Why Dogs Attack

My three big dogs attacked my older Corgi today. She was severely injured with her skin being torn on her back. She requires surgery and is 9 years old and her has a disc that is slipped in her back. Why would they do this?

Bubbles (Corgi) has been going down hill with her back. It was pretty out so I left the back door open and all the dogs were laying in the sun. Bubbles was by the door and Nikki (1 year old German Shepherd) was trying to get her to play by pouncing on her. Bubbles snapped at her and jumped at her although her back legs don't work. Maggie (6 year old BullMastiff) came running with her gruff up and attacked Bubbles and started grabbing her ear and shaking her. Rosco (4 year old English Mastiff) came and started barking at them and then all of sudden everyone started really attacking Bubbles. They had her off the ground and were shaking her like a rag doll. We had to spray water on them to get her to let go.

Lately Maggie and Nikki have been playing a lot every day. Maggie has become much more active since we got Nikki and they have gotten very close. Was Maggie protecting Nikki?

We took her to the vet to have surgery but the vet said her back was so bad that we were weeks away from having to euthanize her. He said it was not right to put her through an extensive surgery that could potentially not work. So he said it was 100% the right decision to go ahead and put her to sleep. We did that at 5:00 today. I am numb, empty and sad. He said that maybe she did this so we would make the decision to put her out of her pain.

1. Why would they attack her? She's old and can't walk.

2. Do they realize how bad they hurt her?

3. How could they do that to someone that they spend every day with?

4. What is the pack behavior mentality that happened here?

5. Do I keep these dogs? Will they attack a human like this? If I keep them, how do I forget what happened?

Please give me any thoughts or advice. I need to know why this happened. Thank you!

oh! I'm so sorry! It's baffling to me, too. I don't have any answers and can only imagine how traumatic and heartbreaking this is.

I think Maggie came over to put Bubbles in her place. Maybe, Bubbles didn't back down and the fight escalated from there. I am so sorry this happened to your older dog. Sometimes, it is hard to understand why dogs fight and it often happens so sudden. The best you can do is to read up on how to take control of dog fights in a quick efficient way and to make sure that all of your dogs understand that you are the head of the pack, so they back down a lot faster. Again, I am so sorry for your loss.

That's terribly sad. You did the right thing to euthanise her, though.

I would guess Nikki, Maggie and Rosco had formed a pack that in some way excluded Bubbles. Possibly the older dogs were protective of Nikki when Bubbles snapped at her.

I don't think attacking another dog is any indicator of aggression toward humans. However, it does sound like they are taking matters into their own hands somewhat. Are you sure you are psychologically in control of the three big ones? Might it be better to find a new home for one of them? Two large dogs are manageable, three less so.

Don't make any decisions right away, I know it's a horrible thing to go through. Take care of the dogs in a normal way, but think about it, and keep us posted. And of course take care of yourself too.

First off, let me offer my condolences for your loss - no matter the circumstances or reasons, it's always a sad day when we lose a family member (which my animals are to me).

I'm not an expert, but I have been involved with dogs and animal training (both personally and professionally) for years, and have been active in dog rescues for years, including working specifically with German Shepherds. Competitively I've done obedience, agility, showmanship; recreationly I've done Shutzhund, behavior training...so again, I'm not an expert, but, to address your questions:

4. What is the pack behavior mentality that happened here?

Dogs left alone can do strange things. We had a neighbor who had a couple of lovely dogs....until they went to work all day. They then would both jump the fence and terrorize EVERYONE who lived on my street (which is a loop) I guess they were bored and their doggy hunting instincts kept them occupied.

There is one thing that even the best of friend dogs will fight over. Food. Its territorial. If not food, then something that one dog has that they won't give up, that another dog wants including the company of another dog. It's enough to start a fight and if you are not there to break it up and they are angry and jealous they will keep going.

Who knows why there were so jealous to keep fighting, its very sad. Big hugs.

I don't know much about dogs... I agree with Blue though...

I just wanted to say that I am sorry for you very stressful day and that I'm definitely feeling for you and your sadness. big hugs.

Coonsy is absolutely correct and I will add to her comments.

You unfortunately had a potentally explosive situation on your hands. Multiple female dogs are NOT ever a good idea.

Older, "grumpy" dogs combined with younger, more rambunctious dogs, not a good idea and unfair to the older dog.

Small dogs mixed with big dogs, sadly the small dogs always lose and lose badly if something happens, even by accident.

I am very sorry for your loss.

I'm not sure, but is Maggie the alpha, meaning the others sort of take their cues from her and look to her as the leader? If so this may well have been either a case of the Maggie trying to protect her favorite (Nikki) from a lesser member of the pack or that Maggie as the alpha began the attack and the others then joined in because as their alpha they were following her lead. Don't get me wrong when I say this since I love dogs, have grown up with dogs, and currently have them--and big shepherds, not little ones either. But the simple fact is first of all we tend to impose human standards of behavior and emotion on our animals even though they are actually not people. Second fact, dogs are descended from wolves and they do follow a pack structure--some more strongly than others. The simple fact is poor Bubbles likely is not considered to have the same status as the other dogs with pack hierarchy. And when she snapped at Nikki, probably due to pain and already not feeling well, first Maggie and then the group as a whole decided to take action and discipline Bubbles to remind her of her place in the pack.

