Dog fights - Protecting yourself and your pet

Topic: How to deal with a pet emergency

Filed under Dogs

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A dog fight is an incredibly violent and aggressive event to witness, both frightening and even sickening at the same time. It doesn't seem to matter if the dogs are normally friendly and loving companions or complete strangers, when a dog fight erupts it is serious. There is no such thing as a mild or moderate dog fight, once a threat is perceived and an aggressive dog or an aggressor makes physical contact with another dog both are in it to prove which dog is dominant and the pack leader.

Many owners mistakenly believe that they can simply step between two dogs and break up a fight, especially if they are companion dogs or dogs that are familiar with each other and the owner. It is absolutely essential to realize that in the heat of the fight neither dog is going to respond to your voice commands and both are likely to see your actions as a further threat to their physical being. The aggressive dog will see your attempts to grab his or her collar as a threat to their dominance and they will respond to you just as they would to a dog that is attacking them. The dog that is being attacked will likewise see your action of grabbing the collar or neck as a further attacker, not as a person trying to help them out of a difficult situation.

If a strange dog attacks your dog out on a walk you have even more problems since you have no idea of the dog's natural behavior. You don't even know if the dog is naturally aggressive or if he or she is responding to some sort of perceived or real threat in the environment. Most people, especially those with small dogs immediately reach down and pick up their dog to attempt to protect them. Unfortunately when you do that you are bringing your dog very close to your person and your face, chest and neck, which may even put you at greater risk if the attacking dog is a large size.

Ideally it takes two people to break up a dog fight, even between previously friendly dogs. This is absolutely essential so that both dogs are taken under physical control at the same time. Unless the dogs are very small there is no way that one person is strong enough or big enough to separate two lunging dogs, even if they are only medium in size and weight. It is simply a physical impossibility and the dogs have all the leverage and stamina, not the human in the middle.

Both humans have to move in at the same time and they should not move to grab or restrain the dogs using the front part of the dog's body. Most people mistakenly grab for the collar or scruff of the neck, leaving your forearm, hand or even your legs and body within easy striking distance for the dog. Keep in mind that the dog is driven by instinct and adrenalin at this point and will not stop to identify you, they will simply react. Often people are yelling frantically at this point as well which only further works up the dogs, especially if they feel they are protecting the human from the other dog.

The correct positioning, especially for medium to large sized dogs, is to aim for the hind legs and pick the legs up off the ground, as high as possible, throwing all the weight of the dog onto the front legs. Grab the legs as close to the paws as possible and use a firm and rigid grip, you cannot hurt the dogs legs from this position. Not only does this immediately put both dogs in a off balance position but they cannot swivel to bring their heads close to your legs and your hands and upper body is well out of harms way. If the dog does try to swivel simply move in the same direction and keep rotating like a wheel.

This same rotating or swiveling motion needs to be used to move the dogs apart. Again it is not going to injure the dogs if they are simply drug backwards far enough so they are not going to be able to get back at each other in any way. Don't release they dogs, they need to be kept fully restrained until both have completely calmed down and are reintroduced while under human control. Simply releasing the dogs will only result in the fight starting up again. Some dogs may need only a few minutes apart and whatever started the fight removed to be reintroduced, while other dogs should be separated for much longer. If the fight was over a bone, toy or treat, removing that before reintroducing the pets is essential, plus it should be noted that they need to be trained before a toy, treat or whatever object caused the problem is given to either dog in the future.

Small dogs fighting is just as scary and is just as likely to result in the person getting injured. Smaller dogs are easier to handle since they are lighter and easier to manipulate, but don't pick them up and hold them towards you, remember they are highly aggressive mode and are likely to bite you. Never hold a fighting dog up to your neck or face area, even if it is your dog and it has never been aggressive before.

If you are alone you can try to get your dog inside a fence, any fence, just pick the dog up and drop it over, don't take time to get to a gate. While it is possible the dog may be slightly injured in the drop it is likely to be more seriously injured or even killed if the attacking dog is larger. Soaking the dogs with a garden hose or throwing a bucket of water on the dogs can also temporarily stop the fight, but you immediately have to get the dogs separated or they will go back to fighting.

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