Lab/Pitt attacked Maltese?

Question

My family has 2 dogs and 1 cat - Lab/Dalmation/Pitt mix (1 1/4 yrs) and a Maltese (6 yrs). Up until this point all of the animals have gotten along very well. We've always fed the dogs seperately to avoid aggression.

Yesterday, the lab mix had some food left in his dog bowl. He wasn't eating it, nor was he even near it. The maltese was out of his crate and went over to play with my sister. Suddenly, the lab mix mauled the Maltese. His first bit attempt missed, the maltese managed to growl and fight back, but the second bite attempt caught the maltese obviously causing damage. My sister was able to break the fight up and the Maltese was taken to the vet for stitching. When we brought the Maltese home the lab mix continued his aggressive behavior by growling and snarling at the Maltese.

The vet says that we need to get rid of the Lab mix since there's nothing that can be done. Does this sound right?

Thanks for your responses so far. Here's some details...

1) They are both males

2) The Maltese has always been a very dominant dog

3) I would NEVER put the Lab mix down, nor would I give him to an agency where this would happen. He gets along amazingly well with people, but this change in his behavior with the Maltese is sudden (and scary)

UPDATE 7/26/06---

The larger dog is currently undergoing training sessions and has been doing very well. As of now, we're working very hard to keep both animals and avoid any issues. Many thanks for all your advice.

Answer 1

You larger dog is making a bid to become the top dog. Feed the Maltese first, then wait for him to be finnished before feeding the other dog. Pet,let out of the crate and everything else with the Maltese first. That way, YOU are establishing the pecking order and maintaining it.

Answer 2

That is really sad. I would never want to trade places with you. You have a difficult decision to make. Dogs can live together just fine for a lifetime, but one day they may decide to kill each other. Dogs have little signals they give each other to let each other know that they are getting irritated. They do not usually go straight for a bite. Think back to the fight...was it really over food? If neither dog was near the food it was probably not the issue. Did one dog challange the other by staring, stiffening their body, leaning forward, holding their tail high, and their ears forward, and the corners of their mouth toward their nose? Did one progress to showing their teeth, then growling, then snapping, then an inhibited bite, then a hard bite, then a worse bite? There are certain steps they take, certain levels of arrousal, and if the other dog doesn't respond by backing down, they go to the next step, or back down themselves. How they react is determined by how much they care about being the boss dog. It can all happen in seconds, but there is order to it, and all dogs understand it, and people do to, if they do not want to get bitten themselves. If this all happened so fast that nobody realized the subtle warning signs, and so fast that nobody even knows what caused the fight, there is no way to predict when or why it may happen again. It could have been possession or food guarding (was one playing with a toy without the other's permission?), or his prey drive (was he playful at the time, he could have seen your sister playing with the little dog, and saw the little dog like a walking squeeky toy, that turned to protect itself), or one could have challenged the other's heirarchy by going through a doorway first, accepting attention before the boss dog,etc. The little dog may have actually started it. Try to figure out what started it, and whether there were warning signs the dogs demonstrated before the actual bite. If there wasn't, it will never be safe to have the dogs together in the same house. It could happen again at any time, and next time it may be deadly. Don't let anyone tell you that you have to put one down, or that you absolutely have to get rid of one. That is your decision. Neutering may help calm hormonal temperment issues, but now that they have fought there's already hard feelings that neither will forget. The fact that the lab is growling at the maltese and they are not fighting actually shows that they have resolved some of their conflict, if the maltese decides to growl back, though, there may be another fight. Consult a behaviorist!

Answer 3

Unfortunately that might be the case. Dogs can take a dislike to each other just like people do.
In this case the Lab is like a teenager who has realized that his parent (the Maltese) can't boss him around anymore. The Lab may settle down once he establishes dominance, the problem is that the Maltese may not want to give up dominance and fight him constantly. Not a good situation as you have seen.
Try obedience training for the Lab.
Try picking the dominant dog and favoring that one over the other. Sometimes that works.
Try keeping them apart for a little while. Maybe the Lab is just going through a phase.
Did the vet completely look over the maltese? Sometimes dogs attack sick animals.
I am assuming that both dogs are neutered, if they aren't, do so immediately. You can't solve this until they are fixed.
Good luck

Answer 4

You need to get a consultation with a behavorial trainer.
They need to come into the home and witness first hadn what is going on and how it happens.
You do not say if these dogs are the same sex. If so same sex aggression is very common. At a year and 1/4 your lab/pitt mix is just begining to come into his own and grow up. If he has aggression problems this is the time they will be starting.
If he is not neutered he should be.
Never feed together in the same room and always pick up food when done every last bit as even an empty bowl can cause a fight.
You will need to make it very clear to the lab this behavoir WILL NOT be tolerated by you and that the concenquences are going to be severe.
Have the trainer look at what is going on and make recommendations. If you wantto keep both dogs you may have to keep the seperate when you are not supervising them directly. Or you may feel that is it not fair for one to keep the aggressor. The best thing would be to have someone with expericne look at your situation and go from there.
I never take one side of the story and I want to see fisrt hand what is going on in the home as sometimes it is totally opsite from what theowner thinks it is.
Good luck to you and your pets.

