[animal_lover33]

I have a total of 7 dogs. My pit/lab mix named Angel is almost 1, when we got her around 6 months she had to eat in a crate because she would try to fight the other dogs for food. Well She has to eat in a crate by 2 of our other dogs who have to eat in a crate, since they are puppies. Here lately she has been gettin into attack mode trying to get to their food, Any advice to this?? Right now i'm taking her out of her crate and going by their crate and samiting her when she does this or when she looks over at them wanting their food.

Another problem with Angel and my boxer/Shepard, Precious..
They both want to be the dominet one, however I'm in charge of both of them. We have had some dog fights here in there, nothing major. They normally start out by precious giving Angel the look and Angel will charge. They would play afterwards of course though, They would be buddies later that day. Well a few weeks ago they got into it and precious got bit in the leg, it hit a vein so we had to take her to the vet, blood was everywhere. Ever since then Angel and Precious dont get along, They cant be in the room together. Any advice to this because these dog fights need to stop, I don't want their to be another vet visit. Right now for this I have one dog on a lease and my boyfriend has the other dog on a leash and we make them go around eachother and when one of them gives the other the look, we samit them.

[luv4gsds]

I think you should seek help from a animal behaviorist or a dog trainer that knows about food aggression and dominance aggression.

[all4thedogs]

You need a behavorist to come to your home. Multipule dogs is very hard. Especially with more then one female. I never suggest having to females in the same house, it can work, but more times it doesnt.

You may think you are the dominant one in the pack, but it really doesnt sound like it.

Are your dogs on NILIF (Nothing in Life is Free), if not, google it, do some reading, and get started. This is NOT a replacement for a behavorist which is greatly needed in the situation, but it will get you started.

I would also seperate the crates, seperate rooms, or just across the room. Place a towel or something on the crate so she cant see the other dogs. Is she food aggressive with humans too?

You need some serious help. 7 dogs, and some with issues. Contact a behaviorist in your area (not a trainer). They should come to your house, watch your dogs and tell you how to handle it. This is not something Petsmart can handle

[animal_lover33]

Originally Posted by all4thedogs

You need a behavorist to come to your home. Multipule dogs is very hard. Especially with more then one female. I never suggest having to females in the same house, it can work, but more times it doesnt.

You may think you are the dominant one in the pack, but it really doesnt sound like it.

Are your dogs on NILIF (Nothing in Life is Free), if not, google it, do some reading, and get started. This is NOT a replacement for a behavorist which is greatly needed in the situation, but it will get you started.

I would also seperate the crates, seperate rooms, or just across the room. Place a towel or something on the crate so she cant see the other dogs. Is she food aggressive with humans too?

You need some serious help. 7 dogs, and some with issues. Contact a behaviorist in your area (not a trainer). They should come to your house, watch your dogs and tell you how to handle it. This is not something Petsmart can handle

Dogs come in packs. It doesnt matter if you have 2 females living in the house. I have 5 females, 2 males. All the other dogs get along fine. I have control over all my dogs besides Angel. I have somewhat of control over her until her and precious get into the fights they get into. I'm not going to seperate the crates into different rooms because all the dogs were fine until Angel came in. They like being together. Angel doesnt have a problem when its bed time sleeping in a crate by the other dogs. She only has a problem when eating in a crate. She isnt aggressive at all towards humans. She is the biggest baby. I may call a behaviorist in my area and see what they think, but i'll try my techniques first and see how they work out. I know alot about dogs and packs, I'm just having a tough time dealing with the dog fighting. The food problem I'm pretty sure i'll be able to fix, but I'm not sure about the dog fighting. Thanks for your advice..

[all4thedogs]

Yes dogs live in packs, but in nature humans are not part of the packs, and dog fights happen ALOT. It is common knowledge that two dogs of the same sex are much more likely to have problems, then two of the opposite sex. Is that always the case, NO. I have 2 males right now, that are the best of buddies, NEVER fight and everything is great. I would take 2 males over 2 females anyday. Females are more likely to fight. ESPECIALLY if they are intact.

Control and being alpha are different. Your dogs need to see you as alpha and know that fighting is not allowed and will not be tolerated.

I stand by my statement, you need to look into NILIF. It will cost you nothing, and will earn the respect of your dogs. What order are you feeding your dogs? Who gets attention first? Do you know the pack order? These are all very important in a dogs world, and many humans (including myself for a long time) are unaware.

I never said 7 dogs cant live peacefully together, but it is difficult, especially with some of the breeds you have. Pitties and Shepherds are known for their same sex aggression, as are Boxers.

