Not everyone has a dog in their h0me. Regardless of this, owning a dog is quite a common occurrence in various parts of the world. While it appears a good number of people are comfortable with owing dogs, their level of comfort with dogs varies greatly. Some people are only comfortable having one dog in their homes. However, there are several people that enjoy having more than one dogs in the house.
Now, there are various reasons people might want to have several dogs in their home. Some do this because they want to be sure of maximum security. Others do this simply because of their love for dogs. Well, regardless of why one might want to have several dogs in one household, there are pros and cons to having quite a number of dogs in one household. One of the many downsides of having more than one dog in a single household is frequent fights breaking out among them.
If you have a good number of dogs in your household and they keep fighting, then, you will need to come up with a way to stop this. Now, doing this might not be so easy. Nonetheless, it is possible to prevent dogs in the same house hold from fighting. To keep your dogs in peace, you simply need to continue with this article.
Why do Dogs in the Same House hold engage in Fights?
If you must successfully prevent your dogs from attacking one another, then, you must know the exact reason why they keep fighting. There are various reasons why dogs that live in the same house always get involved in a brawl. Identifying these various reasons will go a long way in helping you Successfully prevent fights among your dogs.
Below are some of the reasons the dogs in your household might be constantly fighting;
Medical Factors
When a dig is not at its best medically, the likelihood of it being hostile to other dogs increases significantly. A lot of times, when dogs are feeling pain, they are not always comfortable with other dogs coming close to them. So, if a dog is going through intense pain and other dogs come too close to it, it just might end up attacking them. Beyond just the feeling of intense pain, dogs with high thyroid levels might have a huge level of intolerance and this could make them fight dogs around them.
Shock Collars
There are different reasons dog owners put on shock collars round their dog’s neck. Well, regardless of the reason for a shock collar on a dog’s neck, dogs that put on shock collars go through some level of stress. This stress is even more produced when they are being actively shocked. When a dog is shocked, it could simply react by fighting a dog around it. This is because there is a tendency for it to think the other dogs have a hand in the pain it is feeling.
Small Spaces
Just like humans, dogs too enjoy having some space to themselves. This might be common knowledge among dog owners. However, not every dog gets to enjoy the space it really craves. A lot of times, when dogs are put together in a space that they consider small, they could end up fighting each other.
Escalated Play
Dogs are considered to be generally rough. Also, they engage in plays that the average human might not be comfortable with. While the average dog might seem comfortable with getting involved in rough pay, sometimes, one dog might become too rough and the play could escalate. When any dog becomes too rough, the other dog ends up retaliating and this could lead to an actual fight.
Preventing Dog Fights
It is possible to stop your dogs from fighting while they are already coming at each other. However, this could be dangerous as you could be injured in the process. That’s not all. If one dog attacks another, even if you are able to stop them from fighting, they really might never get along anymore.
Some dog owners might want to let their digs sort things out by themselves. This could work, however, the likelihood of things getting back to normal will be very slim.
Some trusted ways to prevent fights among dogs in one household are;
Take them for Veterinary Checkups
If the dogs in your household struggle to get along, one of the first things you should do is take them to a vet. This will help you find out if something is wrong with any of them.
An all round physical checkup is great. However, beyond just an all round physical checkup, ensure your vet runs a couple of tests on your dogs to determine their thyroid levels.
Work towards Reducing Stress
Humans get really grumpy when they go through intense stress. Humans, however, are not the only one that get grumpy when they go thorough intense stress. Dogs also could become really irritable when they are stressed and this could make them fight.
To ensure your dogs do not keep fighting one another because of how stressed they feel, you should look out for ways to actively reduce their stress level. You can do this through the use of various activities. Also, there are devices that can come in handy in helping reduce stress.
If you are looking to reduce stress in your dog through the use of devices, you can make use of a product known as Adapti. This product comes in two forms. It could come in a spray, or plug-in. You are free to select which form you are more comfortable with. This device comes with a chemical that is designed to copy the dog’s mother. This way, it is able to calm down the dog.
That’s not all. You can make use of the Rescue Remedy gotten from the Bach Flower Essences. This product can be put into your dog’s water or its meal. Furthermore, if you do not have the patience to put it into a meal or into its water, you can put it directly on its tongue.
Additionally, you can take advantage of music. Music prepared for dogs can go a long way in helping your dog get calm after it gets insanely stressed.
