2 of my dogs, males, both hate each other now. HELP PLEASE

[TT32VGT]

Ok, Ive got 4 pits. 2 females and 2 males. all fixed. anyways, the older male has started to not do well with others, he would growl and kinda snap when others would take his stick or get by him. the other male was still growing and finally is full size.. the other day the older one snapped at him and it escalated. one grabbed one around the neck, the other grabbed the other one.. the younger one ended up hurting the older ones arm, not seriously, but the older one was limping for 2 days. i wasnt there during this, my wife was, which kind of scared me. ever since then we have kept them separated, but every time they see each other they bark like crazy and the younger one will lunge at the older one.
Any advice?

[Beowulf]

Crate and rotate.

I have two females that went through the same thing. One day everything was fine, the next day they hated each other's guts. They are now not allowed together, at all. I tried supervising them together and it was just a no go.

I wish you the best.

[BrokenAquarian]

You'll probably always have to have them seperated(for the rest of their lives).

Dogs like Pit Bulls don't really full mature until 2.5 to 3 years old. Around this time is when you usually see them stop getting along with other dogs, if that's how they're going to be. It can happen at any point in their lives, but around that time is when it really starts to show.

Even when fixed, males often have problems with other males and females have problems with other females. It's a natural thing that happens with dogs.

Some dogs can live together just fine, and others will not - even to the point of killing each other. It all depends on the personality of the dog.

A bossy/dominant dog will not get along with another bossy/dominant dog - because they will both want to be the boss and always try to get the position. They won't like it when other dogs posture or do anything too confident because they see it as a threat to their position.

This may not have been the case in your situation - they may have been fighting for another reason - but this is probably it.

[Roxers]

You will have to continue keeping them separated. You can, however, work on them not freaking out when they see each other. Teach a command like "watch me," and you can work on having each dog look at you when you are walking past the other dog. Reward for every look away from the other dog. This will take a lot of work and time, but eventually you should be able to get them to at least be able to be in the same vicinity (with both either confined or on leash) without freaking out. If you want more details maybe someone else can take over, or I will when I have more time.

[pits-r-luv]

They are doing what genetics tells them to do. Especially if they are older dogs, it will be extremely hard to change them. Go get a trainer if you can, but I would never ever let them be loose around each other again.

[spammie]

Like the others have said, train, train, train. But separate.
We live in a world of gates in our home, and remembering who is where and where they go next. It becomes second nature.

[Bully Advocate]

honestly, keeping them separate is only going to keep them like that. they are showing dominant aggressions which means you need to establish a pack leader role so they dont fight over it. atleast this is what i got from reading Cesar Milans book.

[BrokenAquarian]

honestly, keeping them separate is only going to keep them like that. they are showing dominant aggressions which means you need to establish a pack leader role so they dont fight over it. at least this is what i got from reading Cesar Milans book.

That's all fine and dandy if the person in question has the right personality 24/7.

90% of people who have dogs DO NOT have the correct personality and mindset to do this. It's a constant job, with no breaks. So if it does not come naturally to you - you WILL FAIL and may end up with a dead dog(possibly two)

Before following Cesar's advice, you have to look a the person AND the dog in the situation. Even Cesar does that before acting.

Sometimes, the advice you've given doesn't work and the two dogs are deemed "Incompatable". Cesar would probably reccomend replacing one of the dogs with a dog that has a different and more submissive personality so that the family "pack" can live in harmony.

He seems to be more in favor of dogs living together, rather than in crate and rotate situations - that's fine, but not everyone wants to give up their dog.

This already happened in one of his episodes with 2 female pit bulls - the problem could not be fixed without crate and rotate. So the whole "Take leadership over your dogs" Did not work for the dogs in that situation - even with Cesar's help.

[bulldogger72]

honestly, keeping them separate is only going to keep them like that. they are showing dominant aggressions which means you need to establish a pack leader role so they dont fight over it. atleast this is what i got from reading Cesar Milans book.

keeping them seperate is the RIGHT thing to do-they need some time to wind down. you need atleast 2 weeks beofre you try reintroductions.
they are bulldogs, contrary to popular belief around here-they LIKE to fight.
it less to do with dominance and more to do w/ value items in this instance (taking his toys, etc)
crate and rotate- these dogs are NOT pack animals, i dont care what the "dog whisperer" says. when you get them that live happy and harmoniously together-that is an oddity.
generaly speaking once they reach maturity they will not get along anymore, even if raised together from puppyhood

[mrpps]

Nuff said. Doggy playtime is over.... if you want to keep em in one piece.