Ok guys, here I am again with a new situation. As most of you know, I have 2 pups, a little over 3 months old, both male, and are a Black Lab/Jack Russel mix.
Let me give a little back info and then on to the problem. I have always trained them seperately and they each have their own crate they go to at night. During the day they are left together. One of them is unbelievably hyper (I have a previous thread on this) and the other is pretty laid back -- they're brothers.
What's happening is this. After the training and such if I let them together I can't tell if they're fighting or playing. At first it seems like playing, but I've been noticing that the laid back one (his name is Hanes) seems to be trying to avoid the other one (his name is Duncan). If I let Duncan out of his crate first and then go to let Hanes out, he tends to stay in his crate until Duncan leaves the vicinity. Also, while they're playing one will inevitably hurt the other and usually they start barring teath, tails down, etc.
On the other hand, Hanes seems to want Duncan to chase him at times and they run in the house a lot, play tug of war, chew their toys, etc.
Lately, I've stopped letting them out together and keep them seperate except during the day -- they're still together while I'm at work. This has solved the problem in one way, but I would like for them to be able to run around in the house together at some point and be well behaved. Am I asking too much?
My ultimate questions are: 1) how can I tell if they're fighting or not? 2) what can I do to stop it if they are? 3) will I always have to keep them seperate like this?
Thanks so much for any help/advice
Let me give a little back info and then on to the problem. I have always trained them seperately and they each have their own crate they go to at night. During the day they are left together. One of them is unbelievably hyper (I have a previous thread on this) and the other is pretty laid back -- they're brothers.
What's happening is this. After the training and such if I let them together I can't tell if they're fighting or playing. At first it seems like playing, but I've been noticing that the laid back one (his name is Hanes) seems to be trying to avoid the other one (his name is Duncan). If I let Duncan out of his crate first and then go to let Hanes out, he tends to stay in his crate until Duncan leaves the vicinity. Also, while they're playing one will inevitably hurt the other and usually they start barring teath, tails down, etc.
On the other hand, Hanes seems to want Duncan to chase him at times and they run in the house a lot, play tug of war, chew their toys, etc.
Lately, I've stopped letting them out together and keep them seperate except during the day -- they're still together while I'm at work. This has solved the problem in one way, but I would like for them to be able to run around in the house together at some point and be well behaved. Am I asking too much?
My ultimate questions are: 1) how can I tell if they're fighting or not? 2) what can I do to stop it if they are? 3) will I always have to keep them seperate like this?
Thanks so much for any help/advice