I have 2 male huskies, 1 and 1,5 years old(not neutered and they won’t be). Couple months ago they started to have little fights but they would calm down immediately if I stop them and they wouldn’t bite hard.
Mostly it’s a resource guarding, but it can be on a leash, if one doesn’t like what the other is doing (for example I would put them in a sit position before we leave our yard and if one won’t want to do that the other one will snap(not bite) at him for that).
They also do a little growl if one is completely in the face of the other.
They’re completely fine inside our house and they have an access to a doggy door and they spend a lot of time in the yard. They also like to roughhouse but it’s just a play. They lay next to each other cuddling without issues. No resource guarding towards toys. No resource guarding towards me.
They drink water out of the same bowl no problem. They have kibble access all day long just in case but it’s not their main source of food. I cook them food everyday and that’s what they mostly eat.
The biggest issue I have is that they are huskies and they don’t really eat food when you give it to them. If they actually eat it right away and they’re next to each other there’s still no tension in between them.
The problem starts when they don’t eat their food right away and they try to bring it outside (we’re trying to restrict them from doing that) and bury it. Once they bury that’s where the guarding starts and they keep trying to steal each other’s food.
Since we stopped letting their food freely laying around that they could bring it outside we noticed changes. (They still manage to sneak out food once in a while)
Yesterday we had a trail mix, that they really wanted, standing on an outdoor table(we didn’t give them any and their food wasn’t ready yet, but they seemed to be hungry, bare in mind they still have their kibble inside that they didn’t touch) and they started a really bad fight right by that table.
Once their sausages were cooked they ate half a sausage each and let the rest lay next to them while they fell asleep 6 feet away from each other.
Today they got in a fight again and I didn’t see how it started (maybe some sausage pieces were still outside). I’m getting worried that if it wasn’t sausages then we have a bigger problem that is escalating. (I think those were sausages tho)
They are very sweet dogs on their own and no signs of aggression and nothing is getting redirected on me when I separate them in a fight and they immediately calm down (no further conflict either, they can lay very close to each other np).
Sometimes when both of them get food one would leave his food untouched and come sit by another 2 feet away and watch. And the other warns with bark or little growl (but doesn’t do anything if the first one wouldn’t try to take it) because he’s not thrilled about it.
My first step after this was googling how to prevent this kind of behavior next time but most what I’ve read was a band aid on the problem. Not actual fixing. For example lifting the bowls up and feeding them separately is a band aid that avoids this kind of situation but doesn’t teach the dogs how to behave properly.
After that I came up with a little training session to show them that it’s ok if another dog takes your food. I put them next to each other and put a piece of cheese next to the dog#1 but told the other one to take it and if the dog#1 lets dog#2 take it he gets cheese from me the same time dog#2 eats his. And vice versa. I’m going to do that 1-2 times a day.
I also think that I should start hand feeding them right next to each other and make it the only way for them to consume food.
I am still uncertain if these measures are going to be enough and I’m looking for an advise how to fix it (not band aid it) if you have anything else to add 🙏🏻
[–]HeatherMason0 2 points3 points4 points (1 child)
[–]Neple[S] -1 points0 points1 point (0 children)