This is only the second time that they've fought since we adopted the boys in June. Once it was over food and this time I think it was over a Nylabone. The first time Apollo started it, and this time Zeus. Each time it seemed to start out of the blue. They eat together everyday and chew their toys together all the time without incident.
Last night we were sitting around watching TV. Apollo was lying on the couch with Hubby, and Zeus was sleeping on the floor with his Nylabone near his front paws. I heard Zeus let out a little growl, and before I had a chance to correct him, he lunged at Apollo. Apollo leaped off the couch and they both started going at it. My 2 year old was in the room and he was crying so hard. It was a really scary site. Anyway, Hubby and I jumped up and I pulled Zeus away by his collar and Hubby tried to pull Apollo back. Thats when he got bit. I pushed Zeus outside and turned to look at Hubby, and I saw his shirt sleeve turning red with blood. His wound was pretty deep on the top of his forearm and he also had a hole on the bottom that was open, but not bleeding. I needed to tend to his arm, so I put Apollo outside with Zeus, who had already calmed down. Both dogs walked toward each other and started licking and nuzzling each other like they were apologizing and making up. They've been fine ever since. We brought them back in for the night and they've been acting like nothing happened.
So now, I guess my question for the board is - How do I prevent this from happening in the future? For the night we removed the bone that I think set Zeus off, but I can't keep all the toys out of the house forever. The dogs are young and tend to chew when they're bored, so I want to have appropriate chew materials around. 99.9% of the time these guys are the most gentle and tolerant dogs I have ever known. The little yorkies jump and nip in their faces all the time and the big dogs don't even notice them. They are always tolerant of the children bumping into them and hugging on them and such. And if I hadn't witnessed the fight last night with my own eyes, I wouldn't even believe they had it in them to be so aggressive with each other.
Have any other pyr owners seen this type of aggression toward another dog? Did I mention that I suspect Zeus and Apollo are littermates since the vet says they're the same age and they were found straying together by Animal Control? Maybe this has something to do with their aggression only towards each other? I wish I knew more about their background. They were both neutered in July, so hormones shouldn't be an issue. I just can't figure this out.
For now, we're not doing anything different with the dogs. We've instructed our boys to not go near the big dogs if they start fighting again. We've showed them Daddy's wound on his arm and explained how the dogs fur will protect them if they fight, but that their arms could get hurt badly if they tried to intervene. I don't know what else to do. I keep thinking what if my little 2 year old got in the middle by accident. I guess this just reinforces why little ones always need to be supervised around dogs. Even the ones you trust the most can surprise you.