What not to do if your dog gets into a fight?

answer...get your hands in between them!
My friend has just called me to say she`s joined the Finger Club. (I lost the top of mine separating Daisy from the throat of a friend`s bitch).
I`ve been suggesting (OK, nagging) her to get her Westie neutered for ages because he attacks other males.
So tonight she nearly lost a finger separating him from a Yorkie on a flexi-lead (Don`t get me started on Flexileads )
Guess who`s getting de-plummed next week?

Have to say separating dogs from fighting is a ''dangerous'' thing......

Next week de-plummed...... Hope it goes well and works Best wishes to your friend, hope she was is ok xxxxxx

Hi,

I agree. Very silly to get inbetween two fighting dogs but I did it with mine hen I had Murphy. It was me that came off worse and all I was bothered about at the time wa that neither dog was hurt.

Is your friend aware that it can take up to 12 weeks for the hormone levels to be low enough to start seeing a difference? I hope it works out for her and the dog.

Laura xx

I hate seperating fighting dogs can be so dangerous

Scary!

I'm sure you've both looked into it indepth but I wondered why is it thought that things will improve upon castration? If it's a learned beahaviour it might not make any difference at all.

Thats why I am pro early castration at 6 months as I think better to curb it before behaviour develops. As once started becomes habit.

Ian had to have two stitches when Woody was here to seperate Dice and Spence. We now have a riding crop only seems to happen when I have a bitch ciming into season. As there show dogs castration isnt an option

If a learned behaviour then definitely can become a bad habit that depending on the dog, can be incredibly difficult to stop.

There are occasions where castration will work assuming it's not learned behaviour.

I agree that f done early before such behaviour develops then there is less chance of it happening in the future - although at the end of the day I think with ALL dogs (castrated or not) there will always be at least one dog somewhere they don't get along with.

Laura xx

I think I would probably be in the thick of it too - difficult to not get involved, especially if yours is being hurt

Little dogs fighting are a total pain but with hard work and commitment it can be unlearned and replaced with different behaviour. I spent months separating Frankie (terrier) and Diesel (staffy) and have the battle scars to prove it. These days they both back off even before being told to, they've learnt fighting is not an option any more. The simple fact that they are so low to the ground and fast and tenacious is why I think it's harder than seperating big dogs. The effort will still need to be put in whether she castrates or not. Frankie came with learned aggression, it was his defence mechanism, get in first and worry about the consequences later. Well after 18 months of hard work he no longer feels the need to get in first or retaliate nastily when feeling aggrieved. These days he's happy to warn the perceived aggressor off and leave it at that.