Bother Brothers Reunited and Fighting

Question
My brother and I each have male boxers from the same litter. The Boxer brothers lived together for the first 3 years of their lives and were inseparable. A little after their third year, my brother and I moved to different states and the dogs did not see each other at all during this time. The dogs are now five years old, and we just reunited them for the first time in 2 years. This did not turn out to be the reunion we hoped for. The boys now have fought twice within 15 minutes and we have separated them between different houses. Both of our boxers were trained extensively and are some of the most well behaved boxers most people have ever come in contact with. Even our vets comment that these are the most well trained and behaved boxers/dogs they have ever seen. But here I am, heartbroken, not knowing what to do. Both of the boxers seem extremely saddened when they are separated now, and even get excited when we mention the other name. But when they were just together, fighting ensued. I do not want to reunite them again until we know what to do.
A little more background on the boys:
Trojan- is the older of the brothers, and is also the runt of the litter, he weighs 58 lbs.. He also fathered a litter a little over a year ago. He is intact.
Oscar- is the younger brother, but also the Alpha male of the litter, he weighs 78 lbs.. He is intact.

Please give us some insight on what to do with this issue. We were planning on buying a house where both of the dogs would live together or near each other again. If we have to neuter both of them, we will. Any information will help. Thanks!!

Answer
The brothers were in the litter before you owned them, and at early ages, they developed their identities within the "pack" of alpha, and the other orders.

Apparently, Oscar was the alpha all along, even when they were raised together and Trojan accepted that, ie. all was fine.

Since separated, Trojan no longer had to be an omega dog, but came into his own and discovered he could be an alpha as well. Maybe there were other dogs around him that he could be alpha to, or he was alone and was automatically alpha. He matured, he adapted to his changes, and he was alpa.

Now, reunited, you have two alphas. This doesn't work unless one is willing to step down. Trojan more than likely will since he wasn't alpha in the beginning and he is the smaller of the two anyway. Oscar is biggest and probably will automatically dominate.

Now for the solution:

Since they are going to be neighbors again, and be in each others lives, they will adapt, but you and your brother need to put your heads and efforts together in this.....

Both of you need to train them each in harmony so they both will have the same identical commands, reprimands, and consistencies.

(I had the same problem with two of my boy pups: one was sold to a family at age 4 months old that later wanted another, his brother at age 5 months old-- the brothers fought and they were the closest brothers in the litter...inseparable! They did not reunite like we'd thought they would! It took a few days of supervision and they were fine and inseparable again.)

The question is: do they fight within the 15 minutes EVERY TIME? Or is this sporadic? Is the fighting inevitable?

When each of you have the brothers together-- leash them, yes, each dog wear a leash. Do not let go of the leash, but allow them to greet each other while you both hold the leashes. Allow them to play while holding the leashes. This will be uncomfortable for you and your brother, but necessary for the beginning.

When one becomes aggressive, yank the leash separating them, and verbally reprimand the aggressor (probably will be Oscar) and use simple commands/reprimands in a stern voice. Figure out together what commands and wording you both want to use. "NO" and "Bad (________insert name)" and "NO ________(insert name)" and "Be Nice!" are buz words that work because of "NO" always being in your vocabulary with your dog in any given reprimand and in your dog's vocabulary...so add to it with the buz word of "Bad" and "Be Nice."

Dogs learn by association, repetition,consistency, and the sound of your voice. ie. stern is reprimand and soft is pleasing of playful and rewarding. (NEVER YELL AT YOUR DOG! NEVER HIT OR SPANK YOUR DOG!) so stern means stern, not yelling and screaming.

Once the leashing and reprimands are established, usually within a few weeks of this, you've established the commands and rules. Try allowing the meeting without leashes, but have them nearby in case you need to leash them again- and try to let them greet each other and play. Once Oscar (or which ever one) becomes aggressive- verbally reprimand him using the established reprimands and commands. He should obey. If he does not obey-- leash him immediately.

Now he is associating not obeying with being leashed-- restrained-- no freedom.

This will soon be instilled in him as a bad thing and want to obey to keep his freedom.

Within 3-4 weeks you both should have this under control where the brother can greet and play happily without incident. Remember, Trojan might test the alpha control again- because alphas are constantly tested and tried because the winner becomes the alpha when he beats the alpha.

So this might be an ongoing battle for awhile until Trojan realizes Oscar was the alpha in their beginning and is still bigger than he is, and that it is okay for Oscar to remain the alpha, Trojan will accept it eventually.

Let me know how this goes, keeping me updated with a follow-up.