To tie or not to tie?

I waiver back and forth on the pros and cons of keeping Pedrito tied up.  Today he gave me more arguments to keep him tied.

I feed him before I feed Tammy or Oscar to avoid fights.  This morning he thumbed his nose at the food I placed before him.

I saw Oscar laying down in the front yard so I went to feed him.  In no time flat Pedrito came running and tried to eat his food...the same food I had given him.  Of course, it ended up in a dog fight. Tammy came out of nowhere to get between them.

I threw water at them but quickly came inside.  I have enough drama in my life to add dog fights to the equation.

Back in his corral

With four dogs I am going through a 50 plus pound bag of food a week.  Back when it was only Tammy and Pedrito I would buy smaller bags.  After Boris joined the clan I started buying the big bags as they were cheaper.

I gave up buying dog food at HEB or Walmart because I could never find someone to put it on my cart.  I now do all my buying at Tractor and Supply as they employee young high school kids with strong backs. They also have better prices.

Today there was another dog fight but I had no idea until I saw an open wound on Pedrito's back, he also had a bite on his head.  Had another dog come unto the property they would have ALL started barking but I heard nothing.

Then I saw his pet dish flipped over and knew that it had been over food.  Oscar the new dog is always hungry though I give him the same amount as the others and sometimes a little more. Pedrito did not finish his share, so I think Oscar tried to eat it.  Last time Pedrito inflicted the damage and today it was Oscar's turn.

On another note Walter is back in his corral and I no longer will have to walk to the corner lugging milk jugs and having people seeing me water him.As far as Dulcinea is concerned...she doesn't look pregnant anymore. I saw her owner riding her in the empty lot behind the church.

Dog fight

I do not have much experience with dogs having only raised one from a puppy some twenty plus years ago.  I am mainly a cat person.  When I raised my puppy I also adopted an adorable orange kitten my neighbor gave me.  Both were raised like brothers and though they would fight at times, it was not an issue.

Pedrito and Tammy were the first strays that decided to stick around.  Pedrito would eat up his food and part of hers, then after he was full he would "allow" her to eat...again no fighting.  I would slip her more food when he was asleep.

When Boris arrived he was in bad shape physically.  Yet he was docile and and meek,  As his health improved his demeanor changed.  At first he would wait patiently for me to feed Pedrito and him but then it got to be a problem.  So much so that I had no other recourse than to tie them up in order to feed them due to all the fights over the food.

Now Oscar comes into the picture.  While the other two dogs continue to be tied up, Oscar decides to try to eat their food...bad idea!  Pedrito got him good and both were bleeding.  Then he got one of his legs wrapped around the tie out.  Got a broom and hit Pedrito to let him go...it was close!

I had two bleeding dogs and Boris going nuts from his tree...thank goodness he was tied up!  You would think Oscar learned his lesson but no...he tried to do the same with Boris who is a young and much bigger dog.  Oscar must have a death wish :(

It's not like I do not feed him.  They all get the same amount of food.  With my bad back, there is no way I can get down a 40 to 50 pound sack of dog food. What I do is fill up yogurt containers and each dog gets one in the morning and one in the afternoon,

I do not know why Tammy brought Oscar home.  I think she was under a lot of stress when I decided to tie up the dogs and she had to run to the gate and see why or whom they were barking at.

With them contained, she was finally able to eat her food without one of them taking it away such as when I fed them chicken bones.  Now the same thing is taking place with Oscar.  Hope he does not start to get possessive or run after people on the street or he is going to be tied up too.

I do not like the idea of them being tied up, they should be able to run around and play but not at the risk of someone getting hurt or them hurting one another.