[PRengin]

I am wondering how many of you have dogs that sometimes get into it but don't end up needing to be crated and rotated. I am also wondering what people have done to try to prevent "crate and rotate" from being necessary.

I have two dogs, both about 3 years of age, unrelated, spayed and neutered male and female. They are playmates and travel together and live in harmony except for about a 5 to 10 second scuffle every 3 months or so. Never injuries, never blood. However, we break them up instantly.

They are never allowed together unsupervised. They are fed seperately. No high-value items are left around. If energy gets high, one is crated. They are well-trained and exercised and highly socialized with people and settings.

However, every few months, we will miss some trigger and a scuffle breaks out. We have collars on the dogs, we have break sticks, and we get them apart right away. A trigger might be as subtle as a dirty shirt on the floor or the site of a cleaned up food spill. It might be as stupid as a singing snowman ornament on an end table. I can't always control every trigger as some of them are really, really bizzare.

Any strategies? Can these dogs mix it up every now and then but stay manageable for the most part? Seriously, they have never gone for more than a few seconds before we broke them up. I worry about escalation though.

99% of the time, they are the best of friends.

[royarnekara]

Every once in a while Ike and Rita play and then something happens and it gets serious. Usually, I break things up before that happens because I see them getting a bit too intense but sometimes, every few months or so, they argue. Not too intense and they stop when I say HEY! NO! and get up to seperate them. I put em in their crates til they calm down and then life goes back to normal.

Since they, like your dogs, get along 99% of the time I do not crate and rotate. I also do not leave them alone when we aren't home unless they are seperately crated.

Now, my brothers APBT and my AB get along for the most part but they will scuffle over anything such as one of them invading the others personal space. Sometimes there is no trigger that we can see and sometimes they could go a day or so with no incidents. So, after a couple incidents, we decided that when my brother is here with his dogs we seperate by crate and rotate.

[boXGWf04]

Sounds like you are doing what you need to do. The only other thing I could suggest, is to carefully watch body language. You can generally tell right before a spat is going to break out if your paying attention. The dogs will have a different Vibe, and body stance (ears, eyes, tails and over all body). Even the occasional spat can be avoided once you learn what to look for in the dogs. Like with my 5 rescues, after I got them to accept eachother as a pack (Since 2 were highly DA, I got them to accept the others in the group...but not strange dogs) anyways they realized it was fun to play with there pack members and they didn't need to spat but every once and awhile it could be over a fly even and they would get huffy, I learned exactly what to look for and would just use a stern voice like "NO FIGHTING ALLOWED IN MY HOUSE!" and would separate the dogs for a little while before it got to the point of a scuffle.

[buIf6yoW]

As often as people say "don't treat them like humans," in some ways they are very much like children. They irritate each other and they squabble occasionally. As long as you are supervising and not leaving your dogs alone together, it sounds like you've got things under control.

[Patabeamn]

True We have a pit/bull mastiff male and a female pit ( she is a foster that we have had for about three weeks) both are fixed.they were stand off-ish for about three days.They have ben playing very well together since then.I do not leave them un attended in the yard.they do "play" very intensely , as of yet they haven't gotten serious,but i have stopped them once or twice as it looked to be getting elevated.both are about 2 1/2 and have alot of energy.they seem to to like to play hard.they even play tug well.Body language will let you know also listen as my male will get louder when he is serious.

[GOLAGLULT]

Bowzer and Zahra have been in 2 major dog fights in 2 years.
My females have never been in a fight except for a 'get the hell off me' snap. 2 fights in 2 years and no other problems there is no reason to crate and rotate IMO.

[SaLifHoq]

As long as you can break it up with a yell, there's no need to worry. If they still listen to you, and there's no blood spilled, you're fine!

Chansey and Zephyr get into it on occasion.. never any injuries, and it's over quick, whether or not I yell.