Pepper was attacked!!

Pepper is my first sheltie she has been with for 8 years now. She is doing ok this morning, still limping but otherwise still in good spirits.

Dusty has settled down today, not whinning. but now he keeps trying to mount her. I don't know if he is trying to take advantage of her being injured thinking he can move up the ladder.

Other than that they are all getting along again and Pepper and Skyler are back laying down togather like they did before the fight.
 
Poor Pepper and you, Jessica

Sounds to me like Crystal's suggestion of showing the others that Pepper is alpha after you will put them in their proper places. They do sense weakness and nature does take course sometimes. I just find this so bizzare in a Sheltie. I would for certain show the others that since Pepper is the eldest therefore Alpha after You !! They should respect you. Best of luck and Hope all stays well.

Crystal1 said:
I had 3 shelties at the same time--an older female, a medium aged male, & a young female. The older female was the alpha dog, and the boy had no trouble with who was the boss, as long as it wasn't him. After a while the younger female wanted to be alpha over the older female. The older female had been with me the longest and knew exactly how I wanted things done and I was closest to the older female. I always made sure the older female got the first attention, got her meal first, and was allowed her way over the rest of the dogs. Eventually, the younger female got the idea, that the older female was in charge after me, and I didn't have any more problems. When the older female died, the younger female got to be the boss. You are the alpha, so it is up to you to let them know where they rank. I don't know if this will help, but I hope so. So sorry that poor Pepper was hurt.
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This often happens as dogs get older. Sometimes the other dogs in the house feel they are getting weaker and want to take over. I hope Pepper feels better soon!
 
Wow, what a bizarre episode. I'm so sorry for poor Pepper and hope this all works out so they can be together again.

I only had 2 dogs at a time once and they were different breeds but had no issues, fortunately.
 
Aztec said:
This often happens as dogs get older. Sometimes the other dogs in the house feel they are getting weaker and want to take over. I hope Pepper feels better soon!
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That was my thought too or Pepper has something going on with her that you wouldn't know yet. Sometimes dogs can tell that another dog is sick and again, they try to take over. Zoe was my girl with kidney issues and Marlie and Rasha were always sniffing her in a certain area of her body, they knew something was wrong with her. I hope that Pepper continues to get better and things remain calm. What a scary situation.
 
So sorry Pepper was attacked. If they were my dogs and as it was such a sudden change I would pop both Pepper and Skylar to the vets to see if anything was wrong with either of them. Dogs mask pain well but it can sometimes make them tetchy and not like other dogs getting near. Or conversely there could be something going on with Pepper and, as others have said, the other dogs are sensing she is vulnerable.

If everything comes back fine I would speak to a good behaviourist and see if they can shed light on why it happened and whether it might happen again.

Above all, avoid being anxious when the dogs are together as they will sense your tension and this could cause more problems among them.

Good luck and I hope Pepper is feeling better.
 
I am wondering if it is her having arthritis that triggered the attack, maybe he was trying to take advantage of that. Other than that she is healthy although the vet hasn't done a complete blood work up on her. Might have to look into that when she goes back to the vets.
 
mcguiregirl2248 said:
That was my thought too or Pepper has something going on with her that you wouldn't know yet. Sometimes dogs can tell that another dog is sick and again, they try to take over. Zoe was my girl with kidney issues and Marlie and Rasha were always sniffing her in a certain area of her body, they knew something was wrong with her. I hope that Pepper continues to get better and things remain calm. What a scary situation.
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I agree with what you say. They can sense things before we can detect them.
I hope Pepper will continue to get better and that this will not happen again, and that she is not sick. Keeping my fingers crossed.
 
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