Ung.. I just got mauled :(

[Care2Adopt]

Well, on top of my dogs here I have 5 adult fosters and 5 6 week old puppies. Over the last four weeks we have carefully begun intergrating them so that when there is supervision we can have all the adults out in the backyard together to run and play, except for three who don't get along with other dogs. (including Cody who hates males)

One of the fosters is a beautiful yellow lab named Chance. He was pulled two weeks before Cody from the same death row.


We have noticed recently that he has a bit of a bone aggression. One day he had a bone outside and I brought another dog out into the yard and he lunged snarling at her. he did stop when I yelled at him and let me take away the bone and then was fine with Koki.

Well, today we had 7 dogs out in the backyard running and playing together, and I was throwing a tennis ball. Chance ran and caught the ball, followed closely by Whiskey, my golden retriever. When Chance turned around, whiskey was right behind him and Chance gave him "the eye" and growled at him. I warned Chance and he walked away up the hill and set the ball down so he could mark a tree.

The ball starts rolling down the hill. Whiskey, being a retriever, jumped on the ball as it came towards him. Chance (from 10 feet away) all of a sudden, swiftly and silently, flew down the hill and attacked Whiskey. Immediatly I went to break them up, but Chance was incredibly aggressive. I took my shirt off and tried to get it in between his jaws as a pry and wrapped my arms around his neck and hauled him up and off of Whiskey. as soon as I got him up in the air, he turned around on me. For about 10 seconds I suppose I was the other dog to him, and he bit clean through my hand, got my wrist twice, my shoulder and my breast.

When I got him back into the kennel he was covered in blood, but a quick exam of both dogs showed it was all mine. Neither of the dogs had so much as a scratch on them. I dont think Chance was having much luck getting through Whiskey's rolls of fur, and Whiskey really wasn't fighting much, I think he was too stunned by the sudden attack.

Chance immediatly rolled over on his back when he realied what he did and whined and crawled behind his crate and wouldn't come back out until I had a volunteer go in and get him. He was too scared to show himself to me until she had him out and then he let me go over him for wounds.

what a horrible night. It doesnt look like I need stitches as they are all clean punctures without tears, and I just had a tet. shot. Luckily, Chance had a rabies shot last week.

I have to call the people who were planning on adopting him today and tell them what happened. They have another dog and even though we mentioned the bone incident, this is a whole nother ball park. I legally have to explain that he bit me as well, but I will make sure to explain that when arenaline is up and someone just jumps into the middle of a dog fight, someone is bound to get bit. The important thing is that once seperated he immediatly recognized me as Alpha and submitted.

So I'm sitting here all wrapped up in bandages and taking inventory of my wounds...... oie.. what a nightmare..

[NarniaMals]

Yikes - Hope YOU are doing alright.  Aggression is what worries me most with the whole multiple dog household.  Our obedience teacher has warned me about the MALS and food aggression (along with bone and toy).  They can become very possessive if they choose.  We have worked on it since day one with them and it is in control as long as routine is fairly constant.  We are always super careful - but I worry because I know how fast things can happen.  And afterward ( small incidences) I swear they apologize with kisses and treats for eachother and me.  But all it takes is once to really shake you up.

Good luck with your kiddos - I hope all settles down and your wounds heal (both physical and mental).  Even the alpha needs some understanding and care sometimes. (Glad he recognized as one - from what I understand that's a major accomplishment in situations like that)

Marianne

[Care2Adopt]

BTW, can I just say how much I LOVE the names of your dogs? I adore the chronicles, they are still my favorite books of all time. I had a beautiful orange tabby named Aslan that I lost last year, and we also had a Caspian, Jadis, Lucy, Peter, Edmund, Susan (4 puppies) Bree (the horse), and Trumpkin at one time or another as fosters. I had original copies of the single paperbooks that I sadly read to shreds growing up and have just recently replaced.

[GreatPyr]

  So sorry you got hurt but glad you are ok.

[mynameislola]

Best wishes for a speedy recovery. 

A similar thing happened recently at another rescue shelter and I was asked to look at their operation and figure out what they could do to make sure it could not happen again.  The whole report is way too long and most of it probably would not apply to your situation, so I will give the highlights in the hope that it will help you.

1. Catchpoles will be available and workers will be trained in their use.

2. When more than one dog is in an area, at least one worker trained in the catchpole per dog will also be in the area. 

3. This one is more difficult to summarize.   It has to do with the need to evaluate new dogs over time because their early reactions may not be reliable indicators of future behavior.  To mitigate the uncertainty of their behavior, the recommendation was to keep all new dogs leashed when out of their kennels for at least their first month.

