Why would one of my dogs attack and brutally kill another dog he has lived with for nine years?

Question

I came home to find our 9 yr old mixed dog had attacked, tortured and killed Spencer, our 11 year old arthritic "gentle giant" who was 3 times bigger than the attack dog? The scene was the most horrible thing we have ever witnessed. These dogs are our babies and we had no idea this would ever happen!! Not only are we grieving and in shock but we are unable to get the image out of our minds of seeing how he suffered and eventually bled to death while we were at a neighbor's. What would cause a dog to attack his 'brother' like this??? (The attack did not stop with Spencer's death as there were huge clumps of his fur ripped out leaving open wounds that did not bleed.) Now in the midst of grieving for our precious baby we are also faced with what to do with the attack dog. We loved him for 9 years but are now unable to even look at him and can't stand the thought of what he has done completely unprovoked. any info or suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Yhank you

Thanks so much for your kind words! We're still unable to believe any of this happened but hope after the 'funeral' we can begin to heal. I wanted to let y'all know that Spence had recently been to the vet & aside from his arthritis was healthy. The attacker was examined today & is in good health too. Spencer was completely submissive or unable to fight back & didn't even scratch Dudley who's in a kitchen crate indefinitely til a decision is made as his fate. He shows no depression or remorse. I let him into the dining to see his reaction to where the attack(s) occured. I'm very dedicated to rescuing dogs who didn't have a good start in life & have promised each of mine I will love them unconditionally & never allow them to be hurt again, but wanted to kill him myself when he ran to where Spence died, and began urinating. He seems to have a sudden hate for Spence that lives on even after the killing. We have a behaviorist coming to evaluate him and what could have possibly happened.

Answer 1

OMG - What a horrible experience for all of you, including the attacker. I am not here to offer suggestions as to what could have provoked such a horrid situation, for I have no answer. I just had to send my condolences. Our pets are like our children, you have suffered a tremendous loss, and my heart goes out to all of you. If I could suggest anything, I think that I would have to put down the attacker. I would be fearful of what he would do to you or your husband for some freak reason as he did to Spencer. I would also hesitate to put him in someone elses home, for fear the same thing could happen to someone else. Also, I don't agree with an answer from earlier. Someone said "thats why you should never leave dogs alone" - thats a bit unrealistic, and it makes it sound as if its your fault because you left them alone. You didn't do anything wrong, please don't feel that way. I hope that your greiving is eased by remembering the great times you had with your pups. God Bless you all.

Answer 2

HIGH probability that it will attack other animals with serious consequences (possibly fatal). This dog should never be allowed around other animals UNLESS you can clearly see a difference in its behavior toward animals that it regards as friend and animals that it regards as prey. If there is any question about this, only a competent trainer can really tell you if that difference is distinctive enough for safety's sake. Without expert guidance, I would not recommend letting your dog near this other dog. The probability that this dog will attack PEOPLE is completely unknown based on this limited information. A dog's proclivity toward attacking a human and attacking another animal are largely unrelated. However, if this dog gives any indication whatsoever that it might attack a person I would be extremely concerned because of the fact that this dog clearly shows willingness to inflict serious damage. There is really a lot more I'd want to know to be able to truly assess the risks here (what kind of dog is this -- Corgi or German Shepherd? Is your dog of a comparable size or smaller or larger? Was the dog that was killed the same size or smaller or larger? Was it a predatory kill or a territorial kill? How long had the dogs been together at that time? Does the dog get along with other dogs in general? Were there ignored warning signs that he wasn't getting along with the killed dog? etc), but I'd keep my dog away to err on the side of safety.

Answer 3

First, allow me to offer my condolences on the loss of "your baby". I know that I would be in total shock over this horrible sight also. However, now that the damage is done (this is like closing the barn door after the horse is out, I know) but, if you REALLY need to know what happened--I assume that the burial of your dead
"baby" has already taken place so, call your vet, if you haven't already, and get the dog that did the attacking into the vet ASAP for a thorough check up to see if there is any under-lying reason (as in, is this dog actually sick with something?), and the vet may also need the remains of your deceased dog. If they are available (and the dog was not cremated), an autopsy can be run on this dog to see if this one was sick, totally unknown to you. Since you were not there at the actual time of the attack, you are "assuming" that this attack was totally unprovoked when, in fact, it may not have been.
There was definately something very wrong with one of these dogs, but you cannot know for sure which one, without a total work-up being done on both. If you can afford this, and absolutely HAVE to know what happened, then both dogs would have to be examined. If, in fact, there is something wrong (some kind of injury, a form of cancer, etc. that you never knew about) with the living dog, in my opinion, the answer is simple--put him down. If your vet cannot find anything wrong with this dog, then you have a big decision to make: If you really can't stand the sight of him anymore then you can do an owner-surrender at your local shelter or the SPCA. If the remains of the deceased dog are not available for autopsy and the living dog checks out fine, perhaps the attack actually
WAS provoked--but this is something you will never know for sure. In the meantime, please do NOT ABUSE your remaining dog---as you do NOT (and never will, unless a full work up is done on both dogs) know all the facts that lead up to this attack. You did not mention the mixed breeds of each of these dogs which would also be a factor in this as all breeds "age" differently, and both of these dogs were to the "senior citizen" status. I hope this may help you out a little from an informational status only. I am fully aware that NOTHING will help you with your grief--perhaps a little counselling (grief counselling) could be beneficial to you. This is NO joking matter, I know. Un-like some people who say "oh well, they're only dogs...." well, NO THEY AREN'T--
these were "your babies", "your kids", and part of your family and I just feel so bad for you. I wish you good luck in either surrendering this attack dog to the pound/shelter or having him put down, whatever your decision is. Be advised though, the SPCA may NOT take this dog as they are very "choosy" as to who they will/won't accept, and if you are going to do a surrender, you'll have to be honest about the reason. You may not have an option as to what to do with him, as the shelters are also getting more restricted on what kind of dog is placeable or not. Do NOT continue to "beat yourselves up" over a situation that you did not wittness and had no control over--this is not healthy for YOU--it only makes it worse if you start pointing fingers and playing the "blame-game". My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Answer 4

For one, you don't know that it was unprovoked. The arthritic dog may have snapped first. Dogs in pain will do that sometimes. It's impossible to know, since nobody was home. Unless the dogs were locked inside with no doggy door, you can't even be certain that another animal didn't inflict the injuries.

