We lost our female alfa dog this summer and our remainning 2 nutered males one a 12 year old Cardigan Welsh Corgi and the other a 6 year old black lab have been having snot fights to the point my DH jumped in to break up a fight in Nov. and got bitten so we have kept them separated since then and things are going well but its a pain some days. Can't say one dog or the other starts the fights and I can usually tell by the eye contact if its going to happen but I don't want the older dog to get injured in the process as Zack the lab is 75lbs and Copper the Corgi is 35lbs. Any suggestions out there? Iam new to the site. Thanks for the help.
I am sorry to hear the problem. I guess the balance or the harmony of the pack has collapsed since the alpha dog passed away.
How obedient are your dogs? Do they mind what you say? I think you and other human family members need to be the leader that the other two dogs listen to and look for guidance from.
If they are pretty obedient, walking them together is a good way to rebuild good relationship between them. If you can not handle the two by yourself, have your husband take one dog and walk them side by side. They will soon find some same interests, such as bushes to sniff, etc.
It is always better to prevent any circumstances to break a fight so look closely at them and if you see any signs, such as growling or bearing teeth, tell them to "Be nice" and distract them by having them look at YOU. If they do, give them a treat. You should decide which dog to be the first dog and stick to the pecking order all the time. As the leader, you should be able to manupulate the order between the two by treating the first dog first.
If the second dog tries to challenge the first dog's position, pull him down and treat the other dog in front of the second dog. Be consistent and fair, means you treat them equally even though there is the pecking order. In other words, give each dog opportunities to get same level of attention/care/activities, etc.
When you cannot watch them, separate them but try to make as much chances for them to be together again. It does not make sense that you own two dogs that need to be separated forever. Dogs don't usually hurt each other to the point that they get injured. They are social animals so with a help of the leader, YOU, I would expect they can rebuild the relationship.
If they are not obedient, you should train one dog at a time to be obedient to you and your husband.
I hope you will be able to work the situation out soon. Good luck
This sort of thing can be expected when the alpha dog in a multi-dog home passes away or leaves the home. Dogs will naturally fight it out to determine who's the boss dog when the old boss leaves, so some of this is normal. I do, however, understand reservations about the scene, of course we dont want our dogs fighting all the time.
To help the situation, like MHN said above, you should decide which of your two dogs is higher in the order of the household. This dog should be given food first, be given treats and toys first, give this dog attention first when you come home. Make sure the other dog sees your new alpha dog being treated as such, and tell the second dog off for challenging if you catch him doing it. This helps establish the idea in both dogs, and will hopefully cut down on fighting.
Obviously your two got along before, its not as though they all of a sudden are going to fight because they dont like each other. So this should blow over, but you should try to let them interact as much as possible. By helping set your houses hierarchy, and keeping and eye on them and distracting when you can tell a fight is building up, I'd imagine your problems will work themselves out sooner than later.
Hope this helps Sorry for the loss of your other dog, but I'm sure your two will learn to be a happy family again soon enough!
