dog on dog aggression

[x1ryan636]

i have a female 4 year old pit, and 15 month old AB male, they are best friends my pit has been around my pup since he was 5 weeks old, they get depressed if they dont see each other for a few days, but for some reason now they fight , and not play fight, i mean if i wasnt there to break it up they would kill each other, my female has always been aggresive to other dogs but never him is it some kind of dominace thing or what, should i let them go one time and establish top dog or what im clueless i cant keep them seprate forever

[forever_pit]

IMO crate and rotate

[Cinder]

You can keep them seperate forver, and in reality that's more than likely what has to occur now.

What is going on is not a "establishing top dog" thing, it's dog aggression.


And you're right...they will kill each other.

[Kellee]

Originally Posted by x1ryan636

i have a female 4 year old pit, and 15 month old AB male, they are best friends my pit has been around my pup since he was 5 weeks old, they get depressed if they dont see each other for a few days, but for some reason now they fight , and not play fight, i mean if i wasnt there to break it up they would kill each other, my female has always been aggresive to other dogs but never him is it some kind of dominace thing or what, should i let them go one time and establish top dog or what im clueless i cant keep them seprate forever

I think since he is 15 months old and they have been around eachother since he was 5 weeks, it no longer is a matter of them trying to establish top dog for the most part. Is he neutered? I am wondering if it may be possible since he is getting to a really mature age, if the Pit has been top dog and he was making a move for the position, initially causing the fights. I think it gets to the point if both are dominant and not willing to "give it up" that the fights just trigger more fights for the sake of fighting and may not stop. I would separate them . If it were me, I would TRY to integrate them together for short times....perhaps with muzzles on, and then separate, etc. and just keep picking at that and see if it helps. I haven't had it personally happen, but it sounds like sometimes.....two dogs just don't jive at some point and never will. This must be disappointing for you.

[chipinsc]

Originally Posted by forever_pit

IMO crate and rotate

+1

[OrsonDogge]

yup, i am in EXACT situation and i keep separate forever!

Orson was 3 years old (and he doesnt like other dogs) when Lolita (who loves other dogs) came to us at 10 weeks, they were best friends until she was almost 1. they slept together, played and had a blast together, then one day a play wrestle turned into a fight
then the fighting became more frequent until I said, "there is no way to trust them, so i must keep them separate".
Its a PAIN IN THE BUTT, but it has to be done!!!!

Muzzles will not work, they will just cause more frustration. Crate and rotate or what i do is just use baby gates to keep them apart.

[Cinder]

Originally Posted by OrsonDogge

Muzzles will not work, they will just cause more frustration. Crate and rotate or what i do is just use baby gates to keep them apart.

Exactly. Muzzles are going to only create frustration and perhaps more drive in the end. I equate it to the territory issues we have with Atticus...when he was young we would keep him in the front room, and all day long he would stare out the front window while we were gone. People coming and going all day long just added to his frustration of not being able to reach them.


Baby gates are GREAT if you have a dog that isn't built for jumping or won't jump....but if you have a larger dog, that drive will just have him soaring over it.

[bodazafa]

Originally Posted by Cinder

Exactly. Muzzles are going to only create frustration and perhaps more drive in the end. I equate it to the territory issues we have with Atticus...when he was young we would keep him in the front room, and all day long he would stare out the front window while we were gone. People coming and going all day long just added to his frustration of not being able to reach them.


Baby gates are GREAT if you have a dog that isn't built for jumping or won't jump....but if you have a larger dog, that drive will just have him soaring over it.

Agreed. Crate and rotate is really the only REAL option here.

[BanterBull]

It all depends on how much time you want to put in to it. My two males started fighting when the younger one reached maturity. It started about 4 yrs. ago. I crated/rotated for a couple days. But, I didn't want to have to do that to them for the rest of their lives. It's not fun and it's not right for them. So, I did a lot of researching, put in the time, and now they get along marvelously. It wasn't that hard at all. Since I started training them that they're not allowed to fight and that they're equals, I've had no problems. If this is something you're interested in, pm me and I'll give you some more info.

[tt557]

I agree with crate & rotate - but did any of you see the new episode on The Dog Whisperer about the two GSD's?
A male & female that just up and started fighting. Turns out it was because one of the dogs (male) was unbalanced and the female would attack him when he was all worked up. She was correcting his behavior - behavior the owner wasnt recognizing. It was a pretty cool episode. It's funny what people dont see in their dogs.

Even though the episode was great - unless you can supervise your dogs 24/7..........crate & rotate.