[Sar]

Hi everyone,

I am having a problem with Oscar and Rox.
They will not stop fighting! At first it's playful then they start biting each others eyes, I have seen it and it is worsening.
They are both rubbing their eyes and they are weepy.
I know I have to separate them but they cry and cry, it can go on for hours.
There is a period in the day that Aimee and I are not home and they have their area, should I set up 2 separate crates? i do not know what to do :roll:
Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks again everyone

 

[Ms_P]

Are you sure they are really fighting and not "play fighting"?

My 2 play fight all the time. They have only gotten into a serious scrap a couple of times and I stoped it just by picking 1 of them up.

My 2's eyes tear also, not as bad as before, they have to learn to dodge those lundges at the eyes.

If you really think they are serious fighting you may be able to teach them to tolerate each other with a lot of behavior training, and keeping them seperated when you are not able to pay attention to what they are doing.

 

[Boogaloo]

Maybe you could buy them some doggles (goggles for dogs) LOL. Sorry, I don't mean to make light of your situation. If they are honestly hurting each other I would definitely crate them in different crates.

Some dogs play very agressively. Some ways to tell if they are 'playing':

If you see one of them do a "play bow" where their butt goes up in the air and their front is crouched down in a 'lay', then you know that one is playing.

Also, if you separate them and they run back to each other, that means they are having fun. If one was getting hurt or not having fun, they would run away from the dog when given the chance.

Sometimes it can sound very vicious but they can still be just playing. If one yelps in pain I would definitely separate them.

 

[OzzyAndLilysMom]

my 2 are also littermates and they do that and it looks they are going to rip each others cheek off and they growl really bad they stand on back legs and interlock arms and both have mouths wide open and they chase each other round growling - but i can honestly say in 6 months not one of them have whelped in pain or got an injury - i would say your 2 are doing this it is just playing it might not look like it but it is - and trust me in the day when you are not there they will just sleep - I work night and when im in bed in the day i never hear them fighting but as soon as i get downstairs they will start :wave: they will be worse separarted as they have always been together so will cry all day

 

[Sar]

I think it is playful, it's just sometimes Roxy pins Oscar down and bites away but often he does just run away and they do the paws at the front down and bum in the air.
I cannot thank you all enough for your helpful advice, you have really helped.
Separation I believe now is not the solution, they are pups and no serious injuries have happened when they are fighting, i would say it is more playful than anything else its just the weepy eyes and Roxy pinning Oscar down that worried me.
But we are starting some puppy training for them so hopefully this will help also.

Thanks again everyone i don't feel as stressed anymore, i worry too much maybe, just want them to be not just good dogs but great dogs and not snappy.