have 3 oes r fighting with each other

i have 3 oes 9yrs male 5yrs female 3yrs female up until 6 months ago all was good. then the two females stared getting in little fights now its way out of control. u have to pull them apart i got bit up bad over there last fight daughter took the 5yr but that didnt work out had to bring her back home today cause she bit there little dog an made it bleed. as soon as she was home she got in fight with the male i keep the other female in a cage until i seen how things went was wondering if i got one or both females fixed would it help. the 5yr acts like i wont have enough love to go around dont wont any other dog close to me dont no what to do i dont have much money so if fixing them wont help an will only be able to do one at a time an then will have to wait to save up more money to do other just breaks my heart
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Sounds like dominance issues to me. My breeder had this happen with Asterisk's mother and two other females. Asterisk's mom was always a pretty dominant dog and when she turned five and the other two females were about three they got in a big fight, which left Asterisk's mom injured.

My breeder decided that this dominance issue was too dangerous for all the dogs and though she tried different avenues, she eventually re-homed Dolly.

Have you consulted a trainer in your area? I would definitely try a behaviorist!
Spaying isn't likely to make a difference in female fighting. Id save that money up for a good trainer or behaviorist instead.

In the mean while, for safety sake, can you keep them separated while in your home? Are there specific times/circumstances when this happens that you can keep them either leashed or kenneled during?
Had similar problem just kept them seperated for the most part.Would not fight all the time thought. I would also agree with the other replies.
I'm sorry you're having problems with your pack. I think you need to try to figure out exactly what's starting these fights. It can be very difficult to stop a fight once it starts so observing the dogs to see exactly what's setting them off may help you to prevent fights in the future. This can take time but you may be able to defuse a conflict by redirecting the dogs, sending them in different directions. If you and your dogs are getting injured, the fights are pretty serious so bringing in a humane trainer to teach you how to help your dogs co-exist might be best.

Whether spaying the bitches would help probably depends on why they're fighting and whether hormones are adding to the problem. If it's just jealousy, then probably not. One thing I did with my Schip-mix that was quick to use her teeth on other dogs... she didn't like anyone invading her space so if she came up to me for attention, I would pet her but if other dogs were also about to come up, I'd immediately stand up and leave everyone. No one would get my attention. I would remove the cause of the problem... ME :mrgreen:

I'd also consider taking her in for a medical check to see if by chance something else isn't going on... pain, infection... consider a thyroid check too.

If you're breeding your dogs, be very careful if you have puppies around. Keep the other dogs and puppies totally away from the one currently causing the imbalance.... I hate to think what might happen if a fight started around puppies. :|

I don't know where you live but if you want to spay your bitches, you might try to find a low cost clinic.
I hope you can find a solution.
Jaci has given great advise there, also observe and watch the body language of all 3 of them. Watch if there personas changes say around food or even with you when you are patting one and the other acts up. Eliminate firstly if it is anything to do with food that sets them off, go back to basics there, all 3 dogs fed well apart from each other and any left overs taken up straight away, bowls taken up too and no allowing sniffing of the others in each others bowls, eliminate any food aggression that might occur, do that so no temptations there to cause a fight.

Secondly observe if it is you that sets them off, as jaci mentioned, any slight change in the body language on either while you are paying attention to the others then then if so walk away or time out for the one displaying wrong behaviour.

Thirdly outside, for a time being for play time, seperately,you then gradually bring them all together even if you have to put one on a long lead for controll while the other two are playing freely, work with the one on the lead with treats to take there mind off the other two, to start trying to intigrate them all together without a fight. Even think about a soft muzzle for the instigator of any bad behaviour if you want to progress to freeplaying with the other two without the risk of biting them, that would only be used for short time till you can trust how they all are together.

If you can dont know where you live but even better, go back to basics with the pack and seek help with a trainer coming to your house to observe how all 3 interact together to give you advice on how to deal with it so there is harmony in the house.

By observing by you there body language usually you can predict by the way they are looking or standing if a fight is imminent if you notice this time out with the one displaying the wrong body language or behaviour.

At 3 & 5 years intact girls spaying wont change how they are behaving together. Yes hormones can play a little part the girls can get a bit hormonal leading up to a heat but the way yours is behaving is definately a challenge with the pack as to who is going to be top dog, so they need to learn manners and also there place in the house and that you are the boss, also I would have a thyroid check by a simple blood test to rule out a medical problem for your 5 year old and her aggressive behaviour to other dogs.

Go back to basics with training, feed seperately, time out for them , seperate time from you for each girl & your boy, wether that be a walk or just fun in the yard, the others are away at that time, dont put yourself inbetween them if patting one the other acts up before a fight starts you walk away or put the instigator of it away.

