Guest lynne893 Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Hi, I'm just writing to get it off my chest. We were away this weekend visiting family and had our two greys in a kennel (that we've used before). They share an enclosure together, since they seem to be very attached and close. We got a call last night while we were still away saying that they got into a fight and that swiftie had to be taken to the e-vet because she had multiple bite wounds on her face, ear, head and neck. It really took us by surprise because we always thought she was the dominant one (she's the one always giving Greta a warning growl if she's resting and greta walks too close). Who knows what happened. The kennel attendant said she was in the area attending to another dog when she heard them start fighting. Greta has a small wound of broken skin and a red mark on her neck, but is otherwise ok. Swiftie has at least 4-5 open wounds. The e-vet wanted to put her under to probe last night, check for further injuries, and clean the wounds. Being out of town, we just didn't feel comfortable having her under anesthesia, so we asked to wait until we could get home this morning and take her to her regular vet. They cleaned her a little last night and gave her antibiotics and pain meds and today, our reg vet said it would have been better to have all the stuff done last night, now we're just giving her pain meds and antibiotics and taking her in for a check-up on Saturday to see how she's healing. they seem ok around each other tonight, but now of course i'm a little nervous to leave them alone together, esp since swiftie is probably on edge since she's injured. ughghghghghhhhh..... Lynne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest StriderDog Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Poor pups and poor you! Don't be too hard on yourself - there was no way for you to anticipate that this would happen. Just know that each dog needs their own run the next time you leave town. If they've never had a problem before, maybe it was the close quarters that made them fight - I know if I was together with someone where there wasn't much space, no matter how much I liked them, I'd probably be grumpy too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lynne893 Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 It's so hard that we don't know what led them to fight. I wish we knew definitively so that we could be absolutely sure we avoided it, but you're right-- no more single kennel for them both! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaryJane Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 You might want to think about what else might have happened rather than taking what was said as the total story. As much as I don't like to say it, sometimes people don't tell the truth (or leave things out, change details) especially if they might be liable in some way. This is not to say that it's not the truth but, take it with a grain of salt. See if you can talk to the place again and take some detailed notes. Was there just one kennel worker in the whole building at the time? Where were the dogs, were they in their kennel or were they put into a run? Were other dogs out? What time of day was it? What routine was going on - being fed, getting let out, wash up time? What were the girls doing before the incident? How old is the help at the kennel - do they seem responsible? What else might have happened ... they were taking the girls to a run and another dog got out (cage wasn't latched securely) and attacked them. I hope they are both OK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kudzu Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 It can be hard to know what's best. Some dogs would prefer to be together & others separate. Now you know to ask for adjoining runs rather than them sharing. So sorry you found out this way. Don't be too hard on yourself or either of your pups. These things happen though. kennels no matter how well run are stressful places. That can put even the best friends on edge. Can you use an xpen or baby gate to separate the girls when you aren't there to supervise? Regardless of the cause of the injuries Swiffer may be more defensive than usual. Ensuring they each have their own space may be safer during recovery. We have 3 dogs living on one floor of a small home. it's all nice & cozy usually. When someone is sick or injured we often decide to use xpens to subdivide the area. Often we just put the pen around or very close to a dogs normal sleeping spot. Heck, for resident dogs, not fosters, we use just a 24" xpen with the ends resting against but not attached to the walls. Amazingly they don't try to get out. It still surprises me, especially considering their jump height in agility class is 24". Nut we come home to find dogs excitedly dancing around behind the short barrier. "Yeah you're home. Let me out." lol Hope the healing goes smoothly & everyone can relax soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racindog Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 You might want to think about what else might have happened rather than taking what was said as the total story. As much as I don't like to say it, sometimes people don't tell the truth (or leave things out, change details) especially if they might be liable in some way. This is not to say that it's not the truth but, take it with a grain of salt. See if you can talk to the place again and take some detailed notes. Was there just one kennel worker in the whole building at the time? Where were the dogs, were they in their kennel or were they put into a run? Were other dogs out? What time of day was it? What routine was going on - being fed, getting let out, wash up time? What were the girls doing before the incident? How old is the help at the kennel - do they seem responsible? What else might have happened ... they were taking the girls to a run and another dog got out (cage wasn't latched securely) and attacked them. I hope they are both OK. Mary Jane is right. That's the first thing I thought -some sort of hanky panky- maybe they put another dog or dogs in with them even. It happens- many of them just really don't care about your dogs and think they know better than you how to handle them. The type incident Mary Jane described I have eye witness knowledge of happenning at a kennel I worked at once. You don't know what happened and they sure arn't going to tell you. Just hope they both get well and over their harrowing experience asap! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest KennelMom Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 (edited) Dogs 101: Any change in routine can be stressful or scary to dogs...and stress or fear can manifest as aggression. When I ran my boarding kennel, I never kept dogs in the same run. It's asking for trouble, IMO. Next to each other, sure. But in a confined space, in a new and unfamiliar place with new/different sounds and people? Probably a lot of other dogs barking and nervous dog energy...Throw in the nature of a greyhound that tends to thrive on routine and predictability and you never know what can happen. It's definitely more likely that the fight was actually between your two dogs and not that the staff is lying to you. FWIW, the only time we've had fights in our pack is with a significant change in routine...once when we returned from out of town and the pack had been split up for several days, then reunited and left alone. The second time when we changed their feeding routine from the detached garage to the kennel building and, again, they were unattended for a short period. Tiffs happen. Dogs aren't robots and they think and react in ways that we don't always predict. It's no one's fault, just the nature of dogs. The thin skin just makes little tiffs a much bigger deal than thicker skinned/furred breeds. Sounds like everyone will be ok and I'm sure once they settle in back home all will be back to normal. Edited October 25, 2011 by KennelMom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wonder Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 I'm sorry your girls got into a fight. I would just muzzle them if they are together when you aren't home. Passion has space aggression and bit Sparks a few years ago when he was walking past her minding his own business. Now they are all muzzled when I'm not home. Quote Kari and the pups.Run free sweet Hana 9/21/08-9/12/10. Missing Sparks with every breath.Passion 10/16/02-5/25/17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BrianRke Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 I have always heard you should never put two dogs in the same enclosure at a kennel. Even dogs that get along and live together are likely to fight in that situation. Imagine if you were locked in a cell with your brother or sister and couldnt get away from them. Do you think a fight or argument might happen? lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFullHouse Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 My guess is it was the stress of being boarded. New place, new people, a lot of new dogs and a lot of noise. That's enough to stress out even the most stable pair. Quote Judy, mom to Darth Vader, Bandita, And Angel Forever in our hearts, DeeYoGee, Dani, Emmy, Andy, Heart, Saint, Valentino, Arrow, Gee, Bebe, Jilly Bean, Bullitt, Pistol, Junior, Sammie, Joey, Gizmo, Do Bee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macoduck Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Do you know what size the kennel was? One of our adopters boarded their 2 greys in one kennel that measured 6' x 8'. They didn't think it would be a problem because the dogs always get along. One went home with 100 stitches, the other was dumped back with the group because " surely it was the instigator." Luckily that dog was re-homed and is fine. Quote Freshy (Droopys Fresh), NoAh the podenco orito, Howie the portuguese podengo maneto Angels: Rita the podenco maneta, Lila, the podenco, Mr X aka Denali, Lulu the podenco andaluz, Hada the podenco maneta, Georgie Girl (UMR Cordella), Charlie the iggy, Mazy (CBR Crazy Girl), Potato, my mystery ibizan girl, Allen (M's Pretty Boy), Percy (Fast But True), Mikey (Doray's Patuti), Pudge le mutt, Tessa the iggy, Possum (Apostle), Gracie (Dusty Lady), Harold (Slatex Harold), "Cousin" Simon our step-iggy, Little Dude the iggy ,Bandit (Bb Blue Jay), Niña the galgo, Wally (Allen Hogg), Thane (Pog Mo Thoine), Oliver (JJ Special Agent), Comet, & Rosie our original mutt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Amber Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 I guess some dogs would not fight and be OK together in a kennel, but you say that one of your dogs tends to growl at the other when she comes near her bed, so that kind of sounds like they already have space issues in their own home and the confinement and stress of the kennels tipped them over the edge. I would definitely be very careful with them when you get them home and probably separate them with a babygate and maybe muzzle too (if you don't go out for very long periods) when you go out and leave them. Hope they get on Ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LindsaySF Posted October 28, 2011 Share Posted October 28, 2011 Agreed with KennelMom and Amber. Hope she heals soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xan Posted October 28, 2011 Share Posted October 28, 2011 We had a similar incident at our vet's office. I agree with everyone here who says it's just not worth putting two dogs in a confined space, unattended particularly, without muzzles at least. Greyhounds just can't get away from normal dog-tangles without bloodshed, with their thin skin, but why risk any dog to this kind of stress? As to who was the aggressor, I'm developing a hypothesis that it's the aggressor who can be the most injured as it's the other dog who's fighting for his/her life after an initial attack, which might not leave the biggest mark. That's how I imagine it went in the case of my two dogs at the vet's. Pogo has been aggressive, and attacked Brilly in the past. I've seen how Brilly will try to avoid attack, but will defend himself impressively if cornered. I'm sure that's what happened in the kennel they were put into together. Like you, I was scared to death that all the work we'd done, all the progress we'd made towards peace between them would be destroyed, but we haven't had a single grumble since then. We still do all the things we've learned about managing and muzzling and training that have brought us this far, but none of that would have made my dogs safe under those circumstances. I hope your girls can move past this and heal psychically as well as physically, and that you are also able to let it slide into the past, only taking the lesson with you. Quote My Inspirations: Grey Pogo, borzoi Katie, Meep the cat, AND MY BELOVED DH!!!Missing Rowdy, Coco, Brilly, Happy and Wabi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lynne893 Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 Hi, thanks everyone! Both are doing well, Swiftie's wounds are healing very well, and they even seem to be getting along better than EVER! If anything, Greta has more confidence and Swiftie seems to "accept" Greta more (yeah, I guess I would too if I got my butt kicked!). They're doing really well and I've relaxed too. TY!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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