Whiskey just tried to attack Norris!!!

starryeyedtiger

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I am a nervous wreck right now. I was on the phone with Colin a few moments ago saying good night when all of a sudden Whiskey just started growling and attacking little Norris
Whiskey was standing at his foodbowl eating when Norris just walked past him (not trying to get his food- just go into his cage). Whiskey was jumping on him snarling and trying to eat him up. It scared the devil out of me. Whiskey has NEVER been food aggressive before (i would have never let Colin keep him if he had been- i will NOT have a food aggressive animal in my house for multiple reasons). I was able to successfully seperate them without them hurting each other (thankfully) - But i work for AC and i'm trained to do that- had it been a different person i really think Whiskey could have hurt someone if they hadn't handled it right
I put Whiskey in the backyard for a moment to seperate them and checked out poor Norris. He was soo scared he peed on the floor
Whiskey left a nasty scratch a few inches above the amputation site. Thankfully he did not bite him- i was able to seperate them quickly. It was just a surface scratch so thankfully nothing bad- i put ointment up and put the little guy back in his crate for the night. I let Whiskey back in the house a minute ago and he's a nervous wreck
He's on the couch beside me right now- i checked him over for scratches/bites- and he's clear so that's good. Thankfully Fosters didn't praticipate in this - he was just playing with his stuffie. I am really upset that Whiskey did this- i'm guessing having another dog in the house is stressing him (although he showed no signs before this- otherwise i wouldn't have kept norris- that and i've been giving him TONS of attention/treats and praise) they were even playing with one another all day. At this point i'm worried- Whiskey could definitely kill one of my cats if he wanted to or really hurt one of my nieces/nephews. I now am sure of this and that worries me greatly
I called Colin back and told him what happened (i threw the phone down when they started fighting- he heard most of it). He said lets just let them calm down and see what happens over the next few days. We love Whiskey very much- but we will not be able to keep him if he does this again- we want children eventually and if he is food aggressive- it could put them at great risk. Uhh so for now he will be eating seperately from everyone else so he doesn't get stressed and he will not be allowed around Norris unsupervised. Poor Norris is scared to death right now
And Whiskey- i'm sure he just felt threatened as he's the smallest of the dogs and the bottom of the chain i think. He has been a very nervous dog from day one- he was abused before we took him in and is extremly skiddish. We've really been working with him and he's come out of his shell a lot. He loves Fosters- he's never been aggressive towards him. But man, he just tried to really hurt poor Norris. Right now i'm not sure what to do. If this had been a shelter dog attacking another dog- i would have euthanized it immedately (if i knew the dog was unevened tempered because nervous dogs can be very unpredictable) I obviously would never want to put him down or rehome him- but i will NOT tolerate this behavior. We really work on training - he knows all of his commands and we are all quite active. He's NEVER displayed signs of aggression towards another dog like this. I wonder if he just got spooked? I want to give him the benifit of a doubt- he's my little baby
. What do ya'll think i need honest opinions. My nieces and nephews are over here ALL the time and i have my cats plus foster kittens as well as foster dogs. If it stresses Whiskey to have foster dogs around i will absolutely not bring any more home- my first priority is to the animals i own. But he has never displayed any signs of aggression like this before - and Norris has been here over two weeks now. Should i just wait and see?
 

sharky

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As the mom of a dog to dog food aggressive animal ... i would start looking to rehome ... Wiskey likely NEEDS to be an only dog ... Gigi ONLY is food aggressive toward other DOGS... she lets her sis Zoey( feline) eat from her dish with her .... I so want another DOG but not with GIGI .... she is a one dog girl...
 

sarahp

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Golly you poor thing!!!!


I guess the fact that it's completely out of character makes it hard - was it a one off because he was spooked and threatened for some reason? Or will be he do it again if he gets in the same situation??

Animals are unpredictable creatures, and you can never be sure what makes them do things - they are the risks we take. Only you can decide if you still feel safe with him in the house.

I would just suggest maybe making sure he eats separately from the other animals, and make sure your nieces and nephews never have food around him just in case. Keep a very close eye on him to make sure there's nothing else going on that you haven't been able to notice.

Good luck, I hope things settle down soon
 

white cat lover

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If that was really out of character, I would stop & think. My Macey has gone after me. She got a vet exam & came out OK. I tried to spray her with a hose today & she went after me. It occured to me that perhaps she is "attacking" whenever something she is afraid of comes after her.

I would stop & think about this for awhile. There is a new dog in the house, he does not smell right(Whiskey & Fosters will know something was wrong with him). Honestly, if Whiskey hasn't displayed this behavior before, I would be looking at what could've caused it & seeing if he does it again.

Did you ever mess with his food when he's eating? Has he had any problems with Fosters getting near his food?
 
