My mums dogs have almost killed each other!

sorry for the dramatic title but my mum has just phones me pretty distressed because her dogs have been fighting and she couldnt split them up. It took her a really long time but they are seperate now.

They are brothers and i think border x JRT from a 'nice little house that bred them and advertised them in the paper' which i believe to be a puppy farm. My mum lives over 100 miles away and im grown up (ish haha!) and moved out so cant pop round etc

she said they fight as in play fighting quite a lot and she lets them because its easier than splitting them up. But today they properly went for it, I went through some possible triggers with her but she couldnt think of anything that could have sent them off. Her brother had just come round to fix the sink 5 minutes before so i think its something to do with im, but she says they normally love him are fine with people etc.

The one dog is resting on the sofa, she said he is 'pretty lifeless' and his face is swollen, the other is in the kitchen and bleeding on his chest in several places. Luckily my sister has come back and she is going to drive them one at a time to the emergency vet.

My mum is terrified of putting them back together again and really doesnt know what to do Is there any advice I can give her? I have told her we will have one of them if she thinks they cant live together long term but im not sure how that will work as they have never lived with cats or other animals (we have rodents and chickens too) and if they tried to fight Motley he could really hurt them as he is boxer size and they are jrt size....

Both are neutered but imo understimulated in the house

One of the main reasons breeders do not let litter siblings go to same house, they will inevitably fight; the level of aggression will depend on a number of things but being terriers is likely to get out of control.

As they have been allowed to rehearse this behaivour, as usual, the longer they do it, the better they get at it. No good saying it should not have been permitted, the damage is now done.

I would seriously consider rehoming one of them, you do not say how old they are, and as they are already neutered nothing can be manipulated this way?

Does your mom want to spend the rest of her life as a referee, being worried about them if she leaves them alone etc

Terriers "get off" on fighting, so it can be a difficult issue to resolve, and she does not sound too experienced.

If she is nervous about putting them back together again this level of tension could make thiings worse.

Rehome one---they aren't going to get it sorted and no one, including the dogs, is going to be able to relax.

I'd keep them apart now as well.

rune

I have told her this, she knew she made a mistake getting two very soon after, I did try and get her to rehome one but she felt quite attached to them by that point

they are almost 5. I honestly think this is the best thing too, we could drive up there on Monday and take one but I think it would have to be just temporarily here and then I could find a home, I think id be a better judge of new home than my Mum and I could do some basic training with him while he was here!

she isnt. at all. we had a border x lakeland growing up who was a complete dream, you showed her something once and she got it! I dont think my Mum realised this was not the norm and that getting two dogs the same age, training them is probably in reality ore than twice the work.

I also said this. I think the best thing is if she keeps them seperate til Monday and we go up there, my husband can take all the kids out and I will take both the dogs for a really long walk. My mum has trouble with them on the lead, pulling even with haltis apparently but everytime ive walked them on a normal colar and lead they have been fine, they wouldnt walk to heel or anything but they didnt pull....

eta: does everyone agree with me that this is the product of almost 5 yrs of being able to do what they want combined with not enough training and stimulation and the time bomb has just gone off? how do i say this not quite so harshly to my Mum, she realises she has messed up and I dont want to upset her more. She is still not back to normal after my Dad dying

TBH I doubt you NEED to say anything, most people KNOW when they have cocked up, already feel guilty enough so do not need someone else to tell em! It only makes them defensive.

TBH most experienced people would not have put themselves in this position in the first place; when fighting, endorphins are released throughout the system which encourages dogs to do it again; it is the same effect as drugs have on people. They become adrenaline junkies and, if there is no other outlet eg ratting etc then they will take it out on each other.

thanks for the replies. She knows she has messed up, but i think i will still have to convince her that rehoming one of them is the best idea.

Im not sure who else would have one of them though other than us. Even if my husband would agree to it im not sure its the best idea, though i am at home 99.9% of the time so could really spend some good time on him. Im no pro trainer or anything but I can do the basics atleast!

The dog will probably be absolutely fine as an only or housed with a bitch. So do you know anyone who needs I mean wants one?!

Just tell your mum that if she loves the dogs that much she will want what is best for THEM not her, (if the vet bill + the shock has not done that already).

Don't let her fall into the trap of "it was only because (insert relevant excuse) happened" to explain away the event; it WILL happen again, you just do not know when......................

I'm surprised she has put up with the behaviour for 5 yrs !! and to say its easier to leave them fighting because its too much effort to seperate them is just plain lazyness imo, this should never have been allowed to escalate and could easily have been avoided if the boundries were put in place right from the begining,I had 2 brothers, same litter, and never allowed play fighting around the house or garden at all,I never once had a problem or ever had to physically seperate them.....
just a pity now that they have to be split up, even though they fight they will be very attatched to each other

I know someone with a bitch who might have one, she isnt looking for a dog and normally goes for bull breeds but i will mention it.

I feel like I want to go and get one of them, but that might just be moving the problem to here. Motley is a very tolerant well socialised boy , but we was attacked when he was a pup and its took months of meeting lots and lots of dogs to rebuild his confidence! I cant risk that

You may well have been lucky, but problems with litter siblings are very common, hence why breeders rarely allow two to go to the same home unless they know the owners are aware of potential issues very well.

Dogs soon settle into a new home, otherwise not many people would have rescues!

Good luck with whatever you decide, and let us know how the dogs are, hopefully it was all superficial damage.