girl and got along well with our pomeranian. We let our dog roam free in the neighbourhood since he enjoyed so much this freedom! One morning I wake up and see he didn't touch his food, I knew smth happened to him. Found him laying dead in the field with a big whole in his neck ripped out. No blood around him or around the wound. Just a clean big round piece missing from the neck. But why is there no blood at all? Isn't this weird? Devastated....no words.

    We had this wonderful, playful, loyal German spitz. We live in the countryside with few neighbours and only their dogs in the neighbourhood that were all girl and got along well with our pomeranian. We let our dog roam free in the neighbourhood since he enjoyed so much this freedom! One morning I wake up and see he didn't touch his food, I knew smth happened to him. Found him laying dead in the field with a big whole in his neck ripped out. No blood around him or around the wound. Just a clean big round piece missing from the neck. But why is there no blood at all? Isn't this weird? Devastated....no words.

  • Ruth
    Ruth South of England, UK
    Feb 9 2021 3:18 PM
    My chihuahua cross miniature pincher developed epilepsy and was killed by my Yorkshire terrier and my Croatian sheepdog. I was in another room and heard the screams. She had a huge ripped skin wound and teeth wounds in the back of the neck. She bled to death in my arms, though I think the shock killed her first. This is the first time I have talked about that terrible day a few months ago. I can only make sense of that happening is that the killers sensed that epileptic fits would only get worse and this was a merciful release. I feel better for sharing this gruesome experience. I

    My chihuahua cross miniature pincher developed epilepsy and was killed by my Yorkshire terrier and my Croatian sheepdog. I was in another room and heard the screams. She had a huge ripped skin wound and teeth wounds in the back of the neck. She bled to death in my arms, though I think the shock killed her first. This is the first time I have talked about that terrible day a few months ago. I can only make sense of that happening is that the killers sensed that epileptic fits would only get worse and this was a merciful release. I feel better for sharing this gruesome experience.
    I

  • Angie
    Angie Gladwin
    Feb 10 2021 2:53 PM
    I have a pure bred chihuahua and my daughter got a pure bred heeler. My chihuahua is older. By a lot. And he is male, the other female. I think the female is now pregnant and it’s causing her to be more irritable and aggressive toward my chihuahua. She is always pushing him out of the way, is very territorial and earlier today she attacked him and wouldn’t let go. She was laying by my feet and he came up and she grabbed him and wouldn’t let go. I tried dislodging her jaw but nothing. I had to grab her around the neck and punch her face to get her to let go. He now has a small piece missing from his upper lip where she took hold and I have her in a cage and not sure what to do next. She has attacked him before, but it’s getting worse. I wonder if it’s her being pregnant, being a dog, or if she has rabies??? She has not had her shots yet. Can she still get them while pregnant?

    I have a pure bred chihuahua and my daughter got a pure bred heeler. My chihuahua is older. By a lot. And he is male, the other female. I think the female is now pregnant and it’s causing her to be more irritable and aggressive toward my chihuahua. She is always pushing him out of the way, is very territorial and earlier today she attacked him and wouldn’t let go. She was laying by my feet and he came up and she grabbed him and wouldn’t let go. I tried dislodging her jaw but nothing. I had to grab her around the neck and punch her face to get her to let go. He now has a small piece missing from his upper lip where she took hold and I have her in a cage and not sure what to do next. She has attacked him before, but it’s getting worse. I wonder if it’s her being pregnant, being a dog, or if she has rabies??? She has not had her shots yet. Can she still get them while pregnant?

  • Mini
    Mini Somewhere
    Feb 13 2021 6:41 PM
    We have a 4 year old puggle who is being frequently attacked everytime she crys in pain and they constantly look at each other and growl by our 2 year old mix breed. I have no idea what to do but the attacks keep getting worse.

    We have a 4 year old puggle who is being frequently attacked everytime she crys in pain and they constantly look at each other and growl by our 2 year old mix breed. I have no idea what to do but the attacks keep getting worse.

  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Florida
    Feb 15 2021 1:44 AM
    I had a tragic situation happen just yesterday with my younger and older dog. I would love to hear from you if your available I would greatly, greatly appreciate someone who could help me understand this situation better!

    I had a tragic situation happen just yesterday with my younger and older dog. I would love to hear from you if your available I would greatly, greatly appreciate someone who could help me understand this situation better!

  • Julie Williams
    Julie Williams
    Feb 17 2021 10:56 PM
    My ten year old lab mix just gouged out my 20 year old chihuahua in a 3 second long attack that may have been over a thought that I might drop some food. I had to put her down. Now I have to decide if I have to put my lab mix down too. I still have a cocker spaniel to protect. He has snapped at both before but never drawn blood. Please tell me I have another choice than to get rid of him.

    My ten year old lab mix just gouged out my 20 year old chihuahua in a 3 second long attack that may have been over a thought that I might drop some food. I had to put her down. Now I have to decide if I have to put my lab mix down too. I still have a cocker spaniel to protect. He has snapped at both before but never drawn blood. Please tell me I have another choice than to get rid of him.

  • Tracey
    Tracey TX
    Feb 18 2021 7:09 AM
    I’m going through the very same grief as the stories that I just read. My little Chihuahua named Bitsy was attacked and shaken by my Rhodesian ridgeback mix. The Rhodesian mix is about 14years old and the Chihuahua mix was only a year and a half. The signs were there I just didn’t read them clearly. My big dog had snapped at the Chihuahua many times prior but I never thought that she would actually kill my little girl. I’m devastated and heartbroken and I blame myself. Now, I’m having to put down my Rhodesian because I can’t trust her anymore and she’s old so I don’t think rehoming her would work either. I’m losing two fur babies at once.

    I’m going through the very same grief as the stories that I just read. My little Chihuahua named Bitsy was attacked and shaken by my Rhodesian ridgeback mix. The Rhodesian mix is about 14years old and the Chihuahua mix was only a year and a half. The signs were there I just didn’t read them clearly. My big dog had snapped at the Chihuahua many times prior but I never thought that she would actually kill my little girl. I’m devastated and heartbroken and I blame myself. Now, I’m having to put down my Rhodesian because I can’t trust her anymore and she’s old so I don’t think rehoming her would work either. I’m losing two fur babies at once.

  • Stephanie Rodriguez
    Stephanie Rodriguez Arizona
    Feb 22 2021 3:13 AM
    Today my pitbull attacked my poodle today. This is the third time she’s done this. Before we got her, we had a different poodle and she attacked her as well and killed her. But today, I don’t know why she attacked my other dog if she was just standing under my nieces high chair. We managed to take her off and my poodle isn’t very seriously injured but I am scared that my pitbull will do it again to her

    Today my pitbull attacked my poodle today. This is the third time she’s done this. Before we got her, we had a different poodle and she attacked her as well and killed her. But today, I don’t know why she attacked my other dog if she was just standing under my nieces high chair. We managed to take her off and my poodle isn’t very seriously injured but I am scared that my pitbull will do it again to her

  • Jaxon Majewski
    Jaxon Majewski Texas
    Feb 24 2021 7:31 PM
    I’m sorry if some words are misspelled in this, the death was today and I might still be in a little shock. It was all normal for the entire day, my 3 year old Labrador-Pit Bella was lying on the floor sleeping and our 6-7 year old Yorkie, Pip, was eating her food next to Bella. I was about to go outside and play basketball and I was in a rush so I almost stepped on Pip and she scurried away and accidentally kicked Bella’s eye, which cause Bella to react immediately and bite but she accidentally hit pip in the mouth. Pip was lying on the floor completely still but audibly and visibly breathing and her hear was beating as well as her eyes moving, so we got to the car as fast as we could, making sure Bella was okay as she had immediately let go of pip after realizing it was her and was whining and barking trying to check on her and was obviously worried. We drove over with me holding pip in my arms with a towel to clean up as much blood as I could. I should’ve realized something was wrong, but about halfway over she stopped looking at me and around her and started looking dead ahead, but she was still breathing and her heart was beating so I guessed she must’ve been tired from looking everywhere, and she was finally starting to move her legs, but I noticed that they were shooting up, down, or to the sides rigidly for a few seconds and relaxing before doing it again a few minutes later. We got to the emergency room and I respect how fast they got us in as within 1 minute of arriving we were already placing her on an operating table. They were getting her cleaned and were even getting ready to do a blood transfusion before who I think the head vet might’ve been came over and noticed that she was reacting or blinking or even moving her eyes. After a few minutes the vet told us she fears that pip might have brain damage, and after a few more minutes, confirmed she was most likely brain dead and that the breathing and leg movements was most likely involuntary. I appreciate these people as they got us tissues, did their best to comfort us at this, and calmly explained that the most they could do at that point was give her some medicine to make sure she passes as smoothly and painlessly as possible. Their were five, maybe six of them all helping and I honestly believe that if Pip’s accident hadn’t been so fast to send her into shock, these people would’ve been able to help her. After about ten minutes maybe, I’m not sure I wasn’t totally conscious mostly zoning in and out as I pet her, they told us that she finally passed. I think all I remember is I felt blank, not entirely empty, but just like I couldn’t sense anything around me, they were very good at trying to comfort us and they brought my mom into another room to ask about what should be done with the body, as I walked out and just say in the car on my phone filling in my dad. Once my mom came back, we went home over what was almost entirely silence save for my mom calling my dad just letting him know everything did, and this was a blur as I was almost comatose on the way back and completely numb to my surroundings. That’s pretty much it but the reason I came her was I am worried, as I’ve heard of dogs getting put down if they bit and killed another, I’m just concerned as this wasn’t what the article talked about, as Bella has always been a very gentle giant kind of dog, and this was the first time she ever did something and it was clearly accidental as she immediately let go of pip within a second of biting her, and immediately began whining trying to nudge her up with her nose. I just want to know that Bella won’t get taken or put down as we all know this wasn’t an attack, even the vet after hearing the story told us this sounded like a freak accident that nobody could’ve predicted. But I’m also scared as this is all my fault, since I was in such a rush I stepped over pip instead of just easily going around her and I made her scurry and startle Bella, and the guilt is immense enough without knowing I could not only have lead one dog to getting killed in an accident, but leading my personal puppy to getting euthanized.

    I’m sorry if some words are misspelled in this, the death was today and I might still be in a little shock. It was all normal for the entire day, my 3 year old Labrador-Pit Bella was lying on the floor sleeping and our 6-7 year old Yorkie, Pip, was eating her food next to Bella. I was about to go outside and play basketball and I was in a rush so I almost stepped on Pip and she scurried away and accidentally kicked Bella’s eye, which cause Bella to react immediately and bite but she accidentally hit pip in the mouth. Pip was lying on the floor completely still but audibly and visibly breathing and her hear was beating as well as her eyes moving, so we got to the car as fast as we could, making sure Bella was okay as she had immediately let go of pip after realizing it was her and was whining and barking trying to check on her and was obviously worried. We drove over with me holding pip in my arms with a towel to clean up as much blood as I could. I should’ve realized something was wrong, but about halfway over she stopped looking at me and around her and started looking dead ahead, but she was still breathing and her heart was beating so I guessed she must’ve been tired from looking everywhere, and she was finally starting to move her legs, but I noticed that they were shooting up, down, or to the sides rigidly for a few seconds and relaxing before doing it again a few minutes later. We got to the emergency room and I respect how fast they got us in as within 1 minute of arriving we were already placing her on an operating table. They were getting her cleaned and were even getting ready to do a blood transfusion before who I think the head vet might’ve been came over and noticed that she was reacting or blinking or even moving her eyes. After a few minutes the vet told us she fears that pip might have brain damage, and after a few more minutes, confirmed she was most likely brain dead and that the breathing and leg movements was most likely involuntary. I appreciate these people as they got us tissues, did their best to comfort us at this, and calmly explained that the most they could do at that point was give her some medicine to make sure she passes as smoothly and painlessly as possible. Their were five, maybe six of them all helping and I honestly believe that if Pip’s accident hadn’t been so fast to send her into shock, these people would’ve been able to help her. After about ten minutes maybe, I’m not sure I wasn’t totally conscious mostly zoning in and out as I pet her, they told us that she finally passed. I think all I remember is I felt blank, not entirely empty, but just like I couldn’t sense anything around me, they were very good at trying to comfort us and they brought my mom into another room to ask about what should be done with the body, as I walked out and just say in the car on my phone filling in my dad. Once my mom came back, we went home over what was almost entirely silence save for my mom calling my dad just letting him know everything did, and this was a blur as I was almost comatose on the way back and completely numb to my surroundings. That’s pretty much it but the reason I came her was I am worried, as I’ve heard of dogs getting put down if they bit and killed another, I’m just concerned as this wasn’t what the article talked about, as Bella has always been a very gentle giant kind of dog, and this was the first time she ever did something and it was clearly accidental as she immediately let go of pip within a second of biting her, and immediately began whining trying to nudge her up with her nose. I just want to know that Bella won’t get taken or put down as we all know this wasn’t an attack, even the vet after hearing the story told us this sounded like a freak accident that nobody could’ve predicted. But I’m also scared as this is all my fault, since I was in such a rush I stepped over pip instead of just easily going around her and I made her scurry and startle Bella, and the guilt is immense enough without knowing I could not only have lead one dog to getting killed in an accident, but leading my personal puppy to getting euthanized.

  • Leigh
    Leigh Forbis
    Feb 26 2021 5:34 PM
    I have a full blooded 5 year old male Bassett hound! I always wanted to find him a buddy! Well someone was giving away a 11 month old female German shepherd Akita mix! Very sweet and very smart! Only had her almost 3 weeks! Having her a spaded Monday! She has been playing pretty good with my Bassett! But is start to gently biting the back of his head and neck! Kinda playing but seems she is getting little rougher! She stops when I say no! But continues when they go out together in backyard! Having to let them out separate today! Cause afraid it might get worse! Is this a bad sign?

    I have a full blooded 5 year old male Bassett hound! I always wanted to find him a buddy! Well someone was giving away a 11 month old female German shepherd Akita mix! Very sweet and very smart! Only had her almost 3 weeks! Having her a spaded Monday! She has been playing pretty good with my Bassett! But is start to gently biting the back of his head and neck! Kinda playing but seems she is getting little rougher! She stops when I say no! But continues when they go out together in backyard! Having to let them out separate today! Cause afraid it might get worse! Is this a bad sign?

  • breanna
    breanna fortsmith ar
    Mar 8 2021 11:22 AM
    i think that if dog fights are just going to keep happening with 2 dog then i think its best to keep them away from the dog that you think is going to start the fight

    i think that if dog fights are just going to keep happening with 2 dog then i think its best to keep them away from the dog that you think is going to start the fight

  • agneza
    agneza croatia
    Mar 8 2021 8:13 PM
    Hello, I texted you on mssngr but I want to leave my comment here as well. Please help as I am really desperate. I am highly dog experienced, I rescued over 3000 dogs, and have seen a lot of dog fights. But I never witnessed this. I really don't know what to do. I am an animal rescuer and have a multiple dog household. Today out of the blue one of the dogs, 3 years old mix 25 kg, killed my loving loving 16 year old small sized (3kg) dog. he killed him while he was sleeping, so he was not provoked by any fight or conflict. the young one has a history of an occasional rat killing, and is never to be trusted with young cats. The young one has been in my house around 6 months, and he never showed any intention to kill another dog, also never showed any signs that he will attack the old one. The only subtle sign I had (when I rolle back the pic in my head) from a previous night where I thought he is looking really strangely at him. Why all of a sudden, why while he was sleeping? It was an intention to kill, not to dominate. Can I expect such future behaviour from him? What to do? I don't want to even look at him, I give him zero attention since (I punished him immediately after). he realizes something changed. Please please please help. Dogs are not living in a stressful situation. I have around 20 of them, big house, huuuuge backyard. Properly fed, properly walked. I feed them separately, no food fighting. What to do??? I am sorry to write this but I really really hate the killer dog now. Can't look at him with same eyes

    Hello, I texted you on mssngr but I want to leave my comment here as well. Please help as I am really desperate. I am highly dog experienced, I rescued over 3000 dogs, and have seen a lot of dog fights. But I never witnessed this. I really don't know what to do.
    I am an animal rescuer and have a multiple dog household. Today out of the blue one of the dogs, 3 years old mix 25 kg, killed my loving loving 16 year old small sized (3kg) dog. he killed him while he was sleeping, so he was not provoked by any fight or conflict. the young one has a history of an occasional rat killing, and is never to be trusted with young cats. The young one has been in my house around 6 months, and he never showed any intention to kill another dog, also never showed any signs that he will attack the old one. The only subtle sign I had (when I rolle back the pic in my head) from a previous night where I thought he is looking really strangely at him. Why all of a sudden, why while he was sleeping? It was an intention to kill, not to dominate. Can I expect such future behaviour from him? What to do? I don't want to even look at him, I give him zero attention since (I punished him immediately after). he realizes something changed. Please please please help. Dogs are not living in a stressful situation. I have around 20 of them, big house, huuuuge backyard. Properly fed, properly walked. I feed them separately, no food fighting. What to do??? I am sorry to write this but I really really hate the killer dog now. Can't look at him with same eyes

  • Kat
    Kat Texas
    Mar 12 2021 3:55 PM
    My aunt has 2 dogs, both male, and both are a mix. The older one (4) is a beagle and german sheperd mix and the younger one (2) is a pit and terrier mix. Since my aunt lost her husband its been down hill with the pitty. He attacked the older dog as well as my other aunts, who is next door, dogs too. Hes killed a chiwawa already, and that was heart breaking for me to hear. He only really gets along w the older big dog thats tied but even then he tries to fight. On top of this my grandmother passed and her little dog is now in my other aunts yard too he just bit her through the gate, for no reason. All 3 other dogs are fairly friendly and get along well enough w some annoyances here and there but they leave each other alone. This pitty mix also doesnt do well w young children. I have no idea what to do w him, i am willing to give him away or put him down but it will crush my aunt. I need help, idk what to do w this dog anymore and my aunt wont let me do something about him. I need to know if its just his nature or can something be done?

