Dog fights have long been an issue for dog parents and themselves. It is almost unavoidable for both large and small dog breeds, especially in a triggering environment. Siblings in one family can fight one another too, not only strange dogs. Acknowledging the problem, we now will inform you of the reasons why your dogs fight and ways to prevent such circumstances.
1. Consequences Of Dogs Fights?
Firstly, let's go through the consequences of one dog fight. As you know, a dog fight can only end if one dog gets injured and cannot get up to its fight anymore. A dog fight can happen between two dogs or many dogs.
The most serious dog fight that can lead to fatality is the fight of one dog against many others. It is likely to occur for a short time but the result can be serious injuries, lifetime disability, or death. As dog owners, we never wish the situation to happen to any dog, including ours.
A fight between two dogs is more long-lasting if the two are of adequate size. However, it can be as dangerous as the one vs many if a small dog such as Chihuahua goes one on one with a Pitbull. A fact you may have not known is that small dog breeds can sometimes be more aggressive than large ones. The most calming and friendly dog breeds we know are probably Golden Retriever and Border Collie.
2. Why Do Our Dogs Fight?
Before going to the methods to prevent your dogs from fighting and getting into unwanted situations, we must first acknowledge the reasons why they fight for better prevention and understanding.
To State Its Dominance In The Hierarchy
This is the most common reason why dogs fight each other, no matter if it is their siblings or not. The dominant hierarchy fighting is more likely to happen among dogs of the same gender, males or females. When staying in the same environment, dogs tend to fight for their top position and conquer the others. It is their instinct to do so.
The fight will happen if your dog meets a new one in its daily living environment. The chances of opposite genders fighting one another is not so high as the same ones because they all come at position number one in their environment. Or this can happen in the dog park. Every dog, especially those with a dominating trait and improper training as well as socialization.
Fighting For The Desired Resources
Here is another common cause of dogs' fights. It happens a lot among siblings or household dogs. The resources can be food, toys, or owners' attention. This can also occur among dogs of no relations as well. They often fight for mates, territories, and food. The fight among strange dogs is also more serious than household dogs or siblings.
Personality Traits Of The Dog Breeds
Personality traits also contribute greatly to fighting in dogs. There are aggressive and neutral dog breeds. For example, some large dog breeds are calming while others are not. Chihuahuas are one of the most aggressive and always pick on a fight with larger dogs, according to surveys conducted by many universities.
For the large dog breeds, we have German Shepherd and Pitbull. However, a German Shepherd if trained well will be the most calming and smartest dog. That's why this breed is selected to support the policemen.
Underlying Stress Or Mental Issues
Unidentified stress or mental issues are the next reason why dogs fight each other. Your dogs when facing stress or unstable mental statements are much more likely to get into a fight. They fight due to their fear and stress, and it is not the breed of personality traits in the scene. A calming dog when it is stressful can have strange actions and become much more aggressive. The stressful periods can come when it has something to protect or it feels the danger is coming towards. The mental issues suffered by owners can be a cause of dog fights.
Stressful Surrounding Environment Or Changes In Daily Routine
Finally, it is either a stressful living environment or sudden changes in daily routine. Both of the situations can lead to chronic stress or instant stress in dogs. A stressful living environment is mainly caused by people or animals surrounding the dogs. Constant shouting and punishment are one reason. It leads to your dogs' feelings of stress and fear. If the circumstance happens intensively, your dogs will learn that through violence and fear they can get what they want.
A sudden change in the daily routine is not advisable as it can cause your dog instant stress, though not as serious as the chronic one. But every little detail can together lead to a pitiful result.
3. Ways To Keep Our Dogs From Fighting
Dogs' Training and Socialization
The most effective but also the hardest and most time-consuming method is early socialization and training for dogs. This should be conducted as early as the milestone of 3 months old in dogs. It is the most suitable time for training and letting your dog react to daily situations from simple to complex.
A properly trained and socialized dog has a much lower chance of getting into a fight or triggering another dog. It is then calm and playful, rather than stressful and shocked by new changes or interactions with other people and pets.
Spaying and Neutering
Spaying in female dogs and neutering in male dogs reduces the chances of dogs fighting for the first position or partners in the mating season. When your dogs have been spayed or neutered, their aggressive characteristics will decrease remarkably.
They will then have no demands of finding their mates, and their behaviors will be much more calming. Spaying or neutering can be hard for dogs in the first several days, but it is for a more quality lifetime afterward. Spaying or neutering also keeps your dogs healthier and lengthens their longevity. We recommend that this action be taken right before the first mating time of dogs.
Keep The Resources Separately
Next, to prevent dog fights around the house, you should keep the desired toys or food types separately. Dogs are similar to humans in this part. We all want what we have not got, and so do dogs. The eye-catching and fun toys are desirable to all dogs. Even the most calming dogs find it hard to resist such toys.
You should also feed your dog with an even portion and prevent the action of dogs taking food from each other. Proper punishment for the action should be made, but not the violence. If you must, feed the dogs separately in different places.
Calming Dogs Before Trips Or Prepare In Advance For Any Environmental Changes
Last but not least, the changes in the environment or daily routine should not be made suddenly. Preparing your dog in advance for about 3 days to 1 week is advisable. They would then not be so shocked or overwhelmed by the new changes.
If you must take your dogs on a trip together, ensuring their diets and health conditions, as well as their mental states, is a must-do thing.
Conclusion
Even though dog fights can happen easily in a blink of an eye, there are ways to stop them. We think highly of the training and socialization. It is a long-term and most effective method. A calming dog will be much less prone to getting into a fight. Or when it faces a dangerous situation, its way will be avoiding the situation, including running, rather than fighting. If training and socialization apply along with the methods we have informed you, the fear of dog fights will reduce significantly now that you have calming and playful puppies.
