Help two puppys are fighting

[buget]

I have a 8 month old puppy who does not listen at all. I just recently got another puppy(both Cockers)6 weeks old. They are really fighting. My vet said that she thought the puppy was very aggressive and that I might have problems in the future. What can I do I want to keep both of them and I can't keep them apart. I know it's jealousy and puppys playing but it's also gone beyond that.:confused:

[Top Dog]

Hi Buget,
You may not have anything to worry about although it may look and seem so, so do not panic, usually if you leave them alone they will settle their own conflicts, if you interviene you may be causing more problems because they are not allowed to settle their own conflicts and the next round could be worse, and whatever you do do not protect the underdog, by this I mean the one who seems to be loosing the battle it makes matters worse. I know this seems so against our morals but believe me not in the dog world. I had two shepherd puppies and they were 7 weeks old and most people who saw them play would have thought they were killing eachother. They grew up to be wounderful litter mates. Usually the only problem is when both dogs are on the same level of dominance do you see a problem, although it happens it does not happen often. So try not to panic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

[RWDVM]

Dear Buget:

Please don't take offense ,but I diagree with Top Dog's strategy. That may work for 7 week old litter mates, but 8 months is practically adulthood for a cocker. Letting them "fight it out" can lead to serious injuries; in practice I have seen dogs killed in housemate disputes. Furthermore, every time the dog does this, the tendency to do it again becomes greater. However, I do not want you to get hurt breaking up a fight. An effective way to break up a fight is to keep a large pot of water handy in the main rooms of the house and deliver a big soaking everytime a fight occurs.

The first part of your problem (as you stated in your post) is that your dogs do not listen to you. To control the situation, you need to establish yourself as the alpha of your household "pack". While I certainly do not advocate striking dogs, firm voice and strong tugs on the collar are often necessary to establish dominance. Dominance and submission is the social infrastructure that dogs live by. Without successfully establishing a dominant role over your dogs, you will have difficulty with your dogs on many levels. If you feel that you are getting nowhere, you should contact a profesional canine behaviorist. Your vet should have a list behaviorists in your area, as I do at my clinic.

Best of luck to you.

Roger L. Welton, DVM
Vetrinarian, Webmaster http://www.askdvm.com

[Top Dog]

buget,
Your cocker at eight months old is not an adult he or she is more like a teenager, lets get that straight. Now teenagers are always bullying the younger ones, thats natural and normal. If you do not like what is happening take charge but do not take sides. I have a 18 month old shepherd and a 4 and a half month old shepherd and I have owned dogs for over 20 years, usually 3 at a time at all different ages, they have to establish the rank, I have never got involved and have never needed to, this has always been done in a very vocal and physicall manner yet, no blood was ever drawn, and if it ever got to this point I would let them know who was top dog. If you need to know how to do this let me know and I will give you many solutions to your problem.

[originalfatc]

I have 4 dogs, different ages, types, sizes and status within their pack. I usually let them hash out their pecking order, but when the toys were young i did have to intervene for their safety. A 90 lb adult golden does not always realize the power of it's jaws compared to a 3 lb chihuahua baby.

When the toys were teens it got worse, they were pesty little guys and taunted the older dogs to almost distraction. I feared to find the bigger dogs losing patience, snapping, then wondering why the little dog was dead. (but mom, I didn't mean it!)

I found that by maintaining my alpha status mostly by constant obedience reinforcement, I could maintain peace by a sharp "NO", still letting them peck it out, but reminding them that sometimes certain behaviors were noT approved by the alpha.

Also, they were never left unsupervised.

It's quite fascinating to observe their pack rules and participate subtly.

[dlaura]

top dog - I also understand that animals have to establish who is the "head" of the pack so to speak. However, I would also be concerned about the size difference between an 8 month old animal vs an 8 WEEK old puppy. How can the Alpha Person just stand by and watch if the puppy is being injured? I know that I just couldn't do that ............. so where would that leave things?

I myself would be using the "crate method" for house training and also obedience. Therefore the pupply wouldn't be alone with the "teenage" dog if someone was not around to supervise. At this point I would be supervising not just the puppy but the 8 month also and taking it by the collar and telling it NO if it was getting to the point of injuring the puppy.

In this case I agree with original fatc and RWDMV. However, in this case I think eventually the puppy will become the dominant one of the two.

[BigDogMom]

I see numerous problems here.

And with out labasting you; you have an 8 month old puppy that by your own admission doesn't obey you, you bought a second puppy despite this problem, you thus, weren't really prepared to deal with the problems that naturally arise when bringing a second dog into the home....

I don't want to sound mean, but I don't think this is any longer about what you "want". I'm sure it's difficult to imagine giving up one or the other, but what is important now is the welfare and the safety of the animals.

I'm not sure how you can fix this problem, you need to establish clear pack dominance with the oldest dog so that any overly aggressive or unacceptable actions will stop when you disapprove. It's not going to be easy now that you've introduced the second dog though, because the first dog is already concerned about it's order with this dog, let alone you. I'm afraid to ask if they're of the same sex, because that will only make things even worse.

I would consult a trainer or behaviorist as soon as possible about this issue and consider crating BOTH animals in the mean time.