ellensy: I'd guess you have a dominance thing going here and you are going to have to put yourself in the Alpha position to get much in the way of peace. I have a T-shirt that proclaims me Alpha Bitch at my house, but the fact is, I AM the alpha bitch, by right of teaching the dogs through tricks and obedience work that I can tell them what to do. My two oldest girlies got into it on occasion and water on them would break it up, and then both went to crates, no matter who started it. They went into "timeout" for about fifteen minutes and then I would check them over (unless, of course, there was an obvious injury that needed immediate attention). Then, they'd be allowed to leave timeout, but under my watchful eye. When I am not at home, all dogs get crated. There are a couple of reasons for this: No "surprises" of any kind ("presents", trash, etc.), I control when each comes out and gets what attention (another Alpha thing), and, thirdly, if a fire started at the house, they'd be easier for rescue workers to find and save. Most of the time, they travel in their crates for some of the same reasons. I think you need to invest in separate crates and teach the "kids" how to be in them while you're gone and this should help alleviate some of the "rivalry". And, yes, watch toys they may fight over like the Buster Cube -- even my Jack Russell challenged the older, larger Cattle Dog cross over that and it (the cube) went to another home. Hope this helps.

[This message has been edited by ktreva52 (edited November 25, 2000).]