How do I stop my male and female Pit bull's from fighting?

Question

I have two 1 year old Pit bulls, one female one male. We bought the male first and then when he got to be about 8 months old we wanted to get him a friend. My male is extremely loving and truly possesses all the positive qualities of a pit bull he's the most loyal dog I have ever had. My female on the other hand possesses the good qualities also but unfortunately possesses many bad one's at the same time. To be honest we were a bit irresponsible and didn't realize our female had gone into heat which led to her having a litter or 7 puppies about 2 months later. All the puppies were healthy and were all sold to good homes with up to date shot records and papers. We have since gotten her fixed. Our female has the Zebbo bloodline in her which I hear tends to be a more aggressive dog our male is a Greyline. My female has attacked my male numerous times the first few times he did nothing he just sat there but now he is fed up i guess you could say and fights back. Blood has been drawn and every fight is over treats and food. Neither one of our dogs come from a fighting background nor did we ourselves train them to fight. Since the last fight they have been separated and are only allowed to interact under our supervision. It's heartbreaking to see this continue to happen we love our dogs very much and we only want the best for them. We don't wish to get rid of one we would love to keep them both because when the treats are not given out and their done their meal (they do NOT get into fights every meal) they get along just fine and love to play with each other and snuggle at night. What can we do to stop this behavior? I'm not looking for criticism just answers and suggestions from fellow pit bull owners or anyone who has experience with this problem. thanks.

Answer 1

You need to have the male dog neutered. But the food aggression you are describing has nothing to do with your dogs and every thing to do with you not being in charge. This is how your dogs need to be when they are being fed. Under control. Obviously dont just jump right to this. Train them in seperate rooms that etc. As they imrove slowly bring them in the same room. You need to address this porblem before one of your dogs gets hurt. Remember its you not them!

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Answer 2

It sounds to me like you're not showing them who is the actual leader of the pack. If they know that you're the leader of the pack they won't attack one another. That goes for any dog...not just pit bulls.

  

Answer 3

This is called resource guarding.  Your female is guarding her food from the male.  My female pitbull growls at the cat if he gets too near her while she's eating.

I suggest separating them at meal times and treat times.  And when they get into fights, take BOTH their treats away and don't give them back for a long while.

Answer 4

Many dogs have food aggression.  This isn't due to them being pit bulls.

Start feeding them in different rooms and don't give them treats.  Just elimate what starts the fighting.

And if he's not done already, snip the male.  Even though she's been fixed, an unnetured male can bring a lot of tension into the mix.

Good luck!