11 month old GSP to new home - updated

[Sportfury]

A hard decision had to be made. Our new GSP (my son's dog) and my seven year old GWP are not going to work out. At 11 months, Cooper, is testing the bounds of his dominance (expected) and Sofie is not willing to give up that just yet. The result has been some hellacious dog fights. Even though Sofie has maintained her alpha status she has come away with multiple wounds and so has Cooper, but Sofie has always seemed to fair the worst on her legs and underside. When we are there we can stop it, but lately the fights have been gotten intense where I am afraid to grab them. Today Sofie came in from the kennel and has a new hole in her chest. My wife had said enough is enough, so Cooper needs to find a new home.

Cooper will be one year old on May 31. We bought him for $250 from a farm boy in Jerome, Idaho where both parents were strictly pheasant dogs. He is not papered and has had no formal training besides being made to sit and wait before eating. He is kennel trained, house trained, and sleeps inside at night. He has had his first round of shots and has not been cut yet.

We were going to start his training this summer and work him into the fall for his first year of hunting. We would let him find pheasants (worked on a check cord) that we brought home and he has a wonderful nose, but he needs his formal training. He has been to eastern WA with us once where some of the following photos are from. He has since doubled in size and is taller than my Wirehair (last picture). We want him to go to a hunting home where he will get the proper training and has room to run. We have 10 acres, so he currently gets a lot of exercise.

Send me a PM if you are interested.

As a puppy:

[Birdguy]

Great looking pup, sorry about the situation but when you start finding holes in your pets it is certainly time for a change. Best of luck finding him a good home.

[AspenBud]

Are the fights occurring randomly? Over food? Toys? Two of those are fixable.

[Sportfury]

Aspenbud the fights are random. Today they had one while running in the driveway. One minute they are loping along and the next thing they are going at it. Not sure what the trigger is except dominance. I have been around dogs all my life and seen all kinds of things. Usually they sort out their dominance and it is over, but these two are terrible. Sophie was the beta until her brother passed.

[AspenBud]

Getting a new dog in the house often disrupts the order of things for dogs. They're going to scrap. That said some lines of German dogs have been bred to not back away from a fight or scratch. Great if you need it, terrible if you don't want it.

You're probably making the right choice.

[Dhoey07]

If you get him cut, do you think it would defuse the situation?

[Happy Gilmore]

If you get him cut, do you think it would defuse the situation?

unlikely. dogs that fight are usually fighters and will always be fighters unless a proper intervention is established. Most of the time it starts at 8 weeks old and progresses unchecked as puppy play.

[Don Fischer]

Any idea which dog is starting the fight's? If you keep the wrong dog, same thing might happen with a new dog.

[Sportfury]

.

Getting a new dog in the house often disrupts the order of things for dogs. They're going to scrap. That said some lines of German dogs have been bred to not back away from a fight or scratch. Great if you need it, terrible if you don't want it.

You're probably making the right choice.

Yep neither stops. What happens is my wirehair uses her weight advantage and puts him on his back. The problem there is that he doesn't stop and ends biting her legs and chest which is where I am finding the majority of the damage to her. Yesterday she had a cut below her left eye. Very lucky it was not up another half inch or she might not have her eye.

I hate to get rid of him as his nose and drive is excellent, but my wirehair has been with the family for seven years, so she comes first.

If you get him cut, do you think it would defuse the situation?

I wondered the same thing and was going to cut him at 12 months any ways, but the wife said he has to go. After the fight yesterday I don't think it would do any good.

Any idea which dog is starting the fight's? If you keep the wrong dog, same thing might happen with a new dog.

I think that it is the pup, Cooper, starting most of the fights. I have seen him go over and stand over Sophie while she is laying on her bed and growl at her. That stops with some quick corrective action, but I can't always be with them and I only have a single kennel outdoors.

[Happy Gilmore]

I've had Ron Pace recommended to me by quite a few folks in the dog world for folks with problem dogs. Just bear in mind, you're giving away a liability which is only getting bigger and more dangerous as the dog gets older. Just because the new owner doesn't have a dog, it doesn't mean the neighbors dog won't get chewed to high hell. Or, out hunting and you run across another hunter and their dog.

He's still young enough to do something about it with the right person and training. The next owner has a problem and your dog will likely end up getting put down.

http://www.canyoncrestk9.com/

[Sportfury]

Thanks Happy. That has been on my mind too.

[Sportfury]

Well update on Cooper. I decided to keep him (the wife was a little mad, but I asked for forgiveness later). I did have one person look at him and I couldn't stand the thought of sending him to a rescue after showing up there. I ended up converting one of my bird pens into a kennel (which seems to hold him fine). Once I separated the two that seemed to ease the tension that was ongoing between the them. The lady that I talked with at the rescue also said that having him cut would improve his disposition immensely. She said that after a month all the testosterone running through him would dissipate and he would start to calm down. I am starting to see that now and he is acting more puppyish again.

[lamrith]

That is good news, thanks for the update!

[Becky]

 

[REHJWA]

Good to hear you did right by the boy. Now get to work on the honey do list so you can have the kitchen pass in time for hunting season...