Our boys are fighting!

Question
Hi, I'd first like to say thanks to you in advance for reading my e mail and
hopefully helping with my problem.  I'm sorry if it becomes long-winded, but
I feel it's important to share all the details so you can get the full idea of what
is going on...  We are human companions to two wonderful dogs:  Murray, an
almost 3 year old seal boston terrier (male), and Hoover, an almost 1 year old
golden retriever (also male).  We've had both dogs since they were young
puppies.  We also have a 4 year old human daughter, and a 2 year old cat.  
Murray the boston is very well socialized because we lived for the first two
and a half years of his life in Manhattan, where he had multiple opportunities
every day to meet and play with all different kinds of dogs and people.  I used
to take him everywhere with me, and he is very comfortable and well behaved
in almost every situation.  Hoover was only 4 months when we moved to CT,
and he has unfortunately not had the same level of socialization despite daily
long walks around town.  These two guys have been best friends since the
day we brought Hoover home.  They've always played roughly, but no one
ever got hurt, and it was never taken too far.  
Recently, their play has begun to escalate to fighting.  This has been
happening more and more, and the fighting seems to be getting more
intense.  When they get too intense they become very loud, Hoover bares his
teeth and snaps wildly at Murray.  Murray will often grab onto Hoovers neck
and shake vigorously.  Hoover likes to chew on Murray's legs or stand over
him and bite at his face.  They both seem to initiate these fights at various
times, and they don't seem to be fighting over anything specific other than
perhaps dominance....  This is happening more and more frequently every
day.  They can't be in the same room together without major playing/fighting
matches where things get knocked over and damaged, etc...  When they are
in these moments they don't seem to care what's in their way, what (or who)
they're running into or knocking over, or how we try to stop them.  It's getting
very difficult to live with, potentially dangerous for our young daughter,
damaging to our home, and not healthy for them.  The only thing we can do is
clap or make a loud noise to get their attention, then whichever one we can
get our hands on goes either out in the yard or into the house (depending on
where they started).  This works at that moment, but the minute they are
reunited, they start all over again...  
Any suggestions you may have as to how we can stop this, or even just how
to better understand this behavior would be greatly appreciated.  We really
feel we need a behaviorist to come see us, but our financial situation right
now will not allow for multiple sessions, and we are at a loss for what to do.  
Thanks very much, Liz

Answer
Liz, when it comes to dealing with aggression, the safest thing I can recommend is to find a local trainer who has experience with dog to dog aggression and who can work with you one on one, preferably at your home. There are just too many variables, and if I were to suggest something that resulted in someone being bitten, either because I did not fully understand what was actually going on (based on the description that I was given), or because you did something I recommended you do, incorrectly, or didn't do something when you should have, etc.

Until you can get a trainer out there, I would suggest keeping the boys separated, except for their daily walks if you normally walk them together. If you >>don't<< normally walk them together, then that might actually be a good thing, if you can do it.