Please Help: My Dog Killed My Other Dog Today-Updated Post #166

[L107ANGEL]

I am so sorry!

 

[momof2inPA]

Another poster mentioned "cycoteyes". I googled this and didn't come up with anything. I don't think I've ever heard of these animals. Then again, I live in NJ, near NYC and except for housepets, I pretty much only see pigeons, stray cats and squirrels.

I think it was a misspelling for coyotes.

 

[KathyTX]

Christine, I'm so very sorry...

 

[Disney Doll]

It's one thing two dogs fighting over the same dish of food. I have a dog, as does my friend, and while our dogs have played beautifully together, if you put food on the floor and don't do one for each of them, a fight will break out. And sorry...a person getting into the middle of a dog fight is bound to get bitten.

Since Paisley is injured as well, I think I'd have her evaluated and see if perhaps something didn't get into the yard. You never know, especially if you live in a suburban or rural area. I live in a suburb about 10 minutes outside of a fairly large city in CT, and we have deer, fox, coyotes. As a matter-of-fact, not too long ago there was an article in our local paper about the coyotes in our area getting bolder, coming into yards and going after pets.

You said you trust your vet, so I would talk this over with him and get his take on it. It would be a shame to put Paisley down without good reason. Don't assume she killed your other doggie until you have spoken with the vet and the dog's wounds have been evaluated.

I am sorry for your loss, and in such a horrific way.

 

[Virgo10]

I am so sorry.

 

[milkabum]

God bless you and your baby. If you ever need support, feel free to go to the www.petloss.com message boards or chat room. Huggles going to you.

 

[kimbac3]

I'm sorry too. This really stinks! I know you are facing an extremely hard decision. My MIL's neighbors dog bit my SIL in the face. My other SIL (12 at the time) had to beat the dog off her sister with a bat! It wasn't good. They refused to put that dog down. Funny thing is it was never aggressive to her or other dogs before. It just snapped. This dog is however a mixed breed of known "aggressive" dogs.
You need to do what is right for your family. But I would keep it from other animals and babies/toddlers.
Keep an eye on your son...my SILs had nightmares for months. Yes their experience was more traumatic but trauma does weird things to peoples sub consciousness.

Good luck and again I'm very sorry this has happened to you.
Kimba

 

[mckryan]

I am so sorry for your loss, and I know you must be absoulutely devastated. Please go in and talk with your vet that knows Paisley and ask him what you should do. Seek a professional opinion from someone that knows the dog well.

 

[Wish I lived in Fl]

We had two dogs that both wanted to be dominant and would fight each spring until we kept them separated for at least a year. And then after that we always reinforced the dog dominance of our first dog.

There are coyotes on Cape Cod but they seem to attack after dusk. A lot of cats in our neighborhood were lost to coyotes.

 

[Cinderella Fan]

Christine, I am so sorry to hear about your loss. I can't imagine what you must be going through. Please know that whatever decision you make, you and your family are in my heart and prayers...

 

[Honu]

I'm so sorry. I have a dog that has zero interest in other dogs and would never instigate a fight, but he definitely will (and has) made the other dog sorry they started one. It's my worst fear that he'll really injure or kill another dog someday.

Talk to your vet. I'm sure he'll tell you what is best for Paisley.

 

[DisTeach1]

I'm sorry for your loss and for your responsibility. Your other dog is obviously an Alpha dog who isn't going to tolerate another dog. You could have put one of them in rescue. I don't know if putting down the dog is the right answer, but this dog needs to be an only pet for the rest of his/her life.

 

[Christine]

Thanks so much for your replies--all of them.

I do want to clear a few things up. Paisley did not just turn on my dad and bite him. The two dogs were in a the middle of a fight and my dad, not knowing dogs, stuck his hand in between them. In actuality, we are not sure which dog "got" him, but assumed it was Paisley because Lola's jaws are tiny and probably couldn't do the damage that was done.

It was at that point that I knew there was some dog-on-dog aggression and fed them in separate rooms. Lola would always wait until she could hear Paisley start to eat before she would start to eat her own food.

When this did first happened, I did try to find a home for Lola since she was non-aggressive, cute, and still very young, but no one wanted a dog and I could never, ever turn her over to a shelter. I felt, at that time, that Paisley would be fine as a solo dog. Things seemed to settle out for a long while after this point and there was only one other, small incident with the toy. I used my foot to stop the fight and neither of the dogs tried to bite me.

I know many people have it black and white in their mind what they would do in this situation, but I do not and never have. It is not easy, at all, for me to put a dog down. If the dog has shown aggression to people with no reason, then I would agree that it is necessary, but so far, this doesn't seem to be the case.