Stay Calm
Dogs have a way of mirroring the body language of their owners. If this is anything to go by, then, you can be sure you can get them calm if you are able to stay calm.
Generally, it might be difficult to stay calm when your dogs are about getting into a fight. However if you can maintain a calm countenance, you can help agitated dogs calm down.
Furthermore, if you want to speak to dogs that are about to start fighting, make sure you do not speak to them in a high pitch. Doing this can make them over-stimulated and this will make it difficult for them to get calm.
Keep Them from External View and Sound
This method of preventing fights between your dogs might not work for all dogs. However, it will always work if your dog gets stimulated by sounds and views from outside. If this is the case, you might have to block the window and shut the doors.
After blocking the windows and shutting the doors, you might have to turn on a radio or television
Ensure Your Dog Takes Part in Fun activities alongside each Other
The likelihood dogs getting into a fight reduces significantly if they think highly of one another. This is not difficult to achieve. If you want your dogs to learn to enjoy each other’s presence, you will need to make them take part in fun activities alongside each other.
Not every dog really enjoys taking a walk. However, if your dogs enjoys going for walks, ensure they walk side by side. This might be difficult if you have to walk the both of them. So, to ensure you do not go through unnecessary stress when walking your dog, you could get a partner to walk one dog while you walk the other. While at this, ensure they are far enough to ensure none of them gives out an unwanted reaction.
Ensure Your Dogs are Never Left Alone Together
This method of preventing fights between dogs in one household works for dogs that have already been involved in a fight. So, if your dogs are yet to get involved in a fight, this method of preventing a fight just might be unnecessary.
In as much as this method of keeping dogs from fighting is generally considered unnecessary for dogs that have never fought, if there is a new addition to your household, you just cannot be sure if the new dog will get along with the older dogs. So, to prevent any issues of your dogs getting involved in a fight, ensure they are never together alone.
Don’t Walk Your Dogs Together
Do you have the habit of walking your dogs together? F yes, then you might be doing the right thing. Nonetheless, if your dogs have showed aggression towards each other in the past, then, walking them together might not be a very good idea.
Why will dogs fight when going for a walk?
A good number of dog owners might think it is unnecessary for dogs to fight when they are walked together. Well, one reason this happens is the sounds and sights that they come across while going on a walk get them excited. Once dogs get excited, they tend to get aggressive with other dogs around them.
If you cannot get help from anyone, you just might not want to walk your dogs simultaneously.
Get Them to Exercise
Every dog needs to actively take part in exercises. This is one way to keep them fit and healthy. Beyond simply being good for a dog’s health, exercising can go a long way in keeping dogs from fighting.
When dogs exercise frequently, they never really get too excited. This is very important as dogs could go beyond the threshold when excited and this could make them get involved in fight with other dogs.
When looking to keep your dogs busy with exercises, you should not limit it to juts physical exercises. Mental exercises are also nice and can go a long way in making your dog tired.
Give Your Dogs the Right Training
Dogs exhibit all sorts of ugly behaviors when they are not properly trained and fighting unnecessarily is one of these behaviors. When a dog is well trained, it knows what its owner wants from it. Also, it is a lot more confident and will not get into unnecessary fights.
With the right training, if a dog is trying to get into a fight, you can always issue a command like getting it to sit down or asking it to come to your side.
Have Dogs of Opposite Genders Live Together
As a rule of thumb, the likelihood of a male dog and a female dog getting into a fight is very rare. With this, you can have a male and female dog kept together if you want to have more than one dog in your household.
Separating Dogs that are Already Fighting
Preventing your dogs from fighting is a good move. However, there are times this might not be successful. If your dogs get to finally fight, you must know how to separate them. Some trusted ways to separate dogs that are already fighting are;
Use a Bucket of Water
A splash of water is a great way to separate dogs when they are fighting. You can get this from a hose or a bucket.
Make use of a Blanket
This is not always effective. However, it can be done very easily. When dogs fight they need to see each other. If you make this impossible, they will most likely stop fighting.
Get any Object
When dogs fight, any object that is big enough to be an obstacle can keep them from fighting . This could be a broom or a chair.
Conclusion
Having dogs that fight in the same household can be a major concern for dog owners. However, with a good understanding of why your dogs are fighting, you can help them live peace.
