# Dog Fights



## Yorkie Mom (Aug 25, 2008)

Okay, so I have two female yorkies. Both are very well trained and socialized. Cali just had puppies and Chloe is about to go into heat. Because of this they are literally at each others throats. My husband and I have been holding them apart when they get into their spats, but a friend told us we should let them fight it out... What do you think? The vet said that they would stop fighting as much after they establish the alpha female, but stopped short of telling me to let them fight it out. Any advice is appreciated!


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## Lovemymunchkins (Feb 3, 2009)

Yorkie Mom said:


> Okay, so I have two female yorkies. Both are very well trained and socialized. Cali just had puppies and Chloe is about to go into heat. Because of this they are literally at each others throats. My husband and I have been holding them apart when they get into their spats, but a friend told us we should let them fight it out... What do you think? The vet said that they would stop fighting as much after they establish the alpha female, but stopped short of telling me to let them fight it out. Any advice is appreciated!


No, I don't think letting them "fight it out" is the answer...if they are both alpha females you are just going to end up with one or both of them being hurt badly or killed. I've heard many horror stories about alpha females, especially those in heat or with puppies doing terrible things to other alpha female dogs.

Most likely, so long as you do not get one of them spayed and if they are both alpha females you will experience this aggression, in my opinion.

You could try crating both of them so they can see each other without hurting each other. Letting them see each other in a calm state of mind may help things some. You could also put up a baby gate with one female on each side so they could get used to each others presence without hurting each other. 

If you wanted to try to see if they would get along with each other, I would most definitely do it on neutral territory. I think doing it in your home both of them are going to feel like they need to fight to protect what is "theirs" and may both be acting like "alpha females" when perhaps they are not.
If they can both learn to get along with each other on neutral territory, then and only then would I even try to see if they would get along with each other in your house... 

I wish you the best of luck with whatever you do!


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

Sometimes you just get two females who don't like each other and there is nothing you can do. Spaying will not effect it. Often they will live together in harmony for years then all of a sudden they take a dislike to each other that thats the end of peace in the house.

This almost never happens between male dogs or male/female pairs. I have only known of one male/male problem. This person had 4 Akitas and 2 of them just could not be together under any circumstances. She always had to manage her dogs and be careful who was outside, who was in the basement and who was in the house and make sure these two never crossed paths.


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

RawFedDogs said:


> Sometimes you just get two females who don't like each other and there is nothing you can do. Spaying will not effect it. Often they will live together in harmony for years then all of a sudden they take a dislike to each other that thats the end of peace in the house.
> 
> This almost never happens between male dogs or male/female pairs. I have only known of one male/male problem. This person had 4 Akitas and 2 of them just could not be together under any circumstances. She always had to manage her dogs and be careful who was outside, who was in the basement and who was in the house and make sure these two never crossed paths.


This is exactly what happened with my mom's two spayed "alpha" female dogs. One day they just decided they hated each other and when the fights became more and more frequent, we had to keep them separated completely for a few years. When I finally got a place where I could take the older one, Kati, my mom jumped on the chance to stop the insanity and now I have her. 

I brought Kati back to my mom's place for Christmas about a year later and Kati saw Keena (her arch nemesis) through a chain link fence and they immediately started trying to fight each other through the fence! I'd have thought they'd forgotten each other by then, but like RFD said, some dogs just end up hating each other for no reason and I'm not sure if there's any way around it. 

However, keeping them separated kept the peace at my mom's house for several years, maybe that's just what you need to try.


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## domari (Jun 17, 2008)

RawFedDogs said:


> Sometimes you just get two females who don't like each other and there is nothing you can do. Spaying will not effect it. Often they will live together in harmony for years then all of a sudden they take a dislike to each other that thats the end of peace in the house.
> 
> This almost never happens between male dogs or male/female pairs. I have only known of one male/male problem. This person had 4 Akitas and 2 of them just could not be together under any circumstances. She always had to manage her dogs and be careful who was outside, who was in the basement and who was in the house and make sure these two never crossed paths.



