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Dog fight! How to break it up safely
By Kim Campbell Thornton
May 28, 2010
A few months ago, I met a couple of friends for lunch and a dog playdate. When Harper and I arrived, I opened the gate into the play area, and the next thing I knew, one of the dogs waiting for us, a Boxer, rushed out and nailed Harper. She was screaming and the Boxer was snarling.
I would like to say that I immediately jumped on the dog and pulled him off, but I was stunned by the sudden and unexpected nature of the attack. My friend with the Boxer and I stood there frozen–was it a display or a real attack?–and then she grabbed him and pulled him off. Poor Harper ran off yelping. I grabbed her up and we checked her over. Luckily (you’ll see variations of that word a lot in this post), the damage was limited to a scratch on her nose and a distressed psyche, which was gradually appeased with lots of lap time and treats. And she knew who saved her. Terry’s lap was the one she wanted to be in.
It’s not the first time I’ve been involved in a dog-on-dog attack. That was more than 20 years ago, when I was taking care of a friend’s Keeshond for the weekend. I was walking him one evening when a neighbor’s off-leash dog came running over and grabbed him by the neck. That time I did grab the dog and try to pull him off.
Yeah, don’t do that. I was unsuccessful, not to mention really lucky not to get bitten. Jerry ran inside and got a baseball bat and banged it against the fence to try to startle him. Finally, his owner came running out and pulled him off. Fortunately, the Keeshond’s big neck ruff saved him from any serious injury.
So what should you do? I asked fellow blogger and dog trainer Liz Palika to weigh in because she was there when Harper was attacked.
The first thing to do is to stay calm and use your words. Liz’s advice:
A verbal interruption is the fastest thing you can do. I don’t know if you remember, but I hollered “No! That’s enough!” Don’t sound like prey–a scream–as that could excite the attacking dog even more. Sound like you’re someone in charge.
Next, Liz yelled at Terry to grab the Boxer by the hind legs (Terry was closer). She says:
Grab the attacking dog’s back legs and lift and pull. Keep the back legs elevated until the dog has totally given up and all the fight is out of him. Call for help to grab the other dog.
Never reach between two dogs who are fighting. When I grabbed the dog in that long-ago incident, I grasped his collar at the back of his neck and tried to twist it, in the same way one might use a twitch on a horse’s upper lip. That’s not a great idea–it takes just seconds for the attacking dog to turn on you–and reaching out to grab your own dog is really asking for trouble, Liz says.
That will get you bitten, and even worse, the attacking dog will see you taking away the one being attacked and will grab the dog from underneath, getting the legs or belly.
The attacks we’ve experienced have all been unexpected, but sometimes you can anticipate and prevent them if you think ahead.
- If I see people approaching with a dog, especially a big dog, I call out to ask if they can meet. Letting dogs approach each other on loose leashes is the surest way I’ve found to ward off aggressive behavior from either party. When each owner is pulling hard on the leash to keep dogs apart, it sends tension right down the line to the dog and makes him feel defensive. Ask the other person to ease up so the dogs can relax and sniff.
- In instances where the other owner thinks it’s best that the dogs not meet–examples being a Greyhound and an AmStaff, both of whom were new to the owners and not yet known to be friendly toward small dogs–teach your dog to stand or sit and focus on you until the other dog passes. We’re working extra hard on that one with Harper and Twyla.
- Finally, never let your dog approach a dog that’s tied up, even if he looks or seems friendly. The tied dog knows his movement is restricted, and unless he’s really mellow he will try to defend his space. Just don’t go there.
Harper seems to have recovered from the Boxer brouhaha without any lasting effects. A lot of dogs who are attacked shy away from similar dogs when they see them. I had a friend whose American Eskimo was suspicious of dark-colored dogs for the rest of his life after he was attacked by one. Harper’s not fearful of Boxers when she sees them, although she does have a propensity to bark at big dogs if she’s not allowed to approach them and sniff (hence the aforementioned training). And she’s back to trusting me to protect her. I hope we don’t ever have to put it to the test, but I do spend a lot of time visualizing success.
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Liz’s idea of teaching a dog to “stand or sit and focus on you” is a great one. I’ve taught Allie, my Golden, to respond to a “watch” cue (something Patricia McConnell suggests),in which she turns to me and sits for a treat. We practice this cue at random during walks, and always do so when another dog is nearby. It’s at the point now that when Allie sees another dog while we’re walking, she immediately turns and looks at me — which is exactly what I want her to do.
