Explaining Canine Rivalry

Canine rivalry refers to repeated conflicts between dogs in the same household. Initially, dogs may only snarl, growl, or snap, without injuring each other. However, if the conflict is handled inappropriately, it may intensify into prolonged bouts of dangerous fighting which may result in one or both dogs being injured. Although these problems may appear to have arisen “out of the blue”, there are usually signs and indications in the interactions between the dogs and the owners that promote and predict the occurrence of inter-dog fighting. Conflicts can occur between any animals, but they are more likely to occur between males, and be more likely to begin during times of change (see below).
In order to explain this rivalry or conflict, it is important to understand some basics of canine social systems. Animals which live in social groups (including domestic dogs and wolves, the dog’s closest ancestor), establish a social structure, called a dominance hierarchy, within the group. This dominance hierarchy or “pecking order” serves to maintain order, reduce conflict, and promote cooperation among pack members. This social order must be established and maintained with a minimum of combat in order to prevent pack members from being injured. This is accomplished by a variety of subtle signals and ritualized behaviors such as vocalizations, body postures and maneuvers, and eye contact. A dominant dog will stand erect, lean forward, hold its ears and tail up, stare directly at subordinate animals, and may bare its teeth and growl. A submissive animal will do just the opposite – bow or crouch down, tuck its tail, hold its ears flat, and will avoid eye contact. It may display a submissive “grin” or “smile”, with the lips pulled back exposing the front and back teeth. A very submissive animal will roll over on its back, expose its abdomen, and may even urinate. Without a dominance hierarchy, these social cues are not respected and full-scale fighting results. A position within the dominance hierarchy will be established by each member of the group, based on the outcomes of the interactions between itself and other pack members. The more dominant animals can control access to valued items such as food, denning sites, and mates. For domestic dogs, valued items might be food, toys, sleeping or resting places, and attention from the owner. Although most canine dominance hierarchies are linear (A is dominant over B who is dominant over C), the rankings may be different in different contexts (one dog may control food, while another may control the resting places), and they may change over time.

Conflicts or fights between household dogs usually develop when an instability in the hierarchy exists, and the ranking or social position of each dog is not clear.

This is most likely to occur when:

owners have attempted to treat both dogs equally
owners have interrupted or interfered with the dominant dog’s ability to control the preferred items in its environment at the expense of the other dog (e.g. taking toys away, pushing in to be petted, rushing through the door first)
owners have not allowed the dogs to express the signals and ritualized behavior which establish dominance
a new animal has been introduced into the house
a resident animal has died or no longer lives in the house
a resident animal is re-introduced after an absence
a young, subordinate dog reaches sexual maturity
a dominant dog ages and cannot maintain its dominant status.

Resolving Canine Rivalry

Because resolving rivalry problems requires understanding and managing the dogs’ somewhat complex social behaviors, it is often necessary for owners to obtain assistance from a professional animal behaviorist.Animal behaviorists are trained to observe, interpret, and modify behavior. Rivalry and fighting problems are potentially dangerous situations, as not only can the dogs be severely injured, but owners can also be hurt if they become the object of the redirected aggression when the dogs are fighting.

The main goals in working with rivalry problems are:

to determine each dog’s dominance status relative to each other.This ranking is based on the behavior of the dogs, and NOT what ranking the owners prefer.
to support the status of the dominant dog, as determined above
to allow one or more dogs to achieve subordinate status by not treating the dogs equally or intervening to elevate the subordinate dog to a dominant position
to elicit and reinforce non-aggressive behaviors using counter conditioning and desensitization techniques.

Procedures to achieve these goals must be designed and tailored to specifically meet the needs of the individual case. All owners should be aware that if they respond to this type of problem inappropriately, they run the risk of intensifying the problem, and potentially causing injury to either themselves, their dogs, or both. If the dogs involved are intact males or females, they should both be neutered or spayed. Punishment by itself WILL NOT solve the problem and has the great potential to escalate the fighting. We encourage you to first seek assistance from your veterinarian regarding spaying and neutering, evaluating the health status of your dogs, and for a referral to a professional animal behaviorist. Rivalry and fighting problems can be resolved and you and your dogs can again live together in peace.

Written by Suzanne Hetts, Ph.D., Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist, and Rhea Dodd, D.V.M.
in cooperation with the Denver Dumb Friends League (The Humane Society of Denver)



		2007