How do you keep dogs from fighting?

My dogs have been fighting lately, and it always happens when I’m not at home. The only way I can tell is that one consistently has scabs on his snout and cheeks. Today I came home and his snout was torn up much worse than ever before. The other dog looks fine, he never seems to get bit badly. When I’m around they are total buddies. They play-fight when they’re excited, and otherwise get along just fine. How can I deal with this other than keeping them separated when nobody is around?

Put a muzzle on the aggressive dog while you’re away?

It’ll me he can’t eat or drink while you’re gone, so
you’ll need to take it off every evening when you get
home and put it back on in the morning.

Or maybe you can sprinkle some of that nasty-tasting
stuff (what they use to keep rats from eating garbage)
on the other dog so when the first one bites him,
it tastes really bad? ;]
-Ben

Usually the fighting only lasts until one proves dominance.
Is the older dog getting beat up?

Are you sure it’s the dogs fighting? If the only damage is on it’s muzzle, I’d wonder. Mostly dogs get bit in the neck or hindquarters when they fight. Is it possible that he is trying to push out through a fence, or is fighting with a cat, or squirrel, raccoon, something else??
My cat tore up his face trying to get out of a humane trap once, which makes me think maybe chicken wire or something similar. Perhaps something really tempting is on the outside of the fence while you’re away.

I agree with dragonlady - those injuries don’t sound like they’re the result of dog-on-dog fighting. Perhaps you shouldn’t be looking at another another as much as a neighborhood brat.

Patty

My dogs were doing the same thing. What I discovered was that they were fighting over toys or treats that they had hidden away. I moved the toys to a room w/a closed door, and took away their treats when they stopped eating them. Problem solved.

Hope that helps.

I had this problem with our two dogs, Molly was bigger and much stronger than Watson. She was part lab retriever, and he is an English Springer spaniel, and she DID bite him about the nose, and mouth.

I used Ben’s idea to a degree. Using the muzzle, but to amend his statement a bit, a dog with a muzzle, CAN drink water, it just can’t eat anything. But, leaving it on all day, would be too much.

Since this only happens when you’re not home, it’s going to be quite a challenge to stop it. I was here to stop it, put the muzzle on Molly for a half an hour, and then take it off. It took about a month of doing that EVERY time she started in on him, for it to sink into her head, ‘hmmmm this jaw thing gets put on me every time I bite dumbo over there!’ She took to putting her head over his head and just standing there. It LOOKED weird, but at least he wasn’t bleeding from it.

Good luck

1st I can’t help you
2nd I have to say if you replaced dogs with cats I’d bet we’d have some poster suggesting a shotgun or other lethal means.

and that’s just my humble O

Thank you for the replies, I too wonder if the injuries are really from fighting. They are lacerations, gouges really, about pea sized and the deepest ones are right on top of his snout. We do have foxes, skunks, and racoons around our house, but I am home at night when these critters are out and about and he is usually inside then.

It could be that he is trying to get under the fence, or get something on the otherside. The gouges seems to be the right size compared to the wire ends at the bottom of our chain-link fence. I’ll do a patrol around the fence when all the snow melts that has fallen today, between the his cuts and the weather I decided to take him to work with me today.

The dominant dog is actually the older one, he is 3 year old Dachsund/Chow mix. The dog with the wounds is a 2 year old Cardigan Corgi, he is very submissive - usually.

Wow, k2dave, you anticipated my post! I shall retreat humbly from the fray…

P.S. You’d only have to shoot one of 'em.

I don’t know how to keep a dog from fighting, but I do know how to keep a fish from smelling.