Sorry to hear that.

I am surprised they adopted her out. A good facility will check their social behavior before they adopt animals out. She could turn on a small child and bite before she could be stopped.

sorry to hear that it has come to that because it seems to make you sad...

But it's good to hear from you again. How are you doing?
You should stop in here more often. We like hearing from you.

patti

Life isn't fair Pooh. But I don't see this as that unfair, except maybe to you and your family. Both dogs are given the same opportunity. He behaves. She doesn't. Not unlike children, or for that matter, adults, if you behave you get to do this and if you don't behave you don't get the extra privileges.

If and when she starts to behave I would imagine you'd extend privileges to her, right? So how's it unfair (except of course to you and the family)?

Personally, having two dogs that close that are fighters seems to be a recipe for disaster or at least some substantive trouble but that's of course your decision. The way it sounds, your brother's dog defended itself and Etta is an instigator, bound and determined to get into fights. That can be problematic.

You should look closely at how much the dog can dig and jump. You may need a higher fence than you have (angry and excited dogs can jump surprisingly high) and something to prevent digging her way out. I didn't think she could/would won't hold up if she jumps the fence or digs her way out and hurts or kills someone especially since you know she's vicious under certain circumstances. I'd also double check my insurance policies to cover my backside 'twer I you.

I'd look into an electric fence option (meaning the "invisible" type) to see if it would be appropriate. Maybe a shock collar with a remote as a backup.

Being affectionate with your family makes it difficult I'm sure but if she turned on your mother, what's to stop her from turning on your wife or kids? Or you? Be especially careful if she gets wounded or ill. I imagine there's a possibility she could grow out of it. Depending on the breed, a year is still a puppy in many breeds.

6500 feet is plenty of running room for her to get exercise. I wouldn't feel bad about that at all. And I'm sure you spend time with her in there too.

How close to the other dog does she have to be before she goes nuts? Maybe you could do some conditioning of walking on a tight leash and over a long period work on moving closer. How does she react if she's in a vehicle around another female? Out of curiosity, what kinds of dogs are Etta and the brother's?

I will say this, if a neighbor's dog, family or not, were to turn on me, on my property, even for a few seconds, it wouldn't have made it home unaided. My neighbor's dog attacked me in my yard and I took a pitchfork to it. I didn't have to kill it or even injure it since a swing and a slight touch on the tail got it moving so it lucked out. I love animals but I don't tolerate vicious ones.

Good luck.

I stop by here at least once a day. Hardly ever post tho.

It does make me sad that the only thing this little dog wants
is to be near me. Even in the house, she lays under my desk
and puts her head on my leg, no matter how I move it.
She loves people but is hyper around them. She is too strong
for me to hold her on a leash. She whined and cried today
when we let Homer out of the pen but not her. I feel really
bad about it but I know it beats the alternative. I call her
"my little princess" and I would hate for anything to happen
to her. And Homer is my buddy, my Homey.
Just doesn't seem fair that one gets to run free while the
the other one stays in the pen, even tho it is a big pen.

I guess I just needed to get all this out.
My furbabies are like having kids again.

Pooh Bear

What happens next time she turns on your mom for more than a few seconds?

She is an AmStaff/Mix. So very close to being a pit bull.
Neither of them show any inclination to digging.
I have a 5 ft high fence. We talked about putting an electric
strand around the top if they tried to jump out, but so far
neither of them has even tried. Even when the other dog is nearby.

Pooh Bear

Next time she turns on my Mom or anyone else
we have decided she goes back to the shelter.
I think she just snapped at my Mom but it scared her.
That's why Etta now has to stay in the pen.

Pooh Bear

I am sorry. Having just lost Sam, I would love to adopt another dog, but our remaining dog Sage is way too protective of us and her food. Is the other dog confined at all? At the farm where I have my horses, they use shock collars on their dogs that want to run off. The owner carries the charger. Before when they took them in the fields, one would go try to get the neighbor's chickens. Now they stay close to him.
My SIL was just attacked by a dog that was out of it's kennel. She was lucky that my brother was there to get it off her.

I think keeping her inside the fence is probably the safest thing for Etta. Now you won't have to worry about her causing trouble. In some areas Homeowner's insurance won't cover injury caused by certain breeds of dogs and pit bulls are included in that list.

Have you considered obedience training for Etta. It worked like a charm for my neighbors dog. I learned many techniques for training my two dogs from her... and all it takes is time spent with the dogs and consistency.

I would think that might be a better alternative to returning her to the shelter..

Just something to think about.

Carolyn tsaho

Poohbear, has Etta been spayed? I would hope that the shelter made sure of that before they adopted her out, but if she isn't spayed, perhaps that would help. And it'd be better for her, too.

Often an unneutered dog/animal will show some aggressive behavoirs, and often to their own gender, and neutering removes some of that aggression.

I too would recommend having a trainer come to the house for a consultation. If walking her on a leash is something you would like to do, a gentle leader collar made a world of difference with my 82 lb dog. Don't feel bad about the pen, it is HUGE!

I'm thinking if someone throwed a pot of cold water on me...my reaction would be to attack too! Could you put a muzzle on her when she's out?

Dogs are pack animals and she needs to be taught her position in that pack. Her behavior is unexceptable, period. A dog that doesn't understand those boundaries should not be allowed to join another "pack" without the leader of her pack (you) present to keep her in line. And she should be leashed and at your side. She's too unpredictable.

I just noticed where you said she was too strong for you to hold her on a leash. That's a problem that, with work, can be fixed. My neighbor is all of 5 feet tall and daily walks two giant shepherds. The reason she can is because her dogs have manners. They have been worked with and taught how to behave. Perhaps you're being a big softy with her and not establishing your dominance.
I know that sounds barbaric, but that's how it needs to be with most dogs. Like cynic said, dogs have different personalities and parenting needs to be adjusted to the dog.

Just wanted to add-dominance does not mean hurting her. Watch the Dog Whisperer and you will see dogs with similar issues being worked on and 'fixed'. It has helped me a lot to understand my dog and deal with some of his issues. I think Etta was just startled by the water and realized after a few seconds it wasn't another attack from the side. The dogs do need to be kept apart but there is hope that one day she can run free again under your supervision.

Oh yes, absolutely. You can't teach by making her afraid.
Dominance = authority and respect, not fear.

Wow. Y'all have a bunch of great ideas. The shelter spays
all animals before adopting them out. They made us have Homer
fixed before we could adopt Etta. And do a meet and greet.
I like the muzzle idea. If the other dog doesn't try anything.
We do worry about Etta mistaking a child for a squeaky toy
and our home owner's insurance not covering it. Or even if
they did, it is still $1000 deductable which we just can't afford.
We also worry about Etta AND Homer getting out and getting
hurt. Vet bills can get very expensive too.
Obedience training would be great but it's not in the budget.
I don't think a shock collar would be effective. Every
collar we have put on her Homer has chewed off. His too.
The two of them play rough. I have look out the window
sometimes to make sure they are playing and not hurting
each other. They sound like bear cubs wrestling.

These are old pictures of Homer and Etta:

Pooh Bear