[QUOTE=krlyr;2251348] i have known bitchs to come into milk directly after spaying and other things...hormones take time to settle they dont just vanish on the day of spaying.

I wouldn't keep a dog that I thought might kill one of my other pets intentionally. It isn't fair on the cat really is it?

Do be careful, I have seen the damage bassett jaws can do and it is not small!

rune

Id get a quailfied behaviourist on board ive had to recently do it myself with my own dogs,I have the details of a very good one if you want her details let me know

You will do what is best for your family...

At the end of the day... If it is not something you can resolve, if it makes your life miserable trying to deal with it... If in your heart of hearts you know that Piggy would be happier in an only dog household and you are confident in her rescue to find her one. Then you must do what is best for your house. I can only speak for what I do in this house..

Kismet is a bit like your Piglet, she is moody and hormonal (I call her my little emo teendog), she has snapped at both Selkie and Pharaoh and raged at them for no apparent reason.. but hen the wind changes and things pass and to see them all lying curled up together now, you wouldn't believe me! I separate them when I'm not there and I separate them at night, Kismet gets to sleep upstairs with me, which has elevated her position (against the advice of a 'pack' theory trainer, but it seemed right for us) it has made her much calmer. When I used to keep her downstairs and bring the oldies up with me, she was worse... She wanted to be top dog and was prepared to fight to get there and the other two don't much care. Kismet is now top dog in the house (yes, before people jump on it 'below me') and she's a much calmer and more caring leader of the dog pack than she was a team member!

I think we are naive to think we can bring a pack of dogs together and expect them to live by human morals and codes and to settle their arguments peacefully. Dogs are predators, red of tooth and claw, if they have a spat, even one as simple as "Oi, I wanted to go through that door first" or "You looking at me?" They will do it by growl or bite... different breeds of dogs may have problems reading other breeds signs (Kismet gets into all sorts of trouble I think because of her 'starey eyes and raised tail) and this can and will escalate into a fight. Dogs draw blood, but rarely kill each other in a dog fight. As the human and their leader, we step in, we separate and then we bring the pack back together making it as clear as possible that such behaviour is not tolerated in this pack and things 90% of the time settle down.

When I have seen things get worse, it is usually because I have done something wrong... been nervous when bringing them back together, or kept Kismet on a tight lead which made her feel insecure so she didn't calm down...

The pack are happy and settled today. The last spat we had turned out to be Kismet's way of trying to tell me something was seriously wrong with Selkie. She actually saved Selkie's life that day.

I watch them and I minimise the areas I know tensions raise... They are fed separately, there is an order to who goes outside and in which order which they chose and I enforce. Cuddles on Sofa is something they must ask for and be invited to, not a right of whoever gets the spot first... (The cuddle spot on the sofa became valuable territory). Treats are given in an order and by name, dropped treats belong to me and not to whoever gets them first.

The rules that seemed alien at first have just become the way we do things now and things have calmed down...

But I do not punish them if there is a fight... it's not their fault... It's just an argument.. I wouldn't beat one of my kids (not that I have kids) because of a fight, I certainly wouldn't get rid of one of my kids because they were screaming at each other. I wouldn't throw one of them into foster care even if they punched their sibling, even if it drew blood... I would try and resolve the underlying issue.. is it music too loud, is it privacy, do they need space, or an outside hobby?

But I do understand that dogs are not kids and if you truly feel Piglet would be better in another home, that is a decision you must make with a clear mind and a clear heart. You have a loyalty and a responsibility to the rest of your family, doggy and human, you must do what is right for you...

Thankyou for the responses.

With regards to the cat thing...i know its not ideal, the cat doesnt venture downstairs much anyway because of the collies (they herd her) but she has never been scared of them- just gets irritated by them.
I was hoping it would be something that could be worked on, but tbh things arent getting better, just worse.

Piglet is seperate at the moment, my young son is home and him and sadie spend the majority of the time together (she is his support dog as he is autistic) and i found myself feeling a little apprehensive that something may happen near my son.

I'm really not sure what to do, piglet is absolutely fantastic on walks and away from the other dogs and she trusts me so much now. It would break my heart to have to rehome her...I just dont know what is for the best

I think you have to weigh up pros and cons and look at how much you feel you can trust piglet and how much that is going to impact on your life with your other dogs.

I would hate to be in a situation where there was a constant separation, and possibly you need to be thinking about your Son and how good he will be at helping with the management.

I do not envy you this situation

i think you do know really but it is hard and you are going to need a lot of courage to do it.

I'd back you all the way.

rune

Oh no, you on poor thing I don't envy you this situation at all either. We have two collie bitches here (both working dogs) who hate each other with a passion (and they are mother and daughter ). Thankfully it is easily managed as neither are worked together or taken out at the same time as they would just try to fight. I wouldn't like to think how far they would go if allowed

Your situation is far worse as all your dogs live in the house, and you also have your son to think about.

If there is nothing medically wrong with Piglet, then it sounds as though she is finding her feet and getting pushy and over-aggressive to the other canine members of the family.

Personally, I think your options are limited. Either keep them separate for the forseeable future until you have had a reputable behaviourist in for an assessment or rehome Piglet to an only dog home. Neither option is particularly appealing, but it does sound as though Piglet means it, and Sadie is clearly not going to accept this bullying/aggressive behaviour lying down.

I really feel for you, and hope you can work something out.

Haven't been on for a while .I'm really sorry that you're having problems. I can imagine you must be wary at the moment of fights starting up and living like that all the time is very hard. I agree with other posters but only you can decide if and when to keep or rehome Piglet.Sorry can't be of any more help.I have only had our lads have one bad scrap overnight which resulted in a few puncture wounds,it was the first night they hadn't been seperated and think maybe they were sorting out who was top, have had nothing else 6 years on. We did have a foster who clashed with Willow and fights came out of the blue and were not pleasant but only fur went awol no skin. I did have to refuse to have her back when her home went pearshaped and felt really bad about that,but had to put my dog first(he was terrified of her) I really don't envy you making a decision as you have put in a lot of time and energy with a dog who really needed it,but if you decide to rehome at least she is out of the horrible position that she came from and that is down to you so don't beat yourself up about it too much xxxx I know this is a long shot and probably not relevant but just noticed your other post about your son,I know how wound up and upset mums can get when things are upsetting with their kids ,wondering if the dogs were picking up on that? As I said probably tosh but just a thought.

A friend keeps her cats and dogs separate. She`s always done this and neither has suffered because of it. They are just used to the routine.
Re piglet - I`d use baby gates etc to control the situation and monitor it for a while. Hormones change a lot after spaying, and this can continue for a while, so maybe it`s not fair to judge her atm ?
I think it takes a couple of years for a Rescue to work through their issues so I think it`s early days yet.