Boxer brothers

Question
I read a question to you about 18 month old boxers fighting.  I have two brothers who are 3.  They have had a few fights over the past years, but today had a battle to the death over a shoe that one was chewing on.  I am not physically strong enough to break them up.  They haven't had training other than what we have done ourselves, but they are very well behaved and mind otherwise.  What are we missing?  I read your answer about no toys in the house etc., but it seems to be just a standoff situation when they start this.  We trained them with shock collars last summer as far as running our back yard fence barking at the neighbor dogs, and they worked out beautifully.  We have only ever had to vibrate the collars to get them to respond.  However, are these effective in everyday use, to ward off another fight?

I don't want to get rid of one of them, they are my babies, which is probably another problem.  They are VERY spoiled and neither one has ever claimed the alpha dog role.  We have other dogs, but they only fight each other.

Thanks for any help!!

Answer
Hi Tammy,

If the fight was as severe as you say, it really is in your best interests to contact a qualified behaviorist to evaluate the situation (ruling out any medical issues is a good idea, as well).  Some general tips such as implementing a Nothing in Life is Free (NILIF) protocol and if necessary muzzling the two while they're together might be helpful, but if the dogs are seriously injuring each other - and there's a good chance that you will get injured trying to break them apart - then there's more to the situation than can be addressed in an online setting.  

There are some links to behaviorists and organizations at the following sites:
http://www.inch.com/~dogs/behaviorists.html
http://animalbehaviorcounselors.org/cgi-bin/members/acabccounselors.cgi?lookup=f...
http://www.iaabc.org/consultant_locator_dogs.htm

I'm sorry I can't be of more help, but this really sounds like professional, on-site assistance is needed.

Good luck!