How aggression between dogs in the same household affects welfare and what effective management looks like for multi-dog households with conflict.
Interdog conflict within a household creates a welfare problem that affects every moment of both dogs' lives. The dog that is victimised in aggressive encounters lives in a state of chronic anxiety; the aggressor dog is typically expressing fear or resource insecurity that represents its own welfare problem. Attempting to manage serious interdog aggression purely through dominance-based or punitive training reliably worsens the situation by increasing overall anxiety and suppressing warning signals without addressing underlying causes. Welfare-centred management requires understanding the triggers, managing the environment to prevent encounters, and working with a veterinary behaviourist to address the emotional states underlying the conflict.