Help! Dogs not getting along

Question
Hi,
My husband and I have recently moved to an acre property. We have a slight problem. We have a German Shephard non- desexed male) and rottweiller (desexed female). Our next door neighbours have a rottweiller (male desexed) and a staffy (female desexed). Our male dogs are not getting along at all. They will meet each other at the fence back at each other and then run the full length of the block on either side of the fence, barking. They normally do this until my neighbour or myself pulls one dog away. This happens about 10 times a day. We have been here for 3 weeks now and it is getting worse, not better. We have not tried to put them in the same yard as we are worried they will attack each other. Do you have any suggestions?
Jo

Answer
Jo, I would NOT recommend putting them in the same yard, as it could be a recipe for disaster. This problem will likely not get any better unless both you AND your neighbor are willing to work with your own dogs to stop the behavior. The dogs should only be allowed in their yards on a long line and prong collar, and corrected immediately for the first signs of inappropriate behavior, whether it's posturing towards each other, growling and/or barking, or full out fence fighting with no warning whatsoever. The dogs should not be allowed out in the yard unsupervised if the other dog is out in his yard.

Walking the dogs together is one way to acclimate them to one another, but I do not know if you and your neighbor are capable of controlling them, so if you're worried about it, do not attempt it without first consulting with a professional trainer that has experience dealing with dog-to-dog aggression.

If this is not something you feel you can do, with or without the help of a trainer, you and your neighbor may consider splitting the cost and putting up something to block the dogs' view of each other, along the shared fence. If you can't do that, then installing invisible fence or even a strand or two of electric wire just to keep your dog back away from the actual fence itself may help to curb the problem.

I'd like to just take a moment to point out that studies have shown that there is a direct link to testosterone and aggression, so you may want to consider neutering the dogs. This, in and of itself may not stop the behavior completely, but it should make the dogs much easier to handle.