Dog fight~ they usually love each other~what can I do to prevent?

[fried green eggs]

I'm glad your pit will recover. You have beautiful dogs. I don't think you have to re-home your GS dog but don't put your pit in harms way anymore now that you know there is a problem just deal with it. I don't make it a issue with my dogs and the behavior is toatally manageable.

Shock Collars can be great for some dogs but are not good for aggressive behavior as the dog may think it's the other dog bitting them in the heat of the moment and it could make things worse. They are great for off line training and walks in the country - once the dog is properly trained with its warning beep you won't need to zap them with the shock collar and you can go anywhere off line.

I have my front yard fenced for our dogs with electric fence (fed from our horse pasture). We live in the country and eveyone enters the house through garage anyways. The fence is 3 strands of wire at 4", 10", 16" and at 24" I have 1 1/2" tape fence so people can see it. We have a side fenced section the same way so I can keep dogs apart when outside and unsupervised. I can disconnect elec and move step-in post to mow the fenced yard. The fence is low enough to make people realize IF my rotts wanted out - it wouldn't be a problem! LOL It's also low enough we can step over it and the low wires keep out rabbits, skunks etc. from wandering near house. However - this past winter the snow got deep and hard enough that rotts could walk on top of it and their fence was then only inches high and they still stayed in their yard. : ) They love being outside and they all have a dog house if they need it.
I have 3 rotts a 7 yo male,3 yo grump, and coming 1 yo female (I bought back after selling - because she didn't have a good home) we also have a 16 yo female JRT. I spayed the young Rottie before she had her first heat and do not let my 3 yo grump with JRT at all - as problems started when my rott grump got to be breeding age. I can call her off the attack but no one else could or can. Shes not really dog aggressive but, it's natural for her to not want any other intack females in her house and its in her DNA as a German bred rott.

All my dogs are good with other dogs and well trained - I have even been told I should be showing all of them. I understand at home my grump gets territorial and she is the queen over our other dogs and they will submit to her or else so, we don't put her in a situation where she would get in trouble for fighting or worse killing our JRT.

IMHO underground fence is fine but if the dog chases a rabbit or goes through fence and gets zapped it won't want to come back in. A solid fence - electric, chain or other type is better.

 

[danischi24]

You need to keep them separated when you aren't there. When you are there, you need to build on Holly's dominance because she is going to win & the sooner everyone including Chaser accepts that, the easier things will be. Holly gets fed first, Holly goes out the door first, only Holly gets to go on the sofa etc. Always back up Holly & not Chaser or you will just prolong the dominance battle. Once everyone accepts the new pack positions, peace will reign.

 

[BorderKelpie]

You've recieved a lot of good advice.

Here is a link to a forum that deals with dogs/handling/training. The owner of the forum has worked with, trained and bred some of the best police service dogs in this country. He is painfully honest but spot on in his training philosophy.

I hope you get as much help from his site as I have:

http://leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php

articles regarding training, etc:


http://leerburg.com/articles.htm

and a great article to get you started:


http://leerburg.com/groundwork.htm

Best wishes!

eta: A must read: How to Break Up a Dog Fight Without Getting Hurt:

http://leerburg.com/pdf/howtobreakupdogfight.pdf

 

[Stacykins]

Definitely have been there. Had to crate the aggressor while nobody was home.

Was between my parent's beagle girl and the lab mix girl they'd had for several years. Lab was clear alpha (of the DOGS, people were true alphas), beagle wouldn't accept that fact easily. They'd have occasional spats, nothing major usually. However, during one of those it escalated and the lab got her ear bitten. Stupid of me to break up a fight alone, but grabbing the beagle and making her submit stopped it since the lab instantly knew defending her position was over. Also, the lab would never harm a hair of her human pack, she was the sweetest girl in the world. If I had instead grabbed the lab, the beagle wouldn't have stopped. So it was the beagle who was crated since she was the clear instigator. The lab stayed alpha until she passed away, and then the beagle assumed that roll. Though the only other dog she could dominate over was the big, squishy black lab who didn't care either way as long as his napping spot was free.

 

[4 the Birds]

Pecking Order! Dogs are allways establishing their pecking order. When food and treats are available, dogs will squable over who is the righfull owner. Try to feed dogs only when you are present to keep order. Also supervise when you give treats. I often feed 6 or 7 dogs within the same area RAW meat and I make sure that they know that I am the Alpha and I do not tolerate unruly outbreaks. Hope all works out OK. John

 

[Jamie_Dog_Trainer]

Fattie,

I can understand you not wanting to give up either dog, that is a hard thing to have to consider. Since you have chose to keep both dogs, what you'll have to do to prevent fighting is called "management".

I still encourage you to find a trainer that has a lot of experience and knowledge about muli-dog households and the dynamics that creates.

Here are the steps that might be helpful in managing your dogs.

1. Crate the dogs. Alternate who is in the crate or you'll find some aggression resulting from this.
2. Get a trainer to help you see the tension between the dogs. The truth is, you don't see it until its super obvious, so you are missing the "conversations" between them that cause the explosive confilct. They are subtle but you can learn this.
3. Do some training with both of them regularly. Expect obedience from both at a high level.
4. Set some rules an follow/enforce them consistently.
5. Don't ever let your guard down.

 

[carolinagirl58]

Quote:
Somehow that does not seem very fair to Chaser, who is a very old dog. Chaser is a Pit Bull....she is NOT going to give up her position in the pack. Any why should she? This is her family and was hers for a long time before Holly came along. It just seems to me that favoring holly over chaser will make Chaser a very sad old dog.

Jamie-Dog-Trainer's advise is great. Rather than cure this problem (which has no cure), you are going to have to manage this and accept that these two dogs will never be friends.

 

[Funky Feathers]

I agree. I got Chaser in 2000, at 7 weeks old. I have pampered her ever since. She was Alpha dog all this time until Holly came along. Holly submitted to Chaser at first, until she got big. Now she wants the throne. But Chaser clearly has seniority. Chaser is always allowed on the couch with me, Holly is not (too big). Chaser is primarily mine and Holly is primarily hubby's. She gets her love and attention from hubby, Chaser gets it from me. I often ignore Holly's requests for attention & play. Hubby tries to treat them equally. Just a little background info.

 

[carolinagirl58]

My pit bull is not quite as old as yours (she is 6 now) but I could never imagine pushing her away in favor of a new dog. It would just break her heart. I am getting a new dog in a couple months (Anatolian Shepherd) but will be getting a male for this very reason.

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

Fattie - please be careful

I have had mastiffs for years...........female to female - always the worst fights.



Crates

And find someone who can teach you the subtle signs that problems are building between the girls..................sometimes it is as slight as a muscle shift in posture - knowing the signs will help stop the fight before it progresses.