What can I do to stop the fighting between my two male husky's?

Question

I have three huskies all together. The female isn't the problem with the new guy. We have had the newest one since January. Initially he was submissive to the other two.

Both males are fixed. Oldest is about 6 youngest is about 3.
Recently it seems whenever either me or my husband are outside with the guys they all of a sudden will fight with the younger and newest one being the aggressor.

There is plenty of room in the yard, normally they play well together and so forth. They all share the same food bowl and water bowl because there were fights over the food bowls typically resulting in the bowls being emptied on the floor wasting food. All dogs are maintaining weight.

The newest one also tries to come between me and the older one. I try my best to give equal attention to both.
What can I do to stop the fighting?

I normally can figure probs out, but not this time. Nothing is working.

What are we doing wrong in the "pack"?

Answer 1

Hmm thats a tough one... I would think the new dog seems to think he is the boss over everyone including you since he tries to guard you from the other dog. I suggest try not giving the new dog much attention at all... I know it sounds weird but an alpha dog expects to be fawned upon by the other pack members. If you restrict the amount of attention he gets it may help things out. Just dont give the other dogs more attention in front of him.. try and become more aloof yourself and cultivate a more "alpha" attitude. Basically what that means is you have to have an air of authority, certainty, aloof, assured and confident. When he attempts to guard you from the other dog, walk away and ignore both of them and dont give either any attention until the one stops trying to guard you when you pet them... when he starts trouble and a fight with your older dog, intervene right away BEFORE it escalates. For example if you see him starting something go over and step between the 2 dogs, and tell the agressor NO, Go lay down etc. You may even want to bowl him over on his back and hold him there till he lays still for a minute. Be careful though this is something only an experienced in control owner should do.. if your dog resents such a display of ritualized dominance, he may react with aggression. It is true what Cesar Millan says about attention.. first comes excercise, then discipline and then attention. Dont let the new dog start a fight, dont let him guard you.. you have to stop it all before it escalates. It make a big difference if all the dogs take you seriously as a leader and know without a doubt that you will not permit them to act out. Treating them equally is not as important as it is to treat them as though they are all below you in rank..

Here is a really good article on Canine rivalry that should help you out, it has a couple training techniques you can try etc.. http://www.pets.ca/articles/article-dogrivalry.htm

PS As a rule with my 3 dogs, I will only pet the one who is calmest upon approaching me, if the others then try to usurp the attention they all get the cold shoulder.. it works dont let one push the other out of the way and then try and give them all equal affection. If one pushes in ignore them all until they all approach calmly, no jumping and no pushing and shoving and vying for your attention only then when they arent fighting over you should you dole out the pats.

PS here is a good article on how to be the "alpha" of your dog pack.. http://www.pets.ca/articles/article-alphadog.htm

Answer 2

1. Consult a dog trainer. They can be immensely helpful, especially since the dogs are still pups and just learning about life, etc. 2. Get an air horn. Every time they start to fight, blast them. Soon they'll realize that to avoid the air horn, they'd best not fight. It's so hard when one of their favorite games is to play-fight. It reminds me of a family of boys in our church. They don't know how to play except to tackle people and wrestle them to the ground. Lots of times, someone gets hurt. Wrestling like this with each other is okay, but the rest of us are not amused.

Answer 3

Well I commend you for taking on three Huskies. As you are well aware I am sure, they are high energy dogs and can be a handful! Nonetheless, sharing your life with them can be very rewarding.

First of all, you need to address any unwanted behaviors the second they happen. Any dominance display - something as subtle as a look or tensing of the body - should not be accepted by ANY member of the pack. You are pack leader, and none of the dogs should be trying to take that position.

Do you walk them all together? If not, you might want to start trying that. Walking them will bond them as a pack and reaffirm your position as pack leader. You control not only the pace of the walk but where the walk goes. You dictate when they sniff, when they relieve themselves and even when they socialize with each other. You take charge! You are after all much more evolved than four legged dogs.

When any of the other dogs comes over looking for attention when you are paying attention to another one, send the seeker away. Do NOT let him/her come between you and the dog you were originally spending time with. The alpha dictates who gets affection when. Its not being mean, its just being in charge. You will spend time with each - just on YOUR terms.

When feeding, feed the most calm dog first, whoever that may be that particular day. This will reinforce that you are looking for calm submissive behavior and anything other than that will NOT get rewarded.

Remember, don't get tense or think that something will happen. If you project that, then it will happen. Remain firm with them that you are in charge and you are not going to tolerate any unwanted behaviors from ANY of them. The myth that the one in the home the longest should get special treatment only creates favoritism and leads to unequality in the pack. All of your pack members are equal, but they are subservient to you. Keep this in mind at all times when dealing with them!

And lastly, remember that it is not always the one who appears to be the aggressor that is actually initiating a physical spar. It could be that one of the other dogs is signaling subtly to that dog and he/she is just reacting to it. Body language is so critically important in the dog world. Something as subtly as puffing up or staring can trigger a dog to attack/fight. Try to just observe their behavior from as much of an objective perspective as possible. It may surprise you to learn that the aggressor isn't really the aggressor after all! That's what I learned!

Answer 4

The honeymoon is over... now your new guy is trying to move up the pack ladder. I would recommend that you set up rules, figure out who is boss out of the dogs and make sure you pet that one first, feed that one first, let him outside first etc. Sounds like your female could care less.
I have four dogs in my house(with an occ foster dog). I know who is the leader and treat him as such... I have harmony now in my pack.

Answer 5

ALL THE EXERCISE THEY OR YOU CAN HANDLE WILL STOP ALOT OF NEGATIVE BEHAVIOR, ONE ON ONE TIME WITH DOGS REALLY WON'T HELP THEY LOVE TO BE PART OF A PACK AND EVEN THOUGH YOUR NOT A DOG YOU ARE THERE LEADER SO SHOW THEM HOW YOU WANT IT TO BE AND CORRECT THEM WITH AUTHORITY WHEN YOU FEEL THAT THEY ARE OUT OF LINE IN ANY WAY. YOU CAN DO IT CAUSE YOU LOVE THEM.

Answer 6

they might not be fighting. They could be playing sometimes this look similar to fighting as long as there is no blood drawn its ok. My dog always plays with the puppy and they look like there fighting really adgressive as long as theres no blood your ok.....

Answer 7

in the wild problems like this would be solved with someone being forced to leave...maybe they just need to be seperated. are they getting enough hard exercise? these are working jobs and they may be needing more to do ...tired dogs get along better.

Answer 8

Two words next time they fight. Cattle Prods!!!

Answer 9

Do you, your spouse and kids fight?