Advice on fighting dogs in new home

Hi all,

Actually looking for advice for my brother. He has two medium-sized dogs (they are a mix, not sure of what). These two have lived together and gotten along great for six years. It was to the point where they were concerned if one would be its normal self if something happened to the other. In January my brother moved to a new home. Now the dogs hate each other. They have fought on numerous occasions, resulting in stitches a couple of times. The latest occurrance even resulted in stitches for my brother when he was trying to pull them apart. One dog will even stare at the other until it gets up and moves from its sleeping spot, then the one will take the other's place. Thanks in advance for suggestions/advice!

 

Is there anything that seems to set off fights in particular? Food, toys, etc? Is it a newly built house? Did people with pets live there previously?

I would definitely have him find a GOOD behaviorist. Make sure he finds one experienced with the particular issues he is experiencing and one that uses POSITIVE methods.


Jamiya

 

Nothing in particular seems to set off the fight. They aren't playing w/ toys or any similar activity. It seems they can just be walking by each other and one looks at the other wrong. The house is newly built. Both seem to be instigators (neither dog in particular seems to be starting the fight).

One thing I didn't mention is that there is a third dog in the mix. All three got along at the old house, and this dog is never involved in any of the scuffles. The two fighting dogs are females, and the third dog is a male puppy, but a tad larger than the two females and appears to get along with them fine.

 

what abut previous dog odors int eh house, dont know how this woudl set off the dogs, but a possibility I would also check with a bahavourist.


I did find this
Almost anything that allows a dog to identify a territorial boundary really
can contribute to aggressive behavior in a dog who leans towards
territorial defensiveness.

because territorial and dominance issues need to be resolved between the dogs. Maybe they are trying to find who will be the dominant dog in the new house, have their roles changed?


and also they say dogs lose their secureness and safety feeling and can become aggressive

and when they are in pain, could be one is not well and it ist just coincided with the move

honeybear

 

Sounds to me like they are trying to establish new dominace between the two of them in the new home.

BIG question here, are all 3 of them spayed and neutered?

 

Yep.

 

I aswell would talk to a behviourist. Make sure you ask for references (previous ppl who have used him) BEFORE handing over any money. There are some amazing behviourists out there and some that are fools.

Also, not knowing the breed of the dogs, it is quite common for dogs of the same sex to have agression towards each other. There is a chance these girls will never get along again. In this case, your brother will have to learn the "shuffle".

The Shuffle is a way for agressive dogs to live together and prevent future arguments between them. I would suggest crates for all 3 dogs if he doesn't have them already. This will become their "safe place" so if your brother can't watch the dogs, then one of the females should be crated or out by herself or with the male puppy.

It takes a while to get the hang of it but after a while it just becomes a way of life.

I know someone who has 6 dogs, only 2 get along with each other. Her shuffle was very difficult at first, but now her and her family go through their daily routine with no issues. It has been 2 yrs. since there has been a fight in her home.

Good luck!!

 

I think they are trying to re-establish rank just as Samsintentions said. I would suggest your brother make sure he is seen as pack leader, they should not question his role as pack leader and if they are he needs to step it up. He can do this by deciding who is gonna lay where, sleep where..he should feed them separately etc. My question would be ..which of the two dogs ranked higher before the move? He needs to ask himself if other things have changed in their daily lives other than the move. Having a trainer come in for one session may be invaluable and worth the $30-60 bucks, if he can see the dogs in thier own home he/she can give the owner some things to do to help the situation. Sometimes dogs give off very subtle but very telling clues and we don't always see them...a trained eye will and can point them out.