Should I let my dog fight for dominance?

When it comes to who is alpha make sure both dogs know you are the Alpha. Between them I wouldn’t interfere unless it’s a blood draw fight. If they get aggressive with each other interfere and separate them but make sure they are focused on you and not each other. Meaning they should always be making eye contact with you as their leader. It’s hard to predict but you are with them all the time so if it gets escalated pass a 5-6 level break it up. Do not let them get so excited it becomes aggressive. After level 5 you won’t be able to control it so it’s better to stop it before it gets really bad. But if it is low energy exchanges it’s ok.

If no serious damage is being done, interference can actually make the problem worse, especially if that interference favors one of the dogs involved. These struggles are best allowed to work themselves out. If the fighting is constant, use obedience to enforce time-outs: At the start of the fight use a startle to get the dogs attention and then under obedience take the combatants to separate places and enforce long stays, up to a half hour or more. This will teach the dogs that fighting results in long boring stays. Above all, if a battle ensues, stay calm. Do not yell and get hysterical as that is not the sign of a leader. Physical dominance like the alpha-roll only makes the dog want to challenge you more, not less. If you do have to break up a squabble, always support the presumed dominant dog. If you feel sorry for the underdog and intervene on his behalf, you are going against the social structure dogs understand. Supporting the lower ranking dog will only increase the fighting and also increase it when you are not around.

Not all dog fights are actually dog fights. A dominance scuffle is quite simply: two dogs working out who’s the more dominant dog and who’s the subordinate dog. And while this may LOOK like a dog fight to the untrained eye… it’s much different. Suffice to say that the major noticeable difference is that the dominance scuffle lacks the intensity that a real dog fight would have. And although there may be some light scratches, in general the dogs aren’t really biting to injure, but rather biting to give the other a correction. A dominance scuffle may be accompanied by lots of barking, growling, snapping, yelping and rolling around… but it basically gets worked out in a matter of minutes with one dog submitting and going limp, and then the more dominant dog walking away. Many of you already know my stand on dog parks. I don’t like them. There are many reasons for this: First, very few of the dogs are under voice control. Secondly, there’s no check for shots, or dogs with health problems or diseases. And third, the owners who frequent these parks rarely have an adequate understanding of canine social rituals, and don’t know the difference between: A Dog Fight vs. A Dominance Scuffle! A true dog fight usually occurs when one of three things happen: A.) Two super-dominant dogs engage, and both will fight to the death. B.) One dominant dog will engage a less dominant dog, but the less dominant dog will click into what we professional dog trainers call “Defense”… in which case, the dog now perceives itself as fighting for it’s life. C.) Two Defensive Dogs engage each other. Now, the thing about Defense is that the dog is not simply putting up a counter fight– which is what the dog in the dominance scuffle is doing– but rather perceives himself in a life-and-death situation. So, in other words, he’s not just jockeying for position. He’s fighting for his life!

The dominance theory is an outdated and debunked theory of dog behaviour saying that dogs want to gain a higher social status relative to other dogs or people. The theory is that dogs will show aggression to achieve dominance. The problem with this theory is that it’s based on studying the behaviour of unrelated wolves living in a very unnatural environment. When resources are scarce, rather than fighting, wolves spread out into smaller groups across a wider range of land. They avoid conflict where possible. Using methods that aim to control a dog’s behaviour with physical force and shouting are not a good idea. They will likely result in the dog feeling intimidated and scared. Physical discipline could leave the dog feeling anxious, fearful and unlikely to trust their owner. Positive training methods, using rewards for good behaviour, are much more effective and better for everyone.