Evaluating new dogs' behavior through the use of other dogs who had been there longer and whose behavior was more predictable was also recommended.

4. All workers will be trained in first aid.  First aid kits will be available.

5. The last section was the longest and dealt with their physical layout and construction.  If you plan on building, holler and I'll add it.

[navarre1316]

Well, you don't sound the worse for wear!!!  I hope you're not too sore.  Issy resource gaurds too, but not to that extreme (at least not yet, she is only 1 and I'm trying to nip it in the bud!).  I hope everything works out for you!!  Keep us posted.

[Ali]

Wow - how terrifying! Sounds like you were an all time pro, though. I have this mental image of you in a bra trying to subdue a lion with your shirt like a gladiator combined with Mia Hamm!! Although, I presume you had another shirt on under the one you took off, right?

[Scootergirl]

First of all, I have to say how proud I am of you for recognizing that Chance's behavior is most likely not a case of "he's just a bad dog" or "we can't adopt him out to anyone now".

I have gone through similar scenarios myself with rescue dogs and I think most of us on here can recognize that, while your rescue is a much better environment for Chance than a shelter or a stray on the street, it's still stressful for him and stress causes unusual reactions sometimes.

My first rescue ever was this huge German Shepherd who was the sweetest thing. He loved to play with the other dogs and adored me and the other rescuers (but especially me!!  ), but when new dogs were introduced to the rescue kennel he could be unpredictable aggressive.

One time, I brought a puppy I had been fostering to the kennel and showed "Bernie" (the GSD). He sniffed it, then without warning bit it. When I tried to remove his mouth from the puppy, he turned and bit me, then immediately backed away. Very much like your scenario with Chance.

I'm sure Chance is 1) trying to find his place in this new pack (which explains his behavior with Whiskey and the other dogs) 2)hasn't been exposed to human dominance and training, at least on a consistent basis  3) stressed in his new environment and still trying to figure out exactly what's going on.

I would suggest moving him to a solitary foster home (or with no more than one other dog) if you can find one to work on the discipline and training to get him comfortable being a submissive dog again, then gradually introducing him to one or two dogs before putting him in a pack-like environment again. That way, he only has to worry about learning how to share and play nice with one other dog first and once he's got that down, it will be easier to understand how to share and play nice with a group of dogs.

Does that make sense?

[Care2Adopt]

Wow - how terrifying! Sounds like you were an all time pro, though. I have this mental image of you in a bra trying to subdue a lion with your shirt like a gladiator combined with Mia Hamm!! Although, I presume you had another shirt on under the one you took off, right?

God. Unfortunatly, NO, I didnt have another shirt on underneath, NOR was I wearing a bra as I had just gotten out of the shower, sooooo if any of my neighbors were drawn by the commotion they saw a half naked blood covered woman struggling with a 95 LBS snapping Lab.

Thank you both for your suggestions Scooter and mynameislola. Your description of what Chance is probably feeling is exactly what I explained to my volunteers and to his potential adopting family. Unfortunatly I just dont think its going to work,  because I dont think that she can be strong enough to be in control, and consistent enough to bring the training home. Who knows, I might be wrong, but I am going to have her come up here twice a week with her dog to work on training scenarios if we do decide to let her take him.

Unfortunarly I dont have another foster home to send him, I am completely full. I especially dont have a foster home that has no other dogs or a lack of children... otherwise some of these dogs surely wouldnt be HERE LOL.

Will keep you all posted- a little difficult to type with one hand, I still cant move my thumb

[navarre1316]

Will keep you all posted- a little difficult to type with one hand, I still cant move my thumb


Do you have a puncture wound around your thumb or wrist?  Or can you just not move your thumb because of swelling?  The only reason I ask is, I used to work for a hand therapist and I'm curious if maybe he got one of your tendons.  If it's possibe that he did DO NOT continue to try and move your thumb or wrist and go to the doctor, preferably an ortho who mostly works on hands/wrists.  I'm hoping your answer is that it's just swollen!

[Care2Adopt]

no he bit me right through the fleshy part of my palm/thumb and while swollen, i really dont think its the swelling. I physically can't bend the thumb, but I can move it from side to side a bit. I have a DR appointment in the morning ill see if I can get him to refer me to a spec, thanks!

[navarre1316]

Let us know what happens.  Until you see a specialist, please don't try to move it, if it is the tendon and it was severed they have a tendency to snap back into the arm when people try to move that body part.  Think of it like a rubberband on the end of your muscle.  Good luck.

[navarre1316]

What did the doc say??