Well, here is part 3 of this sorry tale. We had both dogs spayed, but there was a third fight a few days later. I foolishly relaxed for a moment as they both had cones on and I thought they wouldn't feel up to fighting. Anyway, the blanket and the bucket of water failed miserably and my husband had another trip to a and e. Bella now has staples in her other front leg. Winnie escaped with hardly a scratch, but there were punctures in the cone she had been wearing, so I think it literally saved her neck. We consulted the dog behaviourist, who recommended rehoming one of them unless we wanted to have to keep them separate forever, which really would be too stressful. She thought Bella would be happiest as an only dog, and Winnie would be better with an older male. Neither can live with a bitch. So now we have the sad task of choosing which to rehome.
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Advice Please. Warring Whippets.
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So sorry the situation cant be resolved in the way you would want. Sometimes its best for both dogs to find an alternative . Very upsetting for you though, you have done your very best which is all anyone can do. Good luck with finding a special home for one of the girls
So sorry to hear it has come to this .
If I was you a would rehome through one of the reputable whippet rescues such as JR whippet rescue or Scruples whippet rescue .
Personally I would rehome the one I thought could accept the change more easily .
If I was you a would rehome through one of the reputable whippet rescues such as JR whippet rescue or Scruples whippet rescue .
Personally I would rehome the one I thought could accept the change more easily .
Thank you. It's heart-breaking to part with either, but I know they'll be happier and safer apart. They both look quite depressed at the moment, and I don't want to make them neurotic. At least having had some professional advice takes some of the stress out of the decision, as otherwise I would have always been wondering if we had done the right thing. I just thank god they didn't have their first fight while we were out.
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I would certainly try whippet rescue as they may have homes waiting, wish you all well x
Four years on I thought I'd post a follow up to this ancient thread. I am the "hubby" referred to in this thread, so I understand only too well how serious dog fallouts can be, having been to A&E twice to have my hands patched up after being badly injured while separating the warring parties.
Let me get straight to the point - we still have both bitches, and they now get on just fine, to the extent that we are completely confident to leave them alone in the house together for extended periods when we're out, or in car while at the shops. They choose to sleep in the same bed as each other, or on the same sofa, and many times we have seen them go through the same "flash points" which previously caused such problems, for example when they get overexcited greeting visitors at the door and end up jumping all over each other. I am not foolish enough to believe that the fighting could *never* occur again, but after years with no such problems, including circumstances where previously the slightest thing would have restarted the feud, we're really back at the stage where any other apparently friendly dogs are.
So what was secret? Honestly there wasn't one, and it was just a combination of time, good luck, and judgement. A few thoughts though:
> Firstly, I don't think our bitches fell out as badly as some do. I've heard people say that some bitches which have fought really do detest each other afterwards, to the extent that they would almost rip through a door to get at their nemesis. That wasn't the case with ours. Of course soon after the fights our bitches would either tremble or growl or lunge at the other, but after a few weeks they settled down, and then the only problem was jealousy if they were being left in their crate while the other offender was taken out for a walk.
> Secondly, we are fortunate that at the time we both worked from home, and had the luxury of being able to take the dogs out for separate walks. In practice that meant my wife and me taking the male + bitch A or B alternately, with bitch B/A having a solo walk at the same time. For example in the morning my wife might take dog+A out for a walk while I'd take B out, then in the evening she'd take A out, and I'd take dog+B. Of course that's just not an option for many people, but this was our routine for about 2 years, while keeping them in crates (in the same room) at other times. Over those 2 years we could see that they just didn't seem to hate each other in the way that some people have described.
> Thirdly, after about 2 years of this separate walking and sleeping in crates we started walking them together with muzzles on. When it was clear that they were relaxed with each other we would slip the muzzles off, but leave them dangling around the neck just in case.
So there we are. There may not be a lesson for anyone else, although if you find yourself in the same situation we were in 4 years ago you might want to work out whether your dogs really do hate each other, or if it's just a temporary fear of each other. Again I repeat that we were very fortunate in being able try this long term experiment. If we'd both been working away from home then the rehoming option would probably have been the way to go, and I'm sure all the dogs would have been OK in the long run.
Let me get straight to the point - we still have both bitches, and they now get on just fine, to the extent that we are completely confident to leave them alone in the house together for extended periods when we're out, or in car while at the shops. They choose to sleep in the same bed as each other, or on the same sofa, and many times we have seen them go through the same "flash points" which previously caused such problems, for example when they get overexcited greeting visitors at the door and end up jumping all over each other. I am not foolish enough to believe that the fighting could *never* occur again, but after years with no such problems, including circumstances where previously the slightest thing would have restarted the feud, we're really back at the stage where any other apparently friendly dogs are.
So what was secret? Honestly there wasn't one, and it was just a combination of time, good luck, and judgement. A few thoughts though:
> Firstly, I don't think our bitches fell out as badly as some do. I've heard people say that some bitches which have fought really do detest each other afterwards, to the extent that they would almost rip through a door to get at their nemesis. That wasn't the case with ours. Of course soon after the fights our bitches would either tremble or growl or lunge at the other, but after a few weeks they settled down, and then the only problem was jealousy if they were being left in their crate while the other offender was taken out for a walk.
> Secondly, we are fortunate that at the time we both worked from home, and had the luxury of being able to take the dogs out for separate walks. In practice that meant my wife and me taking the male + bitch A or B alternately, with bitch B/A having a solo walk at the same time. For example in the morning my wife might take dog+A out for a walk while I'd take B out, then in the evening she'd take A out, and I'd take dog+B. Of course that's just not an option for many people, but this was our routine for about 2 years, while keeping them in crates (in the same room) at other times. Over those 2 years we could see that they just didn't seem to hate each other in the way that some people have described.
> Thirdly, after about 2 years of this separate walking and sleeping in crates we started walking them together with muzzles on. When it was clear that they were relaxed with each other we would slip the muzzles off, but leave them dangling around the neck just in case.
So there we are. There may not be a lesson for anyone else, although if you find yourself in the same situation we were in 4 years ago you might want to work out whether your dogs really do hate each other, or if it's just a temporary fear of each other. Again I repeat that we were very fortunate in being able try this long term experiment. If we'd both been working away from home then the rehoming option would probably have been the way to go, and I'm sure all the dogs would have been OK in the long run.
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Thank you so much for the update! I think if consult your behaviourist she will tell you that one of your bitches has decided to submit to the other. This prevents fights. It is when they both refuse to submit that trouble starts. Lets hope it continues 
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