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Conflict Between Two Dogs in the Home Environment
by Scotty Valadao - Canine Behaviourist - Founder www.friendsofthedog.co.za
by Scotty Valadao - Canine Behaviourist - Founder www.friendsofthedog.co.za
Changing all behaviour issues takes time, consistency, knowledge, management, and patience, especially in the situation where 2 dogs in the home are not getting on.
You will have to be able to manage, understand the situation and the triggers that can cause an altercation, and be able to spot early signs and situations that will lead to the behaviour occurring and take steps to stop it.
Keeping the dogs separate is not recommended, this can actually heighten the stress between the dogs and increase the likelihood of an altercation occurring when they do come together again.
The relationship between the dogs could have been good for months (or years) and then suddenly the challenging or reactive behaviour occurs, or it could be a case where there was very slight reactive behaviour, which starts to increase, and then turns into actual aggression, and fights occur. It could also be that the reactive behaviour only occurs in certain locations or situations. The more the altercations between the dogs happen, the more likely they are to occur again, and gradually become more and more intense.
Common Reasons why this may occur.
Unless a behaviourist really observes and has all the knowledge about the situation between the dogs and the owner, it is impossible for us to say why the behaviour is actually occurring. Without detailed knowledge of what is going on, giving advise without viewing the situation could be dangerous and unethical. However, here is a list of the most common reasons as to why the relationship between the dogs may be occurring.
There are multiple reasons/triggers which may cause this to occur, and often there is a combination of factors occurring at the same time.
Breed
There are some breeds, such as the Lab, which are just social butterflies, however, there are several other breeds that really should be only dogs. Some common breeds where altercations often occur are the Staffie, Bull Terrier, Pit Bull and Amstaff. The reason for this is that many of these dogs were bred for fighting of some type or other. They were also bred to be very close to their handlers and do not take to other dogs trying to push in on what they regard as ‘theirs’ – the owners.
Very often you will find that a Staffie, or Pitti for example (and we love them!), all will be well until the dog reaches the adolescent stage, and then all hell can break out. To give you an idea as to which dogs are compatible, and not only the fighting breeds, have a look at our Compatibility Chart - https://www.friendsofthedog.co.za/breed-compatibility.html and take into account cross breeds as well. If you are considering a cross breed, it is always a good idea to have a Breed Make-up DNA test, such as Muttmix offers to be on the safe side.
Dog’s Sex
Your ideal match is a male and female, second best is two males (dependant on breed), and the sexes where more problems occur are between two females – two females together should be avoided at all costs.
Age and Hierarchy
Owner
What can occur is that the owner is not up to speed with understanding a dogs body language and why it is engaging in a particular behaviour, and will inadvertently cause the situation to accelerate by reacting in the incorrect manner.
Another point here is a lack of consistency in what is, and what is not allowed, as well as conflicting treatment of the dogs in a multi dog home from the people in the home.
Dogs not getting on is also a very stressful situation for the owner, and often the increased stress the owner is feeling, is picked up on by the dogs, causing the unacceptable behaviour to escalate.
Health
Lack of Mental, Physical and Social Stimulation
All of these can play a part in problems between dogs. If the dogs are not receiving sufficient, they can become very frustrated, and are more likely to react in an unacceptable manner to another dog in the home.
Resource Guarding
A dog may want to have control over any number of items such as food, food bowls, toys or even a particular toys, bones, furniture, chew toys, and even their owner. The more a dog lacks mental and physical stimulation, the more the resource guarding may occur. The mental and physical stimulation will satisfy the dogs natural needs and give it other things to enjoy and think about.
Stressors in the Environment
Stressors such as storm or noise fear or certain noises, or even the gardener coming for the day, or the dustbin arriving outside. can raise the dogs stress levels causing it to react. Another very common trigger is dogs that have access to the gate and see other dogs walking by and react to them. The stress levels may go so high that displaced aggression occurs, in that as the one dog cannot get to the dog outside the gate, it reacts to the other dog at the gate – the same can occur with people walking by, or even dogs that chase each other along a fence.
