fighting

Question
Hi!

I have 4 dogs a jack Russell, husky, mutt, and a mutt/boxer.
My husky [Fluffy} gets in fights with my boxer [Rufus}      They fight over toys food and attention I have just recently got my 2 puppies Rufus and my Jack Russell [Princess] They get along just great but my problem is my husky Fluffy gets in tons of fights with Rufus when I pet Rufus, automaticly their in a fight! And it won't stop! I yell and smack Fluffy on the bottom but she has so much fur she likes being smacked. She will only squeal if you smack her with all your force or kick her but that's not the point. I just don't know what to do! Please HELP give me some advice!!!!  Thank you!!!1

Answer
This may be more than can be sorted out over the internet.  I would start with gettng any that aren't spay/neutered fixed.  Then you must take over as the leader.  The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts. Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/ For more on being top dog, see http://www.dogbreedinfo.com./topdogrules.htm

Please discontinue hitting your dogs.  As you can see, it is very ineffective.