Playing turns aggressive and then into fullblown fight.

I have an 11month Border Collie/Pit mix. Great dog. Friendly to all dogs and humans he encounters.

However, when he starts playing with a dog for a certain period of time, and they begin snarling and playing rough, it escalates immediately into a fight (started by my dog) and the only way to stop it is by pulling him off.

I've tried stopping the play once it starts escalating, but that just kickstarts the fight to happen RIGHT then. It happens with any dogs that will play with him really - but typically it's with dogs his size (~55 lbs).

How can I: A) correct this behavior and B) stop a fight once it is happening w/o making it progress to a full on fight?

Also, on a less urgent note, he has issues with sharing toys in the home - if a dog goes for a bone/ball that he is interested in, he'll go after that dog. He doesn't have this issue at dog parks really, only in situations where he thinks the item is HIS and not a community toy (if that makes sense). I've read some tips on how to correct this, but am welcome to any more suggestions.

Thanks in advance!

It's difficult to say based on what you have written and without actually seeing what happens but my first thoughts would be to not let him play with another dog unless you are completely sure it won't develop into a fight and also to keep toys out of the way when there are other dogs about.

My neighbour's dog has always been fine with mine but one day he found a squashed football at the local playing field which he carried about and then left - one of mine decided to pick it up and my neighbour's dog immediately went for him, actually drawing blood. That was a real wake-up call for my neighbour! As he is an only dog, they have always played with him a lot and to him toys have a very high value.

One of my dogs can be a bit unpredictable with other dogs and so I only let him say hello and then we move away immediately.

I realise this is just removing the symptoms and not the cause but I find that praising my dog for not reacting at all to the other dog has helped enormously with his confidence. I would not let him play with a dog outside my pack though.

I hope you find some help, whether it's on this forum or by using an accredited behaviourist.

Hi,
Do you have other dogs at home?

Hi zdog-

Two things spring to mind - firstly I think he is becoming over-aroused and once he reaches a certain point he is not sure how to continue and resorts to aggression. Or, secondly he may misunderstand or misinterpret the signals i.e the other dog may become too rough and your dog interprets it as aggression.

The most important thing is not to allow him to continue to practice this behaviour because practice becomes perfect and you don't want him using aggression as his "go to" response when things get out of hand. At 11 months he is moving into his teenage phase and I cannot stress enough how important it is to get this under control. There is no easy way to break up a dog fight without huge risk. I think prevention is key here.

I would start using the 3-5 second rule - that is he is allowed 3-5 seconds with another dog, that will probably be sniffing and sizing up, at maximum 5 seconds you tell him to "come on - let's go" if he won't come clip on his leash, lure him with a toy or a treat and get moving, no looking back. Build up the time he is allowed to play or interact with another dog. Don't for one minute think, "awww I'll let him play for longer he is having a good time". This process may take some time but worth it because his confidence over time will increase when he realises he can stay, play and move on.

I am not sure about his resource guarding because I've never had this problem only ever having had one dog - but I suspect it might be part of the same problem, others on here might be able to help with that particular problem. I think you might have answered your own question though where he thinks "it is his own toy" maybe get him to learn that he doesn't own toys at all, he gets to play with a toy that you hand him from time to time? Just a thought.

Good luck with your lovely boy.

Sandy

Thanks for the responses. He is the only dog - so no, no other dogs at home. The toy issue happens mostly when we visit my sister's dog...but its happened in our home with another dog as well.

Sandy, I like your 3-5second rule idea...but the issue is he's not on leash while we're at the dog park. Sorry if I was unclear about that or failed to mention it, but all of his fights are at the dog park where he is off leash. So tugging at his leash is not a possibility. And if try to get in there and yank him away by his collar/neck while he's off leash, i know it'll escalate the situation.

Baxter always gives good reasoned advice (IMHO) and has experience of dealing with a lot of issues.

My twopennorth if you can't do as they suggest and clip him back on is not to let him off in the first place until you've sought some help and got this under control.

I wouldn't dream of letting a dog run off lead with other dogs if that dog had a history of starting fights or turning nasty in play.

Agreed - well this is me seeking help, ha! It's only recently become a "thing" happening almost every time we go.

Should I look into hiring a behaviorist?

I'd say YES to that but you are in the US and this is a UK forum so not likely that you'd get recommendations for a good one on here.

Meantime you have a strong and powerful dog and, until you have the full measure of it and can trust it or know whether you can or not - you should really keep it well under control at all times.

Do you go to any training classes?

From the OP it doesn't sound like it. OP says they've 'had some tips'.