Reintroducing dogs that have fought

Thanks again, to everyone. This is a good thread.

I'm not worried about feeling lazy, though I understand what the poster meant by that. We don't give up at the prospect of work. The first dog, our rescue, has actually been a lot of work. She's given me more than her share of trouble with resource guarding and fear reactivity. I've had to learn as I went, made many mistakes, but by now have a reasonably calm girl who I can trust to back down and not cause fights on her own any more. I had advice from competent sources to re-home her or take her back to the shelter. I didn't. She is a reactive, defensive, fearful dog who would not have an easy time finding another good home. She's mine for better or worse, and over time it did work out.

In other words, I know the work involved rehabilitating a dog, and I'm willing to do it.

This current problem is just at the very limits of my capacity. That's the issue. I'm responsible for taking on more dog than we were prepared for and for letting the problem sneak up on me. I like to think I should know better, but then again these three dogs interacted so well together that I just got complacent. Fortunately, both the boxer and bullmastiff are very placeable. They're attractive, smart, and socialized. They're even used to mobs of rampaging kids in close quarters. Either one is a great family dog, just not together. There just isn't the need, other than to satisfy our own feelings, to subject them and the family to the stress of desensitizing them to each other. If I thought it could be done within a reasonable time and we could be reasonably safe once done from anything but the occasional ownership scuffle, then I'd go for it, muzzles, crates, rotating, and all. The consensus I'm seeing is that I can't. It's a long, drawn-out process with lots of stress and high risk.

The bullmastiff is just not going to back down from a challenge, and the boxer has shown over and over that he will challenge. We need to be a two-dog home.

Fenris, that was a very reasoned and thoughtful post.  I especially appreciate that you thought you just "took on too much."  I think that you are right, but that you could not have foreseen it.  Some dogs reach the age of social maturity, especially males, and just bluster a bit to establish their hierarchy.  Others, like yours, decide that they are too equal and must duke it out to the end.  I think your assessment of your dogs seems quite correct, given what you have posted here thus far.  Your Bullmastiff sounds like the breed stereotype - doesn't start anything, but won't back down if someone else does.  So, it would appear that the Bullmastiff could live amicably with the female, since she never challenges anyone.  If you remove the Bullmastiff, you don't know if that will precipitate the Boxer to try to challenge the female because she's the only dog there.  I'm not sure that would be the case, but it seems like the Boxer is the best bet to re home to a single dog household.  I would contact Boxer rescue - even if they have no room, ask for a courtesy listing.

I understand the whole feeling of getting into too much at a time. I have two girls who at one time would be classified as special needs. Gaci used to resource my bed, and myself, from other dogs, to the point where she did tear ears and require stitches for one female. She also had been prone to dog aggression (mostly interbitch, but the rare male) and she still has ongoing stranger fears. Her resource guarding is gone, and her dog aggression has come so far that at an agility trial you wouldn't know it to realize that she really had a big issue.

At the same time I have an uber-sensitive female who reacts to "stuff" in her environment....she shuts down and gets upset easily. She has no particular problem specifically, her issue is that she's very sensitive to everything. She always wants to meet people on her own terms to determine her level of comfort, and once she likes you she loves you for life....on the other hand once she doesn't like you you'll probably never earn her trust.  It's a lot of work to take on dogs with issues, let alone to keep multiple dogs with the special needs dog. I notice it even more so with my current foster and how I have to keep a handle on things so that Gaci doesn't feel the need to aggress, so that Shimmer doesn't get too anxious, and that all are comfortable and happy. It's not easy working with animals with special needs, and for that I know that I couldn't have another permanent dog until one of my current females passes on. So at least you can realize there are other folks who understand where you are coming from and can empathize with your situation, and you have my full support no matter what avenue you take.

Thought it would be worth reviving this thread for an update -- we often hear about the problem more than the resolution.

