my dogs will not stop fighting, they fight all the time!?

Question

i dont think its serious, only sometimes they growl, the female growls more wen food is involved and wont let the male past her if she is eating! will they ever get on or is this there way of gettin on? the female is a 5 year old un-neuterd collie cross, male is a 2 year old castrated lab cross, thanx!

Answer 1

they could be trying to mate, maybe the older one is more dominant so thats bad, yea like the other guy said like have them eat in separate rooms

Answer 2

To be honest the food possession issue is unlikely to resolve. I have the same issue with my two dogs. Come feeding time they can become very aggressive and will happily fight if they feel their food bowl is under threat.

I feed them in opposite corners of the kitchen and it is normally fine. Occasionally the odd scrap breaks out but it is nothing serious. Why isn't the female neutered, if you don't plan to breed her (and i can't see why you would breed a collie cross unless you wanted to keep one yourself) then it may help to reduce her hormone levels a touch and reduce some of the fidgety behaviour. Admittedly this is more of an issue with un-neutered males.

So basically i doubt it will resolve but if they are anything like mine they get on great most of the time it is just feeding time you need to watch.

Answer 3

If they are just growling at each other then there is no problem. Dogs have to communicate just like us and some are grumpier than others!! The fact that its just growling over food and who gets past first is just evidence that they are sorting out their place together and that they are getting on. Don't give them cause to squabble over which one is boss (dogs are never equal they live by a pack and strict top-dog bottom-dog status) by feeding them at the same time, not favouring one over the other and don't tell off the female when she puts the male in his place. The rule should be that you are the boss and they should sort out their pecking order with no violence! Growling however is normal and don't let it disturb you.

Answer 4

My two fight constantly also. There's a ton of growling involved. Yelping, snapping, whining, stalking, protecting the cats from one another are common things you'll see and hear between my two.

Mine are just having fun and being the animals that they are. If one gets too rough, the other is sure to let them know and they settle back down to a level that's comfortable for both of them.


I would worry about the food related growling though. Can you keep them separated while they eat? Don't leave bowls out with food. Have specific feeding times and when feeding time is over, remove the bowl from their sight.

Answer 5

neuter the female for a start. How long have you had them both? One way to solve the food guarding is to feed ad-lib. Leave several bowls of kibble down in various places around the house. The first few days she will still guard and eat loads but as she gets to realise that food is always available it isn't so important to her.
I have recently taken in a rescue collie who guarded the food bowl.He snarled and tried to bite my other dogs if they tried to eat. I put 3 bowls of kibble out all over the house. He cannot guard them all. The first 2 days, he scoffed and gorged. The 3rd day he ate only what he needed and now after only 4 days with me, he no longer food guards at all and the other dogs are able to eat.
Your female really needs neutering though.It will help reduce her aggression.

Answer 6

My dogs "play" fight all the time...they are going at it right now over a toy....the female growls alot....I think it is to make up for her size...she is 20 lbs and the male is 70 lbs!

She also growls really bad when he gets near her food bowl....it's normal, I think.....she just wants to eat her food in peace! And she wants it all to herself! They have their own food bowls....

anyway, I don't worry about mine because they never hurt each other....watch for body language...like if they are angry or scared, their ears will lay back and maybe their tail will stand straight up...well, I think the tail thing varies between breeds....

I know mine are playing because they run, hop and pounce and wag tails...eventually they get tired and go to their own corners...silence.....then after a few minutes it is time for another round....a 24/7 thing....quite entertaining...I don't even know why we have a TV.

*edited....oops maybe my female growling about the food is a bad thing...now that I read others' answers....but I can walk right up to her and stick my hand in the bowl without any problems....even when the other dog is present....and when I say she growls while they are play fighting....I don't think she is being really aggressive...it is mixed in with playful barks....I don't know, maybe I am wrong...the tiny one is the dominent one. Feel free to correct me people...now I am curious.

Answer 7

The female is dominant. Spaying a dominant female will INCREASE her dominance, not reduce it.
Neutering reduces dominance in males and lower ranking females; but NOT top ranking females.
So spaying her will actually make her behaviour worse.

If most of the fights are at mealtimes then she is guarding her food. And she is doing that because she feels the male is too close to her food.
So move them apart to feed them. Put them both in seperate rooms where they don't have to go past each other when the other is eating.

Remove the bone and they won't fight over it.

Answer 8

The behavior you're describing is "resource guarding" behavior; the dogs won't share their food, space, or toys. Sadly, when this behavior is seen in most shelters, the dogs are immediately branded "not adoptable" and are put down. (Ours in a no-kill shelter, but we screen for this behavior before we let any dog into our setting. If it doesn't pass the temperment test, it doesn't get into our shelter.)

To eliminate this behavior, you'll need to step in whenever you see it and law down the law. You are the "alpha" in your pack; you have to show the dogs that the only one who gets to "growl" in the house is you. Every time you see the behavior, at the moment it starts, give the dogs a firm but calm "no fighting" command, and remove them BOTH from whatever they're arguing about. Let them have the food, toys, space only when they can they share without aggression.

It will also help if you get your female spayed. Her resource guarding behavior comes in part from her maternal instinct to protect her "nesting area" from intruders. Spaying will reduce her hormonal response to having her space "invaded" by the male.

Answer 9

Have the female neutered and feed them separately, all dogs have to have a pack leader, its better that its you rather than one of the dogs. If you can, take food away for a few secondspraise the dog for being quiet and return the food, this shows you have the right to dispense and retrieve food.

Answer 10

I have a dog that does it, all mine are bitches (I have three) and one of them growls constantly around food. I don't think it has anything to do with neutering them but none of mine have been, I think it's because she was a rescue dog and has obviously had to fight for it in the past. If she gets too vicious then just take her food away from her but I don't know how to completely solve the problem.

Answer 11

Spay your female...she will mellow out! Also, you need to be the Alpha dog in you pack. Your dogs may love you, but they don't respect you if they fight with each other against your wishes. You need to always be the pack leader and make it known to your dogs that YOU are the dominant one and that you will not tolerate these quarrels for rank. Being a pack leader does not mean you cannot show your dogs love and affection. It means you will always be fair and consistent in your requests from them, you require obedience from them, and you will not tolerate any deviation from this (i.e. there will be consequences/corrections). Dogs are pack animals, and they actually desire to have an established leader and an orderly pack. Companion dogs don't want to be the alpha. They want you to be. When your dogs both love AND respect you as their leader, you will have much happier and content dogs. They will no longer need to bicker with each other for rank because they can always turn to you for guidance. Good luck.