As you can see there can be multiple reason why dogs may become reactive to the other dog in the family, and there are also more reasons than above – these are the more common.
General
The most important aspect is that the behaviourist visits you at your home where the behaviour is occurring – an on-line behaviour consult is not what is called for where aggression is concerned, or try to tackle yourself – you can, inadvertently of course, make the situation worse by acting in an incorrect manner. What often does occur is that the dog that is acting in an aggressive manner, is not actually the dog that is causing the problem. It could be that this dog is reacting to subtle threats that are issued by the dog that appears to be non- aggressive, but due to a lack of experience in canine body you may not pick up the early threats.
It is crucial that the behaviourist observes the body language and interactions between the dogs and owners, and also a complete knowledge of the overall interaction between dogs and owner.
If altercations are occurring between your dog, we urge you to get professional assistance as soon as possible – this is not a situation where the standard owner should tackle by themselves – you can inadvertently make the situation worse.
You will have to be able to manage, understand the situation and the triggers that can cause an altercation, and be able to spot early signs and situations that will lead to the behaviour occurring and take steps to stop it.
Keeping the dogs separate is not recommended, this can actually heighten the stress between the dogs and increase the likelihood of an altercation occurring when they do come together again.
The relationship between the dogs could have been good for months (or years) and then suddenly the challenging or reactive behaviour occurs, or it could be a case where there was very slight reactive behaviour, which starts to increase, and then turns into actual aggression, and fights occur. It could also be that the reactive behaviour only occurs in certain locations or situations. The more the altercations between the dogs happen, the more likely they are to occur again, and gradually become more and more intense.
Common Reasons why this may occur.
Unless a behaviourist really observes and has all the knowledge about the situation between the dogs and the owner, it is impossible for us to say why the behaviour is actually occurring. Without detailed knowledge of what is going on, giving advise without viewing the situation could be dangerous and unethical. However, here is a list of the most common reasons as to why the relationship between the dogs may be occurring.
There are multiple reasons/triggers which may cause this to occur, and often there is a combination of factors occurring at the same time.
Breed
There are some breeds, such as the Lab, which are just social butterflies, however, there are several other breeds that really should be only dogs. Some common breeds where altercations often occur are the Staffie, Bull Terrier, Pit Bull and Amstaff. The reason for this is that many of these dogs were bred for fighting of some type or other. They were also bred to be very close to their handlers and do not take to other dogs trying to push in on what they regard as ‘theirs’ – the owners.
Very often you will find that a Staffie, or Pitti for example (and we love them!), all will be well until the dog reaches the adolescent stage, and then all hell can break out. To give you an idea as to which dogs are compatible, and not only the fighting breeds, have a look at our Compatibility Chart - https://www.friendsofthedog.co.za/breed-compatibility.html and take into account cross breeds as well. If you are considering a cross breed, it is always a good idea to have a Breed Make-up DNA test, such as Muttmix offers to be on the safe side.
Dog’s Sex
Your ideal match is a male and female, second best is two males (dependant on breed), and the sexes where more problems occur are between two females – two females together should be avoided at all costs.
Age and Hierarchy
- Pups – you can experience problems in the canine hierarchy when a pup comes into the home, and the older dog simply cannot handle its behaviour. Normally, older dogs will tolerate a pup until it gets to about the 4-month age, and then reprimands from the older dog can occur.
- Pups and owners – what can occur is that the owner gives the pup far too much attention, and inadvertently raises it higher than its normal place in the canine hierarchy would be, which can cause a reaction from the other dogs. Always remember that the pup is the lowest ranking in the canine hierarchy where older dogs are concerned.
- Trouble often occurs when the pup reaches the adolescent age and starts to figure out its own place in the canine hierarchy, often challenging older dogs.
