As this morning, two of my dogs nearly had a full-blown fight. Thankfully it was easy to stop because my dogs are well-trained and I knew exactly what to do. Then I saw yet another Facebook post where someone was asking for advice about the exact same issue.
My problem with most of these groups is that professional trainers rarely chime in. The advice is usually too general, conflicting, and leaves people confused about what to actually do.
Dogs will occasionally fight, but the goal is to dramatically reduce the chances of it happening again. Here’s my practical advice:
If you’re thinking of getting a second dog:
After years working in shelters, the number one reason dogs get returned is aggression between the existing family dog and the new one.
Getting a second dog to “fix” the first dog’s problems usually results in two dogs with behaviour issues instead of one.
While I’m a big fan of dogs having a canine companion, here are some important rules I always follow:
1. Choose opposite sexes whenever possible.
2. Train the new dog immediately (assuming your existing dog is already trained).
3. Don’t change your daily schedule — dogs adapt to routines very quickly.
4. Feed them completely separately. My dogs eat in their crates. They’ve never had to guard their food, so they don’t show food aggression. I don’t give them separate chew toys either — they get all their chewing needs met through their raw diet and meaty bones.
5. Consider getting a puppy rather than an adult dog. This allows the hierarchy to be established naturally from day one, without having to correct pre-existing behaviours.
Other important tips:
Don’t let strange or untrained dogs visit your home. Dogs are highly territorial, especially protection breeds.
There are two main types of dog fights:
The noisy ones (lots of teeth, snarling, and saliva)
The serious ones (where they grab hold and won’t let go)
Safety note: Never stick your finger in a dog’s anus or grab their back legs to break up a fight. It can cause the dog to redirect its aggression onto you — I’ve seen it happen.
Try not to yell and scream as in the most cases this will make it worse.
What you should do instead:
Use a well-fitted quality leather collar with a steel buckle (I’m not a fan of plastic clips — they fail too often).
Proper collar fit:
Small to medium dogs: You should be able to slide 2 fingers underneath.
Medium to large dogs: 4 fingers.
Check puppy/giant breed collars daily.
If a fight does break out and they’re locked on:
Step over the dog so it’s between your legs, squeeze your legs together, grab the collar underhanded, slide it high up on the neck and lift the front feet off the ground. This cuts off their air supply and forces them to release. Do not let go of the collar once they release — hold them securely, allow them to breathe, then separate them into different secure areas.
The more fights dogs have, the more frequent and intense they become.
Final truth:
Sometimes the damage becomes too great. I had clients whose dogs had been fighting for over two years. Both were heavily scarred, the female was regularly attacked, and they’d spent thousands on vet bills and medication. Even after intensive training, the aggression was too severe. They should have rehomed one much earlier, which was my recommendation. Neither of these dogs had been socialised or trained.
Raising dogs is mostly about preventing bad behaviours from starting. Letting them “raise themselves” is exactly how these nightmare situations develop.
Sibling syndrome (getting two puppies from the same litter) often ends badly too.
Reality based training is the only way forward in this scenario.
Hope this helps someone avoid a lot of stress and heartbreak.
