going good then......bam!!

[zueszena]

just thought i would share this with all,,,zeus and zena been doin real well with each other,,,no real incidents since being fixed,,,,however found the kryptonite,,lol,,bones,,,had 2 small squabbles,,yes they went at each other,,,for about 8 seconds,,,heres what i cant figure,,,and i know im about to reveal a couple of bad ideas or ways to raise pits,,they share food and water,,,have always shared bones,,and they are almost a daily treat,,,but had 2 little ooopsies now so bones only apart from each other and collected after they have them hollowed,,aka 30 min..any thoughts as to why they share all else except this and should i consider seperate feed and water now as this could be a sgn of resource guarding to come???p.s. yes i know new pics,,workin on it lol,,will get it done this week lol,,,i hope,,as alwys matt,cyn,zeus,zena

[maryellen]

separate feed and water bowls NOW .. no more sharing food/water out of the same bowls. teach each one to leave the others bowls alone.. put bowls in different places so that they are not near each other. bones are only to be given when each dog is in a different room gated off from each other. they both still are not mature, and siblings have been known to not get along at maturity, so be prepared just in case for a room/rotate situation if they mature and decide they hate each other.. bones are considered HIGH VAUE. for example, i LOVE lobster and filet mignon, if you even tried to sneak your fork into my plate of lobster and steak i WILL stab you with a knife .. these items to me are HIGH VALUE and i wont share with anyone.. with dogs, high value items are hollow bones, rawhide, bullysticks, anything that they see as higher value then kibble... some dogs guard toys, most dogs guard high value items..

[michele5611]

Yes absolutely agree with everything Maryellen said! Matt I would start feeding in different rooms immed. Keep us posted on how things are going. Be sure to closely supervise them as well.

[suziriot]

I also back up what ME said. Zeus has almost 20lbs on Zena and they could seriously injure or even kill one another. This may be a very difficult thing for you and your family to accept, but (as ME already said) the reality is that as they mature, they may no longer get along at all. The best thing you can do to increase the chance that they will continue to get along is to eliminate opportunities for them to fight over bones, food, toys, etc. They must always be closely supervised and never left alone together. Severe injuries and/or violent death are just not worth the risk.

[harley]

I agree feed them separetly. I have to do that with my guys too.

[loverocksalot]

Agree and def teach the leave it of each others bowls and food. this not just for pit bulls but for all dogs.
For Rocky his high Value is bully sticks. I would never give him one with another dog around.

[RealPitBull]

This is going to be a consistent issue over the course of their lives. Just because there are a few weeks/months of calm, doesn't mean you are home free and fights won't ever be an issue again. This is likely to get worse as they mature.

Separate feeding, no bone-sharing, don't leave items around that could trigger fights. It's the only responsible way to manage a multi-dog household.

[zueszena]

ok so maybe i need to clarify one thing here,,,,,i agree with all the advice but feel i left out an important fact,,,they have seperate food and water,,,ad damn if i aint tried to get them to seperate with that,,,however they will only eat and drink with each other,,,aka ok my food and water ,now your food and water etc.. bone thing been the only issue,,,and yeas stopped that and am controlling the situation,,,but i swearthey will only eat and drink together outta the same dish even though they have seperate,,,and yea i know things to come etc. but they will not ,,,even when a fight has happened,,,really go at it,,,just a short whos the boss,,,i mean really short,,,and hasn't been a wound yet,,,i know all the bad that could come just hoping for the best and trying to be as informitive as possible to y'all,,,ty again,,matt,cyn,zeus,zena

[maryellen]

look, you have to put your foot down when it comes to the food bowls. TRAIN them to keep to their own bowls . if need be put each dog in a room with food bowl shut door. period. the only reason there are no major fights right now is because they are YOUNG still and havent matured. start training NILIF and set boundary rules.. you will need them as both dogs mature, and you will have a serious fight one day if you dont start cracking the whip and setting up boundaries for both of them. if they wont eat in separate bowls then tough sh*t they dont eat... it might take them a day or two to get used to the rules but they wont starve to death trust me. you have to be proactive to avoid fights, and one day the same eating out of the same bowl WILL result in a REAL fight, not the little fights you are having now....

there is no excuse to train them to keep to their own bowls. when i had 3 dogs all of them were taught if they went to the others bowls HELL would come down upon them... they learned real fast that i meant business and sharing bowls or going to other bowls was NOT allowed nor tolerated..

and as far as the short whos the boss fights, one of these days the dog that is getting its ass kicked WILL turn around and beat the crap out of the dog who is trying to be the boss.. and sorry, but YOU are to be the boss, not the dogs getting into little fights to see who is the boss.

you have a MAJOR disaster just waiting to explode with these two dogs and the outcome will not be all peaches and cream.

[adoptapitbull]

Definitely agree with ME here. Food bowl fights are not pretty...and not without injury (usually to you and to the dogs).

[suziriot]

I also agree 1000% with Maryellen. Feed them separately. They WILL eat. Even if it takes a missed meal or two, they will be fine.

You've been around RPBF long enough to know that Mary H. and Maryellen know what they're talking about.

[michele5611]

Jumping on the bandwagon over here......agree whole heartedly with what has been said. Imperative to feed them separately....no worries about them eating Matt...believe me when hungry they will! So important to set Zeus and Zena up for success and minimize any potential risk.

[zueszena]

got it guys,,,loud and clear lol,,thanx for all the support,,u guys and gals rock

[Dave]

Aug 17, 2010 20:24:03 GMT -5 maryellen said:

there is no excuse to train them to keep to their own bowls. when i had 3 dogs all of them were taught if they went to the others bowls HELL would come down upon them... they learned real fast that i meant business and sharing bowls or going to other bowls was NOT allowed nor tolerated..

This made me laugh a little... when I had four dogs, they all ate together in the kitchen, each in their corner. I trained them to sit next to their bowl when finished, and wait for MY release command. Then it was a free for all as each dog went to each others bowls to see what was left although all the bowls were empty. I had surfers that would cause fights, hence the sit and wait.

zueszena, I would suggest you learn to separate NOW before they are mature. Lessons learned young are kept throughout their lifetimes when enforced daily. Use separate crates to feed them in if necessary. But if they don't learn now, you could be in for a world of hurt later when they come into their own. They are not furry kids all cute and cuddly. They have their own agenda if you don't set one for them, and a dog allowed to make it's own rules is big trouble.