we have an eight year old terrier, a 10 yr old dalmation (Sparky) and a two year old english shepherd mix who is the high ranking dog. The dal has epilepsy and the shepherd has attacked him twice during seizures. The first time we weren't home and Sparky was in the hospital for several days. His seizures had alwys been in the early morning. The Shepherd is crated now when we aren't home and at night. Today Sparky had two seizures within 7 hours, very unsusual and Bear went crazy. He attacked him during the second seizure. I was there very quickly but not before he could get hold of sparky. No real damage but he was locked onto his neck and I had a heck of a time getting him off. Bear has dominance issues and I ordered Pack Structure which has helped quite a bit, especially in terms of what is realistic to expect from this dog. I know the immediate answer is to keep Bear on leash all the time. Any other suggestions and how do you get a dog to release once they have locked on to another dog like that. I ended up pulling him up by the ears and he finally let go.

Do you keep a collar on the dog? You can pick him up by the collar (off his front feet so he has trouble breathing) and he should let go. I think that grabbing his ears would make him more likely to relatch onto you after he lets go of the other dog.

I would definitely not allow these dogs to interact. If they were mine, they would not even be out together when I was present. Every dog fight I have ever had in my home happened when I was right there watching the dogs (and both were my fault also, since I did not have proper control over the dogs). I would keep them separate always. I am always more wary of dogs on leash for a variety of reasons (if you choke up on the leash in anticipation you can actually cause an attack that may not have happened, fighting or playing dogs can get tangled in the leash and panic which causes a worse fight that is nearly impossible to break up due to the entanglement, some dogs are just more aggressive on leash than off, and probably a few others I am not thinking of).

Best bet, just keep them separated. Worst case scenario, use the collar to choke the dog out until he lets go. Always be careful because even a dog who would never normally bite a person may redirect his attack to you without even thinking. Interfering in a dog fight (even a one-sided fight) is always dangerous. Please be very careful.

They all have collars, When this happened I did grab the collar and lift him up and my dalmations neck just came right with him. I agree with you that they have to always be separated but it is not always so easy. The only way to keep the shepherd separated without him ripping up the house is to crate him. He gets out of the wire crate but the airline crate works pretty well. When he is not in his crate I either have to keep him on leash or keep the Dalmation's door closed. He has his own room with a couch, air conditioning, etc. because of miriad health problems so when the shepherd is on a leash there is no way for them to get near each other. the dal has already put a hole in one door. We've had three dogs for about 15 years and I've never had a problem like this. I will be very careful about allowing them near each other and will keep your choke suggestion in mind in case of a mistake, which obviously would be mine. I know I could not ever stand by and watch one of my dogs kill the other.

I still think that, were it me, I would make darn sure these dogs had NO contact. This situation is just too likely to end very badly with either you being bitten or your Dalmatian being killed ... or both. It really isn't fair to your Dalmatian to allow even the chance of the other dog attacking, especially when he is having a seizure and cannot in any way defend himself.

I don't know what all health problems your dal has (other than the epilepsy) but you may want to strongly consider keeping him in a crate when the shepherd is out. You can get orthopedic dog beds that are very easy on a dog's joints and keep him comfortable when he needs to be in there. If he is going through doors I wouldn't just lock him in the room.

Other dogs attacking a dog having a seizure is very common. I am surprised the terrier does not join in with the Shepherd (though of course, that is a good thing he doesn't). Anyone I have ever heard about with multiple dogs and one epileptic has to keep their dogs separated. Elizabeth is absolutely right, 110% separation at all times is the only way to protect your poor senior dalmation. The dogs should not even be able to see each other at all, ever, if it can be avoided. It is really not fair to the dal. Ed always says imagine if you were 70 years old and in a nursing home and the nursing staff allowed contact between you and a 20 year old hoodlum who physically attacked you, requiring hospital visits. Then while you are being attacked, they try separate you. Why not just not allow contact in the first place? This dalmation is probably afraid for his life and rightly so.

On another note, I have read that plastic dog bowls (water, food) can sometimes exacerbate seizures. I know that wasn't your question, but I hope it helps you.

