Big problem pups fighting to death?

[treetalkingjp]

I just came in from feeding my dogs were fighting before I even got dog food out ? Not just fighting but I mean they meant to do some harm . I whipped them for 10 mins around the lot and broke numerous sticks and they wouldn't let up they kept at it. They have never done this. They are 5 months old . They grow over food and snap that's about it . What do I do

[treetalkingjp]

Growl

[Dale T]

Don't even tolerate a growl even around there food dish it will start there and spread like cancer, use your shock collar so they don't get afraid of you.

[dandavidson]

Tritronic...

[mehounds]

Had the same thing with my last litter of pups around four months. I could'nt keep them together put them on chains and houses like big dogs. Have all the dogs still, hunt and ride in the box no problem, they were just done living with eachother .

[Patrick]

If you whipped a bunch of pups for 10 minutes trying to modify their behavior and they didn't get the point, likley one of two things are going on.
1. It could be the whole batch is a bunch of hard headed, thick skulled idiots and you should spend 1 minute simply culling the entire bunch.
or
2. You need to change your method of impressing upon the bunch that they need to shape up. It sounds more like you chased them around making a lot of noise for 10 minutes, wore yourself out (maybe put them in a smaller lot?), and the bunch just had a good time. They shouldn't be afraid of you, but they should fear upsetting you by misbehaving. (hint, a good chunk of hose won't break)

Now if they get to fighting serious while you are not around, splitting them up is a good solution. I would still feed them all together and see to it that they behave well.

[treetalkingjp]

As bad as I hate to I might cull them! Don't get me wrong for 5months old theses dogs excell on treeing and tracking a caged coon. I'd hate to kill the earliest starting dogs I've had . But I think I'll try shocking them if that don't work guess ill have to do something

[dwalton]

If you read dog physiology books they say to wean and separate the pups at 49 days or before. That is when the dogs start determining there dominance, in other words controlling each other. But what do they know any way, besides we are the alpha dog in our pack aren't we. Dewey

[JTG]

The time to fix this problem is not when they are fighting. Most problems like this can be solved with good obedience training. There are several good DVD’s on obedience training. If you catch them fighting before they are trained spray them in the face with a water hose and separate in a small area so they can think about it.

Tie the dogs off just a foot or two from each other and have a water hose ready. Put an e-collar on each dog. Make sure the dogs are hungry and put a dog bowl with food just out of reach for each dog. Once they start thinking about fighting is the time to train them and at that time spray each dog with the water, flip one of the dogs on his back and grab him my the neck and hold him on the ground until he calms down. Once he calms down rub him and praise. If the other dog is barking use the e-collar just enough to stop the barking. Make sure the dogs are conditioned with the e-collar so they do not know where the correction is coming from
Once the dog calms down walk him off on a leash and start teaching the command “Sit” over and over again. With the other dog watching, start far away and get closer and closer to the other dog. If the other dog barks—e-collar.
Then switch dogs and do the same. One training session will not fix this problem so do it enough until they get it and then do it some more.
Jtg

[dwalton]

[Once they start thinking about fighting is the time to train them] as JTG stated is the time to break them. Watch the posture of males as soon as they show I am bigger than you posture you stop it then. Don't ever let it be a fight before you try to break them from fighting. Remember everything you do or don't do while you are with your dog is teaching them something. Dewey

[Emily]

My thoughts:

I'd observe them closely and try to determine the order of domination. Usually one dog is instigating the chain reaction. I'd focus the correction on the dominant dog first.

Also, I'd make them all sit when they see you coming with the food. Until they do this, they should be separated and tied so they can't get at each other. Don't withhold food for more than a day, but they will figure out pretty quick what pleases you if they don't get fed. Start by requiring very little--wait for the pup to be relatively calm, then choose that moment to offer food. Gradually work up to a patient SIT until you signal its ok to eat. Only pups that are waiting patiently get their bowls. Make sure they have separate bowls. Distribute the bowls, then the food. No dog gets his food until calm. Work on the obedience part so that you can eventually put the food in the bowl and the dog doesn't eat until you give the ok.

Chances are good that even if you do nothing, they won't kill each other. They will work out their dominance issues. There may be some blood, but one of them will submit before its critically injured. However, you may get a fat dominant dog and skinny submissive dogs unless you keep the domineering one well separate.
Siblings can be worse about this than dogs that are strangers to each other. You may want to sell the most dominant pup to someone who likes a gritty dog but doesn't have any pups around. Adult dogs, especially bfemales, will straighten his ass out.

Expect them to challenge and re-address their dominance order until they are mature, but try to prevent this from happening around food bowls.

[ALEX]

Do you have any unspayed females anywhere near these two males?

[treetalkingjp]

Thanks everyone ! And no just there mom but they are not fighting over females trust me . It's food and stuff like that.

[dhostetler]

When you have dog fight you don't start whipping them while they are still fighting. The first thing you do is seperate the dogs then whip them. Dogs have a pack mentality when you whip one the other one will pile in to help you beat up the other dog. I never owed a dog that didn't fight to protect his food. I agree with the posts on here that they can probably be broke not to fight over food but I never did that with my dogs. My dogs are all fed seperately. When I have raised pups and when they were weaned I would keep them in a kennel together until they started fighting then I would split them up. I would definetily not be culling pups over food fights.

[VARMIT HUNTER]

I stand over them as pups when they first start eating dog food with a riding crop and let it be known i will not tolerate bad table manners period as they get older i use a hotshot/shock collar, now the males will eventually have to be separated around a year old or so my females stay together in 1 big pen and i can feed them all together even table scraps in a big trough/pan and they will not fight no such luck with the males though at feeding time have to be separated no problems in the box or at the tree.