Hello from Los Angeles

[KOBE]

Hello everyone, Im the owner of two dogs both rescues J.R.( a Rottweiler/German Shepard..7yrs) and Kobe ( rednose APBT 3 yrs). A little background we have had J.R. since he was a pup(6-8 months) our neighbor at the time was going to "drop him off somewhere" cause he was to big and terrorizing there two little dogs(thats what he said) we had just put our first dog down(due to old age and he lost all controlof his back legs and bowel movements- he was a full blooded german shepard).. I found Kobe on my lawn one day after work in February of last year ( He was all F@#ked up scratches and a couple of gashes on his face and head) my wife made me put up lost signs around my neighborhood... i did not want to give him back to his owner since he look like he was used for fighting... i ended up taking him to a shelter to see if he was tag. He wasnt so i adopted him got him neuter and tagged. He was MINE... He is the most loving dog i know i have a 2 year old girl and she can do anything to him and he wont budge,growl,make a face, etc. etc. ( even thou my wife hated it at the time when we got him) we tought him basic training commands and he listens/obeys ANYWAYS to the problem at hand Lately he has been starting fights/attacking J.R. this has been happening on a weekly basis since 2 months ago... NEVER had a problem before could leave them alone and nothing would happen(Most of the fight/attack take place in the house never outside). Now im scared to leave them alone together cause the last fight they had was the worst i had seen. My question is any advice on what to do? Has this happen to anyone else? Iv looke else where on the web for advice and found out some of problem i my fault cause we kinda spoil him( we spoil both dogs they are family to us) iv read that he trying to assert his dominance or he is over protected of me and jealous of J.R. and to start keeping them seperated Ive made plans to put him a obedience class... any input or advice would be great as im gonna stop typing cause i think im just rambling on...

[GoingPostal]

Hi, welcome to the forum, they probably aren't fighting over "dominance", more likely they just don't get along or some resource, food, toys, treats, etc. Dog aggression and propensity to start fights are very common in pit bulls and it doesn't matter if the dogs were raised together or how socialized/trained they are, it's just a genetic thing and usually happens around 1-3 years old, are both dogs male? Same sex aggression is really likely, please don't leave them unsupervised ever, this isn't a good idea no matter how well the dogs get along. Often once one fight happens the dogs will be amped up and get into it easier and quicker next time, given that they are causing damage to each other and fighting a lot I would just keep them apart entirely, especially with a small child in the house you don't need her getting in the middle of that.

It's called crate/rotate, just have one dog out with you, the other dog somewhere else, either crated, in a bedroom, outside in a kennel, behind a babygate, just so they aren't directly interacting and switch them out so they are both getting time with you, enough exercise, etc. There are many people on here with dogs who do not get along and are kept apart, once you get a schedule going it's not difficult and the dogs are usually happier/less stressed without worrying about another fight.

[KOBE]

if they dont get along wouldnt they have been fighting since day one? and so they cant ever be together in the same room agian? if so thats gonna be a problem for me and my family. what if they were supervised together?

[GoingPostal]

No, dogs can stop liking each other at any time, there are people with dogs who lived together fine for years and years, until they didn't. It really depends on the dogs if they can be safely around each other, if they are getting into fights all the time it's not a good situation for anybody and better to keep them apart. If they are fighting over something, toys/food/etc you can maybe manage it if you are on top of things but if they are just fighting whenever they are together don't force the issue, it's only going to get worse and end up with injured or dead dogs. Some people do tie downs so they are out together but can't contact each other, kennels, x-pens, my dogs get along but there are times they need to be kept apart, if food is involved, toys/chew time, any exciting moments like company. I have an x-pen and my kitchen babygated off so I can have all 3 dogs downstairs with us but not interacting with each other.

I put some good links on multi dog homes for you, please realize finding a home for any adult pit bull is next to impossible, nobody wants them, especially not one with a history of dog aggression, even if you decide to rehome him you will likely have him for years trying to find a responsible forever home for him, lots of people who shouldn't have them want pit bulls, most don't once they realize the breed traits like you have, or they can't find a place that accepts them, bsl and restrictions are everywhere.

http://www.pbrc.net/multidogs.html
http://www.badrap.org/what-expect

[Curly_07]

Please listen to what GoingPostal is saying. She has given you some really sound advice. The links provided are good too.

Here's a thread regarding what you are going through. There are tons of sound advice in here as well... viewtopic.php?f=6&t=141745&hilit=multi+dog+household

I do hope you stick around.

[Madeleinemom]

if they dont get along wouldnt they have been fighting since day one? and so they cant ever be together in the same room agian? if so thats gonna be a problem for me and my family. what if they were supervised together?

Welcome, neighbor! Good advice has been given already - just wanted to add that I am one of the multi-dog owners that has 'been, there, done that':

a few years ago, our female and male (both neutered) Pit Bull type dogs ceased liking each other - their relationship went from amicable to outright combat in a very short period of time.

For the rest of their lives together, they were strictly separated - crate and rotate became a routine. Was it always easy - did we like it, no.

But it kept them safe - see, their relationship was so 'derailed' that they would be in the same room together (supervised) and the male would charge at the female across the room, without provocation. We learned very quickly that he was displaying breed typical other dog aggression that no dog trainer/owner could ever 'fix'.

[spammie]