Hello,
My sister and brother-in-law are back from a three year tour in England (he's in the Navy and was working with the RAF).
They have a dog named Gabby. She is part German Shepherd and part Rottweiler. I refer to her as my foster dog as she stayed with me for a few weeks while they were getting settled on the island.
She went away and I found my hunting partner, Nikki. I've mentioned it before, but Nikki is part yellow lab, part husky, and almost certainly part gray wolf (not that there's much difference between a wolf and Husky, anyway).
Nikki loves to play and loves to hunt. She's a big goof. She asks for her own space, but has never bitten a person. Even her play bites are not clamps -- she just opens her mouth and applies no downward pressure.
Anyway, Gabby is here visiting. I took them out to play as they're supposed to be the types to get along. Come to find out, Gabby is somewhat territorial and possessive. We were all playing "chase the dog with the stick" and the stick exchanged mouths and hands several times.
Then Nikki caught Gabby -- just tried to take the stick -- and Gabby jumped her!
Nikki doesn't fight, as I said. She just kills things. Gabby isn't known to fight, but as I said, she's possessive. I saw it take a second to register with Nikki that they were no longer playing. Nikki and Gabby got each other in the classic dog fight clinch, and I couldn't get them apart. Hell, I tried putting my shin through their junction, saw it jar both dogs, but ultimately it had no effect on the fight -- and I'm trained to kick. It was calculated to cause pain without breaking bone.
(By the way, this was a dangerous thing I did, and I don't recommend anyone try to break up a dog fight this way. I knew the risks and weighed them before throwing the kick).
In this corner, weighing 80lbs, Gabby, and in this corner, weighing 100lbs, Nikki.
Well, Nikki got sick of it and went under. She latched on to Gabby's throat and wouldn't let go. Gabby wasn't giving up, and though dogs and wolves very rarely kill their own, this was going downhill quickly. Nikki is used to killing raccoons and such, and as a puppy I gave up trying to give her rawhide bones after she took the biggest, thickest one I could find and bit it in two first try. Dumb dog.
Amazing jaw strength on par with a wolf. An average dog couldn't do that.
Anyway, I figured that was enough, drew the 1911, and put a bullet into a tree, shooting right over their heads. That broke it up.
Seems Gabby has a new respect for Nikki and I've seen her licking Nikki's muzzle a few times. Nikki is dominant, looks like, though Gabby keeps issuing challenges.
It's all interesting to watch.
Gabby's throat has been tender, so I do suppose made the correct call. I was going to let them have it out, but not after the throat chomp.
I always wondered if Nikki could really fight. I know she hunts well, but was never sure about her as a protector because she's just so bloody friendly.
No more doubts.
Still, they're both damned dumb dogs.
Josh
My sister and brother-in-law are back from a three year tour in England (he's in the Navy and was working with the RAF).
They have a dog named Gabby. She is part German Shepherd and part Rottweiler. I refer to her as my foster dog as she stayed with me for a few weeks while they were getting settled on the island.
She went away and I found my hunting partner, Nikki. I've mentioned it before, but Nikki is part yellow lab, part husky, and almost certainly part gray wolf (not that there's much difference between a wolf and Husky, anyway).
Nikki loves to play and loves to hunt. She's a big goof. She asks for her own space, but has never bitten a person. Even her play bites are not clamps -- she just opens her mouth and applies no downward pressure.
Anyway, Gabby is here visiting. I took them out to play as they're supposed to be the types to get along. Come to find out, Gabby is somewhat territorial and possessive. We were all playing "chase the dog with the stick" and the stick exchanged mouths and hands several times.
Then Nikki caught Gabby -- just tried to take the stick -- and Gabby jumped her!
Nikki doesn't fight, as I said. She just kills things. Gabby isn't known to fight, but as I said, she's possessive. I saw it take a second to register with Nikki that they were no longer playing. Nikki and Gabby got each other in the classic dog fight clinch, and I couldn't get them apart. Hell, I tried putting my shin through their junction, saw it jar both dogs, but ultimately it had no effect on the fight -- and I'm trained to kick. It was calculated to cause pain without breaking bone.
(By the way, this was a dangerous thing I did, and I don't recommend anyone try to break up a dog fight this way. I knew the risks and weighed them before throwing the kick).
In this corner, weighing 80lbs, Gabby, and in this corner, weighing 100lbs, Nikki.
Well, Nikki got sick of it and went under. She latched on to Gabby's throat and wouldn't let go. Gabby wasn't giving up, and though dogs and wolves very rarely kill their own, this was going downhill quickly. Nikki is used to killing raccoons and such, and as a puppy I gave up trying to give her rawhide bones after she took the biggest, thickest one I could find and bit it in two first try. Dumb dog.
Amazing jaw strength on par with a wolf. An average dog couldn't do that.
Anyway, I figured that was enough, drew the 1911, and put a bullet into a tree, shooting right over their heads. That broke it up.
Seems Gabby has a new respect for Nikki and I've seen her licking Nikki's muzzle a few times. Nikki is dominant, looks like, though Gabby keeps issuing challenges.
It's all interesting to watch.
Gabby's throat has been tender, so I do suppose made the correct call. I was going to let them have it out, but not after the throat chomp.
I always wondered if Nikki could really fight. I know she hunts well, but was never sure about her as a protector because she's just so bloody friendly.
No more doubts.
Still, they're both damned dumb dogs.
Josh