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He and Coyote have gotten into a few fights in the past 5 or so months, and with Coyote half blind and smaller, he's getting the worst of it. Although the two have really serious fights, neither has gotten badly injured (scratches, hair pulled out, minor punctures) so I'm thankful they both have good bite inhibition and tough skin! But since both Mike and I HAVE gotten some serious bites trying to break them up, it's definitely time.
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The fights are rare, but when they occur both dogs are pretty serious about not backing down or letting go. I am noticing more posturing within the last month. Dazzle seems to be the one starting most of the fights, but Coyote's not completely innocent. I'm hoping that when Dazzle is no longer affected by "testoterone poisoning", we'll have peace restored.
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We are keeping a close eye on both of them in high arousal situations like when Mike or I comes home. When they are not over-excited, they are fine around each other. This afternoon when the neighbor was mowing his lawn, I kept Dazzle in the office with me while Coyote went out to "defend the yard" from the eeevil tractor.
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I am doing my best to reward correct interactions and redirect any posturing as well as using prevention at times when high arousal is likely, which I think has helped keep the fights rare. But I don't want to risk someone getting a ear bitten off or an eye punctured or some other serious injury.
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I stopped by the vet to pick up some supplements Coyote gets and put Dazzle on the scale. He now weighs 59 lbs! I have found that mixing in pureed liver with his food has done the trick to get him to eat. He was 55 lbs 1 month ago, so he's gaining a bit of weight and looks good - more like a filled out adult than a skinny puppy and his hip bones aren't prominent anymore. This is a good weight for him, so I might cut back just slightly on his rations to maintain it.
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