by Adopt a Pet, | January 11, 2024
You can stop your dogs from fighting by eliminating the stressors that lead to the aggressions, by better managing the dogs’ environment, or by getting professional help from a qualified animal behaviorist. Whether or not you know what starts squabbles between your dogs, it’s important to find a way to stop them. Even if no serious injuries have occurred (yet), fighting between dogs can leave one or both dogs feeling stressed and afraid. The good news is the behavior can usually be brought under control—but in the meantime, avoid injury to your pets by closely monitoring them and keeping them physically separated while you work on a safe re-introduction protocol with the help of a professional dog trainer.
Sometimes, two dogs just don’t like each other, but sometimes there is a more concrete reason for dogs fighting such as:
Maintaining a hierarchy
Redirected aggression
Friendly play escalates
Protecting food or other possessions
If you can pinpoint the cause, you can remove the stimulus. For example, some dogs are food aggressive. In this case, you can simply feed the dogs in separate rooms.
While you’ll find all kinds of advice about how to stop fighting, the best course of action is to involve a professional right from the start. This will give you the best chance of success, and you won’t have to wade through the information online to separate the good from the bad.
An animal trainer or behaviorist with a proven track record of success in fixing dog aggression will give you solid advice and work with you to develop a plan that will help you protect your dogs and enjoy peace of mind.