my dogs are fighting badly, please help me!!

[ramona4724]

Hi
My name is Rachel and I have 3 dogs, Charlie (rottweiler/doberman 10 years old), Buster (boxer, boston terrier, chow 12 years old) and Rikki Bobby (dalmation, pit, hound about a year old I think). Charlie and Rikki used to be friends and play together when she was a puppy. Over the last 3 months or so, they have started to fight. Charlie starts the fight by growling and being aggressive and then Rikki stands up for herself and ends up beating the daylights out of Charlie before I can seperate them which in itself is almost impossible and takes at least 2 people to do. Now I am having to purchase an inhumane basket muzzle for both of them until I can find Rikki a home or find another solution. I do not have a lot of money but I will do training if I have to and if it will actually do some good. All of my dogs are rescue dogs but I don't know what Rikki went through before I found her if that even matters. Also, Charlie is very needy and hungry for attention as is Rikki. Does anyone have any ideas at all???? Please help me! Thank you so much.

[Maxy24]

At their ages it's odd for DA to just be starting, so do you think either of them could be in any sort of poor health/pain that causes them to act out aggressively?

[corgipower]

It's not unusual for a dog who's about a year old to begin trying to climb the canine social ladder. Rikki could very well be sending signals to Charlie that you're not seeing.

Kudos to ya for keeping them muzzled. I would also suggest keeping them separated - in separate rooms if possible, or at least in crates, because even with muzzles, they can still very much communicate animosity towards each other, and that won't help defuse the situation. Also, muzzles can fall off.

It's really hard to assess aggression over the internet ~ I would call a behaviorist to come over and see what's going on within the dynamics of the house. If you're not opposed to rehoming Rikki, that sometimes is the best thing for all involved.

[lizzybeth727]

What do you mean "beating the daylights out"? Like, how bad are the bites - drawing blood, puncture wounds, vet visits and stiches, etc.?

When used correctly, basket muzzles are not inhumane, please don't feel guilty about putting them on your dogs. They're not, however, a permanent solution, and they don't teach your dogs anything. But they do cut down on the vet bills until you can decide what else to do.

Besides that, I agree completely with Corgi. Good luck!

[mrose_s]

Are they both females? I assume they are desexed.

At the ages they are, at this stage I'm guessing its most likley a dominance thing, Charlie is aging and Rikki knows it, and may be sending subtle signals of her intentions which cause Charlie to react.

Kudos for muzzling them before somethign terrible happens, kudos for rescuing.

But aggression is something that can't really be assessed over the internet. Id seek a behaviourist.

[Maxy24]

woops I was thinking it was between Charlie and Buster not Rikki, I agree Rikki may be trying to get higher than Charlie on the Social Ladder and Charlie is not ready to give up on his place yet. How bad are they hurting each other?

[noludoru]

There are more people experienced with dog aggression than I, but I would just like to chime in here and say that there is NOTHING inhumane about a basket muzzle. Talk to most Greyhound owners if you don't believe me. It's all in how you introduce the muzzle to them which determines whether they will like it or not. If I were you I would separate the dogs (different rooms/crates) and introduce them to the muzzles in a very positive way. Smear them with some sort of yummy goodie (PB, for example) and encourage your dogs to stick their noses inside it. When they are enthusiastically doing that, then only reward them for keeping their noses inside it for a few seconds.. and in short, frequent sessions you can get them used to longer periods of time, and then used to having the muzzle on them. Then you can give them big, exciting rewards for the muzzle.. like taking them on a walk after the muzzle goes on or something like that.

[ramona4724]

You all are so awesome, helpful and supportive and thanks for not bashing me on the basket muzzles. Great ideas on how to introduce them and thanks for the warning about them falling off. To answer all the questions:
1-Charlie is not perfectly healthy and is in a little pain in her hips.
2-"Beating the daylights"-Charlie had to have 6 stitches behind her ear from the first fight, Rikki's ears ended up with a bunch of surface woulds. Also, Rikki had puncture wounds on her chest. The next fight, about 10 days later (which at this point, Charlie was hurt from the first fight) left Rikki with a few more puncture wounds in the chest and legs and Charlie had 3 puncture wounds in her foot and couldn't walk on it for a few days. After that, they were seperated and have been ever since.
3-They are both females and all of my animals are fixed.
4-I didn't think of Rikki growing into this stage trying to become dominant. I have found out through reading online that I did not raise them properly to establish myself as the dominant one. I have never had to deal with this type of thing before because Buster is perfect .

I will see about a behaviorist because even if I find a home for Rikki, they still have to live together until then and maybe the behaviorist will be able to let me keep everyone. Thank you all so very much for your help. I really appreciate it!!!

[adojrts]

Oh please don't fall into the trap of that crap of the owner needing to be dominate!! Yes we as dog owners need to be in control and be a leader but there is a huge difference between that and dominance.
I have had many many same sex dogs and a breed that is KNOWN for same sex aggression. The best solution is to have TRAINED dogs, my dogs are trained with positive reinforcements and NO harsh corrections or intimination.
The next thing you have to know, is body language, know what to look for and what you are looking at.
When my dogs (especially the bitches) are on edge or start giving that 'look' to each other, I get them to focus on ME. I start to work with them side by side and then we go for a nice relaxing walk that they enjoy and look forward to.
Instead of reading stuff on line from what could be of questionable sources, get some excellent books and read them.

Culture Clash
Click to Calm
Those would be a good start.
And btw, it is a fact that as a younger female continues to mature, if she is hardwired to be an alpha, SHE WILL push the boundries and she will continue with her climb over the other dogs and especially an older bitch that is coming to the end of her reign. That has nothing to do with you and regardless of whether you are dominate over her or not, will not effect that climb. And if you handle the situation wrong, YOU can make it worse and YOU can also make her somewhat aggressive towards you, if she feels that she has no choice but to defend herself. But having said all that, you can control the situation and you can manage it very nicely so the entire home lives in harmony, but it starts with training and knowledge, not dominance on your part.
Lynn

[elegy]

Trained dogs and MANAGEMENT. If you are not able to be paying attention to what the dogs are doing, you need to keep them separate. The more often they fight, the harder it's going to be to stop. The use of crates, babygates, tie-downs, whatever is important.

Muzzles are not the way to go, IMO. For one, they are not fail-proof. They also allow the dogs to act out aggression even if they're not hurting each other. You don't want them acting on the aggression. It needs to stop before the rumbling starts. It's not about you being dominant so much as you controlling what's going on between dogs and managing it before it gets out of hand.

This is a link to BadRap, a pit bull rescue's, page on managing a multi-dog household. There's lots of good information there. Hopefully some of it will work for you.