    My aunt has 2 dogs, both male, and both are a mix. The older one (4) is a beagle and german sheperd mix and the younger one (2) is a pit and terrier mix. Since my aunt lost her husband its been down hill with the pitty. He attacked the older dog as well as my other aunts, who is next door, dogs too. Hes killed a chiwawa already, and that was heart breaking for me to hear. He only really gets along w the older big dog thats tied but even then he tries to fight. On top of this my grandmother passed and her little dog is now in my other aunts yard too he just bit her through the gate, for no reason. All 3 other dogs are fairly friendly and get along well enough w some annoyances here and there but they leave each other alone. This pitty mix also doesnt do well w young children. I have no idea what to do w him, i am willing to give him away or put him down but it will crush my aunt. I need help, idk what to do w this dog anymore and my aunt wont let me do something about him. I need to know if its just his nature or can something be done?

  • callen
    callen pottstown
    Mar 18 2021 1:53 PM
    so sad

    so sad

  • V
    V NY
    Mar 21 2021 12:40 AM
    My 13 yr old yorkie died in 09/2019. My fiance decided to surprise me with a yorkie on 2/26 while we also have 2 huskies ages 4 & 5. My yorkie never had any issues with the huskies, he even bullied them at times. The puppy was getting along very well with the female husky and we always would watch closely when they were together. one day the puppy went for the husky’s toy (something he did before) and she attacked him, crushed his lungs which led to his death. im having a hard time forgiving her. everytime i look at her it just brings me pain

    My 13 yr old yorkie died in 09/2019. My fiance decided to surprise me with a yorkie on 2/26 while we also have 2 huskies ages 4 & 5. My yorkie never had any issues with the huskies, he even bullied them at times. The puppy was getting along very well with the female husky and we always would watch closely when they were together. one day the puppy went for the husky’s toy (something he did before) and she attacked him, crushed his lungs which led to his death. im having a hard time forgiving her. everytime i look at her it just brings me pain

  • Dan
    Dan Ottawa Ontario Canada
    Mar 23 2021 5:03 PM
    Hi, I am looking for some advise on how I should handle my Husky/Lab mix after he killed a smaller dog next door to me. My neighbours had 2 small breed dogs and they always have them off leash in the front yard. My dog also was off leash and they never had an issue until the smaller dogs attacked my dog and he defended himself and shook the dog terribly. It was horrific and I am devastated about the outcome. My dog has had fights in the park with bigger dogs but never with a small breed such as this. I have purchased a muzzle (too little too late). My neighbours just lost another dog a couple of months ago as well, needless to say they are devastated. How do I handle my dog moving forward? He plays so well with all the dogs at the park but I will never allow him out again without a muzzle. Should I be doing something else? Will I have to put him down?

    Hi,
    I am looking for some advise on how I should handle my Husky/Lab mix after he killed a smaller dog next door to me. My neighbours had 2 small breed dogs and they always have them off leash in the front yard. My dog also was off leash and they never had an issue until the smaller dogs attacked my dog and he defended himself and shook the dog terribly. It was horrific and I am devastated about the outcome. My dog has had fights in the park with bigger dogs but never with a small breed such as this. I have purchased a muzzle (too little too late). My neighbours just lost another dog a couple of months ago as well, needless to say they are devastated.
    How do I handle my dog moving forward? He plays so well with all the dogs at the park but I will never allow him out again without a muzzle. Should I be doing something else? Will I have to put him down?

  • Natasha
    Natasha Florida
    Mar 25 2021 2:23 PM
    My 6yr old xl pitbull (100lb) male thats also blind attacked my 10 week old female pit (15lb) last Saturday night. I had to put her down because of her injuries. She had several fractures in her skull, damaged nasal cavity. It happened while my mom was dog sitting over a toy. I'm very heartbroken. But I'm worried about my mom, she's having a really tough time dealing with it. It happened around 8pm, so every night around that time she's having almost panic attacks just replaying whole thing over and over. Any advice on how to help her get through it

    My 6yr old xl pitbull (100lb) male thats also blind attacked my 10 week old female pit (15lb) last Saturday night. I had to put her down because of her injuries. She had several fractures in her skull, damaged nasal cavity. It happened while my mom was dog sitting over a toy. I'm very heartbroken. But I'm worried about my mom, she's having a really tough time dealing with it. It happened around 8pm, so every night around that time she's having almost panic attacks just replaying whole thing over and over. Any advice on how to help her get through it

  • Connie
    Connie Memphis
    Mar 27 2021 7:09 PM
    I ran across your site because I am searching for answers. Reading everyone’s comments has helped. This is what happened. My husband and I have a male Golden retriever that’s 5yrs old. I love goldens because they Aren’t known for their gentleness and kindness. “They will not hurt a flea”, so I thought. So 2 months ago someone asked if we wanted a female. They were needing to find her a good home. We thought that we could take her so the our male will have a playmate and since neither one of them have been fixed we could bread them. The female was 13 months old when we got her. So the other night when I returned home from running an errand I found my husband setting in the floor with the female head in his lap and the male was attached to her throat and would not let go. He said he had been trying to get the male to let go of the female go 20 minutes. Of course he killed the female. I think he broke her neck. There wasn’t any blood. I am just completely devastated and mad at the mAle dog. I do not understand how this could have happened. I keep telling myself if only I had been there I could have saved her. We also have a chihuahua and the male dog as never even come close to attacking him. The chihuahua is 6. We got him first then we got the Golden as a puppy. Any explanation you could give me would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

    I ran across your site because I am searching for answers. Reading everyone’s comments has helped. This is what happened. My husband and I have a male Golden retriever that’s 5yrs old. I love goldens because they Aren’t known for their gentleness and kindness. “They will not hurt a flea”, so I thought. So 2 months ago someone asked if we wanted a female. They were needing to find her a good home. We thought that we could take her so the our male will have a playmate and since neither one of them have been fixed we could bread them. The female was 13 months old when we got her. So the other night when I returned home from running an errand I found my husband setting in the floor with the female head in his lap and the male was attached to her throat and would not let go. He said he had been trying to get the male to let go of the female go 20 minutes. Of course he killed the female. I think he broke her neck. There wasn’t any blood. I am just completely devastated and mad at the mAle dog. I do not understand how this could have happened. I keep telling myself if only I had been there I could have saved her. We also have a chihuahua and the male dog as never even come close to attacking him. The chihuahua is 6. We got him first then we got the Golden as a puppy. Any explanation you could give me would be greatly appreciated.
    Thanks

  • Lisa
    Lisa Nevada
    Apr 8 2021 8:58 AM
    I have a 2 year old GSD female that attacked and killed my 9 year old chihuahua, the previous week she injured her while we were on a walk so my chihuahua was recovering. This was the second time. I had tried to intervene to try and get my GSD to release the little one, it was horrible. I blame myself for not protecting my little one, and should have taken her out of the home the first time. Now, I am having a hard time being with my GSD (whom I love as well, but now feel distanced) and forgiving her and myself for what my little suffered. I need some direction or help/counseling someone to talk to that is experienced with this type of situation to help me on the next step. I'm wondering how can I keep my GSD knowing I will have to live with what happened and have to constantly be aware of who she is around, keep her on a leash and muzzled at all times when in public, or my other option to place her up for adoption or the last to put her down. My GSD goes to daycare 3 times a week and has been since she was about 8 months old, she has not had an incident with attacking other dogs, of course they do keep the big dogs and little ones separate, but she does fine at daycare, I take her running, hiking on the weekends or after work when the weather is nice. I ensure she has a lot of exercise due to her breed, so she does not get bored. I've looked on the internet for help and it says a behavior professional for dogs may help? Any suggestion or direction would help. By the way, this all happened last weekend.

    I have a 2 year old GSD female that attacked and killed my 9 year old chihuahua, the previous week she injured her while we were on a walk so my chihuahua was recovering. This was the second time. I had tried to intervene to try and get my GSD to release the little one, it was horrible. I blame myself for not protecting my little one, and should have taken her out of the home the first time. Now, I am having a hard time being with my GSD (whom I love as well, but now feel distanced) and forgiving her and myself for what my little suffered. I need some direction or help/counseling someone to talk to that is experienced with this type of situation to help me on the next step. I'm wondering how can I keep my GSD knowing I will have to live with what happened and have to constantly be aware of who she is around, keep her on a leash and muzzled at all times when in public, or my other option to place her up for adoption or the last to put her down.
    My GSD goes to daycare 3 times a week and has been since she was about 8 months old, she has not had an incident with attacking other dogs, of course they do keep the big dogs and little ones separate, but she does fine at daycare, I take her running, hiking on the weekends or after work when the weather is nice. I ensure she has a lot of exercise due to her breed, so she does not get bored.
    I've looked on the internet for help and it says a behavior professional for dogs may help?
    Any suggestion or direction would help.
    By the way, this all happened last weekend.

  • Fran
    Fran Us
    Apr 8 2021 5:55 PM
    What do you do with surviving dog (attacker)

    What do you do with surviving dog (attacker)

  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Australia
    Apr 12 2021 3:00 AM
    Today I took my two 10 month old English Staffies (both males) to my mothers house where she has four 2-3 year old and a 6 month old English staffies (1 male, 3 females), and a foxy (16 years old). While my mum, sister and I were all out (20 minutes at most) the youngest staffy began to attack the foxy, she was then joined by 1 of my mothers females and both of my males. Luckily the biggest male (my mothers) was locked away as he often tries to attack my two males or I fear there may have been more dogs injured. The foxy ended up dying as a result from her horrific injuries and all other dogs involved have a bite or two here and there. I just don’t understand. They have all gotten on so well and have never ever showed signs of aggression (apart from my mothers male and my two males, but we had them seperate incase something like this were to happen). I just feel disgusting and cannot stand to be near my dogs. My heart is so hurt as the foxy has grown up with me (I’m 19, she was 16), I feel so guilty. I know that it wasn’t started from my two but they joined in and watching it happen broke my heart. It was all captured on our home CCTV. What do I do? I’m at the point where I’m about to get my dogs out down because i couldn’t imagine them ever doing that to another dog :(

    Today I took my two 10 month old English Staffies (both males) to my mothers house where she has four 2-3 year old and a 6 month old English staffies (1 male, 3 females), and a foxy (16 years old).
    While my mum, sister and I were all out (20 minutes at most) the youngest staffy began to attack the foxy, she was then joined by 1 of my mothers females and both of my males. Luckily the biggest male (my mothers) was locked away as he often tries to attack my two males or I fear there may have been more dogs injured. The foxy ended up dying as a result from her horrific injuries and all other dogs involved have a bite or two here and there.
    I just don’t understand. They have all gotten on so well and have never ever showed signs of aggression (apart from my mothers male and my two males, but we had them seperate incase something like this were to happen). I just feel disgusting and cannot stand to be near my dogs. My heart is so hurt as the foxy has grown up with me (I’m 19, she was 16), I feel so guilty. I know that it wasn’t started from my two but they joined in and watching it happen broke my heart. It was all captured on our home CCTV.
    What do I do? I’m at the point where I’m about to get my dogs out down because i couldn’t imagine them ever doing that to another dog frown

  • Janni
    Janni Washington DC
    Apr 12 2021 1:20 PM
    This was a very interesting read! I have four dogs that get along great 98% of the time. However, my smallest and oldest dog will suddenly (almost without warning) attack one of my other dogs. They can go months and months being fine, and then suddenly it happens again. The issue is that the dog that gets attacked is much bigger, and he bites in self-defense, meaning the original attacker ends up hurt! The other only bites once and lets go, but he could easily kill the attacking dog with a single bite due to the size difference. This really concerns me, as my smallest and oldest dog is going to end up getting himself killed, and I am not sure I can have that on my conscience. That said - they really get along great for months and months at a time, until the little one turns into a gremlin again out of nowhere. Great read!

    This was a very interesting read! I have four dogs that get along great 98% of the time. However, my smallest and oldest dog will suddenly (almost without warning) attack one of my other dogs. They can go months and months being fine, and then suddenly it happens again. The issue is that the dog that gets attacked is much bigger, and he bites in self-defense, meaning the original attacker ends up hurt! The other only bites once and lets go, but he could easily kill the attacking dog with a single bite due to the size difference. This really concerns me, as my smallest and oldest dog is going to end up getting himself killed, and I am not sure I can have that on my conscience. That said - they really get along great for months and months at a time, until the little one turns into a gremlin again out of nowhere. Great read!

  • Heather
    Heather FL
    Apr 17 2021 9:41 PM
    I have been scouring the comments to see if there are any stories of puppies..I haven’t seen any. I have a 4 month/30# puppy that is a mixed breed rescue. She plays very rough with the 7 year old who is very submissive. He is neutered and she was just spayed. She is hard to redirect, a d it’s almost impossible to separate them once she’s gone after him. She bites and he has multiple deep puncture wounds. She goes after the cat all the time. When I try to separate them she has lunged, snapped, snarled and bitten me. I am also trying to leash train her and she snaps at my legs and bites me. I’m covered in scratches and bruises. She’s drawn blood on myself and my mother. I understand she’s still a puppy..but I think she’s got aggressive tendencies. I’m working with a trainer that said when she bites grab her muzzle and squeeze until she yelps. I think this would make her more aggressive.

    I have been scouring the comments to see if there are any stories of puppies..I haven’t seen any. I have a 4 month/30# puppy that is a mixed breed rescue. She plays very rough with the 7 year old who is very submissive. He is neutered and she was just spayed. She is hard to redirect, a d it’s almost impossible to separate them once she’s gone after him. She bites and he has multiple deep puncture wounds. She goes after the cat all the time. When I try to separate them she has lunged, snapped, snarled and bitten me.

    I am also trying to leash train her and she snaps at my legs and bites me. I’m covered in scratches and bruises. She’s drawn blood on myself and my mother.

    I understand she’s still a puppy..but I think she’s got aggressive tendencies. I’m working with a trainer that said when she bites grab her muzzle and squeeze until she yelps. I think this would make her more aggressive.

  • Nigel
    Nigel Northern VA
    Apr 20 2021 3:29 PM
    We fostered a mini schnauzer about 3 years ago. We were told he was a friendly dog and that the previous owners had to give him up because he didn't get along with their children.. He was ok for the first couple weeks but then began to show signs of aggression. He seemed to get along perfectly fine with our two older dogs. In fact he was actually scared of our little Maltese. Once we signed the paperwork for him he bit my wife and I within a short period of time. Over those 3 years he had bitten us at least 10 times. Each time we always made an excuse or thought we did something. We did everything we could. We took him to training (even though he was previously trained and knew commands and listened.), went to a dog behaviorist, was even on doggy medicines to try and calm/relax him.. he was always a tense little dog, but he was 100% a biter. When he was acting like a normal dog he was very loving. Sit on your lap\chest and just go to sleep. Truly wanted to be around you. But didn't seem to trust anyone else but my wife and I. The simple fact he could quickly turn from a nice dog to biting you then back to a nice dog that realized he shouldn't have done that told me something wasn't stable. The behaviorist also mentioned there is always that chance that there is a neurological issue. Our Maltese passed away so we figured we'd bring in a puppy since the mini schnauzer always wanted to play or run around with our other dog. (He was 12 years old and didn't want to play). So we got a giant schnauzer puppy. The mini would always go up to her and grumble/growl and several times during her small size bit her. A year later the giant schnauzer puppy is now 60+ lbs... and isn't taking it anymore. She started going after the mini and on two occasions bit and made the mini bleed. We figured she was just getting back at him and he would learn his lesson to STOP going up to her grumbling and growling. It breaks my heart but he did not learn. She attacked him several weeks ago and did severe damage to him. Punctured his trachea. He was almost lifeless in my arms as we took him to the emergence vet. We could have done surgery but the recovery and what would happen after if we was brought back to the house would probably not be good. We decided the best course of action was to euthanize him. It still very much hurts to even think about it. The vet said once a dog starts going after another dog, it will continue to do so... If we got him repaired and brought him back we would have to keep them separated somehow, or give up the giant schnauzer puppy, or give up the mini... (who would take the mini knowing he was a biter?, no one, the would put him down). The giant schnauzer pup has no issues with our older dog. But the older dog does leave her alone and doesn't go up to her just grumbling or growling. Looking back now I feel we probably added more stress to the mini by bringing in a puppy but we figured he's want to play like he was doing with our other dog, or at least trying to. However knowing how many times he bit my wife and I, it was probably better this happened than him biting a stranger or child or injuring another dog and us getting sued...etc. I love dogs. But this has opened my eyes up to things to look out for when fostering a dog. I'd like to think we extended his life by 3 years, because any other person/family would have given up on him after the first bite.

