Siblings fighting before walking

Hi Everybody
I have a brother and sister (Spud and Suki) now 11 months old. Suki was spayed on six months but Spud is still 100% male. They dont have issues with each other in general (fighting etc). However ,when its walking time I struggle a bit. When Spud has got his harness on there seems to be competition or the one seems to prevent the other one from getting a harness. When both eventually have there harnesses on and we exit at the gate they want to fight each other. As soon as you walked a few meters and manage to keep them apart they are OK for the rest of their walk. The problem is if you keep them apart before you start the walk (on their leashes) ,Spud will try to bite me. He has once succeeded in biting me on my leg and yesterday he manage to bite his human mother on her arm. Any advice will be much appreciated.

Have no experience in this sorry, apart from perhaps try and walk them seperately for a while. I am going to move your thread to chat as it will get more response xx

Do they get plenty of exercise? Could it be excess energy and excitement for the walk?

it sound like they dont get enough walks

It sounds like frustration which like Steve said often means they're not getting enough exercise to get rid of that pent up energy, more, faster walks are needed, maybe a little run before you walk them for toileting/socializing purposes.

Can only agree with the above. How about a game of fetch or run around the garden before going for a walk?

RoxysMum wrote:Can only agree with the above. How about a game of fetch or run around the garden before going for a walk?

I was about to suggest exactly the same as that above

Agree with other comments, but growing out of puppyhood, they may be feeling jealous of each other and if not addressed quickly, the situation could worsen. My daughter had two with a similar problem and ended up having to give one away. Separate walks and more of them would be a good start. Do they eat separately ? If not, I would ensure they do so - food sharing can often be a cause of aggression with siblings. Don't let this continue, see a behaviourist if the extra walks and play doesn't help.

I'm not keen on keeping siblings together personally, and problems can be more complex to resolve in these situations. Do agree that is sounds like frustration and over excitement. I would be doing some impulse control exercises and upping the obedience training in general. For the redirection bites, i would muzzle personally at the start of the walks until the training is underway, he should not be given an opportunity to practise this behaviour, teeth should never be on skin!! Any way that you can walk seperately for a while? And also agree with extra exercise, how often are they walked? Who usually starts the fight?

doesnt sound like aggression to me more like a dominance/excitment thing. the fact that you got bitten would suggest they think your joining in tbh. if it was aggression there would be seriouse injuries by now.
my two used to do it on walks as well even though they go for miles so if its a similar thing then only firm warnings, taking them back into the house etc will work. also get them used to a cool off keyword, i use "teeth" its a pretty unique sounding word and both react instantly to it.
even now when I bikjore them they sometimes get over excited and have a "Spat" before setting off and running in harmoney for the rest of the ride.