Our 5 month old puppies (one is a Pit Bull mix, the other is a Beagle mix), fight each other.
They bite, and bite, and BITE…
And chase each other…
CONSTANTLY.
They socialize well with other dogs, except that the beagle mix tries to jump on other dogs all the time and sometimes nips at them. The Pit mix is as sweet as could be to every new animal he meets.
Anyway, about the fighting. Sure, they are puppies, and they may be in some phase where they are figuring out who’s dominant between the two of them, but should their fighting be THIS persistent?
They are NOT playing.
They make vicious noises at each other, bark at each other, and bite each other everywhere.
But then, after maybe 10 or 20 minutes of fighting, they go and cuddle on their bed together.
Why are they fighting like this?
They literally do this for 10-20 minutes, off and on, ALL DAY and ALL NIGHT. There are usually 30 minute gaps between their fights. They go to bed at around 10pm after their "last round" of fighting.
We try so hard to stop them, and separate them every time they do it, but they just KEEP FIGHTING. It feels hopeless.
What is this behavior? Can it be stopped? SHOULD it be stopped?
The Pit mix does try to hump occasionally while they "play-fight"…
And the beagle mix has a biting problem with people. He keeps trying to bite our hands and our hair…we try persistently to stop him. He doesn’t get it yet.
****For Your Information, my Pit Bull mix is BETTER-behaved than the beagle mix…stop freaking stereotyping against Pit Bulls, it seriously disgusts me.***
The dogs both have plenty of chew toys.
They are more interested in chewing each other.
January 21st, 2010 - 9:29 am
Your dogs sound like they are playing. Quite normal. That’s how puppies, and many adult dogs, play.
Welcome to puppy ownership. Only stop it at night by putting them in separate crates, or when you won’t be home to supervise.
All of my dogs did that well into adulthood..and even in their senior years.
January 21st, 2010 - 9:29 am
It sounds like they are fighting for dominance. This is normal and unless they are bringing blood when they bite don’t worry. Eventually they will work it out. The are both stubborn breeds so you can expect this to last for a while unfortunately. Let them work it out. Good luck.
January 21st, 2010 - 9:29 am
….. ok…. it not going to stop…
keep the pit bull mix… thats all im going to say…
end of story!
January 21st, 2010 - 9:29 am
It sounds like they are play biting. Do they nip at you or your hands? They need to be broken of the play biting at humans. Dogs learn and develop muscle and bone by playing and it gets pretty aggressive. If they begin to draw blood or leave bruises, you need to be the alpha male and make them stop. grab each one by the scruff of the neck, hold them down and say firmly, NO! Keep them a3way from each other for a while, you may even have to put them in separate rooms.
this site has a lot of good videos on dog behavior and puppy behavior.
January 21st, 2010 - 9:29 am
This is normal. Puppies make noise and bite when playing. They are playing. Don’t worry and don’t stop it. Make sure they continue to get outside socialization.
January 21st, 2010 - 9:29 am
Sorry, it doesn’t sound like fighting to me.
If they were fighting, they would be bleeding, limping and yelping/crying. Some dog owners make the mistake of looking at dog’s "rough housing" as dogs fighting. That is simply not the case.
I doubt they are even trying to establish who is dominant. If they were there would a lot more humping going on! lol
It sounds to be like they are being puppies and just playing. If it bothers you that much then don’t allow them to play and keep them seperated. Although that would be a real shame.
These aren’t working dogs – these are pets, they should be able to develop as such.
January 21st, 2010 - 9:29 am
my dogs do that daily too. but i know they are just playing. this could be a dominance thing though, but they doo sound like they are playing. however you ar seeing it and im not so i dont really know.
January 21st, 2010 - 9:29 am
You have to be the alpha and express what is acceptable and was is not in behavior
Any time that a pup starts to become aggressive toward the other, make a sharp sound such as UH-UH or blow a whistle, this will distract them, do this any and every time that they are behaving in a way that you feel is inappropriate.
You can also say firmly, Not yelling just firmly, "No Bite or Nice" after some time and patience they wil understand.
Some say that it is not recommended to have 2 females .. which in certain females is true as they can and will fight to the death. However if started early with training them all should work out fine.
I myself have 6 dogs, 4 of which are females, have "3" that are 6 1/2 month old puppies (2 bitches and a dog) at times (usually down to 1 a month) they get into fights yet is usually over a bone.. however with that being said.. just giving vocal commands or a sharp sound stops it immediately. Dogs like to please their owners and their Alpha and with time will learn to listen and obey any and all command
January 21st, 2010 - 9:29 am
They want to play bite, get some chew toys for them also, puppies need to chew…
January 21st, 2010 - 9:29 am
They could be fighting, but sound’s more like playing to me. Dog’s love to play with other dog’s, and they do so very roughly. Unfortunatly you have a bit of a handfull with that pitbull mix.. they have a very agressive attitude and will fight for domanance. I’d monitor them for a while, if nothing change’s, i’d lay down some rule’s and discipline them. Good luck!
January 21st, 2010 - 9:29 am
are the dogs two of the same sex. One will try and be most dominate of the house. I had two like that they will take to fight but in the log run they should get use to each other. Are you sure that they are fighting or are they playing. Dogs will play together and you can think that they are fighting. If they are only 5 months old give them a liitle while to grow up together.
January 21st, 2010 - 9:29 am
If they are both males they are just trying to assert dominance, you could try neutering one or both of them. That will take down the testosterone levels and calm them down. My male did the same thing except i have all females. He got neutered and he calmed down Alto on it.
Good luck
January 21st, 2010 - 9:29 am
they are NOT fighting..that is how puppies play..dogs dont sit around and play a game of monopoly, they wrestle, and nip, and growl and bark, to them that is fun. Let them be..if it bothers you put them outside to play.
January 21st, 2010 - 9:29 am
I have a Pit Bull mix -female and a Male Pit (blue nose). Puppy’s have a fond way of playing with each other. They sound like they’re fighting , but I assure you they are not. Both my dogs are between the ages of 6 and 8 years old now. However, they’ve always tussled w/ eachother (still do from time to time – they only get serious when it comes to food and I break that up immediately). Keep their eating areas seperate. If they sound like they’re playing too rough, break them up.
Don’t let them think it’s okay to play in the house. If they are outside, let them tussle. The female will usually try to dominate the male. Keep in mind if your dogs are the same sex (male/female), this is not a good thing. It’s not good to have the same sex around eachother b/c they CAN become very competitive. All in all, train them both and you should be fine. Take them for plenty of walks, associate them with other people and dogs now (depending on how friendly you want them to be) and treat them well.
January 21st, 2010 - 9:29 am
They are NOT fighting. Fights do not last 10-20 minutes. They ARE playing.