Question for those with more than one dog, fighting?

[Anita Cholaine]

Fights are one of the reasons I don't think it would be a good idea to get another dog... Anita is so dominant, she doesn't like adult dogs too much, especially if they are females. If someday we get another dog, it will have to be a really docile one, who doesn't mind being controled by Anita..

[Kfamr]

We've had a very scraps here and there but a firm "HEY!!!" quickly stopped it. Usually food or toy is involved and quickly taken away if anything like so happens/

[lv4dogs]

I've had very little fights with my dogs. Raustyk can be dog agressive, especially towards females. Luckily I found out just through her behavior & small scraps, nothing major. So I do my best to avoid any other dogs when she is with me. I guess I've been doing a good job at it.
I can tell a fight will happen before it happens, with body posture, vocal noises, etc.., a simple "knock it off" does the trick for me... so far... knock on wood.

I think you handled it well. And Tamara had some mighty useful information once again.

Not to be rude what so ever, but I've always wondered how you could have three females in the same house with no fights yet. You must be doing a good job at raising them.

[k9krazee]

We've had our share of fights here Mini and Shadow are the worst, and they'll start fighting for what seems like no reason. We had a scare a couple of months ago when Shadow grabbed Mini by the neck and we couldn't get them apart. My mom totally freaked out and became hysterical, we were both there when it happened so I grabbed Shadow and she grabbed Min and we eventually pulled them apart, probably not the best way to handle it! Ironically, Shadow was the one with the injuries after that one, but nothing too serious.

Another time I took all 5 dogs to a big fenced off soccer field at the school and let them run around. Everything was okay until we were about to leave, Mini charged at Shadow and they started going at it. The other three got involved and I started to panick because I was all alone. I started leashing dogs (Micki, Jack and Kyra) and tied them to the fence and finally was holding Shadow's collar in one hand and Mini in the other (with Kyra lunging at Mini from the fence), they were both growling and baring their teeth, I am so thankful I didn't get hurt! Finally got them to calm down but had to figure out a way to get them all home without a fight breaking out in the car! I eventually tied Mini to the floor in the front and Shadow in the back, it was pretty scary. It took them a couple hours to calm down enough where we could let them loose togther again.

Micki and Jack will go at it sometimes too, but a firm "Knock it off!" and they stop.

[lizbud]

I guess I'm lucky in that Smokey & Maggie have never had a fight
over anything.If there's ever any toy or bone in contention, all it takes
is for Maggie to whine at Smokey & he walks away from the toy.He's a
total cream puff.

[Pembroke_Corgi]

Adele & Vallis have had quite a few fights since he came home. It is hard to break them up, and it sounds and looks very nasty, but neither of them have gotten injured. Usually they fight over perceived threats, so I just try to reinforce a heirarchy so they understand where they are at.

They have not tried to dispute Marta's claim to alpha, but when they begin tensing like they will have a fight, Marta will start barking at Adele (who is usually the aggressor) and try to "break it up." She will also bark at her during a fight, and I don't like it because I'm afraid Adele will turn on Marta.

Putting a handle between them was the best thing you could do- you don't want to put your hand in there! Eric usually ends Adele & Vallis' fights by picking Adele up (which isn't the best thing to do) since she will not stop and everything falls onto deaf ears....usually I try to sense a fight coming and when I see aggressive body language I tell them to "go to their crates" or anything to get them from making prolonged eye contact.

[Pembroke_Corgi]

Another time I took all 5 dogs to a big fenced off soccer field at the school and let them run around. Everything was okay until we were about to leave, Mini charged at Shadow and they started going at it. The other three got involved and I started to panick because I was all alone. I started leashing dogs (Micki, Jack and Kyra) and tied them to the fence and finally was holding Shadow's collar in one hand and Mini in the other (with Kyra lunging at Mini from the fence), they were both growling and baring their teeth, I am so thankful I didn't get hurt! Finally got them to calm down but had to figure out a way to get them all home without a fight breaking out in the car! I eventually tied Mini to the floor in the front and Shadow in the back, it was pretty scary. It took them a couple hours to calm down enough where we could let them loose togther again.

Wow, that must have been scary! Good thing you were able to handle it so well.

[IRescue452]

You seem to have a handle on them. Autumn and Pepper have never gotten into fights. Neither has an ounce of fight in them. Autumn doesn't even put the beagle pup in her place when we babysit, I wish she would.

[Sevaede]

I guess my parentals and I are one of the lucky few.

We had three females Treasure (GSD), Trixie (one of her pups, GSD/Rottie mix), and Little Dog (Yorkie) and none of them have ever had a fight. Treasure was definitely alpha. Treasure has since passed away and Willy (Doxie/Bassett Hound) has come to live with the parentals. He is so passive and doesn't really care who's dominant. Trixie likes to initiate play by throwing her paw on Willys back and he really hates that. Willy does growl like he wants to do something about it but 1) he never does and 2) she thinks he is playing so she just does it until she is told to stop. Trixie will also do that to Little Dog and L.D. will just bite her and hold on. Trixie will parade around like that until she jumps down and runs off.

I think Trixie has taken alpha position. She takes everything in stride, though, so nothing goes on, really.

[Daisy and Delilah]

Daisy and Delilah have a few "Mexican Standoffs" now and again when food or space is involved. They growl under the cover at bedtime at each other if one of them is in the way of the other. Sometimes, I see them giving each other a toothy grin and I just firmly tell them to stop. If I don't remain calm, they get worse. They're also still trying to figure out which one of them is top dog

[wolfsoul]

With Visa all I have to do is yell "Hey!" and she'll stop. She never starts a fight, but she'll definatly finish one.

As far as Belgians go, you don't have to wrry too much about fighting. They have a VERY strong pack order that never goes off balance. Being at Marla's house is funny because you get to see the pack order in action. First there is Visa's grandmother, Isis. Then Visa's mother (who is no longer with Marla, but anyways), Spirit. Then Loki, the puppy. Then Visa. Then the poodle (who thinks she's a Belgian). Then Jaguar. No matter what, Jaguar is always on the bottom. It never changes. Even the 8 week old puppy was instantly above her. The dogs never argue about it, they just accept it. That's what I love about Belgians.

When my mom was a teenager, they had a dog fight that could not be broken up. Her and my aunt tried everything; they kicked the dogs, hit them, screamed at them, but these dogs were stuck at eachother's throats, killing eachother. So my mom pushed on one end, my aunt pulled on the other, until they got the dogs to the doorway. They slammed the door on their heads. Fight over!

[Pam]

No fights between my two. I can even feed them side by side and have been doing so ever since I brought Ripley home. They often eat out of the same bowl too, which totally amazes me since my last two poodles had to be separated to eat.

I think if Ripley had been here first he would have taken more of an Alpha role. As it stands now they are pretty evenly matched. When my granddog, Harlee, comes over and when her predecessor, Dale, came over Ripley would occasionally *show teeth* at them when he was on my lap and they would approach. I think he recognizes that Bella was here first and respects that. That, combined with her very loving/accepting personality, has made for a very good combination.