How to stop dogs from fighting in the same household?

Dogs are loyal companions, but when you have more than one dog in your household, conflicts can arise. Understanding the reasons behind these fights and implementing effective strategies is crucial for maintaining harmony. In this guide, we’ll explore how to stop dogs from fighting in the same household, focusing on territory issues, dominance, and proper training.

Why Do Dogs Fight Each?

Dogs may fight for several reasons:

• Territory issues – Some dogs just can’t stand to share their space with other animals. It could be that they’re insecure around certain types of dogs or just don’t like other pets in general.

• Male/male and female/female dominance issues – In the dog pack, there is often a dominate male and female (or more than one). Sometimes these roles overlap, and you get two dominant dogs who view themselves as equals while sometimes they are separate, and you’ll have a group dynamic where you only have the leader of the males while the females lead themselves (like how it would be in nature). Dogs will also fight over food toys, beds, bones, etc. If one dog successfully takes possession of a bone, it might not be willing to give it up without a fight.

• Lack of proper training – Sometimes dogs need more than just leadership from their human counterparts to keep them in check. You also must train the dogs properly and make sure that they know their boundaries and who’s who on the totem pole (or ball game).

• Play fighting – Dogs will often play fight with each other (more so with puppies) which is completely normal if they know how to recognize when things are getting out of hand, or someone needs space (more on this later). Dog play can look like fighting because some breeds may be more physical about playing than others, but if you’re seeing any signs of aggression, you should try to break it up.

Food Aggression in Dogs and Other Stress Triggers

• If your dogs are suddenly fighting over the food bowl, it’s likely to be a common cause. Food aggression can be caused by lack of leadership, but I’ll talk more about that later. It could also mean that one of your dogs may need space or time away from their friend or family member. For example, if you just got a new puppy and your old dog is used to having all of the attention for itself (and/or getting fed first), it may not go well when you bring in another dog into the mix. The best way to stop this type of aggression is to provide the dominant dog with other things they can control like extra attention, toys, etc.

How to Stop Dogs from Fighting 

• As with any living situation, it’s a good idea to communicate with your pets and let them know that you’re in charge. This goes for dogs just as much as it goes for people. When you have a dominate pack member, this is particularly important because they can literally walk all over the other members of the group if they aren’t following rules. With humans, we use words or expressions to get our point across when there’s a problem but with pets, sometimes having an extra alpha dog around isn’t enough to keep everyone in check. (And it probably makes things worse in most cases).
• Something like food aggression could be completely prevented if your current adult dog/dogs would give up their bowl when a new puppy comes into the picture. There are some breeds that are just naturally more dominant than others, but if you have a dog that has aggressive tendencies, there are steps you can take to help them relax around other dogs and learn how to communicate without being too physical.
• Getting down on your pooch’s level is one of those ways as well as just making sure that they know when they’re doing something right or wrong by giving them extra attention (or not so much). Dogs can sense emotions such as happiness and anger just like we do, so if you’re stressed out about your job or family life and don’t really feel like playing, it’s going to show even if you try hiding it.
• Dog fights aren’t always just random attacks if you’re paying close enough attention. If your dog is growling or showing another sign of aggression, it pays to put them in their place early on before they get comfortable walking all over their friends. Just remember that nobody’s perfect and that there are usually two sides to every story when it comes to canine behavior.
• If you have small children in the house, making sure everyone knows how to act around pets is necessary so that your little ones don’t get hurt by accident (or on purpose). Even if your kids know not to tease the dog or hit him, something like running around in circles could be enough for an upset pet to go after someone unintentionally. Having a safe space designated for pets with their own toys/food/litter box is a good way to keep them comfortable and let the little ones know that there’s a time and place for everything.

Operant Strategies to Combat Dog Fights

• Dog fights are always better when they’re prevented altogether. It’s common knowledge that you should never leave your dog in the presence of another animal while unattended, but what about when there’s more than one dog around? No matter how much you think your dog’s love each other, any type of aggression can happen at any time so it’s always a good idea to keep them separated if you must take out the trash or go to work for a few hours.

• Getting down on their level (if possible) is essential because your pup will get the message right away that you’re not intimidated by his aggressive behavior. You’ll also get flak from other people who don’t understand why you’re talking to your pet like an actual person, but it’s your life and you should do whatever it takes to keep everyone safe so people will just have to deal.

• It sucks that we can’t always be there when our pets need us and because of that, we try finding ways to make sure they’re comfortable around each other even if we’re not physically present. Usually, the best way to go about this is by letting them establish their dominance through a trial period like chasing toys or eating first (in which case you should make sure all food bowls are equal as well as what order they eat in). You can also let your dogs “work things out” themselves as long as you watch them carefully, making sure no one gets too carried away with them.

Conclusions:

Dogs are animals just like any other and there’s no reason for them not to behave like it. Part of being a responsible pet owner is making sure that your pooch is well behaved, but if you take the necessary steps to keep him in line, he’ll always be obedient whenever you need him so don’t be afraid to put his life before yours because at the end of the day, the only thing separating pets from humans is their ability to communicate with body language!