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starryeyedtiger

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Originally Posted by sharky

As the mom of a dog to dog food aggressive animal ... i would start looking to rehome ... Wiskey likely NEEDS to be an only dog ... Gigi ONLY is food aggressive toward other DOGS... she lets her sis Zoey( feline) eat from her dish with her .... I so want another DOG but not with GIGI .... she is a one dog girl...
you know jennifer...that's exactly what i was thinking about. as much as i would HATE to rehome him- it might be better for him.

Originally Posted by sarahp

Golly you poor thing!!!!


I guess the fact that it's completely out of character makes it hard - was it a one off because he was spooked and threatened for some reason? Or will be he do it again if he gets in the same situation??

Animals are unpredictable creatures, and you can never be sure what makes them do things - they are the risks we take. Only you can decide if you still feel safe with him in the house.

I would just suggest maybe making sure he eats separately from the other animals, and make sure your nieces and nephews never have food around him just in case. Keep a very close eye on him to make sure there's nothing else going on that you haven't been able to notice.

Good luck, I hope things settle down soon
Thankyou sarah
i'm wondering if he just got spooked
BUT here's what scares me- if something like Norris walking past him spooks him to the point that he attacks- what happens when Colin and I have a baby and it tries to give him a hug??? That scares me. I'm not sure i'd feel comfortable having him around a little one. He is SUCH a sweet dog- but when he does stuff like this he scares me. for now he will be eating seperate from everyone else and will not be allowed around norris unsupervised. i really do think he got spooked as they were playing all day with no problems. but he is soo nervous and unpredictable that it is not good.
I think Colin and i will have to sit down when he gets home and talk about this.

Originally Posted by theimp98

well, could be that he did not hear norris and got scared?
He definitely heard Norris- Norris hops around with just 3 legs so he's quite loud on the fake wood floors in the kitchen.

Originally Posted by white cat lover

If that was really out of character, I would stop & think. My Macey has gone after me. She got a vet exam & came out OK. I tried to spray her with a hose today & she went after me. It occured to me that perhaps she is "attacking" whenever something she is afraid of comes after her.

I would stop & think about this for awhile. There is a new dog in the house, he does not smell right(Whiskey & Fosters will know something was wrong with him). Honestly, if Whiskey hasn't displayed this behavior before, I would be looking at what could've caused it & seeing if he does it again.

Did you ever mess with his food when he's eating? Has he had any problems with Fosters getting near his food?
Whiskey has growled and chased the cats before (not playing- trying to get them) but we immediately corrected him and haven't had any problems since then- he's been excellent. what scares me is how nervous and unpredictable he gets. He has never had problems with foster getting near his food- they share a food and water dish and even give each other kisses while they eat. Never been a problem there. And he's been around Norris for over two weeks now and has got his scent/used to him without any problems until know. I wonder if he just got spooked
But what scares me is it wasn't just for a moment- it went on for a while and literally had to rope him and pull him off of Norris
(i had one of those yellow loop leashes near me thankfully! in a pinch you can wrap the length of the rope around the muzzle of an attacking dog to make a "muzzle" )
 

white cat lover

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Ahhh....I understand now. I wonder though, if you place Norris in a new home.....you will need one with NO KIDS because of those behaviors. But, what I'm wondering....will he be better off without other dogs? You said he chases the cats, so maybe no cats, either. Sometimes, dogs are just picky about the others they live with. The shelter here has one who is very finicky about her canine friends....but the sweetest ball of spit fire ever.
 
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starryeyedtiger

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Originally Posted by white cat lover

Ahhh....I understand now. I wonder though, if you place Norris in a new home.....you will need one with NO KIDS because of those behaviors. But, what I'm wondering....will he be better off without other dogs? You said he chases the cats, so maybe no cats, either. Sometimes, dogs are just picky about the others they live with. The shelter here has one who is very finicky about her canine friends....but the sweetest ball of spit fire ever.
Just a slight correction- it's not norris- it's whiskey. If he is rehomed i will definitely not put him into a home with children. I wouldn't feel comfortable doing that. He'd likely be happy as an only dog. BUT for now i don't want to rehome him- i'd rather just wait and see if this was a one time thing- but if we have any more problems with this happening- he will have to be rehomed or pts. I mean he would have REALLY hurt Norris had i not seperated them. it was not a pretty site. I'm hoping though that this will not happen again- but i am now on the lookout and prepared if it does.
 

white cat lover

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Oh...sorry. Had just read your siggy again.
I really do think that at this point, waiting & watching is your best bet. Perhaps re-introduce him into your home. Never leave him unsupervised with anyone(I know you said you were going to keep him seperated).
 
