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Breaking Up A Dog Fight

In light of the Bear Bear killing by an off duty policement at a dog park, there have been many discussions about dog fights and breaking them up.  I have broken up several dog fights in my time, grabbing a collar and in one case kicking a fighting dog. Haven't been bitten yet, but that's just luck.  I came across some instructions for breaking up a dog fight that sounded safe and intelligent - and obviously not something I had thought of:

If you must step in to break up the fight, get get the other dog's guardian, and both calmly approach the dogs. Never reach for a dog's collar, even your own. Always keep your hands away from their heads. Upon approach, each person should carefully grab his dog by the upper hind legs near the hips. Lift him in the wheelbarrow position, and pull your dog backward, turning him away from the other dog. While your dog may never intentionally bite you, in the heat of a fight a misplaced snap or redirected mouth can cause injury.

I have noticed that my dog does tend to stop what he is doing when his rear legs are playfully bitten by a friend.  I tried this technique out on truly playing dogs, and it worked.  The only problem is that you need both owners, which often times just isn't available.

Big Dogs-Little Dogs: Double Standard

That's a picture of my Siberian Husky, Miki.  Probably the most intelligent and analytical of any of the dogs in the pack.  But there is something else special about Siberian Huskies.  In the dog world, they are closest in ancestry to the wolf. What does that have to do with the title of this article, you may be wondering. 

It has to do with the fact that dogs who look more like wolves, just happen to know a greater number of behaviours that help in getting along in a pack.  Little dogs don't know all of these behaviours, and it gets them into trouble.  If a Norfolk terrier and a Siberian meet off leash, the terrier is likely to get into a fight.  Why?  Because it does not know any submissive behaviour. As it gets into the face of the Husky, a very rude and aggressive behaviour for a dog, the Husky will growl or show teeth to assert its dominance.  A dog that knew the rules, would submit and that would be it.  The terrier would not, and this could lead to a fight.

These findings were supported by Dr. Deborah Goodwin, and were reported by Temple Grandin in her latest book, Animals Make Us Human. This issue is discussed in Chapter 2, entitled A Dog's Life.

Goodwin measured 15 different aggressive and submissive  behaviours in wolves, and measured whether each breed of dog knew it.  Aggressive behaviours included growling, teeth baring, standing over, and standing erect. Submissive behaviours included muzzle licks, averting eyes,  crouching, and laying on their back.  The results were instructive.  Dogs who looked like wolves knew all 15 behaviours while the Cavalier Charles Spaniard knew 2.  Add to this equation that little dogs who act aggressively are considered "cute" and encouraged in such behavior.  If that same behaviour came from a big dog, you'd be asked to leave the dogpark. So there is a double standard when the general public looks at dog behavior and tries to make sense of what happened.

The dogs and the number of behaviours they knew are as follows:

Siberian Husky - 15 of 15
Golden Retreiver -12 of 15
German Shephard -11 of 15
Labrador Retriever - 9 of 15
Munsterlander - 7 of 15
Cocker Spaniel - 6 of 15
Shetland Sheepdog - 4 of 15
French Bulldog - 4 of 15
Norfold Terrier - 3 of 15
Cavalier King Charles 2 of 15

So what does this have to do with dangerous dogs?  It gives you an idea of what constitutes provocation from a dog's point of view. 

A lot of times, the big dog gets the blame, but it was the little dog that started it. 

Look at the facts in the Brandie's case.  Brandie is on a leash, and the little dog is not.  The little dog runs up and gets in Brandie's face.  Very rude and aggressive in the dog world.  The proper mode of greeting is to avert eyes and sniff another dogs butt.  The little dog does not know the dog rules, and when Brandie stares at the dog, a clear sign to back off, the little dog doesn't.  No surprise, then, that there is a fight. Because the little dog is not following the dog rules. With right expert, perhaps it all could have been explained, but would they listen?