I hate to start this off with a bummer, but....

I had to put my poor pooch to rest this week.  He attacked (tried to kill) my older dog, and we decided that we could not take the risk that either he would attack my senior again, or that he could attack our 5 year old child.

What have we realized:
This has been a long time coming.  Buster was an 8 year old male who was never the leader of the pack.  He was not an obedient dog, but I was never much of a dog trainer, and I think that I gave up trying to control him a long time ago.  It was never really a problem.  As Bebe, who is a 12 year old female, began to reach seniority, he began to challenge her for her position as the alpha dog.  I did not see the signs, unfortunately.  Their fighting has just been getting more and more dangerous over the past year.  I did not realize that he was trying to take over, and this past Wednesday, he brutally attacked her.  Little did I know that my screaming, and trying to break the fight up with a broom could have led to my serious personal injury.  Luckily, for some odd reason, he released her, I grabbed his collar, and dragged him to the back patio.  I really thought that this was the day that he was going to bring her to her death.  It was so horrifying.

Bebe needed 5 stitches in her front leg, which had bled profusely, one in her neck, one under her chin.  There were many wounds that could not be stitched, and a lot of bruising.  My old girl is very lucky to have survived the attack.  Buster only had one nick.  Just goes to show that old girl can no longer defend herself.  Poor thing.

So, after the fight, when I got back from the animal hospital, I googled 'break up dog fight', and found this great site.  I highly recommend that if you have a dog, you read this information.  It's good to know, and the article also shows what happens when humans/owners try to break up a fight incorrectly.  Many folks have had severe injuries that required many surgeries and rehabilitation.  I consider myself to be lucky to have not been one of those folks.
Here's a link to the article:
http://leerburg.com/dogfight.htm

Stay safe.

Buster - Rest in peace.  We miss you terribly.