Fighting dogs shake the house

by Casey Eldred

Zach Eldred awoke to his bedroom floor shaking. There was commotion and yelling in the living room.  

He ran downstairs and saw one of his dogs attacking the other. His mother, Christine, was doing her best to stop the fight.  

The dogs knocked over the recliner and side table in the living room. The room was filled with growling, yelping, and barking.  

He jumped in the middle of the fight between the two boxers.  

Marvin, the larger dog weighing 90 pounds, relentlessly attacked Winston.  

Together, Zach and Christine broke the dogs apart. Both dogs were left bloody, but neither were seriously injured.  

“It happened out of nowhere,” Christine said. “I let them inside the house and Marvin just attacked Winston. I was terrified they were going to seriously hurt each other.” 

Christine suffered a bite to the hand, resulting in stitches.  

“My mom’s just not strong enough to get them apart,” Zach explained. “I don’t know what would’ve happened if I wasn’t home that morning.”  

This was the first time the dogs had shown aggression in any way. Before the fight, they played in the yard, ate dinner together, and slept in the same room. 

(Photo: Casey Eldred)

“Marvin has never been aggressive toward other dogs or people, ever,” she said. “He runs and hides when people come through the front door. He’s scared of everything, except for when he tries to kill his brother.” 

The fights continued for several weeks and became more serious. They became more and more frequent. Marvin lunged at Winston whenever they ended up in the same room.  

The family never discussed getting rid of one dog or the other, only solutions to the problem.  

“I think it’s been over a year and I don’t remember the last time they’ve been in the same room. We don’t even give them the chance to fight like that anymore,” Zach said.  

“We just adjusted to keeping them separate,” Christine said. “We use baby gates so that they each have areas of the house. I wish we could go back to how they used to be together, but I’m too scared to even try.”