    We fostered a mini schnauzer about 3 years ago. We were told he was a friendly dog and that the previous owners had to give him up because he didn't get along with their children.. He was ok for the first couple weeks but then began to show signs of aggression. He seemed to get along perfectly fine with our two older dogs. In fact he was actually scared of our little Maltese.

    Once we signed the paperwork for him he bit my wife and I within a short period of time. Over those 3 years he had bitten us at least 10 times. Each time we always made an excuse or thought we did something. We did everything we could. We took him to training (even though he was previously trained and knew commands and listened.), went to a dog behaviorist, was even on doggy medicines to try and calm/relax him.. he was always a tense little dog, but he was 100% a biter. When he was acting like a normal dog he was very loving. Sit on your lap\chest and just go to sleep. Truly wanted to be around you. But didn't seem to trust anyone else but my wife and I. The simple fact he could quickly turn from a nice dog to biting you then back to a nice dog that realized he shouldn't have done that told me something wasn't stable. The behaviorist also mentioned there is always that chance that there is a neurological issue.

    Our Maltese passed away so we figured we'd bring in a puppy since the mini schnauzer always wanted to play or run around with our other dog. (He was 12 years old and didn't want to play). So we got a giant schnauzer puppy. The mini would always go up to her and grumble/growl and several times during her small size bit her.
    A year later the giant schnauzer puppy is now 60+ lbs... and isn't taking it anymore.

    She started going after the mini and on two occasions bit and made the mini bleed. We figured she was just getting back at him and he would learn his lesson to STOP going up to her grumbling and growling. It breaks my heart but he did not learn. She attacked him several weeks ago and did severe damage to him. Punctured his trachea. He was almost lifeless in my arms as we took him to the emergence vet. We could have done surgery but the recovery and what would happen after if we was brought back to the house would probably not be good. We decided the best course of action was to euthanize him. It still very much hurts to even think about it. The vet said once a dog starts going after another dog, it will continue to do so...

    If we got him repaired and brought him back we would have to keep them separated somehow, or give up the giant schnauzer puppy, or give up the mini... (who would take the mini knowing he was a biter?, no one, the would put him down).

    The giant schnauzer pup has no issues with our older dog. But the older dog does leave her alone and doesn't go up to her just grumbling or growling. Looking back now I feel we probably added more stress to the mini by bringing in a puppy but we figured he's want to play like he was doing with our other dog, or at least trying to. However knowing how many times he bit my wife and I, it was probably better this happened than him biting a stranger or child or injuring another dog and us getting sued...etc.

    I love dogs. But this has opened my eyes up to things to look out for when fostering a dog. I'd like to think we extended his life by 3 years, because any other person/family would have given up on him after the first bite.

  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Australia
    Apr 21 2021 1:08 AM
    We had three huskies, a roughly 15yo three-legged rescue, plus a 7yo and an 18mo that we've had from puppies. They were all happy together, would squeeze onto the same bed together etc, but we fed them separately because the 15yo would take ages to eat and the younger dogs would finish their food and then rush out to see if they could grab what was left in his bowl. The 15yo had a number of heath issues that I since feel may have been worse than we knew. I know dogs can hide their problems but he would always bounce and carry on like a puppy at dinner time, so we felt that he wasn't depressed or suffering. The 15yo was a desexed male, the 7yo a desexed male, and the 16mo an entire female. We do intend to desex her, but things have been hectic and I didn't think there was a particular urgency in the case of females. Now I am wondering if this also played a part, as she was on heat at the time, and maybe it was partly some kind of resource guarding instinct for a hypothetical future litter. Another thing I blame myself for. We left the house with a family member overnight while we went to a wedding. She said that in the night the dogs had had a "scary fight" and asked if should she separate them. Huskies do have loud play fights or occasional disagreements so I didn't think much of it, especially since if you've never seen huskies mucking around, you might think it was aggression, lots of grabbing neck fur, pushing each other over, etc. I just thought maybe it was because things were a bit strange, with us being away and a different person staying in the house (our kids were home though). Not for a moment did I think they would ever hurt each other - if I thought that there was any kind of risk I absolutely never would have left them in the first place. I am a very anxious, panicky, over-thinking, paranoid person by nature - if there was even the tiniest inkling, I would have been stressing endlessly about it. I honestly didn't think there would be a problem. The family member called to say she had to leave around lunchtime but we were only an hour away from getting back and didn't think it would be an issue as they have been left alone for longer periods than that before. But as we got closer to home, we started to feel dread that it was the wrong call to leave them unsupervised. When we got back, we found the 15yo dead in the backyard, blood on his neck, and on the faces of the two younger dogs. They were just sitting with him. He had no other injuries on his face, body, legs, just three or four punctures on his neck, with one right over his carotid. I am glad that I had the presence of mind to pull back the fur and see what the wounds looked like, before we buried him. The younger dogs had no wounds, and the old dog had no other wounds. I immediately found this post and felt a small amount of reassurance - the wounds were precise, it didn't strike me as a frenzied attack, a violent free-for-all. To me it aligned with what this post was saying - that it was an attack designed to kill. The wounds were clean and deliberate. In hindsight, he had been a little off his food, he had been peeing in the house on and off, and drinking a lot - all possibly pointing to kidney failure, but I had written it off as "old and sore". He had been on pain meds associated with organ damage with long-term use. He'd had an ear infection that I thought I had cleared up with meds but perhaps not well enough, as they would sniff at his ears. He had bad breath one day and I put it down to old teeth and probably some stuck food - so I gave him a chew treat and didn't think anything more of it. I feel like the younger dogs saw more than I did. Also in hindsight, the two younger ones had been pestering him, blocking him when he would try to get into or out of the house, but because I am always at home, I would just tell them to get out of the way. During the day he's at my feet and at night he's beside the bed, so they would not have had an opportunity to attack him. Then when we went away for a night, when the dynamic in the house was disrupted, perhaps they saw their opportunity? Maybe he went downhill even more once we were away? I don't know. I feel terrible that I didn't protect him, terrible that we weren't there, terrible thinking about him feeling scared and vulnerable and unable to defend himself, terrible that my family member now feels it was her fault for being the last out of the door, terrible for going away to have fun, terrible for not seeing the signs and separating them. My partner said he doesn't blame me for saying they would be fine together, but if I had said to shut the younger ones outside, the old dog would have been safe. But if this was inevitable (because I didn't see the signs) then if it hadn't been Sunday, it probably would have been the next time the dogs were left unsupervised, which would have been the following day when I was going out with my 4yo, and then it would have been him coming home and seeing the dogs covered in blood, which would have been so much worse. The kids were being babysat elsewhere at the time, luckily. Nothing can fix what happened, I only hope that it was not a prolonged fight and that he lost consciousness quickly, poor sweet old dog. The part that we don't understand is that there was a circular trail of fur in the backyard, about 10 feet across. We don't know if he was dragged around (before, during, after?) or if perhaps he was on the ground, kicking around in a circle... or what caused it. So many accounts of attacks say "it was over in moments" but I think they have harassed him inside the house until he went outside, chased him to the far corner and cornered him, and then there was this trail of fur, which to me looks like he has been dragged :( There were also small chunks of bloodied fur scattered around - I don't know if that means he was bleeding and they were pulling out his fur, or if they were pulling fur out after he was already dead. There was a strip of fur missing around the wounds, it was bare skin, which is why I was able to see the wounds so easily. I'm trying very hard not to put human emotions and morality onto the younger dogs but for the past three days they have been extremely subdued and seem to be looking for him - coming into my office and poking their heads under my desk, where he would normally sleep. Then they would whine and walk out again. They aren't their usual happy/energetic selves. It's very jarring. Thank you Gaby, for this post, and for the second part. The first paragraph was very grounding in a time of high stress and emotion. Thank you also to all of the other commenters who were brave enough to share their stories and their grief. I have spoken to a couple of friends but I feel that I can't speak openly because people will immediately push us to destroy our other dogs. The family member who was housesitting for us went to lunch that day (before it happened) and said that she was worried about the situation and one of her friends said something like "Oh, you need to be careful, sometimes dogs can attack a sick or old dog"... and after it happened another family member basically said "I told you they should have been separated"... so she feels like garbage for leaving them alone, and I feel like garbage for not knowing that it's not a good idea to leave an old dog unsupervised with others. I don't want to confide in anyone else and have them lecture me. I feel terrible enough without having outsiders tell me I should have done this or that and it wouldn't have happened. I already have a long list of things in my mind that I should have done but didn't - trust me, I don't need anyone else's help to feel terrible about it. But holding in all the feelings of grief and guilt and "if only I'd..." was going to make me come apart. Thank you for creating a space to talk about it without feeling like I will be judged. My heart goes out to every commenter.

    We had three huskies, a roughly 15yo three-legged rescue, plus a 7yo and an 18mo that we've had from puppies. They were all happy together, would squeeze onto the same bed together etc, but we fed them separately because the 15yo would take ages to eat and the younger dogs would finish their food and then rush out to see if they could grab what was left in his bowl. The 15yo had a number of heath issues that I since feel may have been worse than we knew. I know dogs can hide their problems but he would always bounce and carry on like a puppy at dinner time, so we felt that he wasn't depressed or suffering.

    The 15yo was a desexed male, the 7yo a desexed male, and the 16mo an entire female. We do intend to desex her, but things have been hectic and I didn't think there was a particular urgency in the case of females. Now I am wondering if this also played a part, as she was on heat at the time, and maybe it was partly some kind of resource guarding instinct for a hypothetical future litter. Another thing I blame myself for.

    We left the house with a family member overnight while we went to a wedding. She said that in the night the dogs had had a "scary fight" and asked if should she separate them. Huskies do have loud play fights or occasional disagreements so I didn't think much of it, especially since if you've never seen huskies mucking around, you might think it was aggression, lots of grabbing neck fur, pushing each other over, etc. I just thought maybe it was because things were a bit strange, with us being away and a different person staying in the house (our kids were home though). Not for a moment did I think they would ever hurt each other - if I thought that there was any kind of risk I absolutely never would have left them in the first place. I am a very anxious, panicky, over-thinking, paranoid person by nature - if there was even the tiniest inkling, I would have been stressing endlessly about it. I honestly didn't think there would be a problem.

    The family member called to say she had to leave around lunchtime but we were only an hour away from getting back and didn't think it would be an issue as they have been left alone for longer periods than that before. But as we got closer to home, we started to feel dread that it was the wrong call to leave them unsupervised.

    When we got back, we found the 15yo dead in the backyard, blood on his neck, and on the faces of the two younger dogs. They were just sitting with him. He had no other injuries on his face, body, legs, just three or four punctures on his neck, with one right over his carotid. I am glad that I had the presence of mind to pull back the fur and see what the wounds looked like, before we buried him. The younger dogs had no wounds, and the old dog had no other wounds. I immediately found this post and felt a small amount of reassurance - the wounds were precise, it didn't strike me as a frenzied attack, a violent free-for-all. To me it aligned with what this post was saying - that it was an attack designed to kill. The wounds were clean and deliberate.

    In hindsight, he had been a little off his food, he had been peeing in the house on and off, and drinking a lot - all possibly pointing to kidney failure, but I had written it off as "old and sore". He had been on pain meds associated with organ damage with long-term use.

    He'd had an ear infection that I thought I had cleared up with meds but perhaps not well enough, as they would sniff at his ears. He had bad breath one day and I put it down to old teeth and probably some stuck food - so I gave him a chew treat and didn't think anything more of it. I feel like the younger dogs saw more than I did.

    Also in hindsight, the two younger ones had been pestering him, blocking him when he would try to get into or out of the house, but because I am always at home, I would just tell them to get out of the way. During the day he's at my feet and at night he's beside the bed, so they would not have had an opportunity to attack him. Then when we went away for a night, when the dynamic in the house was disrupted, perhaps they saw their opportunity? Maybe he went downhill even more once we were away? I don't know.

    I feel terrible that I didn't protect him, terrible that we weren't there, terrible thinking about him feeling scared and vulnerable and unable to defend himself, terrible that my family member now feels it was her fault for being the last out of the door, terrible for going away to have fun, terrible for not seeing the signs and separating them.

    My partner said he doesn't blame me for saying they would be fine together, but if I had said to shut the younger ones outside, the old dog would have been safe. But if this was inevitable (because I didn't see the signs) then if it hadn't been Sunday, it probably would have been the next time the dogs were left unsupervised, which would have been the following day when I was going out with my 4yo, and then it would have been him coming home and seeing the dogs covered in blood, which would have been so much worse. The kids were being babysat elsewhere at the time, luckily.

    Nothing can fix what happened, I only hope that it was not a prolonged fight and that he lost consciousness quickly, poor sweet old dog.

    The part that we don't understand is that there was a circular trail of fur in the backyard, about 10 feet across. We don't know if he was dragged around (before, during, after?) or if perhaps he was on the ground, kicking around in a circle... or what caused it. So many accounts of attacks say "it was over in moments" but I think they have harassed him inside the house until he went outside, chased him to the far corner and cornered him, and then there was this trail of fur, which to me looks like he has been dragged frown There were also small chunks of bloodied fur scattered around - I don't know if that means he was bleeding and they were pulling out his fur, or if they were pulling fur out after he was already dead. There was a strip of fur missing around the wounds, it was bare skin, which is why I was able to see the wounds so easily.

    I'm trying very hard not to put human emotions and morality onto the younger dogs but for the past three days they have been extremely subdued and seem to be looking for him - coming into my office and poking their heads under my desk, where he would normally sleep. Then they would whine and walk out again. They aren't their usual happy/energetic selves. It's very jarring.

    Thank you Gaby, for this post, and for the second part. The first paragraph was very grounding in a time of high stress and emotion. Thank you also to all of the other commenters who were brave enough to share their stories and their grief. I have spoken to a couple of friends but I feel that I can't speak openly because people will immediately push us to destroy our other dogs. The family member who was housesitting for us went to lunch that day (before it happened) and said that she was worried about the situation and one of her friends said something like "Oh, you need to be careful, sometimes dogs can attack a sick or old dog"... and after it happened another family member basically said "I told you they should have been separated"... so she feels like garbage for leaving them alone, and I feel like garbage for not knowing that it's not a good idea to leave an old dog unsupervised with others.

    I don't want to confide in anyone else and have them lecture me. I feel terrible enough without having outsiders tell me I should have done this or that and it wouldn't have happened. I already have a long list of things in my mind that I should have done but didn't - trust me, I don't need anyone else's help to feel terrible about it. But holding in all the feelings of grief and guilt and "if only I'd..." was going to make me come apart. Thank you for creating a space to talk about it without feeling like I will be judged. My heart goes out to every commenter.

  • Daniela
    Daniela Bridgeton
    Apr 23 2021 10:27 AM
    MY 4 MONTH OLD CHIHUAHUA WAS KILLED BY A STRAY PITBULL AND HE BROKE HIS BACK LEGS AND HE DIED THIS IS SO SAD WHAT DO I DO?

    MY 4 MONTH OLD CHIHUAHUA WAS KILLED BY A STRAY PITBULL AND HE BROKE HIS BACK LEGS AND HE DIED THIS IS SO SAD WHAT DO I DO?

  • Maryjane
    Maryjane Winston Salem nc
    Apr 25 2021 11:45 PM
    So tonight we came home to my a mess where my 8yr or so Pitt bull had killed another family dog of two or three yrs now, who is much smaller (2 or 3lbs). My husband and son walked into the house before I did and starting screaming. I walked and and found the smaller dog played on the floor and and blood every where. My husband said that my Pitt had acted aggressively towards him until he changed his attitude to a more friendly response. My Pitt has never been aggressive towards me my children or any of the house pets. She has lived around other animals, including cats and other dogs, birds, and never have I had to worry about this. So I'm still a little shocked at this point, but she is my best friend and I'm having a hard time even looking at her right now, I'm so hurt and in disbelief, confused. My husband doesn't want her around the kids anymore but I'm also realistic and don't believe it happened out of aggressionand I understand she is an animal. My question is should I be worried and concerned about her being around my kids, is this a freak accident of animal instinct, and what precautions should we be taking? Also how to even look at my dog with the same love and care? And how to convince my family she is still the same loving dog she has always been? Thank you in advance for your help

    So tonight we came home to my a mess where my 8yr or so Pitt bull had killed another family dog of two or three yrs now, who is much smaller (2 or 3lbs). My husband and son walked into the house before I did and starting screaming. I walked and and found the smaller dog played on the floor and and blood every where. My husband said that my Pitt had acted aggressively towards him until he changed his attitude to a more friendly response. My Pitt has never been aggressive towards me my children or any of the house pets. She has lived around other animals, including cats and other dogs, birds, and never have I had to worry about this. So I'm still a little shocked at this point, but she is my best friend and I'm having a hard time even looking at her right now, I'm so hurt and in disbelief, confused. My husband doesn't want her around the kids anymore but I'm also realistic and don't believe it happened out of aggressionand I understand she is an animal. My question is should I be worried and concerned about her being around my kids, is this a freak accident of animal instinct, and what precautions should we be taking? Also how to even look at my dog with the same love and care? And how to convince my family she is still the same loving dog she has always been? Thank you in advance for your help

  • Eric
    Eric MI
    Apr 27 2021 3:14 AM
    My 3 year old female pitt/shepherd mix just killed my chihuahua that was pregnant, i came home and they along with my 2 other dogs were all saying hi like they usually do and she just bit her in the neck the little one died pretty instantly.. I'm still in shock over it, this article was helpful but just don't know why she would do that. Great animals but really sucks when something like this happens

    My 3 year old female pitt/shepherd mix just killed my chihuahua that was pregnant, i came home and they along with my 2 other dogs were all saying hi like they usually do and she just bit her in the neck the little one died pretty instantly.. I'm still in shock over it, this article was helpful but just don't know why she would do that. Great animals but really sucks when something like this happens

  • Peggy
    Peggy Wyoming
    May 10 2021 10:25 AM
    These are sad and horrific experiences to read. It is an oxymoron to say that I am so glad to read them though. It has happened to be me too. Two separate dogs and two separate killings both from the new dogs attacking the previous ones (the younger ones killing the older). I have held guilt for both of them and grieved each time. I hate to know that my original dogs that were healthy and would have been around a great many more years died in pain. One I took to the vet but seemed to have suffered a stroke from the attack and needed to be put to sleep. The other had been together with a new small dog like her for weeks alone but when put into a kennel for an hour, I came back to the older dog having its jaw broken of both sides. I held her until she passed a couple hours later. I am still sick to death over the guilt even though I am reading that is "normal behavior". I will definitely look up dog language classes but doubt that I will find any close to me.

    These are sad and horrific experiences to read. It is an oxymoron to say that I am so glad to read them though. It has happened to be me too. Two separate dogs and two separate killings both from the new dogs attacking the previous ones (the younger ones killing the older). I have held guilt for both of them and grieved each time. I hate to know that my original dogs that were healthy and would have been around a great many more years died in pain. One I took to the vet but seemed to have suffered a stroke from the attack and needed to be put to sleep. The other had been together with a new small dog like her for weeks alone but when put into a kennel for an hour, I came back to the older dog having its jaw broken of both sides. I held her until she passed a couple hours later. I am still sick to death over the guilt even though I am reading that is "normal behavior". I will definitely look up dog language classes but doubt that I will find any close to me.

  • Donna knight
    Donna knight Wasilla,Alaska
    May 15 2021 9:01 PM
    We have 4 dogs. In order of age, 12 year female chichua/Pekingese mix, 11 year old female chichua/Pekingese mix, 8 year old female Belgian Malinois and 7 year old male Boston Terrier male. When the malinois was around 4 or 5 years old, we had an elderly Queensland Heeler. Twice, out of nowhere and completely unprovoked, the Malinois attacked the elderly Heeler, causing extensive injuries. Tho the Heeler survived both attacks, her injuries were serious and required extensive stitches. After the Heeler died of complications of old age, all the dogs got along beautifully. The malinois has been very protective of the 11 year old Chichua/Pekingese, barking to let us know if the smaller dog was outside, nudging her when she came in the door or room. About a month ago, the Malinois turned on her, causing multiple lacerations on both sides and breaking the 11 year olds leg, requiring amputation. We have kept the chichua/pek isolated in our guest bedroom while she recovers. We have allowed the Malinois to sniff her while we are holding her but have allowed no other contact except sniffing thru the gate. My husband thinks the attack was a result of our Boston Terrier barking excitedly, causing all the dogs to start barking. It was then that the Malinois attacked her. I don’t know what to do now. This is the third time the Malinois has attacked smaller, older dogs. I don’t trust her around any of the other dogs now and am fearful that she will kill the 11 year old. Is this an example of a dog killing an older,!weaker dog? If so, that wud mean all of our other dogs are not safe. My husband ADORES the Malinois, has an incredible bond with her . I have asked him to consult dog trainers or dog behaviorist. After reading the heartbreaking experiences shared by others tho, I am wondering if there is any solution. Do you have any input, thoughts or suggestions?

    We have 4 dogs. In order of age, 12 year female chichua/Pekingese mix, 11 year old female chichua/Pekingese mix, 8 year old female Belgian Malinois and 7 year old male Boston Terrier male. When the malinois was around 4 or 5 years old, we had an elderly Queensland Heeler. Twice, out of nowhere and completely unprovoked, the Malinois attacked the elderly Heeler, causing extensive injuries. Tho the Heeler survived both attacks, her injuries were serious and required extensive stitches. After the Heeler died of complications of old age, all the dogs got along beautifully. The malinois has been very protective of the 11 year old Chichua/Pekingese, barking to let us know if the smaller dog was outside, nudging her when she came in the door or room. About a month ago, the Malinois turned on her, causing multiple lacerations on both sides and breaking the 11 year olds leg, requiring amputation. We have kept the chichua/pek isolated in our guest bedroom while she recovers. We have allowed the Malinois to sniff her while we are holding her but have allowed no other contact except sniffing thru the gate. My husband thinks the attack was a result of our Boston Terrier barking excitedly, causing all the dogs to start barking. It was then that the Malinois attacked her. I don’t know what to do now. This is the third time the Malinois has attacked smaller, older dogs. I don’t trust her around any of the other dogs now and am fearful that she will kill the 11 year old. Is this an example of a dog killing an older,!weaker dog? If so, that wud mean all of our other dogs are not safe. My husband ADORES the Malinois, has an incredible bond with her . I have asked him to consult dog trainers or dog behaviorist. After reading the heartbreaking experiences shared by others tho, I am wondering if there is any solution. Do you have any input, thoughts or suggestions?

  • Vonda Reed
    Vonda Reed TX
    May 17 2021 7:56 PM
    I accidentally dropped sm icebag on my 7 lb dog. She constantly follows me around the house, stepping between my feet and in front of me. I went to bust of the ice and slammed the bad down when she walked under it. I feel terrible for her. I cry thinking about it. I should have had her in her cage. She was hurt and acting funny, limping and squealing. My older dog by two years started growling at her and biting her head. He did it a three times. I was shocked. He'd never exhibited this behavior before. They shared the same cage for 2 years. She is well. She's a tough cookie, but it makes me so sad how he treated her when she was injured and she'd always showed concern for him when he was sick.

    I accidentally dropped sm icebag on my 7 lb dog. She constantly follows me around the house, stepping between my feet and in front of me. I went to bust of the ice and slammed the bad down when she walked under it. I feel terrible for her. I cry thinking about it. I should have had her in her cage. She was hurt and acting funny, limping and squealing. My older dog by two years started growling at her and biting her head. He did it a three times. I was shocked. He'd never exhibited this behavior before. They shared the same cage for 2 years. She is well. She's a tough cookie, but it makes me so sad how he treated her when she was injured and she'd always showed concern for him when he was sick.

  • Joy
    Joy
    Jun 7 2021 9:50 AM
    I loved my 14 lb male Golden Doodle so much and when my husband wanted to adopt a younger pitbull, I loved that dog so much too. I detected some tendency to jealousy in the female pitty mix but they played so well together for 5 years and were even boarded together when we were on vacation. At one point we stopped crating them when we left the house, but 4 month ago the pitty mix mauled my beloved 10 year old doodle while we were away at work. It was bloody but my husband cleaned it up and spared me from the sight. I am still grieving. We put down the pitty mix even if she was healthy. I grieve her loss too in a different way but I am still hurting. I took care of my doodle since he was a puppy and wanted him to get old in comfort. He was still bright and healthy, was a hugger and just a loving and comforting dog. I feel like I failed to protect him by bringing in a larger dog with a strong bite and not knowing better. I miss the happy days when we had them both so happy and joyful together. Those days are gone and I can’t get them back.

    I loved my 14 lb male Golden Doodle so much and when my husband wanted to adopt a younger pitbull, I loved that dog so much too. I detected some tendency to jealousy in the female pitty mix but they played so well together for 5 years and were even boarded together when we were on vacation. At one point we stopped crating them when we left the house, but 4 month ago the pitty mix mauled my beloved 10 year old doodle while we were away at work. It was bloody but my husband cleaned it up and spared me from the sight. I am still grieving. We put down the pitty mix even if she was healthy. I grieve her loss too in a different way but I am still hurting. I took care of my doodle since he was a puppy and wanted him to get old in comfort. He was still bright and healthy, was a hugger and just a loving and comforting dog. I feel like I failed to protect him by bringing in a larger dog with a strong bite and not knowing better. I miss the happy days when we had them both so happy and joyful together. Those days are gone and I can’t get them back.

  • Karen
    Karen South Carolins
    Jun 16 2021 11:24 PM
    This evening after a turn off the mower I turned and looked in the pasture where I had my three dogs turned out and I saw my larger dog pulling my chocolate lab by the collar dragging him around and my smaller dog biting his rear. I yelled at them to get off of Ronie and they did that's when I realized that they had killed him. He was still warm to the touch but I think they killed him at around 4:00am because I heard yelping then and when I went out to the field none of the dogs came to great me. I am angry at myself for not checking further to make sure everyone was ok. I don't think I will ever get over this.

    This evening after a turn off the mower I turned and looked in the pasture where I had my three dogs turned out and I saw my larger dog pulling my chocolate lab by the collar dragging him around and my smaller dog biting his rear. I yelled at them to get off of Ronie and they did that's when I realized that they had killed him. He was still warm to the touch but I think they killed him at around 4:00am because I heard yelping then and when I went out to the field none of the dogs came to great me. I am angry at myself for not checking further to make sure everyone was ok. I don't think I will ever get over this.

  • Megan
    Megan South Africa
    Jun 17 2021 8:06 PM
    Article, really good! Listen so my German shepherd (1 year) bit my Vicky baby (7 year yorkie) she walked to close to him while he was eating and he bit her in the neck and face. She was bleeding so much. I screamed so lowdly my mom and I chased to the vet, but they were closed I then push Vicky closer to me and feel her heart beat and it stopped. I could see in her yes she was gone. I asked my mom to drive slower no need for speeding anymore, she's gone. We got home my step dad started digging a whole and I stood 30mins with her drenched deceased body in my arms. We then had her funeral. After that this is now very concerning. Me I absolutely can't stand Tony because he killed my dog, though no one can kind of look at him right now, because he's weird and he just freaks me out. With no one giving him love right now, because we all mourning Vicky and her horrible death. I mean they were brother and sis. They didn't like each other much, but killing was not on my agenda. The German Shepherd starts making these weird sounds at night like he's crying or something. I feel like with no one even lookin at him or talking to him and tells him to leave us alone. He kind of knows what he did. I want to know if he knows he killed her? Can he smell her body under ground in our yard? I mean that could explain his weird sounds he makes? I don't know what to do.

    Article, really good! Listen so my German shepherd (1 year) bit my Vicky baby (7 year yorkie) she walked to close to him while he was eating and he bit her in the neck and face. She was bleeding so much. I screamed so lowdly my mom and I chased to the vet, but they were closed I then push Vicky closer to me and feel her heart beat and it stopped. I could see in her yes she was gone. I asked my mom to drive slower no need for speeding anymore, she's gone. We got home my step dad started digging a whole and I stood 30mins with her drenched deceased body in my arms. We then had her funeral. After that this is now very concerning. Me I absolutely can't stand Tony because he killed my dog, though no one can kind of look at him right now, because he's weird and he just freaks me out. With no one giving him love right now, because we all mourning Vicky and her horrible death. I mean they were brother and sis. They didn't like each other much, but killing was not on my agenda. The German Shepherd starts making these weird sounds at night like he's crying or something. I feel like with no one even lookin at him or talking to him and tells him to leave us alone. He kind of knows what he did. I want to know if he knows he killed her? Can he smell her body under ground in our yard? I mean that could explain his weird sounds he makes?

    I don't know what to do.

  • Holly
    Holly Toronto Ontario
    Jun 18 2021 10:55 AM
    I have an Australian Sheppard he is 5. When he was a puppy he was attacked by a rottweiler a few times. I think when he was around 3 now when he sees a rottweiler including on TV (almost goes through the screen) my dog would attack the rottweiler didn't care the size small/large it's a rotty attack. I had heard when a dog is attacked they become fearful of that breed not my Maverick. Since then we are careful to watch for rottweilers and leash him if we are quick enough. They see before you do. Recently he attacked a dog that may be part rotty & bull another breed I have to watch for. As recent as June 17, 2021 we were at the off leash beach area a place we go to all the time my aussie attacked a golden Lab. I was completely shocked, someone said the lab was trying to take my dogs ball which I don't believe especially when the owner walks by me with her Lab leashed and my dog goes after him again. Why I am shocked my dog never shows aggression when another dog steals his ball he just waits for the dog to drop it or their owner returns it. What makes the situation worse are people telling you off and my response is they are animals first. Having said that any suggestions as to why this is happening more often and different breeds. It takes the fun away when having to watch more and more breeds and peoples aggression when this happens.

    I have an Australian Sheppard he is 5. When he was a puppy he was attacked by a rottweiler a few times. I think when he was around 3 now when he sees a rottweiler including on TV (almost goes through the screen) my dog would attack the rottweiler didn't care the size small/large it's a rotty attack. I had heard when a dog is attacked they become fearful of that breed not my Maverick. Since then we are careful to watch for rottweilers and leash him if we are quick enough. They see before you do. Recently he attacked a dog that may be part rotty & bull another breed I have to watch for. As recent as June 17, 2021 we were at the off leash beach area a place we go to all the time my aussie attacked a golden Lab. I was completely shocked, someone said the lab was trying to take my dogs ball which I don't believe especially when the owner walks by me with her Lab leashed and my dog goes after him again. Why I am shocked my dog never shows aggression when another dog steals his ball he just waits for the dog to drop it or their owner returns it. What makes the situation worse are people telling you off and my response is they are animals first. Having said that any suggestions as to why this is happening more often and different breeds. It takes the fun away when having to watch more and more breeds and peoples aggression when this happens.

  • Nicole
    Nicole California
    Jul 3 2021 6:25 PM
    Recently due to current living situations my 4 dogs had to stay in welded wire horse stalls, i had 2 in one and another 2 in one, we had chicken wire on the bottom so it would detour them from digging. My husky who has already killed ducks and catches small birds for sport, she happened to chew through the chicken wire got to the other kennel and killed my heeler. My heeler died in my arms. Right after that someone had cut the lock off the stall and she went on a rampage and killed all 15 chickens on the property. She's more of the silent behind your back killer.who cannot be trusted.. and I have a 6month old daughter ( who is never near the husky. Yet husky use to be fine with my 2yr old daughter, she helped her through night terrors.now my daughter is living with my ex. My husky has also attacked my other dog in aroused play.... seems that once she got the taste of blood she became this killer and looks at all small animals, dogs as prey. Killing has brought out her instincts and I am unable to have her here with me and the baby, im considering euthanizing her unless someone is able to work with her and handle her. I don't have the time, since she killed my heeler I've admitted myself into treatment because my heeler was my healer. I cant handle living in my truck because of my dog. And I don't want herbto be kenneld 24/7 , yet I don't want someone else to experience what I've had to go through... I need help likebi said im highly considering euthanizing her

    Recently due to current living situations my 4 dogs had to stay in welded wire horse stalls, i had 2 in one and another 2 in one, we had chicken wire on the bottom so it would detour them from digging. My husky who has already killed ducks and catches small birds for sport, she happened to chew through the chicken wire got to the other kennel and killed my heeler. My heeler died in my arms. Right after that someone had cut the lock off the stall and she went on a rampage and killed all 15 chickens on the property. She's more of the silent behind your back killer.who cannot be trusted.. and I have a 6month old daughter ( who is never near the husky. Yet husky use to be fine with my 2yr old daughter, she helped her through night terrors.now my daughter is living with my ex. My husky has also attacked my other dog in aroused play.... seems that once she got the taste of blood she became this killer and looks at all small animals, dogs as prey. Killing has brought out her instincts and I am unable to have her here with me and the baby, im considering euthanizing her unless someone is able to work with her and handle her. I don't have the time, since she killed my heeler I've admitted myself into treatment because my heeler was my healer. I cant handle living in my truck because of my dog. And I don't want herbto be kenneld 24/7 , yet I don't want someone else to experience what I've had to go through... I need help likebi said im highly considering euthanizing her

  • Dogue Shop
    Dogue Shop
    Jul 5 2021 10:16 AM
    Dear Nicole, I think euthanasia is your best option. Although the "taste of blood" has nothing to do with the dog's behaviour, Huskies are high prey-driven dogs. Since she has such a high track kill record, sending the dog off to another person is simply postponing the inevitable. I'm sorry for your other losses. Cheers.

    Dear Nicole,
    I think euthanasia is your best option. Although the "taste of blood" has nothing to do with the dog's behaviour, Huskies are high prey-driven dogs. Since she has such a high track kill record, sending the dog off to another person is simply postponing the inevitable.

    I'm sorry for your other losses.

    Cheers.

  • Sallie Gallegos
    Sallie Gallegos New Mexico
    Jul 7 2021 9:22 PM
    I have a lab-shepherd mix. She is 10 months old and weighs about 60 pounds. A friend has a full Siberian husky that is younger but already larger and heavier. In the beginning, they played rough but never injured one another. Now the husky is bigger, heavier, and more powerful. His inhibited biting has become more aggressive. My dog wants to play at first, but she has begun to cower and seek shelter near me or by swimming into deep water or crawling in a space too confined for roughhousing. The husky pins her and shakes her viciously by the neck until she cries. The play dates are over. The husky also jumps on people and vehicles and is not properly leash trained. I’m not taking anymore chances. My older dog currently puts the husky in its place by growling, but if the husky were to turn on my 13-year-old, he could easily kill him. I’m not going to wait for one of my dogs to get hurt. All the writing is on the wall; I’ve seen enough. At some point we have to follow our instinct. Mine tells me to protect my dogs.

    I have a lab-shepherd mix. She is 10 months old and weighs about 60 pounds. A friend has a full Siberian husky that is younger but already larger and heavier. In the beginning, they played rough but never injured one another. Now the husky is bigger, heavier, and more powerful. His inhibited biting has become more aggressive. My dog wants to play at first, but she has begun to cower and seek shelter near me or by swimming into deep water or crawling in a space too confined for roughhousing. The husky pins her and shakes her viciously by the neck until she cries. The play dates are over. The husky also jumps on people and vehicles and is not properly leash trained. I’m not taking anymore chances. My older dog currently puts the husky in its place by growling, but if the husky were to turn on my 13-year-old, he could easily kill him. I’m not going to wait for one of my dogs to get hurt. All the writing is on the wall; I’ve seen enough. At some point we have to follow our instinct. Mine tells me to protect my dogs.

  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Texas
    Jul 13 2021 5:48 PM
    Hi, I've just come across this blog after spending weeks searching for an answer. I have 2 female rottweilers, the mother (12 years old) and her daughter (6 years old). The youngest just had her first litter of pups about 5 weeks ago and we are trying to introduce the older dog to them, but she has a history of killing rabbits. The pups are in the process of being weaned off of their mother, so should we wait to bring the older dog around them? And if so, how long does it take for pups to stop trying to nurse? Yesterday, she was in the house with them, and one kept trying to nurse off of her, which lead to her growling at it. I keep reading articles that say to let dogs discipline the pups, but I just don't want her to end up killing one.

    Hi, I've just come across this blog after spending weeks searching for an answer. I have 2 female rottweilers, the mother (12 years old) and her daughter (6 years old). The youngest just had her first litter of pups about 5 weeks ago and we are trying to introduce the older dog to them, but she has a history of killing rabbits. The pups are in the process of being weaned off of their mother, so should we wait to bring the older dog around them? And if so, how long does it take for pups to stop trying to nurse? Yesterday, she was in the house with them, and one kept trying to nurse off of her, which lead to her growling at it. I keep reading articles that say to let dogs discipline the pups, but I just don't want her to end up killing one.

  • Suzanne
    Suzanne Iowa
    Jul 16 2021 11:45 AM
    I have a German Shepard and a Norfolk Terrier. My grandma recently passed and she had an old little maltipo that we took in. The small dog would always bark at the German Shepard but the German Shepard tolerated it. My family and I went out for the day and left our dogs alone and when we got back my dad and sister opened the door and screamed. I went to see and I saw the small dogs from the back laying in front of the door. I wish I didn’t look. I asked my parents what was on the body and my mom said a bite on the neck or something. I hope the poor old dogs death was quick and painless. My mom says she hates the German Shepard’s dog because she had spent many years with the small dog. I don’t know why the German Shepard did this :(. Rest In Peace Frisco you lived a long beautiful life and at least your with grandma now 🙏🕊👼❤️

    I have a German Shepard and a Norfolk Terrier. My grandma recently passed and she had an old little maltipo that we took in. The small dog would always bark at the German Shepard but the German Shepard tolerated it. My family and I went out for the day and left our dogs alone and when we got back my dad and sister opened the door and screamed. I went to see and I saw the small dogs from the back laying in front of the door. I wish I didn’t look. I asked my parents what was on the body and my mom said a bite on the neck or something. I hope the poor old dogs death was quick and painless. My mom says she hates the German Shepard’s dog because she had spent many years with the small dog. I don’t know why the German Shepard did this frown. Rest In Peace Frisco you lived a long beautiful life and at least your with grandma now 🙏🕊👼❤️

  • Meghan
    Meghan Kansas
    Jul 20 2021 6:15 PM
    Reading these have me distraught for all of the things you have all seen and gone through. My husband and I have not gone through this, but we recently did try to adopt a 5 year old male German Shepherd — we currently have a 1.5 year old female German Shepherd. There was a 35 pound difference between them — our female is very small for her breed. They had one meet and greet and our female wanted to play but the male was uninterested, probably out of fear and nerves. We took them both home and about 20 minutes into he ride he went after our female. She got scared and jumped in my lap and stayed there until about 20 minutes from our home. She went in the backseat and it happened again. She was scared. We finally got home and it happened twice more that night and twice more the next day. My husband works so it is just me all day and I told him I was afraid she wold get hurt. (The male was absolutely the sweetest dog I’ve ever met). I contacted the rescue and they found a kennel for him to go to until they can get him transported back to them so I know his life is safe but I can’t feel like the biggest piece of trash ever. I can’t eat, I can’t sleep, I cry 24/7. I know both dogs are safe but I feel so guilty that I have given him up after 24 hours because these signs scared me. I know he was probably nervous in a new home so I guess what I’m asking is, did I do the right thing or should I have given him time? I hate myself for not giving him longer but our female also doesn’t protect herself, she lacks self confidence and just cowers when another dog shows aggressive behaviors to her. Did I make a huge mistake or the best decision I could have for our family? I’ve been devastated ever since we had to drop him off.

    Reading these have me distraught for all of the things you have all seen and gone through. My husband and I have not gone through this, but we recently did try to adopt a 5 year old male German Shepherd — we currently have a 1.5 year old female German Shepherd. There was a 35 pound difference between them — our female is very small for her breed. They had one meet and greet and our female wanted to play but the male was uninterested, probably out of fear and nerves. We took them both home and about 20 minutes into he ride he went after our female. She got scared and jumped in my lap and stayed there until about 20 minutes from our home. She went in the backseat and it happened again. She was scared. We finally got home and it happened twice more that night and twice more the next day. My husband works so it is just me all day and I told him I was afraid she wold get hurt. (The male was absolutely the sweetest dog I’ve ever met). I contacted the rescue and they found a kennel for him to go to until they can get him transported back to them so I know his life is safe but I can’t feel like the biggest piece of trash ever. I can’t eat, I can’t sleep, I cry 24/7. I know both dogs are safe but I feel so guilty that I have given him up after 24 hours because these signs scared me. I know he was probably nervous in a new home so I guess what I’m asking is, did I do the right thing or should I have given him time? I hate myself for not giving him longer but our female also doesn’t protect herself, she lacks self confidence and just cowers when another dog shows aggressive behaviors to her. Did I make a huge mistake or the best decision I could have for our family? I’ve been devastated ever since we had to drop him off.

  • Vanessa
    Vanessa Tennessee
    Jul 22 2021 9:29 PM
    My 14 year old Jack Russell was just killed by my 4 year old American Bulldog. Today. I’m hurting. My heart hurts so bad. I rushed the Jack Russell to the vet but he died in my arms. An unprovoked attack. For no reason. My American Bulldog broke his back and ruptured his kidneys. I don’t know what to do with her. I have 2 other dogs and she picks in my 17 year old dachshund. My heart hurts. I feel immense guilt. I failed my boy.

    My 14 year old Jack Russell was just killed by my 4 year old American Bulldog. Today. I’m hurting. My heart hurts so bad. I rushed the Jack Russell to the vet but he died in my arms. An unprovoked attack. For no reason. My American Bulldog broke his back and ruptured his kidneys. I don’t know what to do with her. I have 2 other dogs and she picks in my 17 year old dachshund. My heart hurts. I feel immense guilt. I failed my boy.

  • Amy
    Amy Seattle Washington
    Jul 27 2021 9:30 PM
    My boyfriend's dog accidentally ran hard into my puppy and the impact killed her. My boyfriend's dog is often aggressive towards me, strangers, and other dogs. I don't want to place the blame on him but I'm afraid. He's recently bitten a child and had bitten me on multiple occasions. I don't think he killed my puppy on purpose but he has been aggressive with her in the past. It's so unfortunate that that tiny puppy's life was cut short and I don't know what to do about the boyfriend's dog. I don't feel like I can trust this dog and everything about this situation breaks my heart. What should I do about this dog?

    My boyfriend's dog accidentally ran hard into my puppy and the impact killed her. My boyfriend's dog is often aggressive towards me, strangers, and other dogs. I don't want to place the blame on him but I'm afraid. He's recently bitten a child and had bitten me on multiple occasions. I don't think he killed my puppy on purpose but he has been aggressive with her in the past. It's so unfortunate that that tiny puppy's life was cut short and I don't know what to do about the boyfriend's dog. I don't feel like I can trust this dog and everything about this situation breaks my heart. What should I do about this dog?

  • Peir
    Peir Scotland
    Jul 27 2021 10:13 PM
    I know someone that got a puppy and had an other dog and raised the puppfor a year and half the tow dogs done everything together but the puppy killed the other dog now the puppy has been taken away and getting tested and then possibly put down would this effect the other puppies and the mum and dad x

    I know someone that got a puppy and had an other dog and raised the puppfor a year and half the tow dogs done everything together but the puppy killed the other dog now the puppy has been taken away and getting tested and then possibly put down would this effect the other puppies and the mum and dad x

  • Renato Zano
    Renato Zano Fontana
    Sep 9 2021 1:26 PM
    I have three dogs, and last Tuesday, the two dogs that I rescued aggressively attacked the first dog that we have had since he was a puppy. Last Tuesday, he was killed by the two rescued dogs, We have had them for two years, and we don't have issues; they fight but not these severe killing my original dog. What to do shall I let them go? my heart still aches to this day, and not knowing what to do with the two dogs, my friends suggested that I have to let them go. Is that the right thing to do?

    I have three dogs, and last Tuesday, the two dogs that I rescued aggressively attacked the first dog that we have had since he was a puppy. Last Tuesday, he was killed by the two rescued dogs, We have had them for two years, and we don't have issues; they fight but not these severe killing my original dog. What to do shall I let them go? my heart still aches to this day, and not knowing what to do with the two dogs, my friends suggested that I have to let them go. Is that the right thing to do?

  • Joy
    Joy
    Sep 16 2021 9:35 PM
    I’m sorry for your loss, Renato. I let go of my rescue (euthanized) but it was also hard. I didn’t think anyone would want to adopt her after what she did, even if she was just behaving as dogs do. I didn’t want her around my young nephews. I was afraid she would snap at me too since I’m not alpha. She was the sweetest thing but she did kill my old dog, for whatever reason. I didn’t want to take her to a shelter. I still cry about her because she was healthy when we put her down. I still cry about my 10 year old “original” doggie I had since he was a puppy that she mauled, who I though had 2-5 more years of life to enjoy and time with me.

    I’m sorry for your loss, Renato. I let go of my rescue (euthanized) but it was also hard. I didn’t think anyone would want to adopt her after what she did, even if she was just behaving as dogs do. I didn’t want her around my young nephews. I was afraid she would snap at me too since I’m not alpha. She was the sweetest thing but she did kill my old dog, for whatever reason. I didn’t want to take her to a shelter. I still cry about her because she was healthy when we put her down. I still cry about my 10 year old “original” doggie I had since he was a puppy that she mauled, who I though had 2-5 more years of life to enjoy and time with me.

  • Jerry
    Jerry TN
    Sep 19 2021 5:15 AM
    I had a puppy that grew up with my older two dogs who are siblings. One of the two, a mix breed that looks mostly Beagle, killed the younger dog (chihuahua mix) that she grew up with!!! She just killed her and for no reason. I HATE this dog now. I am unable to cope with what she did. She never had any aggression toward her until that day. And after that day, she also attacked another small dog we have (chihuahua mix also). My first thought was to shoot her. Just waste her. But once I had my emotions back in check, I thought better of it. It isn't like me to want to hurt anything.......least of all a dog. I still have this dog that killed my little one. I have had her 8 years and the kill was over a year ago now. My feelings are still the same. She is depressed. I ignore her other than proper feeding, water and vet care. She has her brother and mother (I rescued a pregnant mother dog and kept her as well as two of her puppies I couldn't find homes for) so she isn't lonely. But she is depressed. I am trying to care. I resent her so badly. I don't know what to do. I have kept the chihuahua mix away from her since she attacked her too. I have baby gates in my home and always keep them out of the same room no matter what. If somehow she got to my little one, I'd lock my legs around her neck and squeeze until she dropped dead. I hate myself for feeling so angry toward her but I can't help it. :(

    I had a puppy that grew up with my older two dogs who are siblings. One of the two, a mix breed that looks mostly Beagle, killed the younger dog (chihuahua mix) that she grew up with!!! She just killed her and for no reason. I HATE this dog now. I am unable to cope with what she did. She never had any aggression toward her until that day. And after that day, she also attacked another small dog we have (chihuahua mix also). My first thought was to shoot her. Just waste her. But once I had my emotions back in check, I thought better of it. It isn't like me to want to hurt anything.......least of all a dog. I still have this dog that killed my little one. I have had her 8 years and the kill was over a year ago now. My feelings are still the same. She is depressed. I ignore her other than proper feeding, water and vet care. She has her brother and mother (I rescued a pregnant mother dog and kept her as well as two of her puppies I couldn't find homes for) so she isn't lonely. But she is depressed. I am trying to care. I resent her so badly. I don't know what to do. I have kept the chihuahua mix away from her since she attacked her too. I have baby gates in my home and always keep them out of the same room no matter what. If somehow she got to my little one, I'd lock my legs around her neck and squeeze until she dropped dead. I hate myself for feeling so angry toward her but I can't help it. frown

  • Erin
    Erin Washington
    Sep 25 2021 1:34 PM
    Last night we lost our 11 month old Chihuahua Pug. Our two females (Boston/pit and Pit) just turned on him over a toy within a matter of seconds. The pup had just developed issues with resource guarding certain toys and we had been working with him. As soon as he growled I went in to redirect and in the ft of distance between us, our Boston/pit swooped it and snapped at him with no direct contact. The pup snapped back and that was it. The Boston/pit grabbed his neck and started shaking, triggering the other female to jump on. I tried everything I could to get them to release but trying to manage two dogs with locked jaws on my own was impossible. They finally snapped out of it and I was able to separate them and crate the females. Our puppy died in my arms and was just thrashed. I watched the whole thing and had to wash off a bunch of mud from trying to break it up. It was traumatizing and we are heartbroken. The Boston/pit is always the aggressor, she has horrible manners and we have worked with her but she is much more stubborn than the pit. We love the BP and it would crush me (and our pit) to see her go but I want everyone to be safe. We are going to get an assessment from a professional about what our options and best recommendations are, that way we aren’t making the decision alone. Thank you for this article, it’s so helpful to read that other people experience this and there are tools to be more prepared dog owners

    Last night we lost our 11 month old Chihuahua Pug. Our two females (Boston/pit and Pit) just turned on him over a toy within a matter of seconds. The pup had just developed issues with resource guarding certain toys and we had been working with him. As soon as he growled I went in to redirect and in the ft of distance between us, our Boston/pit swooped it and snapped at him with no direct contact. The pup snapped back and that was it. The Boston/pit grabbed his neck and started shaking, triggering the other female to jump on. I tried everything I could to get them to release but trying to manage two dogs with locked jaws on my own was impossible. They finally snapped out of it and I was able to separate them and crate the females. Our puppy died in my arms and was just thrashed. I watched the whole thing and had to wash off a bunch of mud from trying to break it up. It was traumatizing and we are heartbroken. The Boston/pit is always the aggressor, she has horrible manners and we have worked with her but she is much more stubborn than the pit. We love the BP and it would crush me (and our pit) to see her go but I want everyone to be safe. We are going to get an assessment from a professional about what our options and best recommendations are, that way we aren’t making the decision alone.

    Thank you for this article, it’s so helpful to read that other people experience this and there are tools to be more prepared dog owners

  • Anonymous
    Anonymous United States
    Sep 26 2021 10:00 PM
    Thank you I just read your article and I’m feeling guilty my 10 year old dog just killed my 6 month puppy. The sad thing this is not the first time he does this.

    Thank you I just read your article and I’m feeling guilty my 10 year old dog just killed my 6 month puppy. The sad thing this is not the first time he does this.

  • ROSE
    ROSE AUSTRALIA
    Sep 27 2021 10:45 PM
    HI ive read some of the sad stories im so sorry for all that have lost a loved pet i myself am a dog lover an my heart breaks when they pass away . I have 14 or had 14 dogs in total which ranhe from 4 shitzu /terrior oldest being 14 to the youngest being 4 then there is my american bulldogs /staffy which are of the johnson bread 9 of them in total there ages range from 3 being the eldest an 4months being the youngest an i have a rescue dog who lives in the front yard she is a staffy cross dingo I never pkanned on having so many but when my bulldog got pregnant i fell so inlove with the breed as they all live together play together an eat all from the same platter even to the point where they share a bone they have never slept outside always indoor or in my bed i show them all the same love an affection so if one is put outside for being norty ie eating my shoes or remote they all go outside i always believe one in all in they do snap at each other from time to time but nothing bad that they will hurt each other badley earlier on this year my eldest shitz was hurt by the bulldogs but deisel the shitzu always snapped at them by grabbing them in the face i came home one day to see him laying life less i was devestated seeing him that way but he survived it againt all the ods deisel has a heart condition an being 14 is a very kranky boy he had one bite mark an mostly scratches i guess when you bully it will come back there was 6 of them who did this but they never killed him just telling him enough is enough since then when i go out i seperate the small ones just in case the other day i came home an found my eight year old female terrior dead i only saw her back end as i couldnt lok it was horrifing my friend said she was torwn apart an her head was almost of i cant believe this would happen an thar the bulldogs would go to that extrerme all my dogs are white an there was no blood on them we looked on the cameras an it diidnt show any thing to indicate the dogs were wound up i have my sons friends stying here with me who has mental health problems he was home at the time an said he heard nothing then he told another person that they had killed little bella inside the house an he had cleaned the mess up an put her outside its been 3 days now an he has still not said anything to me should i be worried that he may have killed my dog or are my dogs capable of doing this to a dog they have lived with in three years that they aly with eat with play with any way if you can shed some light i would appreaciate it u can email me on rbevk@outlook.com i will wait for your response before i take this to the next level thank you

    HI ive read some of the sad stories im so sorry for all that have lost a loved pet i myself am a dog lover an my heart breaks when they pass away . I have 14 or had 14 dogs in total which ranhe from 4 shitzu /terrior oldest being 14 to the youngest being 4 then there is my american bulldogs /staffy which are of the johnson bread 9 of them in total there ages range from 3 being the eldest an 4months being the youngest an i have a rescue dog who lives in the front yard she is a staffy cross dingo
    I never pkanned on having so many but when my bulldog got pregnant i fell so inlove with the breed as they all live together play together an eat all from the same platter even to the point where they share a bone they have never slept outside always indoor or in my bed i show them all the same love an affection so if one is put outside for being norty ie eating my shoes or remote they all go outside i always believe one in all in they do snap at each other from time to time but nothing bad that they will hurt each other badley earlier on this year my eldest shitz was hurt by the bulldogs but deisel the shitzu always snapped at them by grabbing them in the face i came home one day to see him laying life less i was devestated seeing him that way but he survived it againt all the ods deisel has a heart condition an being 14 is a very kranky boy he had one bite mark an mostly scratches i guess when you bully it will come back there was 6 of them who did this but they never killed him just telling him enough is enough since then when i go out i seperate the small ones just in case the other day i came home an found my eight year old female terrior dead i only saw her back end as i couldnt lok it was horrifing my friend said she was torwn apart an her head was almost of i cant believe this would happen an thar the bulldogs would go to that extrerme all my dogs are white an there was no blood on them we looked on the cameras an it diidnt show any thing to indicate the dogs were wound up i have my sons friends stying here with me who has mental health problems he was home at the time an said he heard nothing then he told another person that they had killed little bella inside the house an he had cleaned the mess up an put her outside its been 3 days now an he has still not said anything to me should i be worried that he may have killed my dog or are my dogs capable of doing this to a dog they have lived with in three years that they aly with eat with play with any way if you can shed some light i would appreaciate it u can email me on rbevk@outlook.com i will wait for your response before i take this to the next level thank you

  • ROSE
    ROSE AUSTRALIA
    Oct 4 2021 12:14 PM
    hope for a reply

    hope for a reply

  • Hillary
    Hillary USA
    Oct 11 2021 9:37 PM
    My fiancé’s German Wirehaired Pionter keeps trying to kill my two Heelers without any sort of heads up warning signs. She’s typically a very sweet and affectionate dog but for some reason she continues to silently and swiftly go straight for my heelers’ necks almost any opportunity she finds. I’ve told him I can’t have her my house until we know that this issue is no longer an issue but I don’t know how to remedy it. I don’t want either of us to have to abandon our dogs or keep them caged up and I don’t want us to have to continue to reside at different residences once we’re married. Is there anything I can do? Is anyone aware of any specialized training or anything that works in a situation like this? I’ve never seen anything like it before and I’m at a total loss on how to proceed.

    My fiancé’s German Wirehaired Pionter keeps trying to kill my two Heelers without any sort of heads up warning signs. She’s typically a very sweet and affectionate dog but for some reason she continues to silently and swiftly go straight for my heelers’ necks almost any opportunity she finds. I’ve told him I can’t have her my house until we know that this issue is no longer an issue but I don’t know how to remedy it. I don’t want either of us to have to abandon our dogs or keep them caged up and I don’t want us to have to continue to reside at different residences once we’re married. Is there anything I can do? Is anyone aware of any specialized training or anything that works in a situation like this? I’ve never seen anything like it before and I’m at a total loss on how to proceed.

  • Gabe
    Gabe Texas
    Oct 30 2021 4:19 PM
    Had to put my 14 year old lab mix down this morning because she was attacked by my pit bull mix and German shepherd mix. They always got along well. The two younger dogs are 7 years old, and all my dogs are female. I’m still trying to figure out what happened and what set these events in motion. I just can’t figure it out. I can’t believe this is how my older dog spent her last day on earth, and I feel guilty that I wasn’t there to stop it. I know you said I shouldn’t feel guilty because dog nature is at play here, but I can’t help it.

    Had to put my 14 year old lab mix down this morning because she was attacked by my pit bull mix and German shepherd mix. They always got along well. The two younger dogs are 7 years old, and all my dogs are female. I’m still trying to figure out what happened and what set these events in motion. I just can’t figure it out.

    I can’t believe this is how my older dog spent her last day on earth, and I feel guilty that I wasn’t there to stop it. I know you said I shouldn’t feel guilty because dog nature is at play here, but I can’t help it.

  • Bevis
    Bevis Upstate NY
    Oct 31 2021 11:53 AM
    I have a 11 year old Lab and 3 year old Lab and I recently got another Lab for a playmate for my 3 year old ,my new pup started out I thought it was ruff play ended up being very aggressive, my new pup started having food aggression ,I couldn't make food around her or have the dog food containers in the same room ,I couldn't cook food with her in the house or give them treats together, my 2 older dogs were scarred all the time. The pup was 4 months old when she started aggressive behavior with food and behavior, she would growl, bite, stare, hair was raised, lean forward ,it kept getting worse ,I brought her at a Amish farm, she had UTi's, vaginitis, worms, it took me months to get her better, the vet bills were expensive, plus my 11 year old had throat surgery at the VCA, my 3 year old has gastro problems also, a very expensive year, I tried training Sage things escalated into attacks with her teeth on both dogs ,she put my older dog down on the floor her teeth they were into the back of her neck, I had to pry her teeth apart to get her off my 11 year old ,she's weak ,I was so scarred. Well I knew what I had to do, rehome her or she was really going to hurt my other two dogs, so I rehomed her to a farm with no pets, the man was retired ,alone, she is doing well with him, I wish her well ,I miss her ,she was 11 months old when I let her go, my dogs are safe now. I wish I knew what caused this aggressiveness in her.

    I have a 11 year old Lab and 3 year old Lab and I recently got another Lab for a playmate for my 3 year old ,my new pup started out I thought it was ruff play ended up being very aggressive, my new pup started having food aggression ,I couldn't make food around her or have the dog food containers in the same room ,I couldn't cook food with her in the house or give them treats together, my 2 older dogs were scarred all the time. The pup was 4 months old when she started aggressive behavior with food and behavior, she would growl, bite, stare, hair was raised, lean forward ,it kept getting worse ,I brought her at a Amish farm, she had UTi's, vaginitis, worms, it took me months to get her better, the vet bills were expensive, plus my 11 year old had throat surgery at the VCA,
    my 3 year old has gastro problems also, a very expensive year, I tried training Sage things escalated into attacks with her teeth on both dogs ,she put my older dog down on the floor her teeth they were into the back of her neck, I had to pry her teeth apart to get her off my 11 year old ,she's weak ,I was so scarred. Well I knew what I had to do, rehome her or she was really going to hurt my other two dogs, so I rehomed her to a farm with no pets, the man was retired ,alone, she is doing well with him, I wish her well ,I miss her ,she was 11 months old when I let her go,
    my dogs are safe now. I wish I knew what caused this aggressiveness in her.

  • Wendy
    Wendy West Midlands uk
    Nov 13 2021 3:30 PM
    As horrific as it is to read your comments I feel much better knowing this is a common. Occurrence. My xl bully killed my elderly SBT last week. She hates him from the second we got the bully as a pup this year and growled at him all the time. He basically grew up and realised he didn’t need to put up with it and dived on her and basically got her main artery in her neck. The worst part was I couldn’t get him off her and feel traumatised By all the blood. I am trying to like him but it’s hard knowing what he’s done despite trying to except he’s a dog and His behaviour is different to humans.

    As horrific as it is to read your comments I feel much better knowing this is a common. Occurrence. My xl bully killed my elderly SBT last week. She hates him from the second we got the bully as a pup this year and growled at him all the time. He basically grew up and realised he didn’t need to put up with it and dived on her and basically got her main artery in her neck. The worst part was I couldn’t get him off her and feel traumatised By all the blood. I am trying to like him but it’s hard knowing what he’s done despite trying to except he’s a dog and His behaviour is different to humans.

  • Wyatt
    Wyatt Nevada
    Nov 18 2021 1:58 AM
    Yesterday me and my wife went out of town for a doctors appointment (day trip) and we had our 4 dogs in their normal arrangements my 3 dogs who have been together for 7 years were all out in the dog room and our 2 year German shepherd (we raised from 8 weeks) was in her wire kennel, we only keep her in the kennel to keep her from chewing things up never aggression. She broke out of her kennel during the day and killed my 7 year old chihuahua/Yorker female who was the alpha of the pack and mutilated my baby.

    Yesterday me and my wife went out of town for a doctors appointment (day trip) and we had our 4 dogs in their normal arrangements my 3 dogs who have been together for 7 years were all out in the dog room and our 2 year German shepherd (we raised from 8 weeks) was in her wire kennel, we only keep her in the kennel to keep her from chewing things up never aggression. She broke out of her kennel during the day and killed my 7 year old chihuahua/Yorker female who was the alpha of the pack and mutilated my baby.

  • Kayla
    Kayla VA
    Nov 26 2021 11:45 PM
    I have a very sad story to tell. We had a male pitbull who was are whole world. We also had a male husky and German Sheppard mix they grew up together. My sister rented a apartment in our house and she had a miniature pin she was 11 years old. All the dogs got along the miniature was the boss of the house. Then we took in a rescue a me bully. Shortly after our male pit got hit by a car. He broke his lead and ran right into the road. Once he healed and had surgery on his leg he started fighting the male bully. I literally have pictures of these to snuggling in bed then to see them fighting was horrific. He then started fighting the husky mix because he was trying to break up the fight. Finally he had to be spereated from all the dogs because he literally bite the miniatures back open over a bite of food that someone dropped. So his life became isolated from the other dogs in the house. One day he was in our bedroom and the dogs where barking at something on the other side of the door. My husband walked past my male pit to get to the other side of the room and he attacked my husband. I mean didn't just bite him but mauled him I stepped in and grabbed his collar as I felt he was going to kill my husband. He turned and bite my arm once. He did let go on me though thank God! We did have to put him down unfortunately. We still are healing from the whole event he was literally our best friend and then he wasn't all in one second. Please take it serious I'd your animals are fighting. Sometimes the most humane thing to do is to rehome someone. Or if the situation escalates further euthanasia.

    I have a very sad story to tell. We had a male pitbull who was are whole world. We also had a male husky and German Sheppard mix they grew up together. My sister rented a apartment in our house and she had a miniature pin she was 11 years old. All the dogs got along the miniature was the boss of the house. Then we took in a rescue a me bully. Shortly after our male pit got hit by a car. He broke his lead and ran right into the road. Once he healed and had surgery on his leg he started fighting the male bully. I literally have pictures of these to snuggling in bed then to see them fighting was horrific. He then started fighting the husky mix because he was trying to break up the fight. Finally he had to be spereated from all the dogs because he literally bite the miniatures back open over a bite of food that someone dropped. So his life became isolated from the other dogs in the house. One day he was in our bedroom and the dogs where barking at something on the other side of the door. My husband walked past my male pit to get to the other side of the room and he attacked my husband. I mean didn't just bite him but mauled him I stepped in and grabbed his collar as I felt he was going to kill my husband. He turned and bite my arm once. He did let go on me though thank God! We did have to put him down unfortunately. We still are healing from the whole event he was literally our best friend and then he wasn't all in one second. Please take it serious I'd your animals are fighting. Sometimes the most humane thing to do is to rehome someone. Or if the situation escalates further euthanasia.

  • Deniese
    Deniese QLD
    Dec 9 2021 7:18 PM
    Hi we lost our beautiful little 12 month old English Staffy pup to his father and grandmother yesterday. We keep them in a divided room but yesterday a storm came up and the older two get very scared by storms and I can only assume have jumped the barracade and killed the younger dog in a frenzied attack I came home to most horrific scene I have ever witnessed. They where seperated because the older male his Dad had dominance issues with the young bloke my female his grandmother loved to play with him but would back her son so if he attacked she would join in. My husband is now broken as this was his beloved baby who helped him get over the loss of a previous precious boy. Now I'm grieving and trying to help him but he is wanting to end his life because he misses him do much. Plus we can't even look at the other two who I love so much.

    Hi we lost our beautiful little 12 month old English Staffy pup to his father and grandmother yesterday. We keep them in a divided room but yesterday a storm came up and the older two get very scared by storms and I can only assume have jumped the barracade and killed the younger dog in a frenzied attack I came home to most horrific scene I have ever witnessed. They where seperated because the older male his Dad had dominance issues with the young bloke my female his grandmother loved to play with him but would back her son so if he attacked she would join in. My husband is now broken as this was his beloved baby who helped him get over the loss of a previous precious boy. Now I'm grieving and trying to help him but he is wanting to end his life because he misses him do much. Plus we can't even look at the other two who I love so much.

  • Melody
    Melody Huntington Beach, CA
    Dec 27 2021 12:32 PM
    We just had an attack, all of a sudden from our older dog Stella ( Dalmatian/Boxer) age 10, 70 pounds, on our 37 pound, Scotty Terrier mix, Lilee 5 years old who has always been very submissive to to older dog and was asleep when this happened. I was right there. Stella and Lilee share a toddler bed next to mine, not at the same time and have never had a problem, Stella was on my bed and Lilee in the toddler bed. Stella stood up up so Lilee stood up to get down as is what they do as Lilee knows that means Stella wants on the bed,as she she started to get down Stella jumped her and grabbed her by the throat. I got Stella to release pretty quickly but still Lilee was hurt with a large gang puncture in her neck. Luckily I have worked with wild and domestic animals for 45 years so I tended my sweet girl and went to my other sweet girl. Who was so confused as what happened. Please watch for all body language and all language after an episode of any walk by "talk" to each other.

    We just had an attack, all of a sudden from our older dog Stella ( Dalmatian/Boxer) age 10, 70 pounds, on our 37 pound, Scotty Terrier mix, Lilee 5 years old who has always been very submissive to to older dog and was asleep when this happened. I was right there. Stella and Lilee share a toddler bed next to mine, not at the same time and have never had a problem, Stella was on my bed and Lilee in the toddler bed. Stella stood up up so Lilee stood up to get down as is what they do as Lilee knows that means Stella wants on the bed,as she she started to get down Stella jumped her and grabbed her by the throat. I got Stella to release pretty quickly but still Lilee was hurt with a large gang puncture in her neck. Luckily I have worked with wild and domestic animals for 45 years so I tended my sweet girl and went to my other sweet girl. Who was so confused as what happened. Please watch for all body language and all language after an episode of any walk by "talk" to each other.

  • Devastated
    Devastated FL
    Jan 2 2022 2:24 AM
    12 hours ago, my 3.5yo Golden Doodle killed our 8ish yo (she was a rescue) mini doxie. I’m a mess. We are all a mess. I have three teenaged daughters. One with special needs. Our doodle has been amazing with her. Not a true emotional support dog, but she behaved like one just the same. And honestly, that was exactly the role we got her for. We had 3 other dogs when we brought home the doodle at just 7 weeks old. They are (now) a 13yo doxie, a 7yo Catahoula, and the doxie we just lost. For 3 years, we never once had an issue of any kind. We are experienced pet owners, I stay home, we have a large piece of property. All was well. 6 months ago, I (and I will never forgive myself for this) brought home what was supposed to be a short term 4 month old foster pup. She was a mess of a dog. She had lived in the streets & didn’t even respond at first to human voices. I thought we could help. And Covid had us home so much. She changed the complete dynamic of our house almost instantly. Meals had to be separate. She was very malnourished. The foster tended to herd our mini doxie, although she had never hurt her. But shortly after the foster pup arrived, our doodle twice got into fights with the mini doxie. Both because of food. Both times the doxie had very minor wounds. This shocked me to my core, but was so out of her character. That was 4.5 months ago. Things had been so much better. The foster is calming down & learning manners. The doxie & the doodle seemed back to how they were. And then hours ago, my special needs daughter spilled mini marshmallows in the kitchen. My husband was in the shower. I was in the other room. My daughter screamed. I ran. I couldn’t get her off of the doxie. My husband ran out of the shower. He had to pry her jaws open. They wrapped her in a towel & drove straight to the vets. The vets worked on her for a few minutes, but there was nothing that could be done. They put her to sleep. I cannot stop the tears. And I feel so horrible. It’s all my fault. Everything changed when I brought in the foster pup. Who let’s face it, after 6 months is hardly still a foster. why did I do that? What is wrong with me to bring in yet another dog? what do I do now? Take the foster back to the SPCA (she wasn’t involved)? Get rid of the doodle who otherwise has been the best dog I’ve ever known & has helped my daughter so much she no longer needs meds? This is destroying me. My poor kids. My husband. We are all a wreck. I can’t even look at our doodle. And I can’t shake that it’s all my fault.