Believe me, though, I am really beating myself up now for this. I should have tried harder to place Lola. But I guess none of that matters now. I just guess I was wanting so bad for it to be okay because I love both of them.

Paisley is back from the vet now (not my vet) and the vet said that the wound does not seem to be consistent with a dog-fight wound but was some weird tear. We have look all over the yard and cannot find the torn skin (and it is very good-sized). At the corner of my fence, the chicken wire has been chewed down and pulled (or pushed back). On the outside of my fence in the same area, there is blood. So either my small Lola was injured and tried to stick her head through and got blood on the outside of the fence (don't know how that would happen without blood on the inside) or something on the outside of the fence was bleeding. Paisley is too big to get anything through the slats of the fence.

We do have Red Foxes in this area and they are all over the place right now, but I can't say I've ever seen them trotting around at 11:00 a.m. That would seem highly unlikely.

I guess I'm just never going to know what happened. The worst part is is that I'm such a softie over animals. I'm 42 years old and I've never forgotten when my bunny rabbit was killed (when I was 12) in my backyard. It still haunts me.

I'm so afraid that I'm never going to be able to get today's images out of my mind. And will my last memory of Lola always be that she is dying in my arrms.

 

[Christine]

I'm sorry for your loss and for your responsibility. Your other dog is obviously an Alpha dog who isn't going to tolerate another dog. You could have put one of them in rescue. I don't know if putting down the dog is the right answer, but this dog needs to be an only pet for the rest of his/her life.

Yes, that has already been decided. I knew awhile ago that Paisley needed to be an "only" dog. I just couldn't find a home for Lola that made me feel like she would be safe. Little did I know that my home was probably the worst place for her.

 

[DisTeach1]

There are dog rescues, who practice no kill. There are rescues in every state, for virtually every breed. A shelter is not the only option. Just for your future reference, since you obviously were not aware of the existence of canine rescue.

 

[horseshowmom]

I'm so afraid that I'm never going to be able to get today's images out of my mind. And will my last memory of Lola always be that she is dying in my arrms.

I can sympathize a little bit with you. About 3 years ago, my Chihuahua (found almost starved to death at a horse show but recovered well) died on our way to the vet. It was really hard, and I still miss her.

I don't know what happened to her for sure. She and our other dog slept in the extra bedroom with the door closed. That morning I opened the door and called them to come out to go out. One dog went out, and I went back to look for her. She had made it to the living room but couldn't make it any further. Her legs wouldn't hold her up. When I picked her up, she started bleeding out of her mouth. We (DD and I) ran for the truck, but she died before we could get there.

I wondered if the larger dog might have hurt her, but there were no marks on her anywhere. Also, there were lots of places she could have gotten under that the larger dog couldn't get to her (desk, bed, etc.). I did worry about it though and wondered if I could have done something to have saved her.

We'll never know. The vet made some guesses, but short of an autopsy (which we weren't going to do), we couldn't know for sure.

You did the best you knew how to do. Do NOT continue to beat yourself up over this. Hindsight is always 20/20. Just allow yourself to grieve. We're all really sorry...

 

[horsegirl]

Oh Gosh Christine. You sound so distraught. I cannot imagine your experience. I am soooo sorry. Honestly, it sounds like you were/are a great dog mom....Don't beat yourself up.

 

[Poohbear123]

I am so sorry. I don't have any advice, but my heart breaks for you.

A freind of mine had a dog that did this same thing, however it was to her. She suffered a horrible gash on her arm, near an artery, she is OK but gave the dog to the pound to be put down, this wasn't the first time this Dog had done that. It was heartbreaking to her, as she loves dogs, and had one a few months afterwards, but it died of Cancer a few Months back.

 

[jedi_librarian]

I'm so afraid that I'm never going to be able to get today's images out of my mind. And will my last memory of Lola always be that she is dying in my arrms.

Christine, I'm so sorry this happened

 

[DawnCt1]

I haven't read but the first page of replies but I am a bit disturbed about the rush to put Paisley down. Obviously there were some territorial issues between these two dogs. It probably means that you will have to be a one dog family and if you are okay with that, Paisley is good with your family, guests, etc. then that is the answer. If she has shown aggression towards humans than that's another thing. I was told when I got Jude that the only cat he ever liked was a Maine Coon Cat that he grew up with but otherwise, he can't live in a house with cats. I have accepted that we will be a "no cat house". Its a concession. You have already lost one baby, don't put yourself through another loss unnecessarily. If you are angry with Paisley and can't find it in your heart to forgive her, then place her in another home that can understand that she doesn't like other dogs. I can tell you that if Chelsea, my five pound toy poodle could have killed Annie the standard after she had been the only dog in the house for 5 years, she would have.