Answer 5

Please consult with a behaviorist.

One of our dogs displays resource gaurding tendancies. When we brought our new dog home, we did as you were doing, feeding seperately etc.... About three weeks later, I brought a new toy home and wanted them both to play with it. My mistake, completely. The older dog attacked the younger and the younger had to go get stitches, just like your Maltese. Unlike your situation, when we brought the dog back from the hospital, the other dog was happy to see him and ever since then they've been the best of friends again. However, we still have to be careful when toys are around. My younger dog has learned to just back off when the older has a toy. If things get growly, all toys are immediately put away and no one gets anything. Yes, there is still a little growling and snarling sometimes. It's how dog's communicate.

A behaviorist can help you understand and deal with your lab mix's resource gaurding and food aggression. We now feed our dogs with their bowls right next to each other, though initially that would have been a recipe for disaster. The vet who says "there's nothing that can be done" is an idiot.

Answer 6

Tough situation. If the lab mix bites and mauls other dogs, who is going to want to adopt him? Unless you get a friend to adopt him into a home without other dogs or animals, the SPCA will probably find out he's a mauler. They do tests to see if the dogs they receive in will attack people or other animals...because it's irresponsible to adopt out a dog that could hurt others. Then they will put him to sleep.

So, if you love the lab mix more, it might be better to try to adopt out the maltese instead. That still leaves the cat -- and you never know if your lab mix will attack him sometime. It's highly possible.

Another option, depending on what your living situation is like, is to separate the animals at all times. For instance, if you had a two level house, the lab mix could be the upstairs dog and the maltese the downstairs dog.

Good luck. Not an easy decision.


EDIT:

FROST,
Really? Well then you'd better call Animal Planet and tell them to stop showing Animal Cops & the like. They regularly show ASPCA workers doing tests on dogs brought in. If they show food aggression or any other aggression in the tests, they are immediately put to sleep. Evidentally there's just not room or time to try to rehome these aggressive dogs.

Answer 7

You need to get rid of the lab mix. If you didn't want to put it down then you need to give it to owners with no other dogs. Your vet is right. There is nothing that can be done for behavior like that. Most owners would put their pets to sleep when aggressive behavior starts only b/c it will get worse. His next step might be people or someone Else's dog and in that case you will have a lawsuit on your hands. There is something wrong with the dog if it is just now being aggressive after all this time of getting along. Do the right thing!!!!!!!

Answer 8

First, Bonsylar, what in the world does "adsf" mean? If you don't know the answer, just say so!.

Now for my answer: This will get all the "Pit Lovers" in an uproar, but yes, get rid of the mix. A Pit Bull's brain is not wired like a normal dog. Apparently, it doesn't have to be a purebred pit to have the same tendencies. You're very lucky that he didn't attack your sister as well. He will eventually kill your Maltese, who is the innocent victim here. If you give the mix away, you MUST warn whoever takes him of his history. It would probably be best all around if you just have him put down. He's tasted blood now and he'll never be the same again. He'll just get more aggressive and eventually turn on humans.

Answer 9

Okay. This is a tough subject, and I've been through it myself, so bear with me...

The large dog is displaying unacceptable behavior. Unacceptable in the fact that he may eventually turn that aggressive behavior towards others. He definitely needs immediate, professional training. Or, you would have to keep them apart for the rest of their lives... Taking turns in crates, with the big dog in a quiet room out of sight of the little dog, and hope and pray that he never directs it toward anyone or anything else.

As your vet said, I would personally get rid of the mix. It sounds cold-hearted, but that is a dangerous thing to have happening in your home. How you choose to do that, *if* you do it, is totally up to you. There may be someone willing to take him in and train him, that does not have any other pets. Just be sure that if you do take him to a shelter, you *tell them* that he has this problem, so they can mark him as such.

I'm not going to preach breeds here, but that is quite a mix. There's not just one aggressive dog in that mix, but two. Whatever you choose to do, best regards to you and your family...

Edit: Nanny, we are very much "Pit Lovers" here, and we agree with you, mostly... They are a very particular breed, and need to be handled as such. *BUT* don't forget that Dalmatians are biters, too. Some of these aggressive dogs really are only animal aggressive, and that judgement can't be made over an internet connection. The dog *may* turn on them, and it *may not*. It is likely to continue charging the other dog, however. The choice of taking that risk or not is up to the OP.

Answer 10

I doubt this is a problem that can be fixed. That doesn't mean you shouldn't try by consulting a trainer or behavior professional. But in the mean time, keep them separated!
What I wanted to stress to you is how dangerous it is to break up a dog fight. Please do some research on the best methods for your situation. I've had to break up some pretty bad fights over the years and the method that works best for me is to have another person help you. Throw blankets over the dogs heads and drag them out from behind by their back legs. Drag them swiftly to different rooms and close the door or they will go back at it as soon as they see eachother. But this doesn't come without risk. A dog in a fight will lash out at you no matter how much he loves you. I had my arm literally snapped like a twig by a 70 lb. Lab while I was breaking up a fight. I did everything "right" and he still turned on me. This is a serious situation and your vet may be right.