Puppies fighting

[supertuffs]

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Hi all

My husband and I bought two springer spaniels, they are 9 weeks old. Brother and Sister. We are experiencing some really what we would call aggressive fighting. They are biting each other, biting each others ears and often pulling each other along by the ears... rolling around on the floor whilst growling and with teeth exposed.

This certainly isn't play fighting. They are left at home for around 2-3 hours a day so we aren't always here to split them up. We are hoping to get some advice from our trainer when we start sessions at the end of the month. until then we really need interim advice. Some have said to ignore as its a "pecking order" thing, others have said to get a bunch of keys and drop them on the floor..... I'm hoping to hear from someone who has actually been through this and come out of the other end. if its a puppy thing that will be grown out of, we can totally deal with that. We have a family and its not nice for the children to see.

Also.... we have cats that are currently in hiding in the bedrooms, again if anyone has any advice on how to integrate them that would be great as watching the cat eat her breakfast whilst taking a shower isn't quite what we had in mind!

thanks in advance

Lisa

 

[goldenbear2013]

First of all, buying 2 puppies from the same litter is never a good idea. Any decent breeder would not of allowed you to do this as they bond with each other and not their owner.

I have know 3 of my friends that have bought 2 puppies from the same litter and by the age of 12 months they had to get rid of one of them, as they were uncontrolable and fought a lot and it got more vicious as they got older.

Sorry to say that, as that really isnt what you wanted to hear but I'm afraid if proper training is put into place, your problem will ionly get worse.

Definitely talk to your trainer and get some professional advice.

You need to crate train your puppies. Each has a seperate crate, so when you leave them you're not worried about what horrors you will return home too.

Also walk them sepearetly. This will give you more chance to bond with them instead of each other. The same goes for their training. Train them seperately too. Take your husband with you so you have one each and get your children involved if they are old enough. This will begin to reinforce the pecking order and they will begin to learn whos boss and listen to you.

Not all puppies that are bought from the same litter are bad, so please dont think that, but unless the right measures are put in place straight away and you will need to reinforce the training every day until they are adults.

Puppies are hard work, but 2 that are siblings will probably consume every spare minute you have until they are grown adults! Commitment and patience is key if you dont want to have to give up one of them eventually!

i wish you the very best of luck.

Sophie x

 

[supertuffs]

Hi Sophie

thanks for your reply

Okay so separate crates, we have two crates but are using one. We can happily use two separate crates in two separate rooms. Now, would you leave the crate doors open in separate rooms so they have access to a toilet or lock them in and unlock them from the crates when we return from being out? the current set up is one crate with door open, they sleep and chill in the crate and wee outside of the crate on a mat.

I'm just concern that if my husband is running late from work (this never happens but sods law and all that) it may be nearer 3 hours and I don't want them being locked up longer than that due to bladder control etc.

Thanks so much for your advice, we are new to this so appreciate you taking the time.

Lisa

 

[goldenbear2013]

I wouldn't leave the crate doors open when you are out, as they will start to chew, and possibly mess where you dont want them too, and funnily enough its good toilet training for them! as long as they have a bed in there, newspaper down and some toys then you're sorted! If they eat the newspaper dont worry about it. We got through loads, not because Bear went for wee but cus he shredded it! He still loves doing it now, so we have to keep our books and papers out of reach haha!

I have crated mine since the day we had him at 9 weeks, and by the 2nd week he was sleeping through with no accidents, so I wouldnt worry too much if its only 3 hours that you are leaving them for.

I personally (though some may disagree with me) do not like puppy pads. We didnt use them at all. We literally picked up Bear and put him outside. Went with him, gave him a command like "wee wees" or whatever you want to use and then treat them or give them lots of praise when they go outside. it took our dog Bear 2 days before he was walking towards the back door wanting to go out. he caught on quick!

Spaniels are super clever so they will get the idea soon enough! its a pain taking them out every 20 minutes but they soon learn so it will become less frequent as the weeks go on.

Crates are a great place for "time outs" for your dogs too. if they are giving you behaviour that you do not like then you can pop them in their crates and also give them the bed command when you do so, so they will learn that the behaviour is not acceptable to you and the rest of your family. try not to do this until they are comfortable with being in the crates otherwise they will associate them with a negative experience and you dont want that. Only leave them in there for around 1 minute or until they lie down and you can see they have relaxed. keep an eye on them though, as they may need longer depending on how wound up they are.

Bear was a nightmare at one stage when he got to about 6 months. he pushed me to the limit and past it and my trainer told me to do what i have just said. Needless to say that over the course of an hour and a half Bear made over 40 trips to his crate before he got the message, so patience with this! You may not think its working if they start again as soon as they are let out, but keep going until they give it up and calm down.

its a brilliant training technique that I have tried and tested and reccommend. but like i say make sure they associate the crate with quiet time and also positive. you dont want scared dogs!

Let me know how you get on!!

Brace yourself" xx