# When two dogs fight.



## hunterisgreat (Jan 30, 2011)

So, I've been doing my research incase (when) I have to address this at the house. An interesting article claimed that the loud, snarly, scary *sounding* fights are best left alone as a panicing handler will often cause more harm than good. The claim being that two dogs banging teeth and making crazy noise without locking up are more posturing and testing each other than trying to actually hurt one another, and the likely result will be no injury or a minor cut or two about the face/neck... further claims that when the dogs are silent or nearly so or when one dog is screaming and the other not relenting the assault and walking away the victor, is when it is probably a fight to the death.

Discuss? It makes sense, and I've seen plenty of dogs put on an awful show where you were thinking afterwards "how did no one get bit in that tornado of gnashing teeth?". Likewise, anytime I've seen video or inperson of two pits or a pit and another dog fighting, its always eerily quiet and calm, but with copious amounts of blood and great difficulty separating the dogs.


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## kiya (May 3, 2010)

I had an incident a few weeks ago, my 9yr old male & my 20 month old female starting to squabble because of a bone. I was right there and I got inbetween them and started stomping my feet hard like a crazy person and shouted "KNOCK IT OFF" as I picked up the bone and kept it, they both looked at me like ha, what the. If it were 2 dogs I didn't know I wouldn't have done that but I know they make a lot of noise so I doubt there would have been any bloodshed.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

That makes perfect sense. I learned a valuable lesson last time our girls got into a fight. I followed advice to grab their back legs instead of walking right into the middle of it and Sierra went for stitches. If I had walked right into the middle and blocked them then it would have ended.


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## King&Skylar (Jun 3, 2010)

I remember when I was little, we had 2 female dogs- a hound/shepherd mix and our toller. They'd fight and it'd be like a big ball of dogs on the floor, wrestling- neither ever had a scratch on them. They would stop on their own very fast.

When my rotti and toller fought, it was very quiet until my toller started screaming, the rotti never let go. 

So yeah, I agree with those claims from my experience (which is not a lot)


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

Noisy, snarly squabbles don't scare me too much--it's when the fight is silent that it's very serious. Dogs don't make much noise when their mouth is full of other dog.


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## Germanshepherdlova (Apr 16, 2011)

The few times that my dogs have squabbled it was just a bunch of noise, no blood and no injuries so I'd agree that all the noise is just a big show, and a real fight-which they have never been in would not be so noisy.


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## Smithie86 (Jan 9, 2001)

Depends on the dogs. There is no hard and fast rule.


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## suzzyq01 (Feb 15, 2011)

Fights are typically broken down in to categories....I've seen them all, separated them all and gotten bit doing it the wrong way. 

Dominant fighting starts with the size up circle walk (completely silent) an eye lock "I'm better than you" (still silent) then fight for the right to be the pack leader/dominant dog (bursts of growling/snarling/biting). These types of fights are the most common at dog parks. These can be very bad if the dog(s) is a stubborn, headstrong dog. Why a pitty was already pointed out, amongst other unmentioned breeds. 

Resource guard fighting is different, the dog will show teeth and maybe growl/bark to prevent the instigator from approaching. All bets are off if they do not heed the warnings given and the dog feels the need to defend it's place/items. These fights normally start out loud and end louder. Less deadly but can still cause serious damage as it is more of defense than domination.

Fear fighting can be right up there with dominant fighting. The dog fears for it's life. It is going to fight with everything it has to keep itself alive. Tall tell signs are body language, these often start and end just like resource guard fighting. Warning growls/barks and showing of teeth.

All dogs are different BUT they all still share DNA with wolves. They still have a pack mentality and live fight or flight. Someone has to be the alpha and someone has to be the omega. Just good to remember that although domesticated they still have basic instincts of their wild cousins.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

Smithie86 said:


> Depends on the dogs. There is no hard and fast rule.


I agree. We have a Basset who will not back down. She's making all kinds of noise but if you do not separate her from whomever she is fighting with there _will_ be bloodshed. 
Also we have Dachshunds and they won't back down either. Luckily they rarely fight amongst themselves but a few yrs. ago one of ours got in a fight w/a foster, we got them apart 3x and they kept going back at it, finally got my foot (with a boot on it and jeans on top of that) in between, and got them far enough apart they couldn't re-attach. I think, had nobody been around to separate them, one would have wound up dead.
I just don't believe there's a hard and fast rule, noise, or no noise, and I think all fights should be broken up, although never sticking your hand in it. I'd grab a chair or something else and shove between them to separate them. I like my fingers and hands just like they are


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## e.rigby (May 28, 2011)

This is a relatively good article, hope it's helpful: Interdog Aggressionhttp://client.xactlydesign.com/CVMA...haviour/2010-CE_S1-3-4_InterdogAggression.pdf


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## Jo Ellen (Aug 30, 2011)

Two fights I have experience with. First one was very noisy and resulted in many puncture wounds. I couldn't break up the dogs by myself so I just covered my dog with myself as much as I could, to protect her. I was bitten also. It was a terrible fight. I don't know what would have happened if someone hadn't stepped in to help.

