Household dogs fighting ... please help !

[msvrl]

I'm new to the forum and found it doing a general inquiry on Yahoo! search engine.

I am in desperate need of advice. I have two male pitbulls (one 2-1/2 yrs and one 1 yr.). I have them both since puppies, but obviously had the 2-1/2 yr. old longer. They both got along when the 1 yr. old was a puppy. However, now that he is maturing, they are not getting along ... and that's putting it quite mildly. They have had numerous fights often ending in bloodshed and trips to the vet hospital for medical attention. They are great dogs separately -- fun loving, very affectionate, obedient, good with humans and even kids. They just do not do well with each other.



Is there anything that can be done to curb their extreme aggression and compulsion to fight one another.

This situation is causing extreme turmoil and chaos in my household. The thought of having to find another home for one of them is breaking our hearts.

Is it pretty safe to assume that because of the stigma that these dogs already have in society, no one would be willling to take in a 1 yr. old pitbull not knowing him or being part of his upbringing ?

..Val

[CRG]

no there is nothing that is going to curb their urge to fight. you are either going to have to keep them seperated at all times or get rid of one.maybe you can make one an outside dog. good luck

[SWAMPER]

You Found This Site On Yahoo Search?

Um Seperate Them Is All I Can Say........they Are Having A Alpha Male Problem It Sounds Like.

[SpencerPits]

I'm going to address your last question first. Due in part to this breed's stigma, there are far too many shady characters that would take any pit bull - no matter his background. First off - if they aren't already, get them both neutered. And I would strongly suggest crate training. I would say you should plan on keeping these two dogs seperated indefinitely. I have found that once two APBTs get into it that 1st time, they cannot be trusted together ever again. You're likely to end up with a seriously injured or dead dog if this continues. I swear by crate training. I'm sure others will have more input.

[Whiskey Bay]

the crate training is real good,but even when you dog is in the crate you would have to keep a good eye on him.I had the same situation happen.I had my 10 yr old male that stayed in the house with us and my blue male was about 8-10 mos the first time.Blue loves puppies,and I had a litter of pups off the old dog running around the house playing.Well one of them decided they wanted to nurse on dad and he finally got fed up a did a little snap warning at the pup which made her holler.Blue came unglued,he flew over my husband in the recliner and landed right on top of Reaper.It took us 15 minutes to get them apart.we seperated them and Blue was already used to being a crate baby.everything went great for a while,then out of the blue they got into it again.I started keeping Blue crated when Reaper was inside then one day I come home and the whole side of Blue's Xlg kennel was gone!he had completely come out of it in the hour I was gone.I decided to completely seperate them.Reaperman became an outside dog.But when I let blue out the front yard to go to the bathroom ,I'd have to watch him or have him on a lead.I turned my back for one second when a buddy stopped by,and he went right past another male I had on the yard and through a hole he had dug in the fence straight to the back yard,and jumped Reaperman.They were just plain mortal enemies.I mean for a male at 10 mos old to pass another male to go straight for where he knew his grandpa was?

[badnews_VA]

i don't know about the crate thing it just don't seem fair. atleast if one is outside it will have more space to move around and play instead of always being in a crate where it only has enough room to turn around and lay down. do you know anyone that would be willing to take one in where it would have a GOOD home?

[TabDogs]

I'm new to the forum and found it doing a general inquiry on Yahoo! search engine.

I am in desperate need of advice. I have two male pitbulls (one 2-1/2 yrs and one 1 yr.). I have them both since puppies, but obviously had the 2-1/2 yr. old longer. They both got along when the 1 yr. old was a puppy. However, now that he is maturing, they are not getting along ... and that's putting it quite mildly. They have had numerous fights often ending in bloodshed and trips to the vet hospital for medical attention. They are great dogs separately -- fun loving, very affectionate, obedient, good with humans and even kids. They just do not do well with each other.



Is there anything that can be done to curb their extreme aggression and compulsion to fight one another.

This situation is causing extreme turmoil and chaos in my household. The thought of having to find another home for one of them is breaking our hearts.

Is it pretty safe to assume that because of the stigma that these dogs already have in society, no one would be willling to take in a 1 yr. old pitbull not knowing him or being part of his upbringing ?

..Val


Bottom line its not very wise to have 2 un-altered males of any breed and expect live to in perfect harmony. Dogs live by a pecking order. The alpha is the dominant dog of the house and the omega is bottom of the line. Males by nature have to establish an alpha in a pack. So the only way to do that is by challenging the other. With an APBT it is another ball game. These dogs dont believe in being the "underdog". Of corse their are exceptions. BUt your best bet is to put one outside and have one inside or get rid of one. Crates are not a good idea when you have two dogs that are dead set on getting to one another. I have seen dogs come straight through a metal crate, and seen dogs chew out of a plastic one. JMO

[dhcrew]

i hate to ask this, but did you do any research on pit bulls before you decided to get 2 male dogs as house pets?? same sex dominance aggression is not something that is left to chance, 2 male dogs will have issues, and 2 female dogs will have issues. did the breeders you got them from not tell you anything. i always tell people that if they want 2 dogs they need to make sure they are of opposite sex. and there may still be problems with the female picking on the male, though it is not often. you will definately have to keep them separated, and while i do agree with crate training, pit bulls are still notorious for escaping crates if they want to. keeping one outside and one inside is your best option.

[msvrl]

dhcrew

Thanks so much to all of you for all the advice and sharing of experiences.

There was prior research done about the two sharing the same habitat ... all of which proved to be insignificant data to my stubborn husband. The first puppy we "inherited" when my daugther was doing a friend a dog-sitting favor. Sadly to say, the owner never came back to pick up his dog, we became attached to him, he became one of the family and here it is nearly 3 years later. So this is my "daughter's dog" so to speak.

The second puppy (now 1) was the dog that my husband "dreamed" of having once we bought a house that had a decent enough yard for him to run and get exercise. He insisted that if the dogs were properly trained, there would be no dominance issues as they would obey to the owners voice commands and cease and halt any fighting. Because they had gotten along so well when the 1 yr. old was a puppy, we were pretty convinced that the fighting issues were a myth. Wrong !!!

So now you somewhat understand my dilemma about the turmoil this situation is causing ... not only amongst the two dogs, but between my husband, myself, and my daughter. Neither one of them wants "their" dog to be the one to have to leave.

[miakoda]

if you are willing, the crate & rotate method works great. you can have 1 dog inside while the other is out & then rotate them. kennel them at night away from each other. apbts prefer the company of humans over other dogs (obvious in your case ;) ) anyway. & to address the issue that crates are "unfair", i used to think that until I had a multidog household & do not want to keep mine outside over night. i agree that a dog shouldn't be left alone in a crate 12+ hrs out of the day every day of the week. that's inhumane. but an adult dog can easily tolerate 8 hrs while one is at work. also, i don't care what "trainers" say, i get the big kennels/crates for great danes so my dogs have room to get up, walk around, do kartwheels if they want to. but it does take up 2 spare bedrooms. :) i've had 2 dogs stolen & i will never go through that again so i started housing them inside. my dogs love their kennels. it's where they sleep, where they eat, & where they get their treats. when i'm home, i have tie outs in the yard for them. i walk every dog every day at least 30 min, & all dogs get inside house time w/me & my hubbie. however, we have no kids & my dogs are worth the effort to me. it's your choice. but as to leaving them together, no they will never get along & things will only get worse if you let them. separate & enjoy.