You are the boss of the pack and they have to learn to respect that and earn the right to all be together with you, so step by step and re-begin a routine for them and allow nothing like maybe food or toys etc to aggrevate the situation till they learn respect for each other then the toys, playing outside together etc is allowed only when they learn there place in the house and they are getting on all together. :wink:

Sometimes too it just does not work out regardless, had a friend years ago with two bitches from the same litter, one was re-housed due to them wanting to kill each other at 2 1/2 one was placed and the other kept and harmony for both of them then. Neither were aggressive with other dogs or people just with each other, so it happens and if cant be fixed the problems you are experiencing with them then you might have to think about that one has to be re-housed elsewhere for harmony and peace in your house. Do go back to basics firstly with all of them or even if you can have an instructor in behaviour come to your place to help advise you on resolving this situation. You have to do it as it will not go away and will progressively worsen . So step by step and see what happens. :wink: It wont happen overnight you have to put the time in with the pack to re-establish harmony amongst them.

I have 2 entire bitches and 1 entire dog in the house and never had any problems with all of them getting on. So spaying wont change your situation with the girls it's in there temperament that has to be changed, training and re-establishing limits for them is a must firstly and see what happens from there as to what you do down the track :wink:
I bow to the answers above. All good advice, especially realize, in one case, the owner was the problem! (very, very common) For the last 40 years I've lived in a multiple dog household. At one time the number was 7 (my insane years). I am the boss, period. No dog dominates me. I've also been able to learn how to diffuse issues, watch body language, correct instantly. The fact you have fighting tells me you are not on top of things. It may take several different trainers/behavorists to get you and your pack squared away. If there are other uprights in your house, they need training as well. Spay/neuter would lessen the seasonal problems. Reducing the hormone load takes one problem away, not all.
Sheepie boss brings up another important point, all humans in the house have to follow the same training ritual with all the dogs otherwise if one is doing something one way and the others another it only confuses the dogs as to what you want from them. So whichever road you take make sure all in the house are following the same training techniques and protocal. :wink:

Thought this might be helpfull too a link of Dogs body language, learning to recognise signs before it progresses to something more, give you time then to difuse a situation before it turns into a fight and either you or one of the other dogs gets bitten. :wink:

http://dogs.about.com/od/dogtraining/tp ... nguage.htm

Best wishes lets know how it all goes hopefully it will settle in the household with some set guidelines for the pack, the uprights and patients and going back to basics with them. :D
I still need a new login name. 8) We live closely with 7 dogs... tried to foster an 11 month old standard poodle-mix for a shelter last week but he was adopted. :D I love dogs.

About 4 years ago and for about a year or so, we used doors/gates to keep the peace as we learned how to handle the different personalities in the pack. Later, I only allowed outdoor interaction between Meesha and Bumble until he reached 1 year of age... he's pretty respectful of her but this doofus can get right in Meesha's face with no consequences. 8O He's the only one able to do this. Dominant and submissive dog the other day- http://oesusa.com/MeeshaBumble060910.jpg . The body language says it all. First, Meesha standing over Bumble... she is a dog that is full of herself. The middle picture was just before Meesha put her front feet on his back. I told her "off" and she did. They both scrambled around the living room... not in a way that indicated a fight was going to start... but I stepped in early before it could become anything. I told Meesha to go to her place. I can't allow things to escalate. Fortunately, we no longer need to separate any of them... except Meesha at night when it's bedtime (I vont to be aloooone... do not invade my space). I think REtraining everyone is also needed in order to achieve peace in the home.

Trying to find ways to make it work... the process can be disruptive, stressful, sometimes very difficult, maybe even dangerous. Sometimes there's no room for error in keeping dogs separated because they'll cause another dog great harm or even death. I have friends with dogs like this and had my own beloved Nikki. I'd try Lisa's suggestion about the muzzles to see if you can work through this... be sure both dogs are fitted properly so they can't come off if they get into it again. I've never tried muzzles for dog/dog aggression... maybe others here can give you more advice. But only put the dogs together if your supervising 100% of the time so you can learn and redirect and so the dogs don't get hung up on something while wearing muzzles/leashes. They need to learn you aren't going to tolerate fighting and need to listen to you. I think dogs need to be in the situations that are causing the conflict if there's ANY hope of getting past it... if you always keep them separated they can never get past it... but there are some dogs that will never get past it anyway. I would leave leashes on the dogs when they're together too and again ONLY when you're supervising. The leashes may help you to get control without getting bit. It's best to have two able adults to do this. Even after you think you've got things under control and the muzzles come off, fights can still happen.

One note about fabric muzzles... if dogs are excited, hot or breathing heavily for any reason, they inhibit biting but also the dog's ability to pant. Monitor them closely if you use one of these. You might check out the Leerburg website for more muzzle info- http://leerburg.com/muzzleselection.htm I have a couple of fabric muzzles but have never used them... the basket muzzle we picked up for Kaytee to prevent her from eating stuff outdoors when she was a puppy was never needed/used. That's my experience with them. :|

I'd like to take a look at this book- CANINE BODY LANGUAGE - A PHOTOGRAPHIC GUIDE
http://www.dogwise.com/ItemDetails.cfm?ID=DTB856
Has anyone here read/looked at it? Maybe you can find it at your local library.

The ASPCA has some photos and descriptions that might help read your dogs. I thought it was pretty cool...
http://www.aspcabehavior.org/articles/5 ... guage.aspx
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