HELP PLEASE!!!

[mazzyandbellasmom]

HELP! I have 2 beautiful black female chows. They are sisters from the same litter. I bought them when they were 7 weeks old. At first we had an issue of food aggression which we still have. I have to separate them when they eat. And keep them apart for about an hour and even then they will sometimes charge after each other (Bella is mainly the one who will start it). Right now they have both just come into their first heat cycle (Which I had planned to have them fixed by now but time slipped pass me) and now Bella is worse then ever. She has attacked Mazzy at least 4 times today my husband has had to pull her off Mazzy. I'm at my ends wit. I can't get rid of either one of them because I love them both. Outside of dividing the yard and house, or putting muzzles on them, I don't know what else to do. This is very upsetting for me. Does anyone have any suggestions? My husband and I are at our ends wit and are worried that one of them is seriously going to get hurt. Please help and soon!

[chunkymonkeys]

I know I sound like I keep repeating myself lately on the forum, but you must call their vet for help. When Shima was beating up Boo Boo, we had to keep them separated, and believe it or not, they didn't like it. But when I came home from work one day and saw that Boo's ear was bleeding (before the separations), I freaked out. He was hiding it from me, and I didn't even change my work clothes, I took him immediately to the animal ER. Maybe getting Mazzy "fixed" first calms her down, and the family can breathe easier. Good luck with the girls.

[applebear]

This can be an issue with trying to raise two siblings or pups at same age. Look up litter mate syndrome on google and there should be some info about it and some things you can do. As of right now you have two dogs coming into maturity and trying to figure out where they rank in the scheme of things and it appears there is no solid leadership going on with the humans. Have you done NILIF with them [training is best done one on one first]? You may want to look into other options such as 'crate and rotate' [also found on google] too. Though spaying may [or may not] tone things down a bit...one or both dogs may still compete for leader spot. I'm def not saying don't do it, just that it's probably going to be more involved than just a simple fix. I *think* with litter mate syndrome, it is suggested to even leave one dog unaltered....though this would mean a lot more work so her milkshake don't bring the boys to the yard.

Good luck and hope some help you out here...I am only passing on info I've read, I do not claim to be an expert.

[JasonandNat]

If you search the forum, many of us have been where you are and a lot of useful info has popped up.

For us it was about consistency in setting the pecking order and sticking with it along with staying out of the arguments as interfering seemed to always make it worse. Once our girl at the time seemed dominant (she always won) over her much larger brother she became first in all things. First in greetings, feeding, going through the door, the odd treat, etc., and all the conflict went away. Oh they had the odd disagreement especially if forced to be together in a confined space too long, but it always ended quick and without the blood shed of the past as our boy never really had the 'to death' desire in him like his sister did.

On spaying, every breeder we have dealt with said the same thing, females tend to get more aggressive with age after spaying, but it's gradual. However if your not breeding (properly), spaying is a must or your going to go through trouble constantly. And possibly run against local laws.

[P.R. Bear]

I would separate them. We had similar problem with our girl Bear and our male collie. We hired a behaviorilst to work with her. The more they fight, the more it is going to be ingrained in them. It took us 4 months of working with them to get Bear to accept Benny. We taught them to leave it, watch me and down and worked with them together to watch us instead of paying attention to each other. The leave it comes in handy if Bear looks like she is going to bully Benny, we tell her to leave it and she will walk away from him. We now also have a 9 mo. female. Cymba and Bear were getting along fine until a mo. ago and then the posturing and fighting began. We have them separated now only allowing them together for walks and training (they are both on leashes during training). We keep them separated with a baby gate so they can see each other. Luckily the only ones bloodied during the fights were us trying to break them up. If you have a behaviorilst in you area they are a great tool to use. They aren't cheap though, ours charged $100/hour but I think it was well worth it for the insight/information she gave us.

[kitten1426]

Our Male collie and Male chow were bad when younger Food started it...Now they might give each other a look Sometimes Kodi the chow will snap at him...but we jump on it quick WE ARE THE ALPHA dogs...My wife and I and we put them in there place FAST,..my wife even pushes there buttons...they know better...so they fights really dont even happen anymore...we taught them that its not right to do...so i think you need to step in show them your Alpha and pecking order...that does work...Our female is boss she started that way but we made sure she stayed there...to Our boys challenged her but we always put them in place...now she does it...lol...

