Trouble in the Homestead

So what do you do when you have 5 dogs - 3 girls, 2 boys - and the 2 boys don't get along? In the past three weeks my two boy dogs have gotten into 2 fights. My wife's hands and my hands found the end of teeth in the most recent altercation. I have a couple of holes in my thumb and scratches on my arms and side, she has a couple holes in her hand and scratches who knows where.

This "event" has her really upset. We are both finally coming to the realization that one or both of them is going to have be put up for adoption or put down. We haven't talked about it yet. She had to go to school this morning for her large animal rotation. I have plans to go bowling at noon, which I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do since my thumb is now injured. So, sometime today well get around to making a decision.

I love both of my dogs. We've had Taz since January of 2002, he's 7 years old. We adopted him from the Scott County Animal Shelter in Kentucky. Of his siblings he was the one who crawled into my lap and fell asleep. I was immediately in love. Not to mention one of the girl dogs, Akira, is completely attached to him. He's a great watch dog, sometimes a little too good as the incessant barking gets really old sometime. On the flip side he's a lover too. He'll be your best friend once he gets to know you, and he'd never intentionally bite a person.

Dex is similar in a lot of ways. We've had him since March of 2007, he's 2 years old and I'm the only reason he's probably still alive. I found him walking down the street as a puppy. He had skin problems, and was super skinny. I coaxed him into my arms with a banana, brought him home, and the rest is history. He's also a fantastic watch dog, better than Taz. He's much more intimidating upon approach. He's probably the biggest "cuddler" we have and when he's happy he smiles at you. However, he has bitten me.

The problem is that both of these dogs think that he's alpha dog, and neither one will back down from the other one. 98% of the time they're fine together. They've even been known to lick on one another, clean the other, and even play together. Ever since we brought Bella, the new puppy home, they haven't been getting along very well.

I don't know what to do. I want to keep my family, my pack, in tact, but I nor Ally can keep breaking up fights, patching up wounds and risk getting more scars ourselves. What happens in the future when we have a baby in the mix? I want my kids to grow up with dogs and love them like Ally and I do but I'm not willing risk my child getting in the middle of a fight between my dogs. A choice has to be made and action needs to be taken.