Triggers to fighting

[JacksonNJagger]

Hey Everyone,

Have yet another question. This is the first time we have ever owned two dogs at the same time, yet alone Yorkies. We adopted the boys together about 2 months ago, and at 4.5 years old they have been together since birth so I am puzzled by their behavior. I was not told that they "fought" until after we had them for a few days and they started. We got them neutered and the vet said it takes some time for the hormones to calm down, which isn't a problem, I just don't want anyone hurt.

What happens is 90% of the time, they love to be together and have separation anxiety if they are not. It's that 10% of the time (about once a week) that they fight and you have to physically break it up, tell them to stop, and then they go right back to wanting to be together. The guy that had them previously said they fight after 10 pm because they are tired, that's not the case. So far, it has been under the birdcage, in the kitchen, on the bed, the sofa, and floor, at various times. Any suggestions on what could be the cause? I'd hate to separate them but having being bitten severely by a 100-pound dog last year during a dog fight, am afraid of dog fights. This went on for too long at their previous home, so I wonder if it's not too late to fix it.

Does anyone else have 2 males or 2 yorkies at that who get along beautifully sometimes and then have "fights" occasionally?

Thanks,
Mel

[kjc]

Mine do, on occasion. I have 4, well 3 Yorkies and a Biewer. They just have skirmishes over misunderstandings. I just pull them apart, tell them to cut it out, and go on. Just their little terrier minds in overdrive, I think, lol.

[linda44]

My two boys get into it occassionally. Nuetering helped tremendously, but they still do and its really bad, like pit bulls. I have found that excitement triggers mine. Like when someone comes to the door, when we are all playing, things like that. What I do now and it seems to work is I have rolled up newspapers in different areas of the house. If someone comes to the door and they all start barking, I pick up the paper and slap it in my hand and say no. It usually works. Theyve never ever been hit with a newspaper but they seem to know that it wont be pleasant. My secretary uses a water spray bottle for when hers get excited. Good luck finding your "stick".

[BlueBelle]

Unfortunately my 2 girls will occasionally go "jiggy" on each other. Various triggers but no one has any injuries but it is upsetting when it happens. It does seem to relate to if they are on edge about something and the cause can vary. Then they go back to being BFF's.

[MikaTallulah]

I have 4 females related. Mine will occasionally play very hard growling and biting each other- No one ever cries out or is injured. If it gets too intense one will walk away or Cozy mama will step in and correct the offending party. It is possible they are just playing hard. Their play can look like fighting to us. When Cozy had her 1st litter I was convinced she was hurting the babies by running after them and throwing them down and biting their necks. They would whimper so I would yell at her. Ghent after a few days it clicked she was teaching them the rules. "You don't run in the driveway or go into the woods" for example.

Just a thought.

[MI Yorkielover]

At least your boys are friendly after a fight. We had two females at one time for a few months. Sophie always just wanted to play but Hazel wanted to fight over everything. It was scary ! Sophie is on your left on the couch looking dejected and Hazel is stretched out on your right. It broke our hearts to see Sophie this way.This is how they behaved after a fight which lead to our giving Hazel to my niece where she could happily be the only dog. Sophie perked up again right after Hazel left. There was never a question that we would keep Sophie. She was with us first and has such a sweet, loving disposition. Now they're both happy, yay . Sounds like with a little time though your little guys will be fine together.

[sganow]

Mine will fight if they get really worked up, like when someone comes to the door, come up to the fence if outside, or when you go in or out of the gate. Otherwise they get along perfectly. Ginger is our biggest instigator when excited. She is also the biggest and strongest, so she puts the others down very quickly. We holler and she stops. I guess we just disrupt her little frenzy and then it's over.

[JacksonNJagger]

Thanks everyone. I do think excitement has something to do with it, I just physically break it up or use a blanket and it's pretty much over. I was trying to figure out if it is possibly a dominance issue, but am not too sure about that.

This last time Jackson had a limp afterwards, but I checked right away and he started walking fine so hopefully, there are never any injuries.

That's what I am hoping, that the behavior corrects itself in the future, with no more fighting. I don't want to have to give one away because they are both good boys, it's just tough to know when they are going to go "off". Especially since they really do get along most of the time.

[sganow]

Once when Ginger and Maggie got into it, Maggie let out a yelp and wouldn't put one of her back legs down. We took her to the vet and found out she has grade 3 luxating patella in both rear legs. They gave her an injection and some meds to take, and we had to keep her quiet and crated for a few days. She came out of it and has been fine since. The vet said we can keep an eye on the LP and address it in the future if it becomes a chronic problem for her or causes her discomfort.

Not sure if your dogs have been checked for luxating patella or not, but that may be what caused the limp after the fight. Just a thought.

[JacksonNJagger]

Our last Yorkie had that problem with his back legs also. This was Jackson's left front leg, can they develop that problem in the front legs as well? I had thought it was only the back legs.

[gracielove]

I think you will find that one of those dogs is the boss. You may have to watch them closely to decide which one it is but sometimes the other will get tired of being bossed and challenge the other. It's best to watch them closely to find the slight signals like eye contact and body language that goes on just before a fight breaks out. That way you will be able to get them away from each other before the fight starts. If a fight does start use a broom! Don't put your hand in there and get bit. I don't mean hit them with the broom but use it as a device to get between them and once they are unhooked sweep one away from the other. I know they usually settle down pretty quickly. Dogs don't hold grudges like humans do. Hopefully you can find out what their triggers are and stop the whole process in time. Just keep a broom handy at all times until you get this issue under control.

[ritapatt]

I like Mel's idea of a blanket- I am going to give that a try next time the big dog and Ziva get into it.The size difference makes me uncomfortable about their "arguments".

[JacksonNJagger]

Yes, the blanket trick seems to stop them quickly and safely