If you dont want to seperate the crates, fine. It was simply to help you with the food aggression. The towel between the crates at feeding time may help you

I didnt mean to come across in a hateful way, if thats how you took it. I dont know you, or even anything about the situation, except what you posted. I simply gave my advice about what I knew on a public message board.

I wish you all the best. Please consider calling a behaviorist, he/she could be a lot of help.

[animal_lover33]

Originally Posted by all4thedogs

Yes dogs live in packs, but in nature humans are not part of the packs, and dog fights happen ALOT. It is common knowledge that two dogs of the same sex are much more likely to have problems, then two of the opposite sex. Is that always the case, NO. I have 2 males right now, that are the best of buddies, NEVER fight and everything is great. I would take 2 males over 2 females anyday. Females are more likely to fight. ESPECIALLY if they are intact.

Control and being alpha are different. Your dogs need to see you as alpha and know that fighting is not allowed and will not be tolerated.

I stand by my statement, you need to look into NILIF. It will cost you nothing, and will earn the respect of your dogs. What order are you feeding your dogs? Who gets attention first? Do you know the pack order? These are all very important in a dogs world, and many humans (including myself for a long time) are unaware.

I never said 7 dogs cant live peacefully together, but it is difficult, especially with some of the breeds you have. Pitties and Shepherds are known for their same sex aggression, as are Boxers.

If you dont want to seperate the crates, fine. It was simply to help you with the food aggression. The towel between the crates at feeding time may help you

I didnt mean to come across in a hateful way, if thats how you took it. I dont know you, or even anything about the situation, except what you posted. I simply gave my advice about what I knew on a public message board.

I wish you all the best. Please consider calling a behaviorist, he/she could be a lot of help.

Sorry I did kind of take it the wrong way a little, Angel is not spayed yet either, which she will be within the next two weeks. Hopefully that will calm her down some what to the point where we can work with her. I will look into NILIF, I really dont know what it is, I've never heard of it before, I looked it up on google.. Is NILIF just the techniques to do or is their more to it? Most of the techniques that was stated on the site I went to I do. Like when I walk in the door and the dogs want my attention I dont give it to them, I wait until I want to give them attention. I watch the dog whisperer sometimes when it's on to learn more about the packs of what I dont know. I know alot about dogs, but I dont know everything. Precious and Angel got along fine for like a couple of months and then Angel went into heat for the first time and then the dog fights started happening. They would be buddies after they got into the fights though, This last fight we had a couple weeks ago is what is the problem. They cant be out together. My sister last weekend was bringing Angel inside by the collar to put her in the crate and precious was by the door, I walked in just in time because we almost had another fight. Angel started growling because Precious gave the look and I had to grab precious's collar, so she wouldnt do anything. I mean these fights have got to stop! I love all my dogs and I dont want to have to choose between Precious or Angel because how am I to know if they are going to be in a good home??

[Dulce]

I think you will see a difference after she is fixed. That makes a huge difference.
You should SERIOUSLY consider feeding them in seperate rooms. Also, seek a behaviorist, or trainer specializing in food/dog aggression.
This can be a serious problem. Your dog could even turn on you while he's eating if you get too close. That would be a horrible situation. Be very careful when breaking up a fight, you could get bitten, or the dog can turn on you.

Plesae seek professional help for your dogs..this isn't something you should take lightly. I understand your concern about the fighting, it's a serious thing.

Again, once spayed, the problems won't be as dangerous. Spaying changes the hormone balance, and the dominance level won't be so high. I would suggest having all of your pets fixed, if they aren't already.

Does any of that help?

[tirluc]

sometimes spaying doesn't help.....i have 3 dogs...a neutered male, a spayed female and an intact female.....the spayed female DEFINITELY is the alpha of the dog pack (the whole pack, no).....and i have had quite a few different "packs" where the intact ones were still below the s/n ones.....i have yet to have a male actually be the leader, tho.....

but i agree, i would be feeding Angel separate from the others, even if that means a towel/blanket covering her crate, completely......as for Angel and Precious.....this problem needs to be addressed w/ both of them not just Angel......sounds to me like Precious is the instigator here and Angel is just not going to back down......and spaying i don't think will remedy this......

get a behaviorist b/4 it's too late and someone gets hurt...

[animal_lover33]

Originally Posted by Dulce

I think you will see a difference after she is fixed. That makes a huge difference.
You should SERIOUSLY consider feeding them in seperate rooms. Also, seek a behaviorist, or trainer specializing in food/dog aggression.
This can be a serious problem. Your dog could even turn on you while he's eating if you get too close. That would be a horrible situation. Be very careful when breaking up a fight, you could get bitten, or the dog can turn on you.

