Rehomeing one of my yorkies... :(

[my2yorkies31]

I have done everything I can think of to get these two dogs to stop fighting .. I dont want to rehome precious but I really think i have no choice or she will kill peanut..Peanut is the one i picked from the litter, i took precious because no one wanted her and i thought being sisters that it would be a good match .. I have had a trainer and walk them and today out of no where 2 fights .. peanut is so battered and bruised she is so shy now she just isnt the dog i brought home and precious is such a good dog alone , shes cute and happy its just together its not working .. i dont know what else to do ... I am heart broken . .. i cant stop crying thinking about letting precious go ... has any one had to do this ? Its sooo difficult .. i love her but i just cant let this continue and i really dont have any other options .. this breaks my heart .. im so sad right now and i kno it would be best .. i wish the dog whisperer lived in the northeast!

[TLC]

Originally Posted by my2yorkies31

I have done everything I can think of to get these two dogs to stop fighting .. I dont want to rehome precious but I really think i have no choice or she will kill peanut..Peanut is the one i picked from the litter, i took precious because no one wanted her and i thought being sisters that it would be a good match .. I have had a trainer and walk them and today out of no where 2 fights .. peanut is so battered and bruised she is so shy now she just isnt the dog i brought home and precious is such a good dog alone , shes cute and happy its just together its not working .. i dont know what else to do ... I am heart broken . .. i cant stop crying thinking about letting precious go ... has any one had to do this ? Its sooo difficult .. i love her but i just cant let this continue and i really dont have any other options .. this breaks my heart .. im so sad right now and i kno it would be best .. i wish the dog whisperer lived in the northeast!

How old are they? Are they littermates? Are they spayed yet?

[cataholic]

I have two dogs that will fight. Well mostly it's the cocker that attacks the bulldog. I keep them separate. It is a pain but it works for us.

Are they fighting over food or toys? If so feed them separately and put the toys up if you can't watch them. Is it a jealousy thing? I would not let Precious be queen of the house. Don't let her get on the furniture, feed her last, etc. It probably would help if they were spayed if they are not already. Good luck.

[my2yorkies31]

Yes they are litter mates and they are both spayed.. I had peanut for about 3 weeks before her sister came to move in .. but peanut had a hernia that needed to be repaired so when precious and her went into heat the first time precious decided she was going to be alpha and peanut was in pain and couldnt take her roll over so now i beleive i have 2 alphas here, neither will give up the title .. so fights .. not all the time but enuff to make life just so stress full ... neither can have the love and affection they deserve peanut will just sit in a corner afraid she will be attacked and i refuse to play with precious if i cant play with peanut so its just so unfair.. idk what to do .. its breaking my heart ... i dont know what else to try .. i walk them alot i run them alot i buy bones and toys but precious is just so mean and unstable nothing seems to work .. idk .. i wonder if my vet would perscribe meds to mellow her out .. has any one ever heard of that? shes a very unsettled dog, always anxious .. ??

[peanut]

This happens a lot with females, I am sorry you are going through this, if you had spayed them before they had their first heat things might have been different, but then again you never know. 2 alpha bitches in one house can be deadly, you may have to rehome one, I hate that for you, but one could kill the other. I had the same problem after one of my girls went into heat, but the one she was picking on is the alpha of the bunch(she things so) and put her in her place so I havent had anymore problems.(knock on wood) If I still did I would rehome the one cause the most problems. Good luck, I know this is hard for you. Sometimes doing what you think is the worse thing(rehoming) may be the best for them.

[QuickSilver]

I don't have personal experience with this, but I've seen different (contradictory) recommendations:

- First, if necessary, there are anti-anxiety meds for dogs.
- I've heard you should let the dominant dog be dominant. Feed her FIRST, etc.
- I've heard that you should let NEITHER dog be dominant and present yourself as the alpha (I warned you it's contradictory ).
- You can do regular reward and correction sessions to help them get along. There have been a number of "It's Me or the Dog" eppys about dogs who didn't get along.

What did this trainer tell you? Do you think s/he was any good? Did s/he come well recommended? I don't think it would hurt to try another trainer if you aren't happy with the results of the first.

Finally, maybe it would be easier to re-home... I'm sure it would be painful, but perhaps that is the right decision. Both dogs could be queens in their own households.

[amandawash]

I fully believe in re-homing when it just isn't working. My little Ryder was re-homed to us, and every day I thank God he came into our family.

I know lots of members here have gotten older dogs from situations that just didn't work out.

I am so sorry you're going through this, but it sounds like you have tried very hard already. I hope everything works out for you <hugs>

[spr377]

I recently had to rehome my precious Josie. She and Piper were fighting to kill each other, and it was a constant worry! They had to be separated at all times!! We even had to put screen around the crate, because they were fighting through it!!! She is now living with a friend of mine and is the only dog. They love her to pieces, she is their little princess. Their dog was recently pts due to cancer, so Josie helped them heal from their loss. I still see her and do her grooming, but I my heart still aches!!

[luckylady]

Oh, you are so NOT alone in this situation. I went through it last year and it was terribly stressful on everyone involved. I made the heart-wrenching decision to rehome one of my females and as hard as it was (and it WAS just about killing me), it turned out better than I could have hoped for. You can read all about it in this link...which also has the begininning link attached inside of it. Also, two of my blog entries are about my experiance; the awful beginning and the happy ending.
Good luck to you with your decision and hugs............

