[kierababy]

I need some help with 2 of our dogs. They constantly fight. It has gotten to the point that they cannot be together at all or it is on. One is a pug and one is a australian shepherd. Right now they are totally seperated and we have to lock one up when the other gets let out. It is becoming harder and harder to do this. We have tried a lot of things and nothing has worked. Neither of them are spayed( they are going to be though). It seems more of a dominance issue than anything. They even fight through the fence. Any ideas?

[MoonlightsWildPassion]

Get them spayed, that is the majority of the issue, then you might want to consider,MORE training for them. To the point where you call them back to you if they happen to get into it.

[kierababy]

Even the calling back doesnt work. My aussie is very well trained and will come back to me no matter what. SHe wont at all when they get into it. My aussie is bigger so naturally she gets the little one pretty good. Her mouth clamps shut and it is harder than h*** to get it back open. When they do fight we usually have to spray them down with water. They never did this until about a year ago. Before that they both had had heats and were not spayed, so something triggered it and im not sure what.

[MoonlightsWildPassion]

New dog,new routine? What has changed in the past year with them?

[kierababy]

The only new dog we got was about a month and a half ago but besides that nothing at all had changed. They just started fighting out of nowhere.

[MoonlightsWildPassion]

They didn't just start fighting out of now here.You metioned dominance, think about it like this,new dog comes into the scene, the two which have been together for who knows how long in their little arrangement with who eats first excetera, then new dog shows up, they need to establish a new hierarchy between them, find out Alpha and Omega in the pack. First off, they need to learn a bit more discipline. Yes they also need to find out who eats first and stuff, the bigger dog will always win in this case, feed her first, then feed the others (seperate for a while), make her, the pack leader. Then slowly start re-introducing them again. Each on a leash with a barrier, pull them away when the posturing starts and when all is calm try again.

[kierababy]

See the new dog has only been here for about a month and a half. This started a year ago, nothing had changed, they were getting fed at the same time, away from each other, everyone was given the same amount of attention. They were always turned out together and then bam, they started fighting. They werent big fights at first and we disciplined them. Then they slowly started to escalate to where there would be blood all over the place.

My aussie is the alpha over everyone. She is the most dominant one and every one of them listens to her. We have introduced them with a leash, it didnt work they just do it again. One thing I have noticed is that they mostly do it when a human is out there. Either me or another family member. We all try to stop it before it escalates but we never get there in time.

[MoonlightsWildPassion]

She may feel threatened then, or unsecure and is showing it by beating upon the smallest dog.

My dog will attack other dogs if they do not submit, she postures the whole shebang. The hair on her back even goes up, but she will not try to attack bigger dogs and at 40pounds she is not a small dog. She attacks my uncles JRT if she gets to close to Sara, but will listen to the border collie.

Do they have any bones,treats, toys nearby?

[kierababy]

Nope nothing nearby they are kept out in our backyard.

[MoonlightsWildPassion]

Hmmmm Interesting...I asked because dogs get possesive over toys/treats/bones and will attack other dogs and sometimes people over them.

I would look into a trainer and maybe a vet visit for your aussie