CRITTER CORNER
LAURIE DENGER
One of our reporters, Margo Rutledge Kissell, recently wrote a story about a woman who was walking her dachshund when a larger dog ran from a yard and attacked it.
The owner tried to stop the attack but couldn’t.
The incident left a lot of people wondering, “How do you break up a dog fight — safely?”
Montgomery County Animal Resource Center Director Mark Kumpf told Margo “getting between two dogs fighting has resulted in people dying.”
It’s very dangerous, Kumpf said, even for trained animal control officers equipped with bite sticks, pepper spray and catch poles.
A general recommendation if you encounter dogs fighting with each other is to use a water hose to break them up, Kumpf said. If one is not available, call 911.
“That’s the best recommendation we can give everyone,” Kumpf said. “If there’s a dog attack in progress, that’s a 911 call. Intervening between them can be very dangerous. There’s no good way to break up a dog fight in the middle of the street.”
Fighting dogs rarely think. They are in a moment of excitement and aggression. They aren’t checking to see if they are biting the other dog or a human hand.
Other experts recommend a couple different techniques.
Sometimes a loud noise will also stop two scrapping dogs. If you are inside, you could drop a large book on the floor.
If you have to get in the middle of the two animals, use a broom or shovel or something to separate and distract the dogs. But don’t hit them with it. Dogs already being aggressive could re-direct that energy towards you.
The best of all worlds — if you can call breaking up two snarling animals a “best” situation — is if there are several people around to break up the fight.
Then, two people can break it up by each grabbing the hindquarters or back legs of each dog and dragging the animal backwards like a wheelbarrow and away from the other dog. You can also use one hand to grab the dog’s collar while using the other to grab the hindquarters, to help keep the dog from turning around and biting at you.
Since prevention is the best defense, there are some things you can do to prevent a fight in the first place.
Obviously, avoid areas where dogs are running loose or aggressive dogs might break through a fence or gate.
If you are out walking a small dog and a large dog charges you, you can quickly pick up the small dog and climb onto a car to get away.
Finally, if you or your dog are attacked by a dog running loose, make sure police, animal control or other authorities are alerted. An owner that doesn’t control an aggressive dog has a ticking time bomb that he either can’t or won’t deal with. The next time, it could be a small child who encounters it.
About the Author