We re-homed the boxer. My wife is heartbroken over it, though we met the adopting family and were completely convinced they would give him a good home as an only dog. Away from the spots and resources he had claimed for himself in our house, he is the most well-mannered dog, affectionate and playful. No dog aggression issues on or off lead. I'm completely comfortable that he'll be with this family for life with no issues.

As for us, the vibe in the house changed right away. Our rescue mix started coming out of her shell, hiding less and less under the table, coming to us for affection more, raising her tail and getting the sparkle back in her eyes when we bring out the ball.

The bullmastiff, now 11 months, came back to the house from board-and-train with much better manners. I'm completely satisfied with the job that trainer did. In the first couple of days after her coming back to the house I was on eggshells. We had a couple of accidental situations where both dogs were muzzle down in the same food bowl. With the boxer in the house that would have been an instant fight. With the two girls, all it took was a simple recall.

The change in vibe tells me we made the righ choice. The bullmastiff is still maturing, so I need to keep an eye out for any resource guarding in the bud. So far, though, I've tested letting them have rawhide bones together in our living space several times, and they've done very well. They'll do some snatch-and-grab and teasing with the bones but stay loose and easy about it. During the day and for meals they're separated in new kennels/pens in the garage. Each has her assigned pen with her own safe house, blankie, and toys. They got comfortable with those pens after only a couple of days.

The mix has not gone back into her shell. Wound up tight as she is by nature, she's as relaxed now as she can be.  All the bullmastiff's pacing, snorting, butting in, and bumping into her is turning out not to be a problem.

I've got to add I'm really falling in love with that bullmastiff, more so than when we still had so much tension in the house. Even still in her puppy months, she's already a pretty relaxed dog, and she's only getting more settled as she grows. Everything so far tells me she's the right breed for our family and our older dog. Rolling around with the big girl on the floor for tummy rubs is the most satisfying thing. Not that I'd recommend the breed to everyone ... she's stubborn, independent, and pushy; if we were wishy-washy with her, I expect she'd become unmanageable in no time at all. Not to mention that she'd literally eat the house, then slobber all over the smoldering wreckage. And if we didn't have totally reliable recall and watch-me when she goes into protective mode? Oh boy, is all I can say. That's not a bark, that's a rumble, and you really have to feel hands on the weight and force of this dog to believe how strong she is. That's with 30 lbs yet to come.

I'm glad you made that choice.  Not only is it working well for your remaining dogs, I would be willing to bet that the Boxer will be much happier in a one dog home, too, without the constant tension, despite the fact that he was responsible for creating much of it.  The only thing that gave me pause in your whole post was the fact that you are allowing your two dogs to have really special things (raw hides) in one another's company.  While your Bullmastiff is still young that may not be an issue, but once social maturity happens, it could well be.  Even though I'm a trainer, and I have exquisite control over my dogs, I *still* avoid doing that, because I feel there is no sense in tempting fate.  I have no ego about it at all - just an overriding desire to keep them all safe.  So, if I want my dogs to learn to "share" then I feed them as they sit side by side (for doing little obedience requests individually and as a team) or I let them lick a plate together while I hold it.  Each dog must also "leave it" when asked, for another dog to have a turn, but I rotate a lot, so they get used to the idea that the plate will come back to them if they just exhibit a moment's self control.  That teaches them that I am in control of the resources, and I dole them out - they don't get to decide, but they do get to enjoy.  And, because they enjoy in one another's company under controlled circumstances, they learn that being together is a *good* thing when it comes to resources, and that I am the best ole benevolent leader in the land.  Left to their own devices, dogs are still dogs, and dogs sometimes make decisions that humans live to regret, so I choose to control the scenario. 

Thank you for the update, I'm glad everything is working out, and deep down I'm sure your whole family knows you have made the right decision. It's going to hurt, and it'll take time to heal, but you still have two wonderful dogs to devote yourselves too who will appreciate that there is no longer any craziness going on.