u/aaroncoffeebaron

I’m struggling with a decision I had to make this week and could use some perspective from people who have experience with multi-dog households and dog aggression.

I live on a ranch and had four dogs:

- 2-year-old male Doberman

- 2-year-old female Dogo Argentino

- 4-month-old female Dogo Argentino puppy

- 3-month-old Lab/Pit mix puppy

The dogs had all lived together and, looking back, they often played rough. At the time I thought it was normal roughhousing, but now I’m questioning whether I missed warning signs.

A few days ago, I left them unsupervised. When I reviewed what happened, the Lab/Pit puppy appeared to start the conflict with the Dogo puppy. The situation escalated quickly. My adult female Dogo joined in and attacked the puppy, targeting her neck and shoulder. The Lab/Pit puppy was also biting and pulling at her legs.

By the time I found her, my 4-month-old Dogo puppy had severe injuries, including puncture wounds, major neck trauma, and a torn shoulder. She survived after emergency veterinary care, but it was one of the worst things I've ever experienced.

Since then, I've made the decision to surrender the Lab/Pit puppy because I no longer trust her around the other dogs. I also feel that my adult female Dogo likely needs a different environment and potentially rehabilitation with someone more experienced than I am.

What’s really eating at me is the guilt.

I feel like I failed all of them. I keep replaying every decision and wondering what signs I missed. Part of me feels responsible because I left them together unsupervised. Another part of me wonders if this outcome was inevitable because of the dynamics that were already developing.

For those who have dealt with serious dog-on-dog aggression:

- Have you ever had to rehome or surrender a dog after an incident?

- How did you know it was the right decision?

- Were there warning signs you wish you had recognized sooner?

- Is it realistic to rehabilitate a dog that participated in an attack like this, or is management the more realistic path?

I'm not looking for judgment. I already feel terrible about the whole situation. I'm just trying to learn from it and make the best decisions for the dogs going forward.

Thanks for reading.