One is 8 months old, male and pit mix (fixed)
the other is about 4 months old, female and full blooded pit

They play fight ALL THE TIME. Whenever they play we encourage them to play with their toys (like their rope) and they'll tug o war for about 5 minutes but then they start biting each other again. They're not being mean about it, but they do occasionally take it too far and one will yelp. We have obedience trained the older one and the younger one is halfway there, and they will stop fighting as soon as we say "stop". However this does not prevent them from starting right back up 5 minutes later.

My question is: is there any way to prevent them from fighting? I don't want them to stop playing all together, I don't even care if they keep playing rough, but the biting and scratching has to stop. pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com

We take them for walks every day and they have plenty to do to burn off the energy, but they're getting to big to keep fighting like that and they'll eventually start to really hurt each other if it keeps up.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

For my APBT's I taught them the gentle command and I also supervise their playing. When it starts to get rough I'd tell them "easy" or "gentle" once I say that they know to settle down.

Your dogs are still very young and still have a lot of the spirit in them, but obedience training in addition to the exercise your are giving them should help settle them down. But you should always supervise their playing.

And with American pit bull terriers you never know exactly how they're going to turn out once they get older as far as dog aggression. Sometimes it just does not work and you either spend your life keeping them separated or you have to re-home ome one of them

Good luck!

you need to put them off the idea.. as "stop" wont just stick in there mind for fighting... you should fill a metal tin with coins... and when they start to fight or go to fight shake it loudly and drop it on the floor to brake them up... do it so it scares them. they need to associate that loud scary sound with fighting...

good luck..

mee

Be careful about using an e-collar in that type of situation! The dog could think the stim was caused by the other dog and retaliate for what it thought was the other dog 'biting' it. The same thing with prong collars. E-collars and prong collars can be a good tool if used correctly....

JK

Do NOT do a shock collar, those things are horrible and can cause the dogs to be afraid of everything! The metal tin idea works...coke can, pennies, duct tape..

The best way is to get shock collers and zap them if they fight. Works for our pits:)

Honestly, ask a trainer for advice.

pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com

Also, please be 100% aware that full blooded APBT's usually don't do well with other dog's. Even if there are no signs at first, when they get into a more mature state they can turn on other dog's. Despite socialization at a young age, sometimes it just doesn't work out. I am not saying Pit's are bad dogs, they are extremely people friendly, but it is engrained in there history to be dog aggressive.

Um??? #1 Never use a shock collar but anyways... it seems to me like both are extremely young (under 1 year) this is completely natural, when one yelps they are telling the other THAT'S ENOUGH I GIVE UP! or OW! But of course they go back to fighting again for a rematch. I wouldn't even necessarily call it fight but just regular play. In the wild wolf pups will do this to hone their fighting and hunting skills. Trust me this is natural. They should grow out of it by (1-2 years of age) as long as you are supervising them and there is no blood of any kind then you should be fine! this link is a picture of two semi domesticated wolf pups http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45f81X8zml8 The pit bulls probably seem more aggressive because a room in your house is smaller then a large outdoor area. Any dog is a good dog and If you understand their breed standers you and your pits will be OK!

It sounds like they're mediating them selves just fine for the most part, its totally okay for dogs to yelp during play. Its just them saying 'Okay stop, that hurt!' and the culprit will have to learn to be more careful next time. Dogs play rough, extremely rough sometimes, so much so that its hard for us humans to watch. But its just dogs being dogs and it should be allowed to happen in my opinion - just not allowed to escalate to the point of someone getting angry! (supervision is key)