Help Needed! Advice.

[MikeC]

Hi, Im a new member and would welcome some advice and would really appreciate any you could give, We have 3 lovely BB 1 male 2 female. The 2 females have begun fighting for what seems no reason,They are fine most of the day but then in the evening they could be both fast asleep and snoring then both wake growl at each other then quick as a flash fighting. I can stop the fighting relatively fast but they are now drawing blood. Once they've fought they seem fine again? Fine when alone, Fine when playing,Fine when eating and fine when out on walks??
We are now desperately seeking advice as we don't want to part with any of our dogs but don't know what to do. We are looking up dog behaviorists but would love one that knows the bulldog breed.
Any advice would be greatly received.
Thanks,
Mike.


Our bullies are between 13-16 months, not spayed and not related, had no problems prior to this.

 

[anatess]

Ahhh... this is a tough one. We've had this experience before and I don't have the proper personality to be able to overcome this problem. My husband does, though and he was able to keep control of his 2 unaltered male dobermans. It's more than likely that the 2 females are vying for the top dog spot or fighting over a resource. They can be buddies one moment, and a trigger presents itself and the fight breaks out in 3 seconds flat.

The ideal scenario is that one dog defers to the other dog so that all the top dog has to do is issue a warning and the other dog defers. If this does not occur naturally (if you have 2 wanna-be-queen dogs), then you have a problem. The solution to this is to let both dogs know YOU are the top dog and that behavior is not acceptable... so that YOU are the one to issue the warning and both dogs defer. I couldn't do this because I can't seem to establish myself as top dog - might be a personality trait. My husband has a natural talent to be top dog - he's never gone to any training or anything yet he has this way of getting the dogs to fall in line. It takes a while for them to learn and accept their place, so you may have some tough days ahead. With our 2 dobermans, we spent $800 to get both dogs stitched up before they learned to quit it.

 

[Sherry]

I wish I knew the correct answer, in my thinking, I would say they are dominate females reaching maturity and are both intact. If you are not going to breed, consider spaying perhaps. Females together will fight more than males together, unless there's a female in heat. I have 5 bully's 1 unrelated male, 1 mum , and 3 of her litter from 11. They all get along pretty well.

 

[MikeC]

Thanks for the advice so far, Its just a tough one to control as there is no warnings? one min friends playing or asleep and then FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT. As soon as i separate the fight they are fine again until the next time??
Anymore advice would be great.

 

[2BullyMama]

Bringing in a behaviorist will help you best, but as Sherry stated, unless you plan to breed you should look to spay and it will help you gain 'leader' role within your pack.

 

[Vicaroo1000]

Thanks for the advice so far, Its just a tough one to control as there is no warnings? one min friends playing or asleep and then FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT. As soon as i separate the fight they are fine again until the next time??
Anymore advice would be great.

The first thing that bounced out at me about your post is as [MENTION=1714]Sherry[/MENTION] and [MENTION=2894]2BullyMama[/MENTION] mentioned; you have three "teenager" dogs and since they've not been spayed/neutered, their hormones are going gaga. Biological imperative is a tough thing to fight; the best you can do is be the most calm and assertive pack leader you can be with these pups!

Watch them carefully....there really is a warning in there somewhere...however subtle...it is just difficult to see it sometimes. The behaviorist will be able to help you with that one. Often the "warning" is only one member of the pack being "weak" which prompts the attack from the other one. One thing for certain, if this is happening now, left un-managed, it will get worse. Watch your own energy when observing their behavior. Your nervousness / anxiousness can feed into the situation.

That "one minute friends, one minute fighting" is one of the greatest things about dogs: their ability to "let go". Dogs are pack animals and regardless of the squabble, will always want to --- NEED TO --- return to be a part of that pack. This instinct works in your favor with regard to rehabilitation.

 

[Vikinggirl]

I agree with all the great advice above, spaying will help, my Blossom was spayed 5 months ago, and she really settled down after her surgery. The only other thing I can add is are they crate trained?, because if they are you could put them in their crate at night, as they seem to start fighting when they are asleep, or you could use it as a time out place, when they are getting aggressive with each other. You could separate them after they fight, and maybe they will learn that if they fight this behaviour will not be accepted, and they will get a time out in the crate. Good luck, I hope it resolves itself. Keep us posted.