I have an epileptic and none of my dogs has ever attacked him while having a seizure. On the contrary, my female Pit used to sit quietly with him and lick him occasionally. If he was in any danger, I certainly wouldn't wait until he'd been attacked more than once to separate them! If your Dalmation has seizures that often, then all the more reson to keep them separated at ALL TIMES. I would imagine it's pretty common, especially with a dog trying to outrank another, to "kick 'em while they're down". It's grossly negligent to allow an old dog having a seizure to be attacked! Sorry to be so blunt, but how awful for the Dalmation!

While on the subject of seizures, try to get ANY and ALL chemicals away from the Dalmation. I took my Chi off all processed foods, never vaccinated him, and kept flea/tick preventives away from him and he is now 9 years old, UNMEDICATED, and only has a seizure once or twice a year, if that. He used to have cluster seizures several times weekly. I know you weren't asking about epilepsy specifically, but I couldn't help but share what worked for mine. ;-)

Actually,the Dal is not afraid at all because the attack happened during a seizure. He was adopted when he was under a year. He was missing a leg and I was told he had been hit by a car. When he was about 2 he developed epilepsy and became very aggresive to our cats. Aftet that he started drinking unbelievable amounts of water and would thow up and pee all day long. He was finally dignosed with diabetes insipidis (sic) and was on DDAVP for quite a few years at $400 a bottle. He also went lame for about four months. Then he started to get better in all respects a little at a time. Someone conjectured that he may have suffered a brain injury during seizure and might be healing. He has been to every specialist imaginable. When he was lame, I carried this 70 pound dog outside 4-5 times a day, put carpet down over the pergo that I had to lay over hardwood because he peed so much. The carpet was supposed to give him traction, he peed on it like crazy and my house smelled like a subway for months. I have been to hell and back with this dog and we are very close because of that. I try very hard to strike some kind of balance so that he has some quality of life. He cannot be locked up by himself 24 hours a day and neither can the shepherd. In ten years, he has hardly ever had a seizure during the day, maybe once or twice. I am taking him to the vet to have his phenobarb levels checked. I have spent countless hours, tears and tens of thousands of dollars on Sparky and do not regret a single decision. I guess this is all to say that while I know that complete separation will absolutely work, I was hoping there might be a way to better control the situation. By the way, your pit is gorgeous. There's an old saying, "Boats are safe in the harbor but that's not what they were built for".

 Quote: gale joyce

There's an old saying, "Boats are safe in the harbor but that's not what they were built for".

I don't think that applies here. You're talking about a living being with health issues- huge health issues from the sounds of it. Not a boat. That kind of sounds like you just "hope for the best". I am hardly the type to advocate keeping your dog in a bubble, but IMO, these are extenuating circumstances. These dogs are not on a level playing field-one is a 3 legged epileptic, and the other attacks him when he's having seizures. No one was insinuating that you weren't doing your best for the dog, but the knee-jerk reaction to your post is HOLY $*&+! That poor Dalmation! Sorry if you were offended by that.

The fact that you say he wasn't scared is a plus, but what about the pain from the attack? Why should he have had to go through that? Not only that, but stress, physical and mental lowers the seizure threshold, so the attacks could actually contribute to more seizures. I'm sure you know this.

You don't want to separate them 100%. Fine. I get that. But separate them at least when you aren't actively doing something with them. By this I mean paying close attention to both of them. Not having them hanging around when you're in the kitchen, but actively interacting with them. That way you'll see if the Dal starts to have a seizure and you can move the other dog.

Personally, I rotate. Someone in the kitchen, someone outside, etc., and then I switch so everyone gets their "me & Mom time" alone. It's really not a big deal when you get used to it. They're not "locked up by themselves 24/7." I would never advocate that. BTW, you are new to the board and don't know me from Adam, so for background- I have 6 dogs. Only one of them (Qira) can be near every other one. The rest are all separated and rotated in pairs or individually. Simon is fine w/everyone but my male Shepherds...if he got near them, it could mean someone would die. Seriously. Rotating is a way of life, and it's kind of nice b/c it forces you to pay attention to how much attention/time/etc. you are paying to each. I'm really not trying to come off as preachy-just giving you a real-life example of how it can work.

I know what you're dealing with to a certain degree, albeit not entirely. My Chi is quite hardy except for the annual seizures, but it used to be much worse.

Thanks for the compliment on Simon.
You are to be commended for your time, effort, and love you have shown Sparky. He's lucky to have been adopted by someone willing to help a dog w/such special needs.