My black lab and beagle got into a good fight tonight, I am not sure over what. The beagle is new to the family, we adopted him a month ago. Hopefully since is the first fight it will be the last, they are playing right now.
My lab mananged to get the beagles ear pretty good, I cleaned it up and am wondering if I need to do anything else. Should I put anything on it or not?
Can I just say ears can bleed a lot, thankfully only a little got on my floor!

By Scott on Friday, September 26, 2008 - 11:24 pm:

Yeah, ears bleed a lot. If the bleeding stopped, then you've got less to worry about. However, a "blood blister" (hematoma) may form on that ear and the vet will have to take care of that. Keep an eye out for inflammation, excessive scratching, discharge or any other typical signs of infection.

If the ear is still bleeding a bit, I suggest that you apply a bandage (to the best of your ability) and keep an eye on it. Follow up with the vet.

If the ear is hanging off and gushing blood, get to an emergency center immediately.

I suggest that you figure out why the dogs fought. Food aggression? Territorial issue? They don't share toys well? Poor socialization? This may have to be discussed a bit, and I'd like to explore this issue with you.

By Emily7 on Saturday, September 27, 2008 - 05:14 am:

It did stop bleeding about 30 minutes after the incident. To me it looks just like puncture wounds that didn't go all the way through the ear.
Hunter, my beagle, doesn't play with toys much. He is about a year old and was abandoned by his previous owner. He came to us with lots of scrapes and scabs from barbwire fences and such. He is fixed, but does try to mount Misty, the lab, every so often. My understanding is that he is trying to show that he is dominate.
At first there were food aggression issues when it came to chew bones, but they eat and drink out of the same dishes now.
They do get jealous when it comes to me. Misty is my baby and has been my baby for the past 2+ years. Hunter seems to have issues & cries when we get home until we stop and pay attention to him and only him. He is a very loving dog, they both are.
Since the incident Misty has cleaned his ears and they have played together. They snuggled up next to each other to go to sleep tonight.
I honestly thought that bringing him into the home went smoothly, I hope that this doesn't happen again.

By Emily7 on Saturday, September 27, 2008 - 05:15 am:

BTW, thank you so much for your advice.

By Scott on Saturday, September 27, 2008 - 07:10 am:

It's entirely possible that Hunter may have "separation anxiety" and dominance issues. The dominance issue will work itself out eventually, hopefully without any further aggression. Until you are positive that this issue is resolved, I suggest that you separate the dogs when you're not at home.

As to the separation anxiety issue, that's a bit more work. I have to read up on that, so let me get back to you.

By Ginny~moderator on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 - 09:10 am:

Emily - how is Hunter's ear? And how are Hunter and Misty getting along?

By Emily7 on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 - 10:05 am:

Hunter's ear is looking good. There were 3 puncture wounds and one that tore a little, but they seem to be healing nicely. They don't seem to bother him at all.
They are getting along just fine. Playing like nothing happened, I am just keeping a close eye on them, especially when they rough house.
I actually wonder if Hunter tried to mount Misty and she had enough & decided to show him she wanted to be dominate.