As we returned from the top field yesterday afternoon a fight broke out between the bitches. There was no doubt it was Tali who caused the tension that started the fight, but I'm not sure if it was her who threw the first punch.(so to speak)It was such a nice afternoon and we'd been sitting in the top of the field. As Sammi was eating mud, grass and more mud I'd popped her on a lead. As we decided to return indoors Mikey ran off with Tali's toy, immediately putting her "In one!" For a reason best only known to herself she took it out on Ziva and gave her that "look," Ziva hit the deck. A few paces forward and they had words, but sadly this time a fight broke out between the two of them. Luckily Sammi was still on the lead and I was able to pass her over to Steve and run down the field to try and sort it out. Mikey ran home (A reaction I've seen before from a male when bitches fight) and Asha hovered making it harder to break it up as she occasionally joined in. It felt like it went on for hours, but in truth it was only minutes before I was able to pull Ziva away and screamed at Tali to back off. I must admit I was harsh on Ziva as I felt at the time that it was only right for me to back up Tali, after all Tali is still top dog ... I think!
As I think back, only a week or two, there was a spat between Asha and Tali over a toy. That has never ever happened before, the two have always adored each other and though it was something and nothing it did happen. Why? Yesterday Asha seemed to be backing her daughter and not her mother. Why? Though Ziva has always had more respect for Asha than she has for Tali she has never questioned her authority, so why now? There is no doubt Tali is getting older and slowing down, are the other girls now picking up on a weakness that only they can sense? I guess time will tell.
Now I have all the ifs and buts going around my head. If Mikey hadn't taken the toy then Tali wouldn't have got into a strop, If Ziva had taken her own toy with her then she'd have probably gone off in the other direction. Thank god that puppy was on the lead ....
No one is really hurt. Luckily two bitches of equal size with good coats have manage to do little damage. Tali does have a couple of puncture wounds in her leg, but having cleaned them they really are not deep and don't warrant a vet check. In the dog world there really isn't much worse than bitches fighting, it's a whole different league to males having a scrap. Bitches fighting are just horrible!
After the fight we put all the dogs involved in their crates for a couple of hours and even fed them in there before bringing them out together again. Though feeling tense we decided to try our best to behave as if nothing had happened and carry on in our normal routine. Though it's been a long time since we've had bitches fighting here one thing has always stayed in my mind. Unlike dogs, bitches hold grudges and there is always a few days/weeks of tension to come.
So how is it here today? Strangely quietly and uniquely after a fight, without tension. There have been no dirty looks or growls and grumbles between the girls .... to be honest other than it's unnatural quite, it feels like nothing has happened. Tali is a little stiff, and I do hope she's not harboring a quite grudge for when she's feeling a 100% again. I fear that if the old girl starts trouble again she will be the one getting seriously hurt.
So where do we stand now? We are going to hope it was just one of those things, a one off tiff, a bad day in the office... after all there has never been any trouble between them before. What will I do different? Only one thing, I'll make sure both girls always take their toys with them in the fields as well as on the walk and hope it never happens again!