Dogs don't torture. They only act the way they know how. I've seen dog fight injuries and sometimes dog slashes just don't bleed much, because the loose skin folds back. Perhaps the injuries weren't postmortem like you think.

I would definitely take the dog to the vet to see if there's something medically wrong. There are a lot of possibilities, including a brain tumor.

Good luck and I'm sorry for your loss.

Answer 5

I am so sorry for your loss. As these dogs are like children, you may have to treat it the same way you'd treat your remaining child. You wouldn't put your remaining child down or give him to a new home, so it's unrealistic to give your dog away or put him to sleep.

Y'all weren't there and don't know what happened. Do y'all have a doggie door? Animals that grow up in the same house for year's do not just snap and kill their companion. The older, larger dog would have attempted to protect himself. Is it possible that some type of wild animal came into the house while you were away and the older dog was defending his younger sibling from attack, paying the ultimate price. It sounds like the actions of a feral animal, not that of a domesticated animal. Any blood that ended up on your remaining dog could very well have come from him trying to comfort/revive his brother. What has been the other dogs reaction to the events? Is he depressed? Showing signs of trauma?

You have already lost one of your loved ones. Are you willing to grieve for the other at the same time. Maybe like a family, you need to come together and grieve as one. I'd guess that no matter what happened, the other dog is miserable and does not understand why suddenly his loving and caring parents will not even look at him, much less comfort him in his grief.

Answer 6

Hi, firstly very sorry for your loss.

Can i please ask which breed of dog the 'attacker' was?
How do you know that the attack was unprovoked if you were at a neighbours? Has the 'attacker' ever shown these tendancies toward Spence or any other dog/person?

You said he has been checked over but which type of tests were done? Could it be a brain tumor?

Personally, if it were my dog I would have him put to sleep as its the unpredictability that would scare me. This is what poses a risk to other dogs in park etc Which in turn affects the relationship/lifestyle between you and your dog. He is obvously very territorial, marking...

Answer 7

oh you poor people, i grieve for you.
i had a similar experience in june 06, sitting in a car with 5 large dogs in the dark waiting for a friend. my female dog just went ballistic, and tried to kill my aging male.
i managed to get her mouth open and with effort get the van open and throw the others out while i held her.
she did calm down, but..if i had not been there i would have had the same ending as you came home to.
i gave her a second chance, after i had left my dog at the vet and gone to emergency!
she seemed fine, calm and well behaved, the next day, we went to a friends ,a dog barked over the fence and it was on again! did,nt know i could jump 6ft without help! i would suggest as my vet did when i took her for euthanasia, that a brain tumour is a possibility, also a natural and unfortunate thing with dogs is that the older dog does,nt want to give up his 1st position in the home /pack.
in a "normal" pack the aging and infirm are pushed out from food warmth etc and either starve or keep away and scavenge after all others. we upset that order. and sometimes our over-riding of you wait, show respect , etc just does not work!
also was the younger dog desexed? male egos are a bugger. i have 3 male deerhounds 1 desexed and aged, he was the one my female attacked. he was not her mate..or her pup=an outsider to her idea of her pack..she did not touch her 3 kids or her mate. and me, only cos i literally got in the middle, and yes thats not recommended, but i did it anyway and only had a few deep bites and a black eye, and i was lucky!
i still felt like not choosing euthanasia, but i would never have been able to relax.. in case. i mourn her passing in the circumstances she gave me 13 wondrous children, and we shared the birth and watching them grow,and i will never not feel bad. but i can sleep at night.
and
i was given my girl for the same reason..she had flattened another female at a prior home and the owner could,nt see her again, because she was too upset. i could,nt pass her on cos i did care about her well being, and that of others. so i made that hard choice.
i can only say that if you do,nt keep your dog..to what? and where? would he go, and maybe you doing the hard thing is better for both you and he in the end.
start fresh with a new pup when you can, i truly wish you hearts ease and solace, laurel

Answer 8

They were both old and grumpy.I really feel for you.That will take some time to get over.Maybe the older dog got mad at the other one and snapped at him and that set him off.Something did.Is he acting different now that he has killed?I have always heard that they do, but never seen it for fact.Take him to the vet and get him checked, maybe he has a sort of dementia that would cause that behavior.Sorry again for your loss.

Answer 9

I am sorry for your loss .but now you are faced with the decision as to what to do with your other dog the attacker ? Well in this sittuation I would absoloutley without a doubt put the other dog down as it has now tasted blood and will not hesitate to attack again if faced with the same sittuation . Would you want to subject another dog with the same possibility ? I dont think that I could knowingly do that . What if he decides to snap on one of your kids ? I think that you know in your mind what you must do . Once again I am sorry for your loss. good luck and I hope in time this horrible imagine leaves your mind and that of your familys.

Answer 10

This is awful please don't blame yourself. I'm not sure what may have happened here. Both of your dogs are geriatric and may have been loosing some of there senses....smell, sight, and mind. It hard to say what could've triggered it. Why do some elderly people act differntly than when they were younger? Now you must decide what you will do with other dog I think any answer you have to this is jusified.