Fighting Dogs

[animalfriend702]

I have 3 dogs, 2 males and 1 female. The two male dogs got along well for quite some time. I was letting the dogs out to do their business one day and the 2 males started fighting. It took 4 members from my family to seperate them. One dog would bite the other dog in the ear or face and wouldn't let go. We tried shouting, hitting, fire extinguisher, choking, pouring water, spraying into eyes ect. By the time we do seperate them we are out of energy and stressed out. Then we would have to wipe off the bloody dog.
So now, we lock them in seperate rooms. The female dog gets along with both males, but all three can't be out at the same time.
We love all three dogs so putting 1 to sleep is out of the question.
My question is, what's the best way to break up a dog fight? in case they fight again.

[DogMom]

Have any of them been fixed? If not, I would say have them ALL fixed and the fighting will stop. Chances are the fighting is hormonal--survival of the fittest. The strongest male "wins" the female and the right to breed and carry on the genes. Once they are neutered, they lose the instinct to breed and the fighting stops. But you need to have her spayed as well.

My best advice otherwise is to not break up the fighting. The fight is a dominance issue. One will eventually win, the other learning to back down, and the fighting will stop.

[countrychic10]

Honestly, unless it was a tiny dog I would not get in the middle of a dog fight. A local woman literally had her arms ripped off from the elbows down while trying to break up a dog fight...(I'll see if I can dig up the news link..it was horrible!)

Anywho...I would also like to know if any of the dogs are altered and how old are they?? Chances are getting the males nuetered *Could* stop the fighting...but I have seen issues in even altered dogs...especially when a female is about. My Weim who is now passed on was nuetred at 1 year old and he still thought he was "all boy" and would try to breed females that were in heat and would fight other males....

So...either way I would ahve the female fixed if she isn't already and go get the boys their big snip as well...Hopefully it will curb the fighting and such, and even if it doesn't it will be better for their helath and reduce their chances of cancer and things of that nature.

Sadly in the end you may have to end up rehoming one of the dogs if you can't get this issue resolved by altering them.

Best of luck to you.

[animalfriend702]

The aggressive one is 10 and the other is 8. 1 german shepard the other is from australia, looks like a german shepard but is tan colored.

[youbetcha1018]

Have you tried separating them?Maybe,The best thing to do is consult a animal psychiatrist.It may help you learn on what is the best thing to do regarding your problem.

[doggie3479]

This is always good to know for any dog owner, whether you own multiple dogs or just one. You never know what other pets you may run into when on your daily walks:
https://www.wikihow.pet/Get-Your-Two...-Stop-Fighting

[Wrax]

That's some very helpful information doggie3479. Thank you for sharing.

I'd also like to comment that getting an aggressive animal castrated or spayed definitely isn't a guaranteed 'fix' for aggressive behaviour. Especially if they are an older animal. Aggressive behaviours sadly aren't unlearned once your pet has been fixed. If they have shown signs of aggressive behaviour, they likely need training or behavioural work to help curve their aggression. Even then, this can take some time depending on the severity and circumstances of the aggression.

Consider talking to an animal behaviourist if anybody is in the same boat as animalfriend702 was.

Although, with saying this getting them spayed or castrated may help, and is certainly a good first step!