Comment by Susan — May 28, 2010 @ 6:38 am
A nice piece Kim, with good advice from Liz.
One additional suggestion: If a dog has a tail, you can pick up ANY dog by the base of the tail and get its back legs off the ground. This is often far easier than grabbing both back legs, and does not put you “down low” close to the fight. It would not work on a docked boxer, but it has worked on every other dog you can imagine and I have tossed some big ones. Yes, you can lift and TOSS an 80- or 100-pound dog by his tail if you are at the base of the tail and have the muscles to do that. When they land in the dust and hear my voice (a low deep Nawwwwh which rumbles out for effect), the fight is generally out of them.
Patrick
Comment by PBurns — May 28, 2010 @ 7:25 am
Thanks, Patrick and Susan. I actually got the “focus” idea years ago from Vanna Condax, although I’m sure most trainers recommend it. We practice it a lot on our Laguna Beach walks.
Comment by Kim Thornton — May 28, 2010 @ 7:39 am
Thank you!!!!!
I have a senior female GSD (7 years old) and a 1 year old pitbull female. My GSD is pretty bossy, and the pitbull is even bossier. Both of them are highly opinionated, and don’t want to give something up once they have it, especially to each other. We have had a few fights in the last few months. And I have noted that grabbing the collar only escalates the fight. Even dumping a gallon of water on both of them does diddly-squat. My pittie girl did manage to nail me on the arm a few weeks back when I reached in to drop a blanket on her during one such serious discussion.
I don’t look forward to the day I have to try the techniques above, but am certain I will have to. So THANKS!!!!!!
Comment by Katrina — May 28, 2010 @ 7:55 am
Great article! I also recommend the “wheel barrow” technique, or the tail—it’s important with the tail grab, though, to get the dog’s feet off the ground to keep him off balance, or he also may redirect to you. Some of the hard-case dogs that won’t stop (I’m thinking sled dogs), you can use a fire extinguisher spray if handy, and with smaller dogs setting a chair over top of them can break concentration enough. APBTs…that’s a whole other issue!
Comment by Amy D Shojai, CABC — May 28, 2010 @ 8:00 am
Tail, yes. Go for the tail if there is one you can get a grip on.
Also, it’s an unfounded myth that only “pit bulls” will “lock on.” I’ve witnessed dogs of numerous breeds lock on to other dogs to the point where lifting the (large) aggressor brings the (just as large) victim off the ground too. And I’ve had a boxer dog lock on to ME, gnawing and shaking. Good times!
In those cases, I *have* gone to the front end and in one case plugged the dog’s nostrils with my fingers (none too gently). In another, used a tool handle as a breaking stick. Finally, a shot of pepper spray delivered precisely to the nose and mouth of the aggressor worked instantly. These “locked on” combats are quieter and less hysterical-seeming than standard doggie slash & posture fights — they are also much more dangerous for the dogs.
Don’t assume that you have a stable “aggressor/victim” situation. Neutralizing one dog may just give the other combatant an opportunity to pile on, starting the whole fiasco again; or in a multiple dog situation (dog park, anyone?) — well, there’s an origin for the word “dogpile.” So if you see a fight break out in a group situation, the very first thing you should do is neutralize your own dog (tie him up, preferably on the other side of a fence) then any other current noncombatants that are hanging around showing interest.
Comment by H. Houlahan — May 28, 2010 @ 8:03 am
The tail can work but sometimes it doesn’t get the dog elevated enough; that’s why I advise going for the back legs. Plus I have Aussies who don’t have a tail so I never think of it!
With the GSD and Pittie mentioned above, I would recommend some serious obedience training with both; teaching them to listen to you ALL the time. When there are two females in the household squabbling, it tends to continue to escalate until someone is seriously hurt or even killed. So you need to get a handle on this now. Learns what triggers fights and remove those triggers or make them unobtainable after a squabble. If you feel that fights are escalating, call a behaviorist for help. Good luck!
Comment by Liz Palika — May 28, 2010 @ 8:07 am
I’ll admit being a bit squeamish to do this in some settings where people might think I was over-reacting. Not like the ones described above.
