My female pitbulls fight. How to get them back together before moving?

I'm sorry that you're having this problem! Aggression between dogs in the same household is a complex behavior issue that is a bit beyond the scope of what we can effectively help with in this format. Treatment for this problem involves identifying what triggers the aggression (which often takes a bit of detective work, and observation by an expert) and then finding ways to avoid these triggers, or working with the dogs over time to teach them to respond differently when these situations occur. It's not a simple process, unfortunately, so there's really no quick and easy answer to give. Your best option would be to make an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist who can evaluate the dogs in person and give you some hands-on guidance in dealing with this problem. You can search for a board-certified veterinary behaviorist in your area here: www.dacvb.org

Oh dear! I'm sorry to hear that you're having this problem. Aggression between dogs in the same household is a complex behavioral problem that's difficult to address in a forum like this. If you want to keep both dogs, I would strongly suggest getting in touch with a veterinary behaviorist who can evaluate them in person and help you determine why the fights are happening. He/she can put together a detailed training plan to work on the problem, and may also recommend medication for one or both dogs as part of the overall treatment plan. In the meantime, since it sounds like these fights are quite serious, I would recommend keeping the dogs separated from each other to prevent further problems until you are able to get some professional help. You can search for a board-certified veterinary behaviorist in your area here: www.dacvb.org

I would recommend keeping the two dogs separated as best you can for now while you try and figure out what is going on. The first step is to figure out which dog is initiating the aggression. This dog may have anxiety that can be treated with an anti-anxiety medication. Once the dogs in Miami level has decreased it may help them get along better. I would also recommend asking your vet for a referral to a veterinary behaviorist that can help identify the problem and give you tips and tricks on how to re-introduce the dogs and keep them happy and safe well together. It may be challenging and time-consuming at first but if you're willing to put in the work I think you can have the dogs live happily together again. Best of luck.

Hi and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I am so sorry that your two pups have not been getting along recently. I would separate both dogs while you are away until you can figure out the issue. A lot of times housemates will fight due to phobias (thunderstorms, loud noises), separation anxiety or aggression. Also, sometimes one dog may have a medical issue presenting it self to be weaker than the other dog. I would make sure both pets are pain free and have no concerning issues like vomiting, diarrhea, weakness, pain etc. A lot of the time, the newer dog in the household tends to be the aggressor. I would work with each dog separately and together for obedience training. If possible, i would get a professional dog trainer to help. A lot of the time it is the people that need training on how to properly time commands for their pups. Once they have a solid foundation of obedience training I would try a few things that will test ability to ignore one another in the same room, then give one dog attention while the other one ignores it etc. I would reward the dogs for remaining calm. This will help teach them that they can be in the same space and tolerate each other. These can be some helpful training tools that you can start with. However, if the fighting escalates, getting a professional trainer would be highly recommended sooner rather than later! I would really appreciate if you could mark this question as helpful or not as helpful. It allows us to improve on the quality of our answers to other pet owners!

If they are not spayed then you should start with that. Hormones can certainly cause aggression. After the surgery it takes about 30 days for the hormone levels to decrease to a level that may change aggressive behavior. If that does not help then you should consult with a professional in-home dog trainer to help you sort out the root of the problem. I see you are in Puerto Rico. There is a HUGE free spay/neuter campaign coming there in November. I suggest you check it out if you want to get your dogs spayed. Search "Spayathon for Puerto Rico" on Facebook to find their page. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

I'm sorry to hear that you're having these problems! Aggression or fighting between dogs in the same household is a complex behavior issue that's very difficult to address without evaluating the dogs in person, because there are so many factors to consider - it's important to assess both dogs' personalities, how they interact with each other when they're not fighting, how severe the fights are when they happen, what seems to trigger the aggressive behavior, etc. For this reason, I would strongly recommend getting in touch with a veterinary behaviorist or a good reward-based trainer who can work with you in person to help determine why the aggression is occurring and put together a detailed treatment plan to address the problem. In the meantime, I would recommend keeping the younger dog on-leash whenever he is around the older dog to prevent any bullying or harassment, or using a baby gate or other barrier to keep the dogs separated until you are able to get some hands-on guidance in how to help them.

The first thing you need to ask yourself here is whether or not you believe the bite to you occurred intentionally, or accidentally while you were trying to separate the two dogs. If it is the former, keeping a dog within your home that you only just adopted that is already ready inflict harm to you is going to be difficult if you don't have a ton of experience with dog behavior and training. While I love pit bulls (I have three), I readily understand that they are large, powerful dogs that can do some serious damage. If you live alone, or if you have children, my recommendation would be to relinquish the dog unfortunately, If the latter is what happened, there may be opportunities for addressing the issue. I would keep the dogs separated for at least the next 24 hours and let things cool off. I would reexamine the entire situation and try to identify what could have happened that brought about the fight the first time. Examine it from every single angle possible, in terms of people in the room, dogs in the room, items in the room, what the dogs were doing, anything at all that could be a variable. This is going to be the most important thing to figure out. You will ultimately need to keep Jazzy on a leash until you are completely confident that she isn't going to hurt your little one. The process may not be short and will definitely not be easy. Either way, I am going to suggest you hire a dog trainer and / or speak with a veterinary behaviorist. If this sounds like all too much, I don't blame you. I think that you have not had her long enough where you should feel terribly about having to relinquish her. I understand it is difficult, but this is not a great situation for you or your dogs. I do quite a bit of behavior consultation and I would be happy to talk some more if you'd like. Either way, I hope you are able to come to a decision. Stay safe.