    12 hours ago, my 3.5yo Golden Doodle killed our 8ish yo (she was a rescue) mini doxie. I’m a mess. We are all a mess. I have three teenaged daughters. One with special needs. Our doodle has been amazing with her. Not a true emotional support dog, but she behaved like one just the same. And honestly, that was exactly the role we got her for. We had 3 other dogs when we brought home the doodle at just 7 weeks old. They are (now) a 13yo doxie, a 7yo Catahoula, and the doxie we just lost. For 3 years, we never once had an issue of any kind. We are experienced pet owners, I stay home, we have a large piece of property. All was well.

    6 months ago, I (and I will never forgive myself for this) brought home what was supposed to be a short term 4 month old foster pup. She was a mess of a dog. She had lived in the streets & didn’t even respond at first to human voices. I thought we could help. And Covid had us home so much. She changed the complete dynamic of our house almost instantly. Meals had to be separate. She was very malnourished. The foster tended to herd our mini doxie, although she had never hurt her. But shortly after the foster pup arrived, our doodle twice got into fights with the mini doxie. Both because of food. Both times the doxie had very minor wounds. This shocked me to my core, but was so out of her character. That was 4.5 months ago. Things had been so much better. The foster is calming down & learning manners. The doxie & the doodle seemed back to how they were.

    And then hours ago, my special needs daughter spilled mini marshmallows in the kitchen. My husband was in the shower. I was in the other room. My daughter screamed. I ran. I couldn’t get her off of the doxie. My husband ran out of the shower. He had to pry her jaws open. They wrapped her in a towel & drove straight to the vets. The vets worked on her for a few minutes, but there was nothing that could be done. They put her to sleep.

    I cannot stop the tears. And I feel so horrible. It’s all my fault. Everything changed when I brought in the foster pup. Who let’s face it, after 6 months is hardly still a foster. why did I do that? What is wrong with me to bring in yet another dog? what do I do now? Take the foster back to the SPCA (she wasn’t involved)? Get rid of the doodle who otherwise has been the best dog I’ve ever known & has helped my daughter so much she no longer needs meds? This is destroying me. My poor kids. My husband. We are all a wreck. I can’t even look at our doodle. And I can’t shake that it’s all my fault.

  • Jessica
    Jessica Miami
    Jan 2 2022 4:46 PM
    My french bulldog of 5 years had a c-section on dec. 31st and she killed 3 of her babies that night. And today (2 days later) she killed the last two that were kept away from her. We’re so torn and heartbroken over what to do. We were so excited about the newborns and now were left with broken hearts over what to do with our French bulldog. She’s shown aggression in the past but we NEVER expected for her to kill her own babies. Would love suggestions and advice

    My french bulldog of 5 years had a c-section on dec. 31st and she killed 3 of her babies that night. And today (2 days later) she killed the last two that were kept away from her. We’re so torn and heartbroken over what to do. We were so excited about the newborns and now were left with broken hearts over what to do with our French bulldog. She’s shown aggression in the past but we NEVER expected for her to kill her own babies. Would love suggestions and advice

  • Anon
    Anon West Virginia
    Jan 5 2022 12:20 PM
    We have three dogs, to mixed breed siblings that we have had since 10 weeks. Two years ago they ran off for 17 days and we truly believed they were stolen. We were so distraught at their loss we had decided to get another dog. We got a black lab who was 9 weeks at the time. All has been fine since. For Christmas this year we decided to get out son a puppy that would actually play with him, rather than ignore him like the others. Four days later we returned home from work to find him dead. No punctures, no sign of a fight, no sign of sickness. We were destroyed. A friend offered us another puppy in an attempt to make it up to our son who kept asking “where Ruger go?” We picked up the slightly younger German Shepard, and life was great, the lab would play with the puppy, share food and water bowls and we thought all was fine, still believing that Ruger’s death was an accident or underlying condition ( our vet did not offer an autopsy after his death). We had been extremely cautious with Oakley, the GSD, And had not left him unattended at all, even had cameras on his kennel while we were gone. Suddenly, after almost four weeks in the home one of the older dogs snapped and killed him on New Year’s Eve during a potty break. This time it was obvious it was a dog bite, but we have no idea which of the three it could have been, although we believe it was the lab. We are very concerned about the safety of our cats and our 2year old now this has happened twice within a month. We feel incredibly guilty and our hearts are in shambles after these two incidents in under a month.

    We have three dogs, to mixed breed siblings that we have had since 10 weeks. Two years ago they ran off for 17 days and we truly believed they were stolen. We were so distraught at their loss we had decided to get another dog. We got a black lab who was 9 weeks at the time. All has been fine since.
    For Christmas this year we decided to get out son a puppy that would actually play with him, rather than ignore him like the others. Four days later we returned home from work to find him dead. No punctures, no sign of a fight, no sign of sickness. We were destroyed. A friend offered us another puppy in an attempt to make it up to our son who kept asking “where Ruger go?”

    We picked up the slightly younger German Shepard, and life was great, the lab would play with the puppy, share food and water bowls and we thought all was fine, still believing that Ruger’s death was an accident or underlying condition ( our vet did not offer an autopsy after his death). We had been extremely cautious with Oakley, the GSD, And had not left him unattended at all, even had cameras on his kennel while we were gone. Suddenly, after almost four weeks in the home one of the older dogs snapped and killed him on New Year’s Eve during a potty break. This time it was obvious it was a dog bite, but we have no idea which of the three it could have been, although we believe it was the lab.

    We are very concerned about the safety of our cats and our 2year old now this has happened twice within a month. We feel incredibly guilty and our hearts are in shambles after these two incidents in under a month.

  • Nicole
    Nicole Sydney, Australia
    Jan 9 2022 9:44 AM
    I can’t get the words my neighbour said out of my head. “They’ve killed the pup!” We have 4 Labrador’s of various ages, 6,5,1 and 1. We got another Labrador from my mum only a month ago at 8 weeks old. On Saturday during the late morning at 12 weeks old she was mauled to death by 3 of our other labs, the 6 year old and the 1 year olds. Due to having sleepless nights with our baby and being on holidays from work, we were all napping when I woke up to massive banging on the front door. The first words out of my neighbours mouth were “they’ve killed the pup!”. I didn’t click at first of what he was talking about and thought someone’s dog got in our yard or maybe he said cat! But he kept repeating and then told me how he jumped my fence to try and save our puppy but it was too late, our own dogs killed our puppy. I was shocked and in a daze. I didn’t move very fast or say much. I walked with my neighbour through my house to the backyard and sure enough, there was our puppy dead on the ground. The neighbour flipped her over where blood was pouring out of a puncture hole in her rib. They had punctured her lung and she was already gone so I could do nothing to save her. I asked my neighbour the most stupid questions completely not realising that he was traumatised by the whole ordeal. I wanted to know exactly what he seen. I wanted to know exactly who did it. The answers I got were that they all did it, they were all going at her but my neighbour did say he was confused because my 5 year old lab was supposed to be up top and now she was in the bottom yard with everyone else. I asked him how she got there cause she can’t possibly jump the fence so I certainly don’t think she was apart of this. The neighbour told me he must have let her out when he dragged the puppy in to the top yard. I didn’t cry right away, I was in shock. These were Labradors for Christ sake! They are supposed to be family friendly dogs. I know in my mind exactly how this occurred and in hindsight know exactly how I could have prevented it but putting my trust in this ‘gentle’ breed, I was naive! 2 days have passed and I can’t look at any of my dogs the same way. They all look like vicious, horrible animals in my eyes and heart, even the one that was not involved because I know if she had the opportunity, she would have joined in. This much I know, my 6 and 5 year old have mauled a pup previously years ago, which is how we ended up with them as my mum gave them away to us after that. However, they are the sweetest, most loving dogs on their own and together. My 12 month olds, I just cannot believe they were apart of this. My 12 month old girl loved playing with the puppy and my 12 month old boy doesn’t, well didn’t seem to have a bad bone in his body. I look at them all now and want to be who I was with them before this incident 2 days ago but I can’t. I can’t pat them, rub them, talk nice to them or at all. I watched a YouTube video today of ‘dogs helping other dogs’ but all I could do was criticise each video in my mind “oh that dogs not helping him, it’s trying to attack him” etc. I can’t look at any dog the same now, realising all my life, the love from dogs is a lie. They don’t feel remorse for what they did, they just carried on afterwards like nothing happened. I knew the 6 year old and 5 year old had been carrying on at each other through the fence for a few days before this incident. I should have separated them further then. I even read the day before that fence aggression can turn into a fight with dogs from the same yard. Why didn’t I do something then. I should have moved my 6 year old to the last yard away from the 5 year old and completely seperate from the puppy. I should have told my husband I don’t care that the puppy will rip up his plants and put the puppy up top with us to keep her safe. This is all my fault. I have had dogs my whole life. I should have been more aware of their pack instincts. How do I get back to loving my dogs again? I know I can never trust them again, I will never let that guard down again but how do I learn to love them again. I know the older girls have gone at each other through the fence and the pup has got in the way where my 6 year old has turned on her and of course the pack instinct has kicked in where the other 2 have then joined in to kill our puppy! I feel terrible for our neighbour having to witness this and be apart of it and for not being awake and being there for our puppy to save her. I am so sorry Sarabi 😢

    I can’t get the words my neighbour said out of my head. “They’ve killed the pup!”
    We have 4 Labrador’s of various ages, 6,5,1 and 1.
    We got another Labrador from my mum only a month ago at 8 weeks old. On Saturday during the late morning at 12 weeks old she was mauled to death by 3 of our other labs, the 6 year old and the 1 year olds.
    Due to having sleepless nights with our baby and being on holidays from work, we were all napping when I woke up to massive banging on the front door.
    The first words out of my neighbours mouth were “they’ve killed the pup!”.
    I didn’t click at first of what he was talking about and thought someone’s dog got in our yard or maybe he said cat! But he kept repeating and then told me how he jumped my fence to try and save our puppy but it was too late, our own dogs killed our puppy.
    I was shocked and in a daze. I didn’t move very fast or say much. I walked with my neighbour through my house to the backyard and sure enough, there was our puppy dead on the ground. The neighbour flipped her over where blood was pouring out of a puncture hole in her rib. They had punctured her lung and she was already gone so I could do nothing to save her.
    I asked my neighbour the most stupid questions completely not realising that he was traumatised by the whole ordeal. I wanted to know exactly what he seen. I wanted to know exactly who did it.
    The answers I got were that they all did it, they were all going at her but my neighbour did say he was confused because my 5 year old lab was supposed to be up top and now she was in the bottom yard with everyone else. I asked him how she got there cause she can’t possibly jump the fence so I certainly don’t think she was apart of this.
    The neighbour told me he must have let her out when he dragged the puppy in to the top yard.
    I didn’t cry right away, I was in shock. These were Labradors for Christ sake! They are supposed to be family friendly dogs.
    I know in my mind exactly how this occurred and in hindsight know exactly how I could have prevented it but putting my trust in this ‘gentle’ breed, I was naive!
    2 days have passed and I can’t look at any of my dogs the same way. They all look like vicious, horrible animals in my eyes and heart, even the one that was not involved because I know if she had the opportunity, she would have joined in.
    This much I know, my 6 and 5 year old have mauled a pup previously years ago, which is how we ended up with them as my mum gave them away to us after that. However, they are the sweetest, most loving dogs on their own and together.
    My 12 month olds, I just cannot believe they were apart of this. My 12 month old girl loved playing with the puppy and my 12 month old boy doesn’t, well didn’t seem to have a bad bone in his body.
    I look at them all now and want to be who I was with them before this incident 2 days ago but I can’t. I can’t pat them, rub them, talk nice to them or at all.
    I watched a YouTube video today of ‘dogs helping other dogs’ but all I could do was criticise each video in my mind “oh that dogs not helping him, it’s trying to attack him” etc.
    I can’t look at any dog the same now, realising all my life, the love from dogs is a lie. They don’t feel remorse for what they did, they just carried on afterwards like nothing happened.
    I knew the 6 year old and 5 year old had been carrying on at each other through the fence for a few days before this incident. I should have separated them further then. I even read the day before that fence aggression can turn into a fight with dogs from the same yard. Why didn’t I do something then. I should have moved my 6 year old to the last yard away from the 5 year old and completely seperate from the puppy. I should have told my husband I don’t care that the puppy will rip up his plants and put the puppy up top with us to keep her safe.
    This is all my fault. I have had dogs my whole life. I should have been more aware of their pack instincts.
    How do I get back to loving my dogs again?
    I know I can never trust them again, I will never let that guard down again but how do I learn to love them again.
    I know the older girls have gone at each other through the fence and the pup has got in the way where my 6 year old has turned on her and of course the pack instinct has kicked in where the other 2 have then joined in to kill our puppy! I feel terrible for our neighbour having to witness this and be apart of it and for not being awake and being there for our puppy to save her.
    I am so sorry Sarabi 😢

  • Amy
    Amy Maine
    Jan 18 2022 3:35 PM
    I have 2 6 month old pit mix puppies and their mom who is 1.5 years old and a smaller dog that is 10. I left the house to return to a murder scene. The puppies and mom killed my older dog. Without too much details...there was blood everywhere. What do I do now? I am so lost. Please help.

    I have 2 6 month old pit mix puppies and their mom who is 1.5 years old and a smaller dog that is 10. I left the house to return to a murder scene. The puppies and mom killed my older dog. Without too much details...there was blood everywhere. What do I do now? I am so lost. Please help.

  • Alissa
    Alissa Pennsylvania
    Jan 31 2022 2:05 PM
    Hello, My family recently lost one of our dogs. They both were brothers. My one dog Jackson was more aggressive and possessive than my other dog cooper. Last night they fought over a bone and cooper lost his life. Now we just have Jackson and are not sure what to do with him.

    Hello,
    My family recently lost one of our dogs. They both were brothers. My one dog Jackson was more aggressive and possessive than my other dog cooper. Last night they fought over a bone and cooper lost his life. Now we just have Jackson and are not sure what to do with him.

  • Carlos
    Carlos California
    Feb 7 2022 12:19 AM
    Thank you for the information and all the people sharing their experiences. I was very concern about making a decision on my 1.5 yrs old German Shepherd. He killed my 7 yr old female boxer who wanted to be the boss of my the dog pack. He had attack her couple weeks ago, but I never though it would end-up this way since he meet her as a 12 week puppy. I was hoping he would see her as a companion, but dogs have animal instincts that can’t really be changed. I guess the attacks come with the package of owning a German shepherd or similar breeds. The German shepherd was the replacement of a Labrador who I hade for 12 yrs and NEVER showed killer behavior to my other 2 dogs. After reading this article, I see my self totally responsible for not looking up information before making decisions, I gonna keep my commitment I did with my dog and keep him to the end, but I will make better decision on selecting a dog breed in the future.

    Thank you for the information and all the people sharing their experiences.
    I was very concern about making a decision on my 1.5 yrs old German Shepherd.
    He killed my 7 yr old female boxer who wanted to be the boss of my the dog pack. He had attack her couple weeks ago, but I never though it would end-up this way since he meet her as a 12 week puppy. I was hoping he would see her as a companion, but dogs have animal instincts that can’t really be changed.
    I guess the attacks come with the package of owning a German shepherd or similar breeds. The German shepherd was the replacement of a Labrador who I hade for 12 yrs and NEVER showed killer behavior to my other 2 dogs.
    After reading this article, I see my self totally responsible for not looking up information before making decisions, I gonna keep my commitment I did with my dog and keep him to the end, but I will make better decision on selecting a dog breed in the future.

  • Amanda
    Amanda Oklahoma
    Feb 10 2022 3:54 AM
    Yesterday, I went to let my dogs inside and my 17 year old baby didn't come. I went to look. I found her. Screaming in pain, her neck with puncture wounds, covered in blood. I have 4 other dogs. They all get along fine. Only one had blood on him, not around his mouth, but spots in different places of his body. I don't have proof it was him...but I know it wasn't the others. I live in the country but have a secure fence. I blame myself. I didnt protect her! I had to put her down due to extensive injuries. Now I have to find this dog a home and he's gonna think I don't love him! I have a 2 year old and 3 other dogs. I'm scared to keep him. I can't get her "help me" eyes out of my head! I didn't save her. She didn't deserve this. I dont understand what happened. I'm sick. It hurts. I failed her.