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starryeyedtiger

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Originally Posted by white cat lover

Oh...sorry. Had just read your siggy again.
I really do think that at this point, waiting & watching is your best bet. Perhaps re-introduce him into your home. Never leave him unsupervised with anyone(I know you said you were going to keep him seperated).
Thankyou Natalie- i'm going to take your suggestion and try to gradually reintroduce them again if they tolerate it well
you are soo helpfull! this really freaked me out seeing them go after one another- urrr more like whiskey trying to get norris- norris was just freaking out trying to get away.
 

white cat lover

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Guess it kinda sounded like Ophelia vs. Lily to me. I sitll don't know why Ophelia started to attack Lily after living together for months.
So, perhaps if you act now, you can re-train Whiskey(not Norris
) & work with him!


Do you have a crate for Whiskey & a place for it? That might not be a bad idea. One more thing, was today a "normal" day or did anything change recently?
 

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Originally Posted by StarryEyedTiGeR

Thankyou Natalie- i'm going to take your suggestion and try to gradually reintroduce them again if they tolerate it well.
After reading everything, that's what I would do too. Rehoming him after one incident that was very out of character seems a little sudden to me. Good luck- that must have been scary.
 

april31

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If you have a dog crate I might even suggest feeding him in it. There he will know his food is safe and not feel threatend. Also its a safe place for him and the other animals/people.
 

fostermomm

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I personally would wait and see. Since hes never done this before. Ive had plenty of dogs and every once in awhile they will have a scrap no matter how much they love each other. Give it a week or to and see if he shows any sign of it again. Every time you feed him stay with him and take a little bit of food away each time. When I was married I had 3 food aggressive dogs but we worked it out. I never feed dogs together food aggressive or not. It really is asking for trouble.
 

miagi's_mommy

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Nikki,

you know I love you and I would wait and see what happens. is this the first time Whiskey has done this? Has he tried to go after the kitties as well?
I support your decision 100% if you rehome him. 3 out of the 4 of my dogs are food aggressive. We do not give them food in the same room or treats.

I don't know what got into Whiskey but I hope this never happens again.
It' sure is awful when they fight, isn't it?
I bet that really scared you.
but if Whiskey is going to be a threat to Norris and the kitties, I would rehome him and if you do rehome him make sure you tell his new owners that he has some food aggression issues and that he cannot be around other animals at all.

It just seems to me he may be jealous of Norris? I wish you the best of luck in whatever you decide and will back you up 100% in whatever you decide.
 

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Wow - that must have been stressful for all 3 of you! I can't add anything helpful, but I hope that Whiskey's behaviour was a 1 off and won't happen again!

Good luck!
 

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Nikki, I would be VERY leary of him now.I would NOT let any small children around him.OUr Cocker started out as being that way with my Mom's dog.He then lunged and BIT my son on the face.
I'm sorry, but I think he is an accident waiting to happen.I do not now nor ever will trust a food/toy or anything aggressive dog.
 

white cat lover

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I must throw out here. My Coco, our purebred Chco Lab, is food aggressive. She will let kids sit on her head, pull her ears, everything & anything can be done to her. It's a matter of training. They can be trained out of being food aggressive. (There are many food agressive dogs that come through our shelter & we always work with them to try to train them out of it.)
 

crittermom

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There are SOME that can't be trained. I don't care what kind of work you do with them, some can't be saved.I took ours to the shelter to hold while I was contacting rescue to go and get him.The workers at the shelter told me to come down and sign for him to be PTS because he was so food vicious.He actually lungeded at the workers over his food.This coming from a dog that was raised with my 4 kids from 12 weeks old to 1 1/2 years old.He NEVER ever showed any kind of aggression until one day he snarled at our female pup.He tried to bite her.I seperated them and kept them away from each other at feeding time.
That was fine, until the day he went after my son.It was then that I feared that dog and what he would to to my children.I will never ever take that chance again with a food/toy aggressive dog.
I should add that until that point, he would let the kids waller all over him, anything and he would do nothing.I trusted this dog with my children and thought he'd keep them safe..........not harm them.
Now, thanks to him--I can't trust ANY animal 100%.
 

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just because a dog went after aanother DOG does not mean he will go after your cats, or kids, or you, or anyone. Doesn't even mean he will go after the dog again. Food aggressiveness is easily trainable. I have a food aggressive dog who I used to not be able to feed in the same room as my golden retriever. Now they eat in the same room. The cats do not bother her, nor do people. You need to look into training and a behaviorist before you jump the gun and rehome him. Taking him to a shelter is a sure death sentence. If people worked with their dogs before giving up on them, we would have far less animals in shelters. You work in a shelter, you should know this. And you don't even have kids yet, so you have plenty of time to do this.
 
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