You may want to observe your dogs more closely and how they interact with each other and more importantly how they interact with your family and other humans, particularly Maggie since she seems to have been the dog that actually showed aggression first and instigated the attack. Unfortunately aggression shown once, particular within a group of dogs or other pack animals, can very quickly devolve into more and more incidents of growing aggression since Maggie has now learned that her actions will be backed up by the rest of the dogs and they have in turn learned to follow her lead. You may very well want to separate Maggie and look into getting her some behavioral training with someone who works with aggressive dogs. This is probably the best and safest way to establish that you are the alpha of the pack and not Maggie since dogs do often readily view people as members of their pack--i.e. family or group as well. Trouble really starts though when one dog views themselves as alpha of all and begins to grow aggressive to the other members of its own group, both animal and human members alike.

For now I would seriously urge you not to leave Maggie and the entire group of dogs unsupervised, and especially not with small children or other animals. And maybe spend more time one on one playing with Nikki and try not to let her play roughly with Maggie. I understand there are plenty of people who will tell me I'm being mean and unfair to Maggie, blah-blah-blah. But the harsh fact is if you own animals you have the greater responsibility to ensure any animal is cared for, trained properly and that any acts of aggression or danger by any animal you own be it a mouse or dog or a cat or a horse are quickly handled and curtailed.

Thank you all so much for your comments. I had a horrible night. I'm so upset about this and keep seeing the scene of them hurting her and her looking at me pleading. And her crying so hard at the end. It's so painful.

Do you think these dogs remember what they did? Each of them has gone outside and sniffed the area where they fought. Rosco (the English Mastiff) seems depressed or sad. He has been laying with his head down since yesterday. Is he just picking up on my sadness?

Will they miss Bubbles? Or rather will they notice she isn't here?

I can't bring myself to pet the dogs or pay attention to them. The kids are giving them attention and seem okay with them but I'm having struggles.

Coonsey (or others) -- does my GSD need specialized training? She seems pretty fossil but she had fought with Bubbles before. As a little puppy we had a hard time teaching her to not bite or mouth. She seems so meek to humans. What should we do with her?

We homeschool our kids so we are around the dogs all the time just about it. We work but work at home most of the time. There is little time we aren't here. Should I leave them in the house or make them spend time outside away from us?

I'm trying to understand pack behavior and to avoid any issue like this ever again.

Do you do obedience training with all of them? I definitely think it's important. Even with the older dogs.

Will they miss Bubbles? Or rather will they notice she isn't here?

Yes, I think so.

All the dogs have been through formal obedience training except Nikki. We trained her here at home.

Is it ongoing? I mean, do you do refreshers with them?

I think that if you, understandably, have feelings of resentment towards your dogs right now you may want to consider rehoming them (or at the very least having someone else take them for a little while). Not only would this resentment hurt you emotionally, it wouldn't be good for the dogs either. After all, they are only dogs - they have no capacity to realize the monumental consequences their actions can have. I am very sorry for your loss though.

With four dogs in the house, we are always working with them. The kids take them for walks on leashes and play fetch with them outside in addition to playing with them all the time in the house.

Rosco is trying to rub up on me today and doesn't seem depressed like he was yesterday. He wants me to pet him and I did. Nikki has played the whole time, she doesn't realize anything is wrong. Maggie has just acted normal today.

I realize they are just dogs and will not harbor any ill will. I know that this too shall pass. It just hurts and I want to make sure that I am making the right decisions with my other dogs. I want them in a healthy home and me being a good "leader of the pack".

What specific issues are there with German Shepherd dogs?

I miss my dog.

Why would they do this?

 

Will they attack a human like this?

No way to know why. And yes, they will attack a human like this if they want to. That is true with any animal. You never know what an animal is capable of. They do not have a conscience, they do not know right from wrong.

With four dogs in the house, we are always working with them. The kids take them for walks on leashes and play fetch with them outside in addition to playing with them all the time in the house.

I meant actual obedience refreshers. There are many opinions about dominance and dogs, but if Maggie is the "alpha" dog, you should probably be reminding her that you are the alpha, not her. After reading your initial post, I googled "pack behavior" and "fatality" and came upon some pretty unsettling statistics related to dogs attacking people. (There didn't appear to be statistics of dogs attacking dogs.) Of course we can't tell the entire situation from statistics.

Did anyone else witness the attack? Were the kids there? If so, I wonder if that contributed to the dogs' responses.

Keeping your dogs practicing obedience with you can't hurt. Do you follow the Nothing in Life is Free approach? Are all of your pets fixed?

How are you doing? It must be so traumatizing. I hope you are doing ok.

I know this is old, I got tied up with work and moving over the holidays, but I hope you and your family are doing well.

Since no one responded to the questions about GSDs I'll go ahead and post something now.

As to whether they need "specialized" training, that really depends on the specific dog. Some GSDs are what my rescue called a Level 1 or 2 - they will usually do fine with basic obedience, play time and other family activities. A high level 2 or up GSD will need a job of some variety - whether that job is obedience (as in you practice competitive-style obedience even if you're not competing), finding things (toys, treats, actual tracking), or any other directed activity that works their brain and makes them think and take direction. The jobs can vary widely, but they need that or that excess mental energy is taken out on being "naughty." My now 8 year old rescue (she was 3 when I got her) STILL requires regular work, but is starting to mellow out a little....too many days without directed activity and she's bound to get into something lol. A high level 3+ dog requires someone who's used to handling those types of dogs or is willing to undergo the training required and work with professionals to get it done.

Evaluating a dog's level is best done by someone familiar with the breed - a local GSD (or similar type breed) rescue could probably help you figure out where your dog lands on the scale (as could most professional trainers). Not easily done over the internet.

GSDs can be some of the best dogs ever (other than the hair lol) IMO, but, they do require owners who are willing to invest in them a little - but most will be loyal to a fault, and they are a beautiful dog to boot.