For instance, at our very first agility class this past Tuesday (no one knows each other) there was a Corgi that nasty barked every time a dog got within about 5 feet. His owner is an older woman who has some trouble walking and she lost the leash at one point and the corgi came tearing over to Kasey barking and growling. Kasey was just minding his own business but immediately got to his feet. I wasn’t sure it was going to turn into a fight, but I knew I wanted to get my dog away from hers. Now if I had grabbed her dog by the tail and tossed him (since my dog was on leash and hers wasn’t), we may have had some issues. On the other hand, you can’t wait until there is a real problem to react. Luckily the instructor grab her dog and I was able to get Kasey to walk the other way with me.
BTW, Should I have dropped the leash if it looked like they were really going to fight?
Comment by Original Lori — May 28, 2010 @ 8:10 am
I’d also suggest the for the 2 female household that you make sure you are separating them when you can’t supervise. Also, take a look at what may be triggering it: food, toys, general high-excitment playing, maybe the dog’s next door. Try to eliminate those things as much as possible. Maybe the girls need to have separate backyard time or not be allowed to have certain toys out together.
For the original Lori - I would have stepped in front of my dog, clapped my hands and the Corgi and said “you go home” or “knock it off”. If he continued to approach either snatch up his leash and hold him arm’s legnth away or give him a litte foot push in the butt back towards his owner if it starts to look serious.
Comment by Tracy — May 28, 2010 @ 8:22 am
To Liz: Thanks for your advice. I appreciate it. The altercations have actually decreased because I have been searching out and removing the triggers. However, I do agree that I do need to work with both girls on their obedience much more aggressively.
Hannah, my GSD tends to listen pretty well, but if Aurora (my pittie girl) is after her, Hannah will stand and defend. The one factor I did not mention is that Aurora is deaf and she is VERY focused (don’t know if this is a pittie trait or an Aurora trait, but she is very, very focused). So, if she is in the midst of an altercation, I can not yell or growl at her. I have to touch and grab. So, the “grab the back legs and lift” or the “grab the tail and lift” techniques are perfect.
Thanks again for this article and the comments. It is REALLY helpful.
Comment by Katrina — May 28, 2010 @ 8:30 am
It wasn’t a dog-on-dog fight, it was a 5-dogs-on-me fight, and my friend, who’d known the dogs since they were born, did exactly what you suggest. She spoke with enough authority that the dog whose idea it was to come after me thought better of it, (or maybe he didn’t like the taste of my vegetarian-self) and once she had him under control, the others followed suit. I was paralyzed, frankly, and probably screamed like prey.
I also highly recommend dropping the leash if it looks like an aggressive situation is about to occur. When walking with Bailey once, two smaller dogs came after her (electronic fence fail) and at first I stiffened the lead, then realized I needed to drop it. After that she was able to defend herself and convince them she was twice as big and more importantly, her teeth, while pretty, were awful sharp looking. They ran, and we trotted off home, none the worse for wear.
But to this day when I hear a sudden bark, I freeze.
Comment by KathyF — May 28, 2010 @ 8:33 am
I’m forever having to call out and ask people to keep their dogs (who are straining at their leashes toward us) away from Lilly.
I usually wait to see if the person has a clue … or not. If they don’t, then I say something.
I also taught Lilly to switch sides on cue, so I can move her away from anything that scares her. If it’s a really wild situation, then we make a calm, but hasty retreat.
Comment by Roxanne — May 28, 2010 @ 9:41 am
The description of the snarky-pants dog in the agility class happens more frequently than anyone likes, especially at novice levels as the sport becomes more and more popular. By all means, step in front of your dog and tell that little shite in a growly voice to “get back/knock it off”. Agility is all about developing a partnership with your canine teammate and we gotta have their backs :-).
When that has happened to me, I try to find a time when snarky-pants is behaving nicely and ask owner if I can approach and pet the dog, ask if there is anything specific that the owner would prefer me to do if the situation comes up again, etc. Seems to diffuse any bad feelings. More often than not, the owner is embarrassed and may be at a loss on how to deal with the behavior; it’s a great time to discuss training tips for “focus”.
Comment by Melinda — May 28, 2010 @ 9:41 am
I have been amazed at how much strength I can have in an emergency. Like Patrick, I’ve practiced the pull, holler and toss method. And the hollering was at my NEIGHBOR. Here’s the story:
Neighbors (two nice middle-aged sisters) adopted a dog who was becoming increasingly more boundary aggressive when I was on the open space behind our homes with the dogs. Their dog seemed to fixate on McKenzie, who was an adolescent pup at the time.
