Dog Health Questions: Calling all dog whisperers...?

OK.... short background story. My husband currently deployed and I have 2 male German Shepherds that are a little over 1 1/2 years old. It's been a week since my hubby left. They keep growling and trying to bite and fight each other. This morning I woke up to them growling at 630. They fight in the backyard, wont leave each other alone, and are, most importantly, annoying the crap outta me. I think they are trying to establish dominance over each other since daddy isn't here. I try, but it doesn't really work out. I don't know what to do other than the normal dog training techniques.
They are not aggressive dogs at all. I really do just think it's a dominance thing since my husband left and he was the "alpha." I guess I just need to let them know that I'm in charge. But with dealing with the hubby being deployed... it's just annoying me right now. I guess what I'm asking is if anyone has advice.... Thanks

Can I Train My Dog Without a Dog Training Course?

Recommended Answer:
Are you able to exercise them, i.e. long walks? That certainly would relieve some of their stress and anxiety.

Dog Training Tips

• when they start.--- you ... this sounds crazy... but u growl or show that ur taller by standing up to show UR DOMINANT so they quit. they fight out of insecurity theyre looking for a sense of control in your house hold show them who's boss once or twice and theyll get over it
  
  hope i helped ;)


• spank them and show them your the alpha.
  my dog did the same thing.


• I recommend you read this:
  http://dogpublic.com/articles/article.as…
  
  Are both dogs neutered? Around their age, an intact male has literally about ten times the amount of testosterone as an altered or older dog. They're like rowdy teenage boys with just as much bravado, and predictably, this causes friction because they both have the same assertive personalities. While neutering them is unlikely to completely solve the problem, it would almost definitely help.
  
  Out of curiosity.. are you sure they're fighting? They might sound like a dumb question, but "growling and trying to bite and fight each other" pretty well describes how two rambunctious dogs play. When my two boys play, they snarl, growl, bark, mouth-wrestle, jump on each other and chase each other, but I know that it's play because their bodies are relaxed, they're having fun, and although they're constantly using their mouths and biting each other, *no harm is done.* When your dogs appear to be fighting, are their bodies stiff? Hackles raised? Lips drawn back? Ears perked? Tails raised stiffly or wagging slowly and dangerously? If so, then it's probably not play.
  
  Constantly be on the lookout for any signs of tension at all so that you can prevent a situation from arising. At the very small signs, use calming signals to potentially prevent a situation:
  http://www.canis.no/rugaas/onearticle.ph…
  Distract them. Change their mindset and get them focused off each other.
  
  German Shepherds are both extremely athletic and intelligent, so they need a huge amount of physical and mental stimulation every single day. If you aren't thoroughly exhausting them every day, their extra energy and pent-up frustration is almost definitely a contributing factor to their fighting.
  
  You need to observe them very closely and pinpoint what's happening when they begin to fight. Was one dog monopolizing a certain toy, piece of furniture, or even yourself? All of these problems have different "treatments."


• I think you're absolutely right about trying to restablish pack order because of this new situation. I would go back to pack leader basics if you haven't been doing it lately. Eat before them. Make sure you go through doorways first. when you walk them make sure they know their places and make them heel until they do. Don't play any aggressive games like tug of war and so on. I'm sure you know all these tricks, but it's a good idea to restablish them until they get things worked out. Also, make sure they're getting enough exercise. you'd be amazed at how much exercise helps almost every dog disobedience problem.
  Good luck!
  p.s. are they neutered? if not, than they would defintely help solve your problems!


• I don't want to sound rude (really!) but all that dominance and alpha stuff is bunk. It's like an urban legend of sorts. Dogs have very fluid social hierarchies that are constantly in flux. Like Rookie may be "dominant" over Gus when it comes to the water bowl, but Rookie won't challenge Gus for his rawhide. It also has to do with current motivations, like if Rookie just drank a lot of water 5 minutes ago Gus can go ahead and drink first.
  Anyway, your problem with your dogs I'm suspecting has to do with under stimulation. Was your husband the one who took the two on most of the walkies, park trips, did the training, and played tug and fetch? Did their activity level drop when your husband left last week? If this sounds like it may be true all you have to do is tire them out a bit. Hope it all works out. Good luck!