Separating 2 large fighting dogs?

Question

I had a friend call me tonight and ask for my advice on separating a fight...well fortunately we have never had an issue with our dogs fighting..they are all very well trained and know what is accepted..so I do not have much experience in this area....
My main concern was my friend getting hurt trying to stop the fight... He was home alone when it broke out and would pull one off and the other would jump back into the fight. I guess after about 20 minutes of fighting a friend showed up..rushed in and startled the dogs enough to get them apart....
The only advice I could give is to throw an ice cold bucket of water on the dogs... I told him it is foolish of him to think he can separate two 100lb plus dogs without suffering an injury himself

what techniques have you used?

I think what I said could probably work..but I am sure there are much better techniques for someone home alone

Erica


oddly enough..he has a neutered male and a spayed female....not sure why all hell broke loose

another odd thing..the dogs have been together for 3 years..and never have they been in a fight..this was the first time...

Answer 1

You (or the owner, that is) has to take the stance of pack leader, and assume alpha role in the pack, letting the other two dogs know that it is unacceptable to fight and "tease" each other.
The startle tactic worked, this time, but these dogs have to be controlled psychologically.... the have to be reconditioned that the pack leader will NOT tolerate this kind of behavior. They are fighting for the alpha position, and this has to change and change now.
Best to consult a professional in this area, and fast. The longer it is allowed to go on, the worse it will get

Answer 2

Large Fighting Dogs

Answer 3

Hitting the dogs, shocking them, throwing stuff on them, squirting them with the hose, and other such methods can actually make the fight WORSE. They don't usually associate it with the owner but instead blame it on the other dog and become angrier. Yelling can also make it worse. In a real pack, the members not in the fight gather around and make lots of noise to encourage the fight. Since we are seen as pack members, our yelling can be taken the same way.

Personally, I do not recommend getting in a dog fight. They can turn on a person and injur or even kill them. IF someone feels they must get into it, this is the best method I know of. First, open the door to a kennel or the house. Now go behind the smaller of the dogs. Lift it up by the rear legs (they have a hard time reaching you from this position and you can throw them off balance if they try) and start walking toward the open door (the fight is not going to stop and be ready to drop those legs if the dog whips around to bite). Drag the dog into the open door and pull it closed once the head is inside. Don't worry about hurting the dogs, just get that door closed. They have to let go to rebite and when they do it will be possible for the door to shut. You'll want it already touching their heads, even pressing a bit, for this reason. There are other methods but this is the safest one I know and it is effective. If there are two people, do the same but make one small change. At the door, have person 2 step in and grab the rear legs of the other dog and pull. Tell him/her to be ready to drop those legs as soon as the dogs are seperated.

Tell your friend to keep a close eye on these two dogs for the next few weeks, especially if they're females which are known to hold a grudge (females often fight to the death whereas males often stop when dominance and/or right to mate has been established). Let them around each other only on leash and don't let them get away with anything. They need to realize that he is the boss, not them. The alpha (which SHOULD be the human pack members) must make it clear that fighting is forbidden. The sooner they learn that, the more peaceful things will be. Basic obedience lessons are a good way to re-establish his ranking with his dogs. Establishing dominance does work. My four dogs, three females and a male which are all intact (I show them) except one female who is a mix, are all dominant but don't dare fight for fear of the REAL alpha, which is me, becoming angry. You don't need to hurt them to let them know you're in charge. Controlling other things, such as food, bedding, and doorways, can work just as well. A personal trainer can explain all this and show your friend how to implement it. For now, tell him to look up NILF (nothing in life is free). That will be quite useful.

***UPDATE: It happens even with opposite sexes although it's not as common as same sex fights. There's probably a question of dominance. It could also be that one dog hurt the other dog, intentionally or not, and the other dog took extreme offense. If one dog is known to guard things (food, toys, locations), that can also cause a major issue. Hopefully he'll figure this out and this won't happen again. If he is having trouble sorting it out, I recommend an in-home trainer. They can see the exact situation and can tell if he is unintentionally encouraging fighting (alot of people do this).

Answer 4

Unfortunately, I don't know of any safe way for ONE person to separate two large dogs; even with two people, it's a risky thing jumping into a dog fight. If both dogs are intent on continuing the fight, it's near impossible to separate them without restraining them both and it's extremely dangerous, because restraining one of them involves putting yourself, especially your hands and arms, right where the other is likely to be aiming his bites.

