Hi, we have 3 dogs, a 7 yr old springer spaniel (male), a 2 yr old chocolate lab (female) and a year old english bulldog (male).  The female gets on with both males, they will both play nicely with her but the 2 boys are starting to fight all of the time, any ideas why?  Our springer always gets on top of the bulldog and has made him bleed before.  The springer has been done but the bulldog hasnt.  Someone suggested having our bulldog done, would that help?

The springer will let the bulldog lay with him or lick him if hes tired but thats about it.  We put them in seperate rooms at night and when we go out because we are worried, but we dont really want to get rid of one and would love them to get on.

TIA,

Jackie.

I think getting the bulldog neutered would be a huge advantage and starting point. Obviously, the bulldog is only young and is hitting his "let's see how far I can push the old guy" stage, hence the fighting. Your springer reminds me alot of my fiance's dog - loves being in control but puts up with being controlled when he can't be bothered to continue.

Another thing to try is the "Leave" command. This works great when our puppy starts winding up our older dog or horses. He hasn't got the complete hang of it yet but is getting there.

If you can successfully do this with your bulldog then your springer will get more relaxation time without having to sleep with one eye open for his younger friend!

Jackie - how do the fights start - which of the dogs is starting them?

I wouldn't be so hasty to recommend castration, before having more information.

You might want to try a Tardak injection for your bulldog.  This chemically imitates castration and lasts for several weeks.  During this time you can assess his behaviour and decide if it's better that way.  If they fight less, then you might want to go ahead and get him castrated. 

Speak to your vet about a Tardak injection.

It is usually the bulldog that starts annoying the springer, keeps following him.  The springer tries to get out of the way but most of the time it ends in a fight.  The bulldog is quite jealous, if we make a fuss of the springer he will come bounding over and then all hell breaks loose!!

Jackie.

As I've already mentioned - the "leave" command would work miracles in these situations.

Jealousy can be a nasty thing in younger dogs - as we're experiencing with our puppy. I misread your post about how old the bulldog is, nevertheless, I would still consider castration unless you intend to breed from him when older.

By the way, I haven't been on this board long but looking through some topics it seems as if the majority of the members strongly disagree with castration.

We are not against the neutering of dogs (and I include bitches in that ;) ) it's just that so many people think that it is the cure-all. It isn't. Neutering does not always 'fix' the problem, in fact in can make matters worse :(

As the bulldog has reached the teenage stage I would suggest putting him somewhere on his own for a little while. Like the 'naughty chair' that some parents use for their toddlers ;) Either putting him in another room, or a crate, for a few minutes until he has learnt that his behaviour is unacceptable. The Springer is obviously getting stressed out with this young upstart and is just putting him in his place. hopefully the bulldog will grow up soon, his hormones will calm down a bit, and everyone will get on again. :)

Sometimes, especially with bully breeds, if you neuter them too early, they won't completely fill out.  IOW, they won't build the impressive muscle mass that is, to some people, desirable in the breed.  If you don't care and don't intend to breed him, go ahead and have him neutered.  It couldn't hurt and it could help.

Is the female entire? Maybe that won't help if she is, as the Bully is starting to mature and get all sorts of 'feelings'?! Competing for a Bitch is another cause of male fallout

I personally, wouldn't have two  male's, I know a lot of people on here
have, very successfully. I havn't got a lot of land, or a large enough
house to keep them seperate all the time. Years ago, I did have two males, and it left me broken hearted to have to re-home one, as the fighting got worse, both wanted to be top dog. I hadn't got any bitches then, it wasn't safe, as my children were all small. They were not frightened of the dogs, and could have got injured, if caught up between them, If I wasn't there. If you have them neutered, there still will be only one top dog.