Their dog would jump on a wood pile, hurtle over the fence and come at McKenzie. Their dog is afraid of people so I was able to yell and get her to stop in her tracks, then whistle my guys in and tell the neighbors to get their dog and fix the damn problem, now.
About the third or fourth time, the dog came over the fence while the neighbors were in the yard and she grabbed McKenzie before I could yell to stop her. I grabbed the dog by the hind legs and pulled back, screamed in fury and then hurled the dog (she’s about 50 pounds) back over the six foot fence. I am quite sure I cannot do that without adrenaline.
And then, in a deep tone that came from somewhere very primal, I told the neighbors that the next time their dog came over the fence and attacked my puppy, that dog would be coming back over the fence with a broken neck.
Now, of course, I could never kill a dog on purpose, not even in fury. But the message finally got through: They moved the woodpile, reinforced the fence in several spots and it never happened again.
—
OK, now, some prevention tips I got from my late friend Job Michael Evans, a prominent dog-trainer who wrote the original Monks of New Skete book before leaving the monastery:
1) If your walks go through an area with a high probability of off-leash dogs (such as a rural lane), carry an umbrella. As the dog approaches, yell in deep voice and open the umbrella as a shield between you and your dog and the attacking dog.
By the way, utility workers such as meter readers carry umbrellas for this very reason. Opening an umbrella in a dog’s face will often give the worker enough time to back out of the danger zone.
2) Train your dog to sit calmly and focus on you (as mentioned by Liz) sitting facing you and very close between your legs. Job said this position removes the areas of interest to the oncoming dog — they cannot sniff the genital or face area. He said you could also twirl your leash rapidly between you and your dog and the oncoming dog, again, creating a shield while you yell in a deep, threatening way at the other dog.
3) Finally, he said it was always the dogs of the “don’t worry, he just wants to play” owners who got into it with other dogs. So, when you can see that a dog is coming on hard and strong, but the moron who owns him says, “he’s friendly!” yell back, “Mine’s NOT. LEASH YOUR DOG!!!” at the fool.
For my own self, when I see bully dogs and their clueless owners at the dog park, I just leave. Some people are just too stupid to live and explaining their dog’s body language and that their dog isn’t really a “park dog” will never sink in. Better play another day than be in ER today, I say.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — May 28, 2010 @ 10:01 am
Thanks Melinda, you’re right. I can be the “teacher” in that instance and protect my dog at the same time.
Comment by Original Lori — May 28, 2010 @ 10:36 am
UGHHHHH!!!!!
My dog day care list has been discussing keeping smelling salts on hand to break up fights. The fumes interrupt the dogs. I keep two metal dog dishes handy and bang them together- hopefully before the fight begins.
The problem is, fights break out so suddenly, and you don’t usually have the proper tools in your hands when it happens.
Comment by Terry Albert — May 28, 2010 @ 10:57 am
Katrina - please tell me that you don’t leave these two unsupervised together!
Comment by Janet Boss — May 28, 2010 @ 3:34 pm
for multiple dog households, where any 2 (or more) have already gotten into a fight, the best solution is to not allow another fight. Keep them separated/secured when you;re not home; watch them like a hawk when you are, and learn what triggers the fight. Some breeds have huge obvious cues and some have subtle ones (a slight stiffening and stillness for example)… it’s these last ones that are accused of “attacking without warning” which is almost never true. There shouldn’t be any excuse for a SECOND fight in a household
Comment by SueP — May 28, 2010 @ 6:28 pm
I’m really glad to learn about the tail or back legs grab.
I do know enough not to stick my hand in anywhere,since I remember a dog at the local humane society many years ago who was put down for a bite (before it became no-kill; I used to go there just to visit the dogs because I couldn’t have one at the time).
When I asked what happened, I was told that the new owners were walking him off-lead (WTF?)and he got into a fight with another loose dog. The man reached in to break it up and his new dog bit him, probably not deliberately. They returned him the next day and, “because he had bitten”, they killed him. My first experience of a dog dying due to human stupidity. He was a really cool dog.
The best solution I’d come up with when I did get my collie boy was that since it’s my job to defend him, I decided that I would block the attacker with my legs and being willing to take the bite.
Niki has been attacked three or four times and I have been able to use my voice to break it up all but once and that’s because it was two dogs. My husband held Niki close while I did my best to stay between them and the other dogs. The owner was finally came running and was able to call them off. It was interesting being involved in canine pack behavior, but I wouldn’t recommend it.