Second one started off noisy but ended very quietly. My dog, much larger than the other, pinned this offending dog to the ground by its neck. The little dog wasn't moving, my dog wasn't moving, no sound at all, very silent. One of the most fascinating moments I can recall with my dog, though it terrified me. Little dog ran home crying, unharmed. My dog could have killed that dog in an instant, but she didn't ... she was just making a very clear point.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

That reminds me of when we had a Chessie x Lab foster, 100lb. beast of a dog we rescued from a high-kill shelter. 
He was an awesome dog - just loved him to pieces. 
Well I was giving them treats one day and my Dachshund wasn't too far from "Grizzly", and my Doxie went for a treat Grizz wanted (stupid of me to give them so close, I know) Grizz pinned Copper down by his neck- like in your case, no noise involved. Just a quick pin - all that went through my head was "Copper's a dead dog!" and then Grizz let him up and all was fine. 
Didn't harm a hair on his pretty little idiotic head! :shocked:


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## Lixx (Dec 3, 2007)

As mentioned it all depends on the dogs involved. I've broken up several fights, some just with a vocal correction, some with prying off one dog or choking a dog out and everything in between. There are so many factors that can dictate how to respond to a fight - knowing the dogs and their reaction to you, the other dog(s), their fight style etc all play a factor. Will one of the dogs redirect on to you once you get involved? Will one dog 'turn off' once the other is removed? Do they multi-bite or grab and hold? Etc, etc. In multi dog houses I recommend keeping leashes in all rooms and having access to tie downs. It's difficult if you are by yourself and need to split up 2 serious dogs. Leash one, tie it to the wall, then leash the other and get control. You have no chance getting 2 serious dogs off of one another if one isn't restrained in some way. Pulling tails and getting in between 2 serious dogs only puts yourself at risk.


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## tracyaesaert (Aug 23, 2011)

We have had 3 big fights here (now we cant have anymore, cause the dogs are separated in 2 different homes).

First fight started with a cycling tour passing around our house... Both dogs were intensly following every cyclist by the fence and I was in the yard at that time. Suddenly the GSD found it annoying that Yuki (our Lab-Jack russel mix) was following her around. At that moment Yuki came to me and that made Rox (the GSD) very, very mad. I broke up the fight at that time with throwing water over them, but still separated them for a couple of hours and everything was fine.

The second and the third fight started at the same way. Yuki and Rox were playing very well together with me and with eachother. I watched carefully that I gave the GSD more attention (eventhough she is younger, she was clearly the Alpha-girl). But at one moment Yuki came a little too close and Rox made clear that she did not want that and stood over her, telling Yuki that she was more than her. And all of a sudden in a matter of milliseconds they were deadlocked together and the little one was screaming like mad. Luckily my hubbie was around and got them separated by taking the GSD by the skin in the neck (he must have reasonable force, cause the dog is now about 34 kgs in weight). When the vet arrived he was really clear about the fight, it was till death that the GSD will fight. And he told us to keep both dogs separated for ever. 

So the 3 fights, were always broken up differently. So for me, that means that those fights were different

So I really now understand that dogs no matter how good they are, they stay animals (and especially the wolves mentality)....


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## kiya (May 3, 2010)

One thing I have learned with Lakota, is do not hold her back by her collar. She reacts by amping up and turning into a gremlin. I think that was why I opted for getting inbetween them. Another time I was sitting on the couch, Apache came to me to be petted and Lakota started wedging her way inbetween us. I grabbed her by the collar and that was what I believed triggered her to go into gremlin mode. 
Still dealing with your own dogs is much different than a strange dog.


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## cliffson1 (Sep 2, 2006)

What Smith86 said!!!!


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## LukasGSD (May 18, 2011)

Depends on the dogs. Addie and Panda can not be together, they don't even test one another any more. The girls go for the kill. They once got into a fight when I was home alone that I could not break up until Haley came home. (they are her dogs). Blood was all over the house walls - and it was all Panda's and she's the one to start the fights! You'd think she would learn.

Lukas makes a lot of noise when he's upset and pulls off the dominant posture. It's easiest to get ahold of the other dog. If I interupt him it can escalate. Normally it is n othing other than him getting tired of roughhousing though..


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## trudy (Aug 25, 2008)

you also have to know your dogs, sometimes other people think mine are fighting yet I know it is play time, but the amount of noise, thrashing of teeth, body's rearing up and some throwing of the other dog, followed by chase, first one in the lead, then changing... but to others looks and sounds pretty scary


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## Smithie86 (Jan 9, 2001)

We do not let the males run with males and no females with females (over a certain age).

Our males are very strong in dominance. It is funny (in a way), walking into the kennel building with one of the males and you hear the low grumbling..... I am waiting for the background music for West Side Story...."Here Comes The Jets"


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