[chow4life]

Ugh... two female chows together. Been there done that. Would not be put in that situation again. Maybe a male and a female but not two females. None the less what seemed to work in my situation was unfortunately keeping them separated and most importantly implementing NLIF. You can do a search on this website. It truly works. You must show them who is alpha. In my situation all it took was a look from one of my females to the other female and the fight was on. Please do not just let them fight it out. One of them will get hurt. This was a very time consuming routine we had but it worked, and kept them safe while we worked through it. Also, get them fixed. This might help. There's nothing to say that they will or will not eventually ever get along. But dealing with these issues while their young will be much easier. As the saying goes"nip it in the bud" Good luck.

[Rory's Dad]

OK so if they are having their 1st heat, they are between 6 and 8 months old, so puppy behavior can still be at work here. If one is more playful/aggressive then that can start the ruckus.

Start with the food aggressions. I recommend putting 1/2 of their food out for them and wait for them to be finished to begin with. Reach in and pick up the bowls. Fill the bowls (off the floor), and give it back to them. Let them finish their meals. Process both dogs at the same time, and give them a command before the bowl hits the floor. A simple sit works just fine. They are earning the portions (NILIF).

I would recommend letting them eat next to each other, but separated by a baby gate until they get used to the process. They will learn that they are not losing out by allowing interference with their food.

Alternate who goes out 1st after a meal. One in the morning, the other one at night (assuming 2x a day feeding of course).

Until they start behaving properly, i would keep them separately, except for times for 'play dates'. Increase their together time as they get better. We still keep ours separated when no one is supervising. We have a 2 year old male and an 8 month old female. Both are intact as we show them and anticipate they will breed in the future, so they need to be used to being separated.

Treat train them side by side with no separation (NILIF again). Something i wanted towork on with mine is rewarding one for what the other does...if Amber lies down, Rory gets the treat. If Rory gives a paw, Amber gets it. Not sure how well that is going to go, but i am trying to get them to rely on each other rather than compete for rewards. I havent really seen that method discussed anywhere, so we'll have to see how well it will work. Team building i guess...

[maikinda]

You have been given some great suggestions. I can tell you I have 2 litter sisters that love each other. One will try to dominate the other when she comes in heat. At the first sign of this I started separating the girls when they are in heat. I would suggest keeping your girls apart at least while they are in heat. Maybe even until you have done some behavior training.

Laura

[mazzyandbellasmom]

Thank you everyone for your suggestions. I blocked them off from each other last night putting Bella in the bathroom with a baby gate and Mazzy in the kitchen with a baby gate. Low and behold when I got up this morning where was Bella? In the kitchen with Mazzy. She had jumped both gates to be with her sister. I don't get it. I went out tonight and bought the muzzles. And when they can't be supervised they will where the muzzles. I can't risk having one of them get hurt. I plan on getting them fixed ASAP as I do not want to breed them. I know they love each other because they play and lick each other's faces they just get into these moods with one another and it's especially bad now since both are in heat. Im really hoping the muzzles will work out for us. Any more suggestions are always welcome. Thank you~ Mazzy and Bella's Mom ♥

[sue]

It's all part of growing up they have sort out who's going to be the boss of the pair.When you have two sister's there bond is stronger than the bond you will have with them.You have to be strong you are pack leader the pair of them will work together to see what they can get away with they will test you.Take two metal feeding bowls when they start to fight bang them together walk towards them & keep banging the bowls in a loud deep voice shout No this should break them up they will try it a few times so always have your bowls near you.Walk each one separately for a week this will give you some one on one time so you can establish that you are pack leader.Take them both to dog training classes but take them alternate weeks so each of them has your full attention when you are there.At 6 month's old they still have a lot of growing up to do it takes time for them to mature but things will calm down the older they get

[wokman]

Muzzles are not intended for long term use.
You will probably find that one of them or both
will be able to remove the muzzle with there
paws. Separation is best using barriers if they are not
Crate trained. You will just have to find Chow
proof barriers, do some Goggling or Binging there
are a lot of choices. My two are Females are
separated at night and when I go out, the little
Buggers!