Background:
My boyfriend and I each have 2 dogs, so when I moved in back in December, things got interesting. We have Sam (1 y.o. German Sheppard, alpha), Ranger (3 y.o. Golden Retriever, very submissive to people and dogs), Ziggy (3 y.o. Rhodesian Ridgeback mix, alpha), and Riley (6 y.o. Lab/Brittany Spaniel). Riley gets along with everyone and everything, so he's never an issue.
All dogs are fed in the basement about 6 feet apart from each other and feed time is never an issue. They all wait patiently to be fed and leave each other alone.
Sam is aggressive to Ranger, but does not attack him. Sam and Ziggy are submissive to Riley. Ranger seems to be low man on the totem pole. Sam and Ziggy are great together, with an occasional test of wits every now and then. All 4 dogs get a ton of exercise and are obedient to people.
First Major Fight:
The first dog fight was Dec 24, 2009. The dogs were excited because family was in town. We put them in the basement so everyone could have some dog free time. Because nobody was downstairs, we don't know why a fight started, but Ziggy had Ranger's ear in a death grip. Sam then attached Ziggy in Ranger's defense. My boyfriend and I were able to throw Sam outside, and pin down Ziggy and Ranger. I had to use a pointy piece of metal to pry Ziggy's jaws open. Both dogs suffered small puncture wounds. I was also bit by Sam on my thigh as she went for Ziggy (huge bruise, small area of broken skin, jeans protected me well). From that day on, Ziggy and Ranger were kept apart, going outside on a rotating basis. Now when passing each other while one is in the kennel, they would growl at each other, with Ranger typically initiating the behavior.
Starting a week ago, my boyfriend has had all the dogs together again, no food or toys around, and I wasn't there. No fights broke out, but there was a little tension in the air.
Second Major Fight:
Today Ziggy and Sam were playing ball with my boyfriend. Not sure why, but Sam attacked Ziggy going for the ball today (again, this is not normal behavior for these two to be so aggressive to each other). My boyfriend and I broke up the fight by pulling them apart, grabbing them by the pelvis and pulling backwards. Ziggy will need stitches because of her puncture wounds, and Sam just needed to be cleaned up.
Now, I would take away all toys, except that the toys are usually not an issue with Sam and Ziggy together. Anyone out there have any other ideas of what may be causing these serious fights? Or what we can do to prevent it?
(Getting rid of one of the dogs is not an option.)
My boyfriend and I each have 2 dogs, so when I moved in back in December, things got interesting. We have Sam (1 y.o. German Sheppard, alpha), Ranger (3 y.o. Golden Retriever, very submissive to people and dogs), Ziggy (3 y.o. Rhodesian Ridgeback mix, alpha), and Riley (6 y.o. Lab/Brittany Spaniel). Riley gets along with everyone and everything, so he's never an issue.
All dogs are fed in the basement about 6 feet apart from each other and feed time is never an issue. They all wait patiently to be fed and leave each other alone.
Sam is aggressive to Ranger, but does not attack him. Sam and Ziggy are submissive to Riley. Ranger seems to be low man on the totem pole. Sam and Ziggy are great together, with an occasional test of wits every now and then. All 4 dogs get a ton of exercise and are obedient to people.
First Major Fight:
The first dog fight was Dec 24, 2009. The dogs were excited because family was in town. We put them in the basement so everyone could have some dog free time. Because nobody was downstairs, we don't know why a fight started, but Ziggy had Ranger's ear in a death grip. Sam then attached Ziggy in Ranger's defense. My boyfriend and I were able to throw Sam outside, and pin down Ziggy and Ranger. I had to use a pointy piece of metal to pry Ziggy's jaws open. Both dogs suffered small puncture wounds. I was also bit by Sam on my thigh as she went for Ziggy (huge bruise, small area of broken skin, jeans protected me well). From that day on, Ziggy and Ranger were kept apart, going outside on a rotating basis. Now when passing each other while one is in the kennel, they would growl at each other, with Ranger typically initiating the behavior.
Starting a week ago, my boyfriend has had all the dogs together again, no food or toys around, and I wasn't there. No fights broke out, but there was a little tension in the air.
Second Major Fight:
Today Ziggy and Sam were playing ball with my boyfriend. Not sure why, but Sam attacked Ziggy going for the ball today (again, this is not normal behavior for these two to be so aggressive to each other). My boyfriend and I broke up the fight by pulling them apart, grabbing them by the pelvis and pulling backwards. Ziggy will need stitches because of her puncture wounds, and Sam just needed to be cleaned up.
Now, I would take away all toys, except that the toys are usually not an issue with Sam and Ziggy together. Anyone out there have any other ideas of what may be causing these serious fights? Or what we can do to prevent it?
(Getting rid of one of the dogs is not an option.)