My dogs are fighting violently. How can I stop them from killing?
Updated On September 23rd, 2025
My dogs keep attacking eachother, they get into bloody brawls.. to the point I'm worried they are going to kill eachother.
2 Answers
Most Helpful Answer
Published on February 19th, 2018
Oh dear! I'm sorry to hear that you're having this problem. Aggression between dogs in the same household is a complex behavioral problem that's difficult to address in a forum like this. If you want to keep both dogs, I would strongly suggest getting in touch with a veterinary behaviorist who can evaluate them in person and help you determine why the fights are happening. He/she can put together a detailed training plan to work on the problem, and may also recommend medication for one or both dogs as part of the overall treatment plan. In the meantime, since it sounds like these fights are quite serious, I would recommend keeping the dogs separated from each other to prevent further problems until you are able to get some professional help. You can search for a board-certified veterinary behaviorist in your area here: www.dacvb.org
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Related Answers from Veterinarians
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Published on December 18th, 2017
I would recommend consulting a trainer that comes to your home. They can monitor them and see exactly what is going on and see if there is a trigger. They can also work with you and both of them to try to get them to get along. The other option is if you know who is instigating everything you can talk to your veterinarian about medications for them. This may also help. I always recommend starting with a trainer before trying medications but sometimes medications are what will help. If you cannot get them to get along and they are really hurting each other rehoming one is the best option. Unfortunately no one wants to do this but if it stops the fighting it may be worth it. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Health & Wellbeing
Have 4 dogs 2 of them about a month ago have become very aggressive to one another. The only time they dont fight is on their run. Not aggressive to other passing dogs. They are starting to draw blood from one another. What do I do to fix sibling jea
I would recommend consulting a trainer that comes to your home. They can monitor them and see exactly what is going on and see if there is a trigger. They can also work with you and both of them to try to get them to get along. The other option is if you know who is instigating everything you can talk to your veterinarian about medications for them. This may also help. I always recommend starting with a trainer before trying medications but sometimes medications are what will help. If you cannot get them to get along and they are really hurting each other rehoming one is the best option. Unfortunately no one wants to do this but if it stops the fighting it may be worth it. Thank you for using Boop by Petco.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Training & Behavior
My 3 dogs are always together and just a few days my one dog started attacking the other. And now I have to keep them apart because of it. Would there be any reason why this happened? This has never happened before
Hi there! Aggression between dogs in the same household is a complex behavioral issue that's difficult to address properly in an online forum. In general, I can tell you that common triggers for aggression between housemate dogs include resource guarding over food or toys, redirected aggression due to barking at something exciting outside, or over-arousal during play. If the problem is severe enough that the dogs can no longer be together at all, then I would strongly recommend making an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist. He/she can evaluate the dogs in person to help determine what is causing the aggressive behavior, and will help you put together a detailed training plan to work on the problem so that hopefully they can get back living together peacefully. You can search for a board-certified veterinary behaviorist in your area here: www.dacvb.org
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
i have a 10 month old bully and a 7 year old pug that have just started fighting and we are having to seperate them now which s not what we want to d o is there anything we can do to stop the fighting
Hi there! Aggression between dogs in the same household is a complex behavior issue that really needs in-person help to address properly - there can be a myriad of different reasons that they are fighting, so you need an expert to evaluate them in person and help you put together a plan to work on the problem. I would recommend getting in touch with a behavior consultant or a good reward-based trainer for help with this issue. See this webpage for more information on how to find someone qualified in your area: https://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/pets/general/findabehaviourist In the meantime, I would continue to keep them separated to prevent things from getting worse until you are able to see the behaviorist.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My male dog has suddenly become very aggressive towards the other dog which is female a week back everything was fine but suddenly oblix attacked the other dog same thing happened 3 days back and it was a serious attack as if he wanted to kill her th
I'm sorry to hear that you're having this problem! Aggression between dogs in the same household is a complex behavior issue that can have many causes such as stress/anxiety, frustration, resource guarding, or redirected aggression, so it's hard to say what might be causing this without more information. In general, treatment for this issue involves identifying situations that tend to trigger the aggression, then managing the dogs to avoid these situations or working with a trainer to teach them some type of alternative behavior. Medication for one or both dogs may also be helpful, depending on the underlying cause of the aggression. I would recommend talking with your veterinarian about this problem as a starting point - he/she may suggest starting some type of medication if appropriate, and should also be able to refer you to a good trainer or behaviorist in your area who can work with you in person. Make sure that the trainer you work with uses reward-based training methods o
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