That's exactly what I've been dealing with for the past few years. I posted about it in another thread. Three males, three females, the males all get along wonderfully, the females used to but not anymore. The three females were all spayed as pups, so spaying them has nothing to do with it at all. 

I have to keep the two girls away from the other one at all times. Tried to get them back together a few times with the same outcome. I was going to try muzzling all three and let them lose in the yard, but I don't think that's going to cure the hate, it will only prevent bloodshed. 
So now we keep them separated. I have a gate between the kitchen and the rest of the house, and some dogs stay in the garage while others are in. When the one female is upstairs in one of the bedrooms, I shut the living room door and lets the others in there. To let them out, two females go out through the garage to the backyard, then they come back in, and the other goes out the front door and walked around to the back yard. Or we just take her for a walk instead of putting her in the yard. 
It's a constant job of making sure they don't get together, we have to be careful all the time. Some say we should rehome one of them, but we've had the three females for over 6 years since they were pups, not so easy to just get rid of one. Someone suggested euthing the youngest because she's the instigator, but we can't do that to her. 

Other than the fact they hate each others guts, they're sweet lovable dogs with us and everyone else. 

I haven't found any way to make peace with them, and nobody has been able to give me any suggestions that actually might work. So now we just deal with it the best way we can which is to keep them apart at all times.


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## ChattyCathy (Nov 22, 2008)

Yorkie Mom said:


> Okay, so I have two female yorkies. Both are very well trained and socialized. Cali just had puppies and Chloe is about to go into heat. Because of this they are literally at each others throats. My husband and I have been holding them apart when they get into their spats, but a friend told us we should let them fight it out... What do you think? The vet said that they would stop fighting as much after they establish the alpha female, but stopped short of telling me to let them fight it out. Any advice is appreciated!


I also don't think letting them fight it out is a good direction to go into as they will most likely hurt each other. From your post... it sounds like this just started and seems to be due to new pups in the house as well as another dog in heat. For me, I would just separate them during this period of time until the pups are gone and no one is in heat. I would work on this elimination before doing other drastic measures. Let them determine who the alpha one is after these things are resolved. Just my opinion.


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

We were talking about this in another thread. I also had two girls who fought and letting them fight it out is not an option. Mine would fight until they were literally exhausted and I could pull them apart. By that point there would be blood and wounds and stitches required. Both of them were spayed as pups and they were fine until the one turned two years old. 
You could leave them apart until the puppies are gone and then try them together briefly while you are taking walks. The only time mine did not fight was when I was taking them for walks they were on leashes. Something about being in a new place and under leash control changes their attitudes. Then you can try them in the house with their leashes on with you and another person each having a leash. That way you can pull them apart easier if the snarling begins. If they are determined to hate each other, all you can really do is keep it under control and keep the fighting controlled. You can't make them like each other.


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## EnglishBullTerriers (Sep 10, 2008)

Yorkie Mom said:


> Okay, so I have two female yorkies. Both are very well trained and socialized. Cali just had puppies and Chloe is about to go into heat. Because of this they are literally at each others throats. My husband and I have been holding them apart when they get into their spats, but a friend told us we should let them fight it out... What do you think? The vet said that they would stop fighting as much after they establish the alpha female, but stopped short of telling me to let them fight it out. Any advice is appreciated!


If this is something that has only come up since the one female had her puppies and the other is in heat, you might only have to keep them seperated for that amount of time to get through the puppies. If they can be friends only when puppies are not involved, I think you have it pretty easy. But, like everyone else has said, keeping them apart is about the only way to work out that kind of situation. One of the WORST things you can do when one has puppies is to force them to be in the same room together!!!! I had a dog that would let anyone in the world in the room with her puppies, but if another dog (male or female) even thought about walking close to that room, she was 'all over that!'. 
Hope all works out for you.


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