All dogs fight at some time or another when confronting each other or even at play when things get a little aggressive. Wayne Hunthausen, D.V.M., an animal behavior consultant in Westwood, Kansas, and also president of the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior, says that fighting amongst dogs, while scary to us and harmful to the combatants, is extremely common.

There are many ways to stop these battles or even prevent them all together with proper supervision and a few training techniques. Here are some basic tips to keep your dogs from fighting and hurting each other more than they have to

1. Stop the action in a deep LOUD voice. When you see the fighting about to start between your dog an another or if you catch the battle in the beginning stages; then interrupt the scene with an extremely aggressive “NO!”. Your pet will take this loud thunderous command more seriously than if it where a lighter command call. Trust me, your dog will recognize when its owner means business!

2. If there is severe fighting for a prolonged time, then use a blanket if need be to grab your dog. This move is a last resort if the fighting between your dog and another has gone on too long and you want to stop your dog from being hurt even further. Throw a big object like a blanket in top of the combatants and then grab your dog. Be extremely careful! Many dog owners have been accidentally mauled by the biting dogs, as they do not pay attention to what they are biting when all wired up from the aggression.

3. Have your dog meet other strange dogs ahead of time. In other words, plan get togethers with your friends and their pets in which both animals will be leashed and you can control them while they learn that strange dogs are not always hostile. This is a conditioning strategy that works very well in the long run and keeps your dog from being unnecessarily threatened by dogs or other animals that it does not know.

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