Dog Community

My two dogs have started fighting

Posted : 7/28/2008 9:09:15 PM

I have a female 4 1/2 yr old welsh corgi (Darci), and a 2 yr old male welsh corgi (Egan), We got both as puppies.

When we first got Egan he would growl anytime anyone would come close to him during mealtime, so we feed him out of our hands for a few days then we would pet and talk to him while he ate, after about 10 days or so he was fine. We always feed them together in the kitchen about 4 feet apart and up until about 3 months ago. They have always checked each others dishes after they ate and were fine then 3 months ago Darci started growling at him for checking her dish which later turned into a brawl, started by Darci's growling then escalated when Egan pounced. We started standing with them while they ate trying to head off any problems which didnt work now they are fed in their crates.

Now if anyone drops food in the floor or spills milk we have them fighting over it, which at first was mostly noise but now has got worse with Egan causing puncture wounds to Darci's cheek, mouth, head etc.

They have also started fighting when we walk out onto the back screened porch for my smoke breaks they fight as they walk out the door, mostly just growling and barking at each other but a few times it has went into full blown brawl. They dont do it when we leash up and go out the front door to go potty.

Occasionally if Darci is sitting in my lap and Egan walks over to get some love she wont growl but she will roll her gums back in a snarl, I tell them to knock it off and they calm down.

I would appreciate any and all comments, I am desperate to get back to a calm household.

Thanks, Cindy

tiffy

Posted : 7/29/2008 9:28:11 AM

Long time! Welcome back! I really have no advice, but my 4 year old corgi will do this also. She is not allowed to step foot in the kitchen if I'm in there. As for going out the door, its like she has to be first, so I solved that problem by making her sit and stay until everybody goes out the door. If she can't behave nice, she loses.I don't believe it has anything to with aggression, In my case she got a little to full of herself. Good luck!

mudpuppy

Posted : 7/29/2008 10:02:04 AM

a little basic NILIF might help- dogs must sit until released before going through any door. Dogs are NOT allowed to scarf up food dropped on the floor- food is only eaten after you give permission.

luvmyswissy

Posted : 7/29/2008 12:19:32 PM

I agree with Muddpuppy NILIF with both dogs. Resource guarding is resource guarding a resource can be anything from the air they breathe to a spot on the floor or over food.

First I would manage their feeding, you don't have to feed them together - its best not to at this point. Work with the dog who is protector of food, hand feeding for much more than a couple of days - month or two. With my resource guarder we started with an empty bowl on the floor dropped a small amount of food let him eat it and the picked up the bowl and moved it another part of the floor, dropped some more food let him finish, picked up the bowl moved it and repeated until his food was done. Then I picked the bowl off the floor - water is given in a separate bowl.

You have a male and female and you should be able to get over this hurdle with NILIF and management and training for the guarding dog. Be in control of each situation, if you are going out to smoke and the dogs are getting to close - back the male away from the female if you feel like they are eyeballing. I would not let both dogs unattended for a while until you get a handle on this.Just this past weekend my male bite my female, she actually deserved it! She is a pain in his caboose always wanting play and she very aggressive acting towards him with her attempt to get him to play with her. But this weekend he had enough and gave her a bite, luckily it wasn't bad. I didn't do anything to him but moved her away. The rest of the day there was tension between them, I could see it. She would be her old self and start fiddling with him and he had that "look" so I intervened and told her to go lay down - sometimes you have stand up for the one who deserves the help. By the next day they were doing better but I still watch and by the way, my Swissy is a big time resource guarder of food - we have made lots of progress but we never put him in the situation where he will guard his food or do I put my other animals in his arm's way.

spiritdogs

Posted : 8/2/2008 9:42:50 AM

At age 2, your male is reaching the age of social maturity, which is the age at which dogs try to figure out where they fit in their social group. So, they fight over status, which is normal. However, add resource guarding to the mix, and you have problems. So, if these dogs were mine, I would make absolutely certain they understood that it is I who own all the resources, not either of them. I do Jean Donaldon's protocol, (Mine! A Guide to Resource Guarding in Dogs) or a variation of it, with all my dogs as a preventive measure, and I think it might be wise to do the whole thing with both of your dogs, too. Even if it doesn't stop them from guarding against each other, it will give both of them more respect for you. I also agree that it is important to have absolute control over both dogs, and if that means taking them both back to class, then so be it. NILIF is great, but you cannot enforce it unless your dogs are compliant and understand cues such as, "stay", "leave it", and "come", and respond to you every time you issue them. Until you have that level of control, keep the dogs out of the kitchen when you are preparing food, and feed them in separate rooms. By feeding them next to one another, you may accidentally have created a source of conflict, especially if they thought they owned the food, rather than you owning it - and LOL, dogs often think anything that is on the floor is theirs.

DPU

Posted : 8/2/2008 10:17:53 AM

It sounds to me that you have to reconnect with both dogs, reminding the dogs of the importance of your relationship, bond, and trust. A dog will always choose a stable and calm environment over chaos and fighting. I would do the basic obedience separately to re-establish and strengthen the trust. I would then do obedience training with both dogs. I would use affection and not food. After, I would schedule snack time, separately and then combined. This is an excellent opportunity to show the dog how to eat and calmly wait for their turns. I would also make sure that you whatever snacks you have on you is all used up. When gone, the dog will know there is no more. Give the dogs what they want and then take the opportunity of how to get it. Above all, don't tease the dog by withholding their main meal...it will create behavior not to your liking.