I have two dogs and they occasionally fight. We have been working a lot on training, but what can I do to help stop this behavior?

Hello,

I know that you are probably very very busy and don't have that much time answering personal emails but I thought I would give it a try.

I have two male dogs, Ace who is 1yr and 2 months old and is a complete mutt (not sure what he is possibly puggle with something else that makes him a bit bigger), and Tyson who is 8 months old and is a pit bull/lab mix. Ace is about 48 pounds and Tyson is probably around 50 and an inch taller than Ace. I have read every book possible to make sure that I am training them well enough, we socialize them at dog parks, take them for walks, etc. They are great with other people, they are decently trained. I say that because we still have much work to do with not jumping up on people and heel when we walk and listening when we are in an outside setting where they are distracted. But this email isn't about the basics of training, they have gotten into a few fights. I know, I know people say we shouldn't have gotten two male dogs and I know that most of their fights are about dominance right now but what do I do. I have established myself and my boyfriend as the pack leaders, they know that. Someone told me that I need to let them decide who is alpha between them, but shouldn't they both be followers because I am the pack leader. The last fight turned into Ace needing stitches, a $600 process that I would like never to happen again.

Tyson is a grumpy dog when he is tired, he will snap at other dogs when he wants to be left alone to sleep. He will growl at Ace when he wants to be left alone. Ace likes to taunt him mainly because he wants to play. The last fight was when my boyfriend was throwing the ball and they both jumped up to get it, one of them landed on the other and a fight broke out. Sometimes it will be when we are eating, Tyson will show aggression if Ace gets to close. And lately (Ace has a cone on currently because of the stitches) Ace has been showing Tyson aggression and now Tyson won't go near Ace.

They don't show any aggression towards humans, with toys or with their food. When they were both puppies they growled when they had a pigs ear but we took it away and never gave it back. They haven't done that since.

You can tell that they get along, they play with each other and sleep by each other. But then they have these fights and it makes me nervous. I love both of my dogs very much and don't regret getting them. They are good dogs, I just need to know what I am doing wrong as an owner to help with their personal dominance issues between them.

Please help me, soon my boyfriend is leaving and it will just be me and I want to make sure I have a handle on the situation.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and help me.

Sincerely,
Melissa