my dogs are fighting:(

Question
QUESTION: Hi Diane, Two months we got a 4 yr old 70lb.male chow pit mix from the
shelter. Our resident dog is a female 70lb. greyhound-boxer (?) mix, also a
shelter dog. Our resident dog does not like all dogs, she is a dominant well
trained very athletic dog. I picked our second dog because he had a relaxed
submissive personality. The sheriff at the shelter introduced the dogs and
was very satisfied with the interaction.  We introduced them slowly, they eat
apart, and are separated when we are not home. All was well until I feed them
ham on thanksgiving, they fought over the ham juice on the ground when
new dog
licked the ground by resident dogs ham...broke it up quickly and all was well.
Two days later they were wound up by a new dog next door and I came out of
the house to make sure all was well...I had ham on my hands and they went
crazy on each other. This was a longer more intense fight. They stopped
when the door opened and my husband came out.  I know I made a huge
mistake by not strongly reprimanding them at that time but resident dog
slunk away and new dog started wagging his tail and returning to his happy
self. Finally, my question....is this hopeless? What can i do to safe guard
against this happening again and getting worse. I understood the ham fight
but not the second fight. I know you never want the first fight to happen. I am
a responsible fairly savvy dog owner and I want to be proactive. I know how
to break up a fight but how should I correct them afterwards? Thanks so
much, I look forward to hearing from you.

ANSWER: First of all kudos to you for adopting shelter dogs. Now on to the problem which is very solvable. Go to alpha boot camp (type into your search window in your browser) and memorize the pages. They will help immensely. get your dogs involved in obedience, and walk walk walk both dogs twice per day on lead at your side, do not allow pulling etc. Give them separate attention and keep them off the furniture. Start obedience classes for both dogs asap. Keep them tired and full :) Tired dogs are good dogs
blessings,
Diane

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for your reply Diane! I walk them everyday for 1.5 hours. I just
started the treadmill for them since I can walk them 2 times a day. I had to
switch to a sporn collar because they pulled too much with the correction
collar.
Should I switch to prong collar since I cant "correct" them with a sporn collar?
Also, how should I correct them after a fight? Should I correct both or just the
new dog? Thanks! ps. They are not allowed on the furniture, I crate the new
dog and the new dog is in training for the basics. Thanks again.

Answer
Alot of people don't agree with a prong collar, but if used correctly it works well. Just be sure you use it right. If they are still pulling and fighting the collar after your walk, you should walk them faster :). Also might want to lower the protein level of your dog food. Treadmills are a great idea.
It's hard to say who to correct,. body language means a lot. Correct whoever starts it, not whoever bites first.
Good luck!