Aspen attacked by my sisters dog

[snowbunny]

@Beanwood,seeing as I know you like to get into the nitty-gritty, and since I mentioned the humane hierarchy, you might be interested in this article written last year by Susan Friedman about it, and proposed changes to it. She is a remarkable woman.
What Went Wrong With The Humane Hierarchy is Still Wrong With The Proposed Revisions - IAABC Journal

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

Very sorry for Aspen and Chester. ESPECIALLY for Chester. What a life to be regularly attacked in his own home for years and years. Not ok. They should have either worked with Maggie to create a safe place for Chester or barring that, re-homed Chester to a safe and loving home.

I agree with the others: the only thing you can really control here are your own actions. Aspen doesn't go around Maggie any more. That's sad but that's the way it has to be. It may wake your sister up to the situation so she does something or she may just continue to ignore it.

A good friend of mine had a dog who attacked my evil poodle Tavish. They had spent plenty of time together prior to that and the attack came out of the blue. I loved my friend's dog so much (she'd been my foster for six months) but I had to recognise that I could no longer let her be around my dogs unless my friend faced the issue and took active measures to work with her dog. She didn't. It was a sad situation but one I don't regret because another attack would have been on my head.

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

Again, as soon as we start labelling the behaviour as a property of the dog, we become helpless to change that behaviour. I think the genetic predisposition limits the possible breadth of normal behaviours, (that is, it's unlikely that an animal who is naturally wary of strangers will ever be the life and soul of the party), but that doesn't mean it's not possible to shift the current behaviours to something that's more appropriate. As long as you can identify the function of the behaviour, and give the animal another way to achieve that same function, then you're a large part of the way there.

Standing ovation!

One of my pet peeves is blaming the dog's puppyhood or previous life for current behaviour. It does the dog such a disservice. What I've seen over and over in rescues is that you can get past the environmental stuff with enough time. effort and putting the dog in an appropriate (for him) environment. The genetic stuff is harder.

Honestly, this morning, I lifted my foot to step over the long line which was a couple of inches above the floor, and Shadow cowered away from me as if he had been regularly kicked at some point in his life.

Brogan did stuff like this too, and I had him from 6 weeks old. He was terrified of brooms his whole life and I can assure you, no one ever beat him with one. Now that I know more about R+ I realise I could have worked with him on that, but where did it come from? Who knows...

 

[Aitch]

If your sister could be made to see what a bad situation both her dogs are in then she could seek help to put things right. That much is obvious. Maggie can be trained out of her aggressive and by not doing so she is doing both of those dogs a huge disservice. She is going to lose one or both of them eventually.
Alex took an enormous amount of training in the beginning but now he is a happy, relaxed boy. Maggie could be that happy and relaxed too.

 

[Atemas]

Just adding my two penny worth - I got upset reading your post to think that Chester lives in this situation - I think it’s cruel. Personally I would not take my dogs to this house whilst Maggie lives there

 

[JES72]

It’s horrible when people are fully aware there is a problem and then refuse to do anything about it. It’s also cruel for little Chester. I’d be keeping Aspen away, maybe that’s the only way your sister and bil will get the message that you are seriously concerned about their dog.

Going back to genetic predisposition or environment- oh boy there have been so many times I wish I could have said Homer was a rescue and his anxiousness was not my fault. I know it’s not really my fault (which the RVC behaviour vet explained sympathetically) but I still have a sense of guilt that I didn’t do better for him at the beginning of his fears.

 

[alschwahn]

Thank to everyone for the replies. I don’t mean to paint my sister as a bad person as she loves Chester dearly but her life with the dogs isn’t ideal right now. My brother in law is gone for half the year and my sister works 12-8 so it is just her with the dogs in an unideal situation. My sister wants to take Maggie out of the equation to ease Chester’s life but her husband isn’t willing to do anything about Maggie because she again is his baby. I am tempted to just take Chester until they figure out what to do with Maggie, but I feel badly for my sister because I know she will miss him a lot. Honestly the dynamics go a lot deeper than just the dogs, but I’ve kind of had the last straw with Aspen being bitten. They are on a vacation right now but we will see what they are going to do once they get home. My sister hasn’t even been able to respond to my text yet about Aspen being bitten but I think it will also be the last straw for her.

I don’t want Maggie to be put down because I do love her, but when you consider her quality of life (no walks, no dog play dates, etc.), she really isn’t “living”. The same goes for Chester; he can’t do anything because my sister feels guilty letting one dog go out but not the other. However I am worried she may attack even my sister one of these days.

 

[MellowYellow]

That sounds appalling, @alschwahn. I'm sure your sister is not a bad person at all, but this situation sounds like it has got out of hand. Perhaps the kindest thing you can do is really to suggest you take Chester? That way he would have a better quality of life - and in the meantime Maggie could then at least have the run of the house and the yard and not face being put to sleep. Unless of course she bites a human.

 

[Lisa]

Family dynamics are so difficult and I can only imagine that there are a lot of undercurrents going on here that we could only guess at.

But from the outside looking in, it’s clear that:
1)Maggie needs to be separated from Chester.

2)Aspen should not be exposed to Maggie.

It’s just cruel that poor Chester is being continually attacked. What on earth does the vet say about this situation, I wonder?

And your comment about Maggie maybe attacking your sister is frightening. She could be seriously injured.

 

[Beanwood]

That sounds appalling, @alschwahn. I'm sure your sister is not a bad person at all, but this situation sounds like it has got out of hand. Perhaps the kindest thing you can do is really to suggest you take Chester? That way he would have a better quality of life - and in the meantime Maggie could then at least have the run of the house and the yard and not face being put to sleep. Unless of course she bites a human.

Absolutely. It sounds very much like redirected aggression and really not fair on Chester, poor lad

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

I am tempted to just take Chester until they figure out what to do with Maggie, but I feel badly for my sister because I know she will miss him a lot.

Please do push for this if you feel up to having Chester. A temporary separation could help your sister see the situation more clearly. Not to mention be an absolute blessing (and maybe life-saver) for Chester.

I don’t want Maggie to be put down because I do love her, but when you consider her quality of life (no walks, no dog play dates, etc.), she really isn’t “living”.

This could be a huge part of why Maggie acts the way she does. A GSD is usually not a stay at home lounge in the sun and chill kind of dog. They love to work and get nutty when they don't. It's a very popular breed where I live in Spain and I've seen (or heard about) so many that are kept purely inside the garden walls and go out of their poor minds.

 

[Aitch]

Perhaps if you can take Chester then your sister will find the time to work with Maggie and bring the situation under control. This would be a great thing especially if she could get a trainer involved. Maggie would love the learning and everyone would be safer in the end.

 

[Atemas]

I do think poor Chester should not be in that situation - I don’t know whether you are in a position to take him but I hope a solution can be found quickly. He should be kept safe as well as Aspen. Sorry you are in this dilemma- it’s really not nice

 

[jazzmynn]

What a heartbreaking situation. I do hope everyone can come to an agreement on how to keep poor little Chester safe.