neilnbeanie 10 Posted March 3, 2012 Report Share Posted March 3, 2012 Hi All Just wondering if any of you can give me any advice on how to stop my dogs fighting. I have a Staff which is about 2.5 years old and a beddy,grey x whippet which is 18 months, ive had them both from pups, they both live indoors and they have always got along great. The problem started a couple of weeks ago, they was both in season and we were playing about in the back garden with my daughter in the snow, when all of a sudden it kicked off and they were tearing chunks out of each other. I got them apart but they were still trying to get at each other, and only calmed down after a while after being shut in a crate seperatly. Since then they have had a couple of other fights and they seem to getting more aggresive and harder to seperate. My lurcher is now starting to get hurt but she wont seem to give up. I was wondering if any of you have any tips on how i can stop this, to be honest, each time it has started i havent really seen which one has started the fight, but once it has started, they both seem up for it, even though the lurcher always comes second. ATB. Neil. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dymented 2,220 Posted March 3, 2012 Report Share Posted March 3, 2012 you have just got to show them your the boss and its not expectable to fight bud i have 2 dogs here like that they wouldn't dream of putting a foot wrong with me but take liberties with the missus 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
leegreen 2,151 Posted March 3, 2012 Report Share Posted March 3, 2012 Now they have started you'll have a problem. You need to keep an eye on them and nip it in the bud as soon as it starts. You need to be able to read the signs and stop it before it happens, because once it does your too late. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
neilnbeanie 10 Posted March 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2012 you have just got to show them your the boss and its not expectable to fight bud i have 2 dogs here like that they wouldn't dream of putting a foot wrong with me but take liberties with the missus Yeah thats pretty much what i have done, but up to now they have always got on great, usually squashed up together asleep on the same bed and ive always been impressed with the staff, she has always put up with a lot with the lurcher chasing her around and diving all over her, and biting her. But now i dont leave them together when we go out because i worry i will come home to a dead lurcher or at least a large vet bill. Neil Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dymented 2,220 Posted March 3, 2012 Report Share Posted March 3, 2012 Once they have started never leave them alone untended bud or ill guaranty you will come back to a dead dog . might be there age ect is it there first season ? 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kanny 20,411 Posted March 3, 2012 Report Share Posted March 3, 2012 im sure you will get lots of advice but the bottom line is your going to have a hard time stopping them now imo. i dont keep dogs now due to my circumstances but ive had my fair share of fighters in the past and it aint easy the only thing you can do is minnimise it by things like removing all rag toys from your garden feed seprately dont leave any bones about and never go out leave them together alone ect ect....your dogs are just coming of age around two its like a switch flips in them ive seen it so many times and heard it even more and its always round the 2yr mark. good luck 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
neilnbeanie 10 Posted March 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2012 Now they have started you'll have a problem. You need to keep an eye on them and nip it in the bud as soon as it starts. You need to be able to read the signs and stop it before it happens, because once it does your too late. I get what your saying and i think i have stopped it a couple of times before it has started, But the 3 fights that they have had in the last 2 weeks have just happened out of the blue and i dont really know what has started it. The lurcher seems to get jelous if i stroke her and the staff comes over, but i dont really know the best way to stop this apart from telling her off and not paying either of them any attention for a while. Then i play with them together. Neil Quote Link to post Share on other sites
leegreen 2,151 Posted March 3, 2012 Report Share Posted March 3, 2012 Now they have started you'll have a problem. You need to keep an eye on them and nip it in the bud as soon as it starts. You need to be able to read the signs and stop it before it happens, because once it does your too late. I get what your saying and i think i have stopped it a couple of times before it has started, But the 3 fights that they have had in the last 2 weeks have just happened out of the blue and i dont really know what has started it. The lurcher seems to get jelous if i stroke her and the staff comes over, but i dont really know the best way to stop this apart from telling her off and not paying either of them any attention for a while. Then i play with them together. Neil It's really hard to give you advice without seeing what's happening. I can tell you one thing for sure, if a fight is about to occur there will be signs. Stiffening, stance even an approach or a look will be an indication something is about to kick off. If you really want to save your dogs relationship and not end up with a dead dog, you need to find some one local who can help you. The only other options are get rid of one or keep them separate. Other than that you will need some good animal behaviour knowledge. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chook1 184 Posted March 4, 2012 Report Share Posted March 4, 2012 Tbh with bitch's its hard, once they have started that's it - bitch's hold a grudge and never really let things drop. Personally I've been through this and it ended up i had to keep both bitch's separate, they had lived with each other for 8 years without problems, they started off the same as yours few occasional fights then they were ok, it got to the point they couldn't be in the same room as each other. The only thing you can try is strict rules, no playing together, feeding and bones separate and no toys, spaying one may help - as at the moment they are both equals - the lurcher will be coming in to maturity so that could be playing a part in it. 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
