Preventing Dog Fights

Dog aggression and dog fights are a serious issue. If you have personal concerns on this topic, please consult with a certified animal behaviorist. APDT and the Animal Behavior Society are good resources for behaviorists/trainers in your area.

Dog fighting is a broad topic, so this post is specifically about fights between dogs that don’t live together. This may be a dog you meet on the street or at the park when you are with your dog either on or off leash. The reality is that you don’t like every person you’ve met. Sometimes you take an instant dislike of a person for no apparent reason. Your dogs are no different. When this happens you can’t force them to like each other like you can’t force your child to be friends with your best friend’s child if they don’t like each other because it would be nice if they could play together. I’m sorry if this is stating the obvious, but we don’t always think about it.

The best way to deal with a dog fight is to prevent it. Watching your own dog's behavior and recognizing the signs of an impending confrontation will generally keep dog fights from happening in the first place. Dog fights never happen out of the blue and the dogs involved will display at least one and probably more of the following behaviors:

• Ear set. If they hold their ears with low and back, you have an unhappy dog. Unfortunately, some breeds will hold them straight up and erect when they are unhappy. You just have to learn your dog's ear language.
• Hair standing up. This is a good early sign of agitation in most breeds. It is often hard to see in dogs with longer fur (like newfs).
• Tail set. A stiff, high tail position (called flagging) is also a sign of agitation. In some breeds, a straight back tail position is more common. Again, you have to know your dog and your breed.
• Freezing. If they will stand very still,.and if muscles stiffen, someone is getting ready to go.
• Direct staring. This is dominant, aggressive and is considered quite rude behavior among dogs. It can also be an indicator of a dog with poor dog skills.
• Facing off. Dogs preparnig to fight will stand squarely at each other, not at an angle. Dogs trