Fighting Beagles

Question
I have a one year old female Beagle and three months ago I adopted a 4 year old female Beagle. They appear to get along great, except for the odd occasion when they fight.  The fighting is not frequent but it is getting worse, my husband and I have both been bitten braking up fights!
What advice can you give us to stop this from happening?

Answer
Hi thanks for writing, first we have to determine whyt hey are fighting, is it over food, attention, is is a dominance issue? It can somtimes take 6 months or more for two dogs to figure who is the top dog. In the meantime, you need to learn to watch for the behavior that signifies something will happen so you can avert it.... watch for tail down, ears down, growling, staring at each other, all of these can signify it's about to go postal. Never, never, never stick your hands int he middle of a dog fight.....!!!!! Make some shake cans (like 5-6) with aluminum beer or soda cans, take about 10 pennies and put them in an empty can and duct tape over the top. If they appear to be going for it or are in the middle of it throw a can at them, it wont hurt them but will startle them and make them stop for a second, hopefull long enough to grab ones collar and drag it away from the other for a time out for both.... if you don't dothe time out they will often reengage right away. Make sure that there is no petting or coddling for either one so you don't reinfore this is the way to get attention. Both should be reprimanded and put in sparate room in a sit and stay, YOU ARE THE ALPHA,they need to realisze this, and when they do they will not fight in front of you.  Hope this helps, feel free to write back