Our dogs get into violent fights with each other occasionally... now there is a broken tooth. HELP!
Colby = our corgi (29 lbs)
Buster = our daschund mix (21 lbs)
We have had Colby since 10/2008 and we got Buster around 5/2009. They get along great... most of the time. They snuggle when they are tired, they play and chase like normal dogs, they stick together when they are outside, and seem to behave like normal dogs. Since December, there have been somewhere between 8-12 violent fights that last between 5-15 seconds. What usually happens... is that Buster will be playing with a toy, and Colby will approach Buster and look at him. Then, it seems like both dogs go after each other at the same time, and they show ALL of their teeth while barking and growling loudly, and bite at each other and are usually on their back legs. It is really scary to watch.
We almost always break up the fight while saying 'NO!', and make them lay down next to each other for a few moments. Yesterday they had 2 fights. The first one ended after about 5-10 seconds, and it seemed like both dogs just quit. The second one, it was in our bed and we broke up the fight. We noticed Colby was bleeding under his chin and had a broken tooth.
We want this behavior to stop! We are not sure what to do. We make them obey commands before all treats and when we put their food down. We make them sit before we put their collars on to go outside. We try to do things to show the dogs that my wife and I are the pack leaders.
Please help!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on
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Sounds like they are trying to sort out who is in charge. When we added my son's dobe last year I had to deal with similar behavior (although fortunately the dobe did not fight back). I put a leash on Sparty for him to drag around and that way I could put a stop to fights. Now I just keep an eye on them and if Sparty starts a "stare" I give him a firm no so he will not take things away from Misty. You may benefit from the Nothing in Life is Free program (google it) It is easy and the toys are supposed to be yours not theirs which may end some of the confusion. Mean while a dragging leash makes it easier to control things.
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Permalink Reply by Denise Hawkins on
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We had this problem when we got 2 Corgi's together. Initially they were brilliant together, they played, snuggled and we thought we had it made.....then Reggie had a teenage hormone surge and the trouble began! They would have up to 15-20 fights in a day, most of them appeared to be very vicious, although no one ever drew blood, Reggie became an Oscar winning performer, limping (although he would never remember which leg to limp on. Hilarious to watch sometimes) I wonder if your dogs are castrated? We had so much trouble that I contacted the Vet and was told that this had now become a habit and that even if I had the dogs castrated, the chances are things would not change, so we rehomed the little one, and both it seems will get on with other dogs, but sadly not each other. I would have them castrated if they are not already to ensure it is not a hormone thing.
I would feed them seperately, ensure that if there is a favourite toy, that they both have one. Imagine them to be like squabbling two year olds with teeth, makes it easier for you to pre empt things before they happen.
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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When they are fighting, do they spontaneously stop on their own? Or do they only stop when you intervene?
If one of them yelps or backs out, does the other one continue, or does he stop? Do they shake like they just got out of the tub when they are done?
I'm asking these questions because you say they are fighting violently, and they may very well be, but when mine mock-fight (play) they show all their teeth and make awful noises and rear on their hind legs, etc. Very frequently when dogs mean business, you won't see all their teeth, just their front ones. And they are often silent or nearly silent, since their efforts are in trying to hurt each other, not trying to make a lot of noise.
Usually if the fights are real, they will continue unless someone breaks it up, and there will be bloodshed in a high proportion of the incidents.
So they may be fighting for real as you say, but with all the noise and bluster and teeth, if you just described their actions without giving the description of it as a fight, I would think you were describing two boys bluffing to see who's the strongest.
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Just to clarify, real fights (especially squabbles) can be very noisy too, so I didn't want to imply that noise always meant play. Maddie got into a snarkfest on-leash with a loose Boston Terrier once, and they were both very noisy, though they did not make serious contact with each other. I could tell they were mad because Maddie's pitch changed from her play-growl.
When I was a kid we had two female dogs who hated each other, and they would fight frequently if we were not careful with them. The real fights involved a lot of intense staring and very low growling and snarling, and the aggressor dog trying to make very targeted lunges at the other female, who would then lunge back in response to protect her space. The impression they gave was more of coiled snakes looking for a chance to strike, rather than going at each other like gang-busters.
What we did was learn what triggered the fight, and then controlled the dog prone to attack (which was the little one) in those situations; when everyone was calm and quiet they could be together, but sudden movements on the larger dog's part would trigger the smaller one to launch and so we just kept them separated during those high-excitement moments. It wasn't perfect, but it allowed us to keep both dogs and relative calm.
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