- Another area where problems often occur, is when an adult dog goes into its senior years – this may cause plays for status with the other dog in the family as it senses the older dogs weakness.
- What can also occur is that a new adolescent or adult dog is brought into a family situation, and it simply has not learnt the early socialization skills of what other dogs will tolerate and what they will not.
Owner
What can occur is that the owner is not up to speed with understanding a dogs body language and why it is engaging in a particular behaviour, and will inadvertently cause the situation to accelerate by reacting in the incorrect manner.
Another point here is a lack of consistency in what is, and what is not allowed, as well as conflicting treatment of the dogs in a multi dog home from the people in the home.
Dogs not getting on is also a very stressful situation for the owner, and often the increased stress the owner is feeling, is picked up on by the dogs, causing the unacceptable behaviour to escalate.
Health
- Where aggression is concerned, a behaviourist will always ask the owner to have the dog checked out by the vet before going to a consult, as if there are any underlying health issues, very little done from a behaviour point of view will have an effect.
- Remembering that dogs try to avoid to show pain or that they are not well as it would lessen them in the canine pack, even minor pain, teeth problems, impacted anal glands, or an allergy can cause dogs to react when they normally would not have – just like us humans – we are less likely to be understanding and patient when we are not feeling well.
- Senior dogs may often have aches and pains that we are not aware off that could cause them to react. They are also less likely to have the patience they used to have, and their behaviour may change. especially if they feel threatened by a younger dog jumping on them or annoying them.
- Medications. There are some medications that can have behavioural changes when taking certain medications, and these can range from the dog being more restless than normal and pacing and not able to settle down – becoming reactive to different sounds or situations than they normally do, right through to becoming very snappy and bad tempered. If your dog is going onto medication, always check with the vet as to what possible side effects could be encountered.
- Hormones – if a male dog and intact and happens to scent a female in season in the nearby neighbourhood, this can affect behaviour.
So too can a female who has not been spade have behaviour changes when coming into season.
Lack of Mental, Physical and Social Stimulation
All of these can play a part in problems between dogs. If the dogs are not receiving sufficient, they can become very frustrated, and are more likely to react in an unacceptable manner to another dog in the home.
Resource Guarding
A dog may want to have control over any number of items such as food, food bowls, toys or even a particular toys, bones, furniture, chew toys, and even their owner. The more a dog lacks mental and physical stimulation, the more the resource guarding may occur. The mental and physical stimulation will satisfy the dogs natural needs and give it other things to enjoy and think about.
Stressors in the Environment
Stressors such as storm or noise fear or certain noises, or even the gardener coming for the day, or the dustbin arriving outside. can raise the dogs stress levels causing it to react. Another very common trigger is dogs that have access to the gate and see other dogs walking by and react to them. The stress levels may go so high that displaced aggression occurs, in that as the one dog cannot get to the dog outside the gate, it reacts to the other dog at the gate – the same can occur with people walking by, or even dogs that chase each other along a fence.
As you can see there can be multiple reason why dogs may become reactive to the other dog in the family, and there are also more reasons than above – these are the more common.
General
The most important aspect is that the behaviourist visits you at your home where the behaviour is occurring – an on-line behaviour consult is not what is called for where aggression is concerned, or try to tackle yourself – you can, inadvertently of course, make the situation worse by acting in an incorrect manner. What often does occur is that the dog that is acting in an aggressive manner, is not actually the dog that is causing the problem. It could be that this dog is reacting to subtle threats that are issued by the dog that appears to be non- aggressive, but due to a lack of experience in canine body you may not pick up the early threats.
It is crucial that the behaviourist observes the body language and interactions between the dogs and owners, and also a complete knowledge of the overall interaction between dogs and owner.
If altercations are occurring between your dog, we urge you to get professional assistance as soon as possible – this is not a situation where the standard owner should tackle by themselves – you can inadvertently make the situation worse.
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