    Yesterday, I went to let my dogs inside and my 17 year old baby didn't come. I went to look. I found her. Screaming in pain, her neck with puncture wounds, covered in blood. I have 4 other dogs. They all get along fine. Only one had blood on him, not around his mouth, but spots in different places of his body. I don't have proof it was him...but I know it wasn't the others. I live in the country but have a secure fence. I blame myself. I didnt protect her! I had to put her down due to extensive injuries. Now I have to find this dog a home and he's gonna think I don't love him! I have a 2 year old and 3 other dogs. I'm scared to keep him. I can't get her "help me" eyes out of my head! I didn't save her. She didn't deserve this. I dont understand what happened. I'm sick. It hurts. I failed her.

  • Glena
    Glena Oklahoma
    Feb 12 2022 12:26 PM
    Woke up this morning to find that our dogs had killed our other dog some time during the night. We have a doggy door and they go in and out throughout the night. We have several rescues of all ages and sizes. And often have foster dogs for short periods. This group has been together for 3 to 6 years with the exception of the youngest who is now a year old and been here since he was a puppy. Our 3 year old female Pyrenees mix had been overly interested in our 6 year old female mini Aussie the last few weeks but no aggression. After reading other post, I realize we missed the signs that there was trouble brewing and that’s probably where the incident started with over stimulation barking at something overnight. We also have a very large (100lbs) male mixed breed that is a year old and beginning to show some lip curling at the other dogs. Guessing that he joined in on the fight too. Our little older jack Russell also had blood on his shoulders but not sure if that was during or after. I’m so upset that they mauled Sadie to death. She was so sweet and tried to avoid any commotion. I’m at a loss of what to do…do I euthanatize the aggressors or rehome them to single dog homes? How do I protect my other older dogs (16 and 17 yr old jack Russells, 7 yr. Old lab)? I am heartbroken and guilty over the way she died, so brutally and all alone. At a loss about how to manage the dogs going forward….

    Woke up this morning to find that our dogs had killed our other dog some time during the night. We have a doggy door and they go in and out throughout the night. We have several rescues of all ages and sizes. And often have foster dogs for short periods. This group has been together for 3 to 6 years with the exception of the youngest who is now a year old and been here since he was a puppy. Our 3 year old female Pyrenees mix had been overly interested in our 6 year old female mini Aussie the last few weeks but no aggression. After reading other post, I realize we missed the signs that there was trouble brewing and that’s probably where the incident started with over stimulation barking at something overnight. We also have a very large (100lbs) male mixed breed that is a year old and beginning to show some lip curling at the other dogs. Guessing that he joined in on the fight too. Our little older jack Russell also had blood on his shoulders but not sure if that was during or after. I’m so upset that they mauled Sadie to death. She was so sweet and tried to avoid any commotion. I’m at a loss of what to do…do I euthanatize the aggressors or rehome them to single dog homes? How do I protect my other older dogs (16 and 17 yr old jack Russells, 7 yr. Old lab)? I am heartbroken and guilty over the way she died, so brutally and all alone. At a loss about how to manage the dogs going forward….

  • Angela
    Angela Idaho
    Mar 11 2022 5:39 PM
    I have 3 rescue dogs and have had them for just about 5 years. Rat terrier, the oldest, min pin mix, middle, and a 3 year old teacup Chihuahua. I came home from work on Monday evening to see blood all over my living room. Needless to say my teacup had to be put to sleep. Diagnosis lacerated liver. The coulpret was my rat terrier. I can barely stand to look at him. I take him and my min pin outside and he is wagging his tail and happy. He has never done anything like that to my min pin, probably because she is female. My tea cup was a male. I am really having feelings I never emagined I could have towards my dog. Broken hearted!

    I have 3 rescue dogs and have had them for just about 5 years. Rat terrier, the oldest, min pin mix, middle, and a 3 year old teacup Chihuahua. I came home from work on Monday evening to see blood all over my living room. Needless to say my teacup had to be put to sleep. Diagnosis lacerated liver. The coulpret was my rat terrier. I can barely stand to look at him. I take him and my min pin outside and he is wagging his tail and happy. He has never done anything like that to my min pin, probably because she is female. My tea cup was a male. I am really having feelings I never emagined I could have towards my dog. Broken hearted!

  • Day
    Day Pennsylvania
    Mar 22 2022 9:37 PM
    Hi, Recently my 3 year old boxer mix killed my yorky 8 years old. I been traumatized cause of it. They had gotten in fights before and I was very concerned cause she was getting more aggressive towards him. That day I found someone to adopt my yorky, after being together for 3 years the last hour I figure to let them out to the patio and take him and that's all it took. She just jumped at him. I tried my best with all my strength to get him out of her mouth but she was so strong. I felt so hopeless. I got lacerations on my fingers cause during the struggle she bit me too. That day I was alone, usually there's someone home to help me separate them. But usually the fights were just normal, nothing like what I witness that day. It was out of nowhere, no food, or toy. She just attacked him. What I feel bad is that I should had adopted him the first time that happened and I would had prevented it. In my mind I never thought she would get to that point. She's a very sweet, loving dog. It all shock me and still hard to get over that. They were best buddies so it just doesn't make sense to me. I have had dogs my whole life and I have never witnessed anything like it. At one point I had 3 dogs and they all got along just fine. At the moment my stepson took the mix boxer, I just couldn't do it. He doesn't have any other pet. This had scar me for life, at the present moment I can't be around any dog.

    Hi, Recently my 3 year old boxer mix killed my yorky 8 years old. I been traumatized cause of it. They had gotten in fights before and I was very concerned cause she was getting more aggressive towards him. That day I found someone to adopt my yorky, after being together for 3 years the last hour I figure to let them out to the patio and take him and that's all it took. She just jumped at him. I tried my best with all my strength to get him out of her mouth but she was so strong. I felt so hopeless. I got lacerations on my fingers cause during the struggle she bit me too. That day I was alone, usually there's someone home to help me separate them. But usually the fights were just normal, nothing like what I witness that day. It was out of nowhere, no food, or toy. She just attacked him. What I feel bad is that I should had adopted him the first time that happened and I would had prevented it. In my mind I never thought she would get to that point. She's a very sweet, loving dog. It all shock me and still hard to get over that. They were best buddies so it just doesn't make sense to me. I have had dogs my whole life and I have never witnessed anything like it. At one point I had 3 dogs and they all got along just fine. At the moment my stepson took the mix boxer, I just couldn't do it. He doesn't have any other pet. This had scar me for life, at the present moment I can't be around any dog.

  • Anonymous
    Anonymous ID
    Mar 31 2022 2:39 PM
    I’ve had five dogs for sometime now. An old guy I had as a puppy and four rescues. Three males including the old guy and two females. My husband wanted this puppy. So we get this rambunctious puppy. I’ve watched very carefully and once she gets out of line they will snap at her, not bite and she will stop what she’s doing. Then last night this horrible commotion started when my husband was sleeping. The puppy was screaming and I could hear snarling and snapping. I ran down stairs to the kitchen where the puppy ran. I scooped her up then in runs my smallest male. He jumps up and grabs her tail jerking her out of my arms. Then he grabbed her neck in his mouth and started shaking. Now she is almost his size. The other dogs get excited and one was going to jump in. How can I prevent and stop this from happening again. I feel like I’ve failed them.

    I’ve had five dogs for sometime now. An old guy I had as a puppy and four rescues. Three males including the old guy and two females. My husband wanted this puppy. So we get this rambunctious puppy. I’ve watched very carefully and once she gets out of line they will snap at her, not bite and she will stop what she’s doing. Then last night this horrible commotion started when my husband was sleeping. The puppy was screaming and I could hear snarling and snapping. I ran down stairs to the kitchen where the puppy ran. I scooped her up then in runs my smallest male. He jumps up and grabs her tail jerking her out of my arms. Then he grabbed her neck in his mouth and started shaking. Now she is almost his size. The other dogs get excited and one was going to jump in. How can I prevent and stop this from happening again. I feel like I’ve failed them.

  • Tanja
    Tanja Germany
    Apr 3 2022 4:53 AM
    It just happened 3 days ago . My 1 1/2 years female husky , killed my sheltie (12), when I was not in the same room . It happened in seconds , it was awful , I had to hold my soulmate in my arms , bleeding to death . Since than, I’m searching for answeres ! Your blog here helped a lot . But what now . I never want that to happen again , but will she be no one of these dogs , where I always have to watch out , when a smaller dog is around us ?

    It just happened 3 days ago . My 1 1/2 years female husky , killed my sheltie (12), when I was not in the same room . It happened in seconds , it was awful , I had to hold my soulmate in my arms , bleeding to death .

    Since than, I’m searching for answeres ! Your blog here helped a lot .
    But what now . I never want that to happen again , but will she be no one of these dogs , where I always have to watch out , when a smaller dog is around us ?

  • Ally
    Ally Illinois
    Apr 11 2022 7:20 PM
    My chihuahua got killed by his older sister. She weights 49 lbs but they have always gotten along. What happened there was lots of commotion in the house, there were three other dogs visiting and my chihuahua did not liked one of them. My chihuahua started fighting and all the commotion started, his sister got overwhelmed/excited and grab him shake him all three adults just went crazy. I grab the chihuahua but it was too late. My question and guilt on this was my big girl at fault. I am saying that at this moment I am grieving my chihuahua, do not know what to think or feel about my big girl. I know as an owner I am responsible and yes I saw the signs from before when both got excited and how one end up in the hospital and the other on punishment. Where do I go from here? I just need some answers, thanks. P.S you can be harsh is part of life and learning

    My chihuahua got killed by his older sister. She weights 49 lbs but they have always gotten along. What happened there was lots of commotion in the house, there were three other dogs visiting and my chihuahua did not liked one of them. My chihuahua started fighting and all the commotion started, his sister got overwhelmed/excited and grab him shake him all three adults just went crazy. I grab the chihuahua but it was too late. My question and guilt on this was my big girl at fault. I am saying that at this moment I am grieving my chihuahua, do not know what to think or feel about my big girl. I know as an owner I am responsible and yes I saw the signs from before when both got excited and how one end up in the hospital and the other on punishment. Where do I go from here? I just need some answers, thanks. P.S you can be harsh is part of life and learning

  • Helena
    Helena Edmonton, Canada
    Apr 16 2022 11:49 PM
    I want to preface this by thanking everyone who shared their heartbreaking stories. My heart is with all of you who lost your precious fur babies. I have an 11 year old rescue Boston Terrier. He is blind, and fixed. His previous life was him being used as a bait dog for dog fighting. I have had this little guy for seven years. I have attempted so many times to socialize him with other dogs. Except for one shihtzu, it's never worked out. The other dog tries, my BT gets too afraid. At times, attempts to dominate. Within two to 20 minutes, the other dog snaps. Heck, I've had groups of dogs try to swarm him cutting through a dog park during a walk. Dogs lunge at their gate as we walked by. I had decided a few years ago just to leave him be. I keep him away from other dogs. He's old and I am just not wanting to deal with it. I deduced there is just something about my dog that other dogs hate. I work in real estate, I'm not a dog expert. Yesterday we drove six hours to visit my sister. She has a three year old chocolate lab/pit bull Cross. We had discussed her dog would stay in the yard during the visit. My bt has anxiety if he is locked up in a room or a crate. He's old and I just want him to be happy during his golden years. Nope, sis decided to try to force her dog on my dog. Like she is Caesar Milan. Yelling at me to shut up, I'm causing the anxiety. I'm asd, so I sometimes don't show the correct emotion. I wasn't anxious, I was angry. Her dog had a straight tail. Ears back. Huge eyes. I knew something was wrong. Deadly quiet. My bt walked into him, remember blind, her dog put my dogs head in his mouth! I lost my ever loving mind. I'm very happy to say I trusted my gut. My dog is fine. I checked out of my hotel the next morning and went home. My visit was cut short and after reading these comments I feel validated. I don't know why other dogs hate my dog, but I am fine keeping him isolated. Thanks again for sharing.

    I want to preface this by thanking everyone who shared their heartbreaking stories. My heart is with all of you who lost your precious fur babies.
    I have an 11 year old rescue Boston Terrier. He is blind, and fixed. His previous life was him being used as a bait dog for dog fighting.
    I have had this little guy for seven years.
    I have attempted so many times to socialize him with other dogs. Except for one shihtzu, it's never worked out. The other dog tries, my BT gets too afraid. At times, attempts to dominate. Within two to 20 minutes, the other dog snaps.
    Heck, I've had groups of dogs try to swarm him cutting through a dog park during a walk. Dogs lunge at their gate as we walked by.
    I had decided a few years ago just to leave him be. I keep him away from other dogs. He's old and I am just not wanting to deal with it. I deduced there is just something about my dog that other dogs hate. I work in real estate, I'm not a dog expert.
    Yesterday we drove six hours to visit my sister. She has a three year old chocolate lab/pit bull Cross. We had discussed her dog would stay in the yard during the visit. My bt has anxiety if he is locked up in a room or a crate. He's old and I just want him to be happy during his golden years.
    Nope, sis decided to try to force her dog on my dog. Like she is Caesar Milan. Yelling at me to shut up, I'm causing the anxiety. I'm asd, so I sometimes don't show the correct emotion. I wasn't anxious, I was angry.
    Her dog had a straight tail. Ears back. Huge eyes. I knew something was wrong. Deadly quiet. My bt walked into him, remember blind, her dog put my dogs head in his mouth! I lost my ever loving mind.
    I'm very happy to say I trusted my gut. My dog is fine.
    I checked out of my hotel the next morning and went home. My visit was cut short and after reading these comments I feel validated. I don't know why other dogs hate my dog, but I am fine keeping him isolated.
    Thanks again for sharing.

  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Canada
    Apr 25 2022 9:31 AM
    These stories are heartbreaking but I feel some comfort in knowing others can relate to the trauma I went through yesterday with my dogs. I’m 31 and have had dogs my whole life. I’m not talking a dog here, a dog there. I was raised on a farm and have had SO. MANY. DOGS. I pride myself in knowing dog language really well and being able to bond with and train basically any dog you throw my way. Well, my 4 yr old standard poodle attacked and killed my 2 year old toy Aussie while I was out of the house. Came home to find this. I just stood there frozen and in shock for like 5 minutes. I couldn’t even move I was so shocked and confused. I still can’t even wrap my mind around it. This trauma is like none other because a) finding your beloved dog dead is traumatizing b) knowing you, and you only, are to blame for the fact that your sweet dog has to die this terrible death, and now having to try process and live with that guilt c) now having to deal with the emotions you feel towards your other dog and how to process loving them but also your anger towards them for killing your sweet dog My standard poodle is my soul dog. Like, out of the probably hundreds of dogs I’ve raised, this poodle is my #1. There’s something about her and our bond, I can’t put it into words but I love this thing more than I could ever express. But of course I have other dogs in the house, so now what? Having to find her a new home would be a whole new level of trauma for me. Ugh.

    These stories are heartbreaking but I feel some comfort in knowing others can relate to the trauma I went through yesterday with my dogs. I’m 31 and have had dogs my whole life. I’m not talking a dog here, a dog there. I was raised on a farm and have had SO. MANY. DOGS. I pride myself in knowing dog language really well and being able to bond with and train basically any dog you throw my way.
    Well, my 4 yr old standard poodle attacked and killed my 2 year old toy Aussie while I was out of the house. Came home to find this. I just stood there frozen and in shock for like 5 minutes. I couldn’t even move I was so shocked and confused. I still can’t even wrap my mind around it. This trauma is like none other because a) finding your beloved dog dead is traumatizing b) knowing you, and you only, are to blame for the fact that your sweet dog has to die this terrible death, and now having to try process and live with that guilt c) now having to deal with the emotions you feel towards your other dog and how to process loving them but also your anger towards them for killing your sweet dog

    My standard poodle is my soul dog. Like, out of the probably hundreds of dogs I’ve raised, this poodle is my #1. There’s something about her and our bond, I can’t put it into words but I love this thing more than I could ever express. But of course I have other dogs in the house, so now what? Having to find her a new home would be a whole new level of trauma for me. Ugh.

  • Nathan
    Nathan Nigeria
    May 16 2022 11:02 AM
    Still in shock today, my girl came around with her new pup, a six week old Lhasa apso girl, really small but very active. Well, we were just outside with her getting to introduce her to my other dogs and they kinda were all curious but didn’t harm her, cutting through to when I wanted to introduce her to the last dog, a 2year old German shepherd female, I opened up her cage and in that same second she got out and grabbed that pup by the head and did the bite and shake thing, this was so instant, I acted as fast as I could to grab her out of the Gsd’s mouth but it was too late, that pup was gone, this is kinda the most traumatizing thing that has happened to me in a long while, don’t know what to do with the GSD, don’t know what to say to my girl as it’s all so shocking, I just really wish I could turn back time.

    Still in shock today, my girl came around with her new pup, a six week old Lhasa apso girl, really small but very active. Well, we were just outside with her getting to introduce her to my other dogs and they kinda were all curious but didn’t harm her, cutting through to when I wanted to introduce her to the last dog, a 2year old German shepherd female, I opened up her cage and in that same second she got out and grabbed that pup by the head and did the bite and shake thing, this was so instant, I acted as fast as I could to grab her out of the Gsd’s mouth but it was too late, that pup was gone, this is kinda the most traumatizing thing that has happened to me in a long while, don’t know what to do with the GSD, don’t know what to say to my girl as it’s all so shocking, I just really wish I could turn back time.

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