I just read Erica Lynn's post about using a door and that is brilliant. I've lifted dogs' hind legs off the floor while breaking up fights before and it works really well; I've never had one turn on me and it sure makes it easy to move even the biggest dog. I'll definitely try that if I ever have to again -- I hope not! I stopped fostering.

I also second her advice about keeping an eye on the dogs from now on. I've never had any luck getting dogs to forgive and forget. They're the best grudge-holders I know. Your friend would be wise to keep those dogs separated when he is not present and in complete control.

Answer 5

I have a Boxer and her and my 20 LBS Dachshund get into "Dominance" fights. They are all inside dogs so the "water" method doesn't work for me obviously. My Boxer never hurts the Dachshund, but they do make a mess of barking, growling and scuffling. The only thing I worry about is my Boxers weight on my Dachshund, so if a fight does break out, I use a rolled up newspaper and pop my Boxer on the top of the head or on her butt whichever is closer to me, and yell "Knock it off!!!", and the pop is enough to startle her from the argument and she immediately stops the fight. She KNOWS I'm the Alpha and the dominance is MINE. I don't care if people tell me "don't hit your dog, etc" The only time I hit them with a newpaper is to stop a fight, which isn't a common occurance anyways, but it's enough to let them know I'M top dog, and I decide who stops the fights, I never use my hands, ESPECIALLY when it comes to where teeth and claws are flying. I do what I have to do to stop the fight, and if it takes a pop on the head or butt, so be it, it's not abuse, you can't BABY a fighting dog, you have to what you can to put a stop to it before one or the other or both get hurt. I never get in the middle of my dogs, but I will stop it from the outside. Allowing your dogs to "fight it out for dominance" can only result in the injury of the fighting dogs. You are the dominant one, the pecking order is yours, not theirs Hope that helped.

Answer 6

I have used a bucket of water or a hose if available, but it doesn't always work.

I have had to break up fights while walking my dog- for some reason, he makes other dogs aggressive towards him when walking on a leash, but is perfectly fine (and very submissive) when playing with dogs, whether he knows them or not.

I yank him back behind me and kick the other dog. It may sound cruel, but a strict physical discipline is sometimes needed because the other dog won't give up. It is a threat to your safety as well, and kicking the attacking dog is the better option over you getting hurt, or your dog possibly getting killed.

A note: The kicking didn't make these other dogs fear me- they respected me and knew that fighting was not acceptable, but were still very friendly towards me.

Answer 7

I've found that the best way to break up a dog fight when I'm alone is to grab the hind legs of one dog and drag the dogs to a doorway (front door, laundry room, bathroom, bedroom, etc), get the dogs' head in the doorway, and shut the door on their heads. Soon enough they'll let go, and they're in different rooms, so you can assess damage on each dog without them trying to go at it again. Throwing or spraying with water just results in wet fighting dogs.

Answer 8

I have been there and never want to go back again. If two dogs are at each others throats the only thing you can do is keep them separated at all times. I tried everything with Huge dogs and it just doesn't work. You can only re home one of them.

Answer 9

I believe that first of all, two large dogs need to be trained to not be agressive because of the danger they pose to the owner and anyone else who comes around. Your friend needs to teach his dogs BEFORE a fight breaks out that it is NOT acceptable. I had a lab mix and recently acquired a chihuahua and she likes to growl at my lab because my lab is so energetic. I let her know from the jump that is not acceptable by grabbing her scruff, and pinning her on the floor firmly but not in a choking way and now when my mix messes with her she looks at me to let me know she is uncomfortable, but she won't get the least bit agressive unless I show her it is okay to tell my mix to back off, which I have done before in controlled instances. The best advice I can give is IF the dogs are very loyal to him and will NOT bite him and DO NOT think they are in control and they know and he KNOWS he is the ALPHA male, when there is a fight about to break out, he grabs the aggressors scruff and takes him down. If this animal is submissive to him, however big, then the dog will definitely submit by ears being back, rolling over, or just looking up at him with the tail between the legs while letting his owner hold him down. If not the best suggestion is to keep the dogs separated if possible and the ultimate question is if your friend values his life then he will reconsider the dogs in question and if the one time it takes to separate the fighters may be one time too many.

Answer 10

At home, using a water hose can sometimes stop it. On a walk, I would not be afraid to grab a stick or anything else available that I needed to get them apart. It's why many people walk with pepper spray and it's not a bad idea.

Fortunately, my dogs don't fight either so I haven't faced it but pepper spray saved my mother-in-laws whippet who was on a leash from being shredded by a loose, aggressive German shepherd.