I think not being afraid of a bite has given me confidence and the other dog has picked up on that. But I do believe that I prefer this new approach.
Comment by Susan Fox — May 28, 2010 @ 8:03 pm
I think the back leg grab is a wonderful new defense—I am glad I know about it incase a dog is in a biting mode. I could use it to defend my cats or even ME! Thanks for info.
Comment by Evelyn — May 29, 2010 @ 7:00 am
To Janet Boss:
No, my two girls are never left alone together. Aurora is crated when we are away (she loves her crate). Hannah has the run of the house. When we are home, I am always aware of and supervising the two. 97% of the time, they live peacably together, and even play together.
As Aurora matures, I am getting better at reading her body language, and have managed to stop several altercations before they even started. I have a bunch of friends with tons of bully experience readily available to discuss options for behavior management for Aurora. But, the leg grab was not something I had heard before, and I am grateful it was mentioned here.
Thanks again
Comment by Katrina — May 29, 2010 @ 8:38 am
I am very appreciative of learning about the tail grab/hind leg grab as well. My neighbor’s dogs got out and were loose while my husband had our two dogs out for a walk. Although he saw the dogs from a distance and calmly turned around to come home to avoid any ugliness, one of the dogs charged and grabbed my rat terrier. He locked on, and a passerby in a vehicle had to assist with a crowbar to get him loose. As soon as he let loose of the rat terrier, he went as fast as lightning for our other dog, an elderly dog. She sustained serious injuries and did not make it.
We have a lot of loose dogs in our neighborhood, and after the dog attack my rattie actually killed a loose chihuahua while we were out on a walk that charged him (he was leashed, and we managed to make a wide curve around the chihuahua with my rattie remaining calm and focused on me, but it came after us from behind once we had passed). He grabbed it and shook, and it happened so fast. The chihuahua’s owner was not out with the dog, and the dog was just roaming on its own. I sure wish I had known about this move then. Maybe that chihuahua could have been saved. Maybe our elderly dog could have been saved, too.
I now walk my rattie with a muzzle. I never want to go through that again. It was horrible, although, according to Animal Control, we were not at fault since our dog was leashed and under control and the other dog was loose and completely unsupervised.
Comment by Sara Jo — May 29, 2010 @ 1:27 pm
If available, would cold water also work if poured onto the two fighting dogs.
Comment by Khorla — May 30, 2010 @ 10:38 am
I always used the hose to break up cat fights.
I used it to scare away a dog who was coming after my cat. Of course, if it is winter, the hose gets frozen. Water works great in all other seasons for me.
Comment by Evelyn — May 30, 2010 @ 12:38 pm
Great article Kim. Very informative. The only thing I would add to the “Watch Me!” command for when a potentially aggressive dog is passing by would be the “Leave It!” command.
Comment by Sandy Mesmer — May 30, 2010 @ 3:04 pm
this is a incident with my horse and me(with a dog attacking my horse). I took her lead line and twirled it as a barrier, as I turned to keep the dog in front of us. this lasted for some time, and was for me, testing my limits of endurance. my horse kept in step with me, turning, turning until someone driving by stopped to help. we finally got the dog in control, and we managed to leave. I was a sweaty mess. the horse was nervous but fine. dogs on the loose are not acceptable.
Comment by linda lehmann — June 11, 2010 @ 6:52 pm
I have a very old female Chihuahua who is now toothless, when young she was aggresive, 6 months ago we got a pair of female rat terriers, my thought was that since the chihuahua was toothless they would get used to each other before they had a chance to get hurt, man was I wrong, yesterday I was going to give the three of them a bath and what I’m thinking is envy took over, I had just finished drying off the chihuahua and left her in the backyard while I prepped for another dog in the garage, this was going to take maybe three minutes max, all hell broke loose, the ratties tag teamed my toothless chihuahua and drew blood, lots of blood in about 15 seconds, when I got there one was biting her snout and the other had her from the back, I pulled one off to concentrate on the other and no sooner than that they were both on top of her again, I tried speaking firmly, didn’t work, screaming wildly, didnt’ work, throwing water from their dish, didn’t work, finally I had to start hitting them hard to release, they finally did so I picked up the chihuahua to bring her back in front and the ratties started jumping at her like she was a piñata. The Chihuahua is going to be put down at 4:30 today, she’s been my girl for 14 years…it’s gonna be a really bad day
Comment by Samuel — July 28, 2010 @ 9:24 am