Plesae seek professional help for your dogs..this isn't something you should take lightly. I understand your concern about the fighting, it's a serious thing.

Again, once spayed, the problems won't be as dangerous. Spaying changes the hormone balance, and the dominance level won't be so high. I would suggest having all of your pets fixed, if they aren't already.

Does any of that help?

yeah that is helpful. Thanks for the advice, We feed the dogs that have lived forever together in the same room and they all get along fine, they dont try to take one anothers food if they are done eating, they go straight to the door like we trained them too. 3 of our dogs have to eat in a crate. Angel because of the problem. Dallas because he would rather play then eat And dreamy because she eats way to fast and will try to eat the other dogs food. Thank you for your concern of being careful when breaking up a dog fight, we are very careful, they both are 2 big dogs and Angel has pit in her, so we have to be careful. We usually keep a close eye on them now, but looking for the signs that they are going to fight and stop them before they do. Getting Angel spayed may work or may not, she still may want to be the alpha. Precious is spayed and she wants it. We only have 2 dogs that arent spayed. Angel is the first one that is going to get spayed and then dreamy will be getting spayed within the next 2 months.

[animal_lover33]

Originally Posted by tirluc

sometimes spaying doesn't help.....i have 3 dogs...a neutered male, a spayed female and an intact female.....the spayed female DEFINITELY is the alpha of the dog pack (the whole pack, no).....and i have had quite a few different "packs" where the intact ones were still below the s/n ones.....i have yet to have a male actually be the leader, tho.....

but i agree, i would be feeding Angel separate from the others, even if that means a towel/blanket covering her crate, completely......as for Angel and Precious.....this problem needs to be addressed w/ both of them not just Angel......sounds to me like Precious is the instigator here and Angel is just not going to back down......and spaying i don't think will remedy this......

get a behaviorist b/4 it's too late and someone gets hurt...

I know what you are saying about your female that is spayed is the alpha. Precious is spayed and is the alpha, but Angel wants it and isnt going to back down from it. We are def. dealing with both of them, because precious is the instigator, however Angel could tear precious up. I finally got them to play outside together again. I keep a close eye on the play though, until this mess settles down completely and they figure it out. I'm really hoping that getting Angel spayed may work a little, but I know their is a chance that it wont. Thank you for your advice

[blackgavotte]

I agree with All4the dogs, females can be trouble in the house, when they hate one another, they seldom settle it if both are equally as determined and strong as the other. The fighting can go on for years, sometimes ending in serious injury or death to one. And sometimes in these battles other dogs will join in and you can have carnage... You may have to consider placing the new dog, in fact, 7 dogs is a heck of a lot if they are all free and interacting, I am a very experienced dog woman and would be very careful of having seven dogs running together, especially when some are newer to the pack than others. In the pitt cross, no matter what some people want to believe about "nature vs. nurture " and all that, the breed was developed for fighting and the genes are still lurking there...sometimes its kinder and wiser to place dogs who don't work for you, they and the ones left at your home, will probably be less stressed in the end.

[blackrose]

Originally Posted by blackgavotte

I agree with All4the dogs, females can be trouble in the house, when they hate one another, they seldom settle it if both are equally as determined and strong as the other. The fighting can go on for years, sometimes ending in serious injury or death to one. And sometimes in these battles other dogs will join in and you can have carnage... You may have to consider placing the new dog, in fact, 7 dogs is a heck of a lot if they are all free and interacting, I am a very experienced dog woman and would be very careful of having seven dogs running together, especially when some are newer to the pack than others. In the pitt cross, no matter what some people want to believe about "nature vs. nurture " and all that, the breed was developed for fighting and the genes are still lurking there...sometimes its kinder and wiser to place dogs who don't work for you, they and the ones left at your home, will probably be less stressed in the end.

These were my thoughts. Even if you get training, two dominant dogs of the same sex, one of which has genes that say, "Fight that dog!", may not ever get along. Some things just don't work out and after the training, if the dogs still aren't getting along, then it would be in the best intrest for your saftey and your dogs' safty to rehome one of the dogs.

And yes, when dogs are in "packs" they tend to egg each other on...our mix breed girl, Rose, gets along fine with our Lab pup, Sadie, by herself, but when we add Blackie to the mix, Rose tends to get snarfy around Sadie. Blackie will tend to ignore Sadie until Rose gets snarfy and then Blackie gets snarfy. I think having more dogs at their back gives them a confidence boost...