This is too much to type but I need help getting my girls back together before we move. I have two female pitbulls the mother and daughter the daughter attacks the mother and I can't have them together we are moving to a smaller place and won't be ab
I'm sorry to hear that you're having this problem! Aggression between dogs in the same household is a very complex behavior issue, and is a bit beyond the scope of what we can effectively help you with in this format. I would strongly recommend making an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist - he/she can evaluate Bruja and Tosha in person to help determine what is causing the aggression, and will help you put together a detailed plan for managing them safely and training to work on improving their behavior around each other over time. You can search for a board-certified veterinary behaviorist in your area here: www.dacvb.org In the meantime, I would recommend continuing to keep the dogs separated until you are able to see the behaviorist - this will prevent the problem from continuing to get worse, and also keep the dogs from injuring each other.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
What training method do you consider most effective when it comes to a multi-dog household made up of 5 females (all spayed) that fight when they are all together. The owner does not favor one over the other and toys are not involved, they have an en
I'm sorry that you're having this problem! Aggression between dogs in the same household is a complex behavior issue that is a bit beyond the scope of what we can effectively help with in this format. Treatment for this problem involves identifying what triggers the aggression (which often takes a bit of detective work, and observation by an expert) and then finding ways to avoid these triggers, or working with the dogs over time to teach them to respond differently when these situations occur. It's not a simple process, unfortunately, so there's really no quick and easy answer to give. Your best option would be to make an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist who can evaluate the dogs in person and give you some hands-on guidance in dealing with this problem. You can search for a board-certified veterinary behaviorist in your area here: www.dacvb.org
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My 6 month old puppy (brown dog) has started brutal fights with my 13 year old dog (multicolor). She is grown bigger then my 13 year old dog and gets the higher advantage and bites her neck. She has never drawn blood but yesterday she hurt her neck s
That sounds like a tough situation and I hate to hear this is happening. Most humans cannot correctly read canine body language without additional training. Unless you know what the dogs are saying to each other, it's impossible to know how to modify and train the dogs behavior. Canine aggression is a complex behavior as it can stem from dominance, possessiveness, fear, anxiety, resource guarding or a combination. I recommend to work with a professional trainer. This will give you the best and fastest results. Researching on your own will also be helpful. Familiarizing yourself with canine body language and dog training can help you to recognize what your pet is trying to say. You can find many books written on the topic and there is a trainer named Victoria Stilwell who I think is particularly helpful. Best of luck.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
Hey, so I got a new dog and my old dog seems don't like him so much. He always spit himself when he barks on my new dog. Any solution? and what happen
I'm sorry that your dogs aren't getting along! Without being able to actually observe them together, it's hard to say why this might be. I would really recommend getting in touch with a veterinary behaviorist or a good reward-based trainer who can evaluate both dogs in person and help determine what the problem is. This is important to figure out first, in order to know how to help. In the meantime, you can try separating the dogs at all times except when you are working with them. You will need another person to help you. Practice having both dogs on-leash at a distance from each other at first, with both dogs getting treats for calm behavior. Once they are doing well at a distance, you can gradually move closer together as long as they are both comfortable. You can search for a board-certified veterinary behaviorist in your area here (dacvb.org) or a qualified trainer here (ccpdt.org)
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
Hi, a week ago, we rescued an adult dog from the streets and are keeping him until we find a home for him. We have another dog, 16 months old and we made some common mistakes when bringing the new dog into our home. The new dog is now bullying the ol
I'm sorry to hear that you're having these problems! Aggression or fighting between dogs in the same household is a complex behavior issue that's very difficult to address without evaluating the dogs in person, because there are so many factors to consider - it's important to assess both dogs' personalities, how they interact with each other when they're not fighting, how severe the fights are when they happen, what seems to trigger the aggressive behavior, etc. For this reason, I would strongly recommend getting in touch with a veterinary behaviorist or a good reward-based trainer who can work with you in person to help determine why the aggression is occurring and put together a detailed treatment plan to address the problem. In the meantime, I would recommend keeping the younger dog on-leash whenever he is around the older dog to prevent any bullying or harassment, or using a baby gate or other barrier to keep the dogs separated until you are able to get some hands-on guidance
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Food & Nutrition
Why do my dogs keep fighting? They randomly start attacking each other aggressively. Its usually both hazel and marcy attacking daisy. What can I do? They each have there own separate food, water, beds, toys they are all spayed as well..what can be t
Thanks for using Boop by Petco! Usually these behaviors can be corrected but this usually requires in person training by a qualified dog trainer. I recommend you consider contacting a qualified dog trainer to work with you in person. Good luck and have a good night!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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