skycat 6,173 Posted March 4, 2012 Report Share Posted March 4, 2012 Once bitches start, you can NEVER trust them together again. They might be fine for ages, then one day it will all kick off again. You need to separate them now before you end up with a dead lurcher and a Staff that knows how to kill other dogs. Believe me, I've been there and paid the price. It's not a good feeling to come home to a dead or dying dog. Personally, I don't think that status comes into bitch fights very much: so spaying doesn't really help with bitches. Once they start bearing a grudge that's it. I had to keep a very good working bitch under lock and key, in solitary, because she would kill any dog that bumped into her, even by accident. I'd never keep a dog like that again: the stress of making sure she could never be loose round other dogs was really bad. I would get rid of one before its too late, or at the very least kennel one and keep t'other in house. Padlock the kennel so only you can let the kennel bitch out: family members tend to forget or think they know best and that surely the bitches will be fine after a while. It never happens like that. If you value your dogs, separate right now and keep them separated for ever. 5 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Casso 1,261 Posted March 4, 2012 Report Share Posted March 4, 2012 Hi All Just wondering if any of you can give me any advice on how to stop my dogs fighting. I have a Staff which is about 2.5 years old and a beddy,grey x whippet which is 18 months, ive had them both from pups, they both live indoors and they have always got along great. The problem started a couple of weeks ago, they was both in season and we were playing about in the back garden with my daughter in the snow, when all of a sudden it kicked off and they were tearing chunks out of each other. I got them apart but they were still trying to get at each other, and only calmed down after a while after being shut in a crate seperatly. Since then they have had a couple of other fights and they seem to getting more aggresive and harder to seperate. My lurcher is now starting to get hurt but she wont seem to give up. I was wondering if any of you have any tips on how i can stop this, to be honest, each time it has started i havent really seen which one has started the fight, but once it has started, they both seem up for it, even though the lurcher always comes second. ATB. Neil. would be interested to know how much they get out , what i mean is out doing doggy stuff, if you leave dogs living in tension and not out releasing energy, fighting can become the ultimate release for a dog, tension builds up, a row starts usually involving a heightening of energy, and what happens is the fighting itself leaves a tension in the dog which can then only be resolved through fighting thereafter,, a wolf pack live in tension which is resolved through the hunt, i would do some tug work with them on their own , to just distress them,especially the staffie, teaching each to bark on instruction is also a stress buster in mutts , best of luck with them Quote Link to post Share on other sites
neilnbeanie 10 Posted March 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2012 Thanks for the replies everyone, i was a bit gutted after reading Skycats reply, i was really hoping there was something more i could do. They are in seperate crates for now and both looking very sorry for themselves, but when ive let them out one at a time, their fur goes up and they both look up for more. Casso, im a great believer in that myself and i have to admit that the 1st time this may have been the case as they were in season and hadnt been out for about a week. But they had both been out ratting for a couple of hours yesterday afternoon and ferreting all day the day before Was thinking of getting a couple of muzzles before letting them out together again, so at least they cant do too much damage to each other if i dont get there in time. But i dont think i will ever trust them again alone. Neil. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
skycat 6,173 Posted March 4, 2012 Report Share Posted March 4, 2012 Plenty of daily exercise will help to relieve frustration, but I honestly don't think that you'll ever be able to have them loose again together without risking a fight. I've seen it too often with bitches. One bitch I had was nice as anything with all other dogs, then my psycho good bitch had a pop at her one day cos nice bitch just bumped into her out running about: pyscho bitch made a mess of the bigger bitch. No major damage done as the nice bitch had a skin like leather, but ever after she'd look at the pyscho dog sideways, and her hackles went up even if psycho bitch looked at her. I rehomed nice bitch as it wasn't fair on her, and kept psycho as she was such a good worker, but she spent the rest of her life in a kennel and run alone. Even so, she tried to have a go at another bitch I had, luckily both were on the lead at the time. What I'm saying is that once a bitch has a problem with another bitch, it never goes away. The bad feelings might seem to go underground for a while, but let's say they jostle to go through a door at the same time: those bad feelings just come right to the surface again. Another scenario: when my partner moved in with me he had a very sharp little lurcher, who was used to being top dog at her previous home. My top dog at the time was a Deer/Grey. She was the most laid back non aggressive dog you could meet. The sharp little bitch just hated her from the word go, although my bitch hadn't even looked wrong at her. she just couldn't stand to not be top bitch. Twice, for no reason at all, the little bitch took the fight to the Deer/Grey, both times the big dog just pinned the little bitch, and stood back the moment we intervened. The third time it happened the big bitch had had enough of it, and tried to kill the small sharp bitch. The little bitch went back to my partner's ex to live out her retirement. It would never have stopped. Also had situations with terriers:bitches really do bear a grudge, and they may simmer down for a month, even a year, but the issues always resurface sooner or later. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Casso 1,261 Posted March 4, 2012 Report Share Posted March 4, 2012 (edited) i would also try to make the home an attention vacuum, so no attention given to either of them in the house, a house is a very tension filled environment for a dog at the best of times,and with the two of them now with a history of charged emotional encounters between them, too many emotional situations in the house can just be adding more tension on top of something which already has shaky foundations , i would defo get that staffie out and working on a tug item, it helps to show a dog what to do with it energy, its get the energy flowing back and forth between you and him, at the moment the energy if stuck and exploding out at highly charged times ,the same with dogs who are drawn towards aggression as an energy release ,but it feels better for the dog to express energy in a social manner, its a matter of reprogramming the mutt to feel good about giving you all his energy, Edited March 4, 2012 by Casso Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chook1 184 Posted March 4, 2012 Report Share Posted March 4, 2012 Problem with tug is it can actually heighten a dogs energy, depending on breed. Friend used to have a EBT he used to play tug with it every now and then, after that dog had been playing tug - it actually turned aggressive. If i play tug with my beddy x - it doesn't calm her down or get rid of her energy she gets more hyper and i end up having to give her time outs to calm her down again. First thing i teach any of my dogs when they come to me is how to relax - that helps reduce any tension they have, and ensures i don't have crazy dogs - that cant get rid of there energy. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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