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/gen...avy-heart.html

[my2yorkies31]

I just dont know what to do still.. Im thinking maybe having precious stay with my daughter for a while and then maybe reintrouducing her to OUR home .. I wonder if that would work ..Because Peanut would be here and would assume the only alpha role here? Or would thatmake things worse?? Im so confused.. They get along fine when no ones around .. they play they sleep together, when they are apart they get very upset.. its just that trigger i cant figure out in Precious that is like a lite switch that goes off in her that she just attacks Peanut .... and u can see the change in her eyes .. its very weird.... And its the whole giving peanut attention that she HATES! only on her terms .. so its not constant vicous fighting its random, and that i think is worse cuz you just never know when its going to hit ! Its all eyes and ears every second watching seeing the signs and stoping before it starts... and shes not responding to the corrections .... I read the post on rehoming your dog, luckylady and it brought tears to my eyes.... i dont know if i can give precious up .. I know its selfish but i love her she is such a good dog and playful and beautiful and so is Peanut .. this is so fustrating .. I had 3 dogs, to schnauzers and a golden retreiver and i never had this issue .. i seriously thought 2 sisters would be the best match ... boy was i way off base on this one ....... thx for everyones help and suggestions ...

[my2yorkies31]

the dog trainer was very helpful and very good she did alot of positive reinforcement.. told us how to walk them so they were the followers.. told me how to feed them so I was the ALPHA.. we all got sick so i didnt have a follow up session yet and i need to learn simple commands for them im hoping that will help some .. i notice the more they walk the less they fight .. no brainer there right .. its just i dont have that kind of time every day ... i really am just confused... I want this to work but when I try to teach them , they get anxious and fights break out , i cant seperate them and do it that way because they are more concerned what the other is doing and then precious gets anxious and wants to attack ... im so fustrated

[TLC]

I think that if you can walk them at least 10 to 15 mins a day that would be great.

I did see a C.Milan episode not too long ago. Two guys in Cali had 3 small dogs (tiny) and ALL girls and YES fights were breaking out EVERY day. Among teaching these guys to be the Alpha in the house, he said the dogs MUST go for a short walk EVERY day (20 mins max). And ya know what...the fights DID stop, the girls were happy

He said this is the order a dog should live by:
Exercise
Obedience
Love

I also think that if you can teach the girls a few commands, using positive praise and a good treat reward (I use Peanut Butter Chips from the baking isle) - that you CAN stop this

[Mom to Hot Rod]

Originally Posted by my2yorkies31

the dog trainer was very helpful and very good she did alot of positive reinforcement.. told us how to walk them so they were the followers.. told me how to feed them so I was the ALPHA.. we all got sick so i didnt have a follow up session yet and i need to learn simple commands for them im hoping that will help some .. i notice the more they walk the less they fight .. no brainer there right .. its just i dont have that kind of time every day ... i really am just confused... I want this to work but when I try to teach them , they get anxious and fights break out , i cant seperate them and do it that way because they are more concerned what the other is doing and then precious gets anxious and wants to attack ... im so fustrated

I wonder if they can pick up on your feelings in dealing with the situation? If you are not "in command" and showing apprehension and fear of this working, they may just be reacting the same way. You will have to make the time if this is going to work. They only know what it is that is expected of them if you tell them otherwise they are going to act and react the only way they know. I understand how difficult this for you but you have to be the one to make this happen. Good luck. Hugs to you.

[hartygirl]

We had a similar problem, I have a 1 year old yorkie named Brady and in Jan. I got to adopt his dad, 3 year old Winnie.

For months everything was wonderful and perfect then all of a sudden Brady went after Winnie when a guest came over to our house. I don't know what set him off but for the next few days we had to separate them because with such a size difference I was SCARED TO DEATH that Brady could actually kill Winnie!

I was so stressed, not sleeping and going out of mind worrying about this and wandered into Petsmart in tears and spoke with a manager (after trying countless suggestions from family friends and vet) and was referred to a wonderful trainer. Brady and I are in private lessons once a week for 8 weeks to work on his behavior and after the first class we have had NO problems and I have never seen my baby boy so happy The classes are not expensive at all, which shocked me!

I know it may be different for girls, but I would try working with a trainer. Since my Brady was the instigator he was the one I decided to enroll in class. My trainer uses C. Milan's techniques and he puts Brady on his side and holds him there until he calms down if he growls or is aggressive toward another dog. There is no yelling, just a quick aah aah noise and a roll over to get him to calm down. We have also learned sit, stay, leave it, come and are working on down! I don't know why that one is so hard! I use treats and praise as a reward and never strike my dogs or say their name in a harsh tone. All of this has worked wonders for me.

I also have read Tamar Geller's book, The Loved Dog, and I have to say that is a VERY helpful tool! I know that she does not believe in using the submissive roll over for training but in our case it was the only thing that Brady responded to. Other than that her methods are PERFECT for us!

I had to try everything in my power to get our problem solved and I would still try if I were you. I was a zombie for a week, determined NOT to have to rehome my sweet babies, how would I choose between them? I know how you are feeling and I want to let you know that there is hope out there for you and there is a training program that will work, you just have to be consistant with training and you will see a miracle! Pick up a copy of The Loved Dog the story will move you and C. Milan has books and dvd's to help with training also. If nothing works I hope you find a great home for your little girl on here!

[chattiesmom]

I am so very sorry about your heartache. I know where you are coming from. My two grils Chattie and Chizzie fight. There is do doubt in my mind that if they were to be in the same room one would kill the other. They are kept separated 24/7 365 with baby gates. Each has their own "side" of the house. What is really strange is that both the females had pups within a week of each other and once the pups were mobile, the pups were on both sides of the house and both moms nursed each other's pups. They just don't like each other.

I understand about feeling the need to rehome Precious and the heartache involved. It is a very difficult decision and I can tell that you have the best interests of your girls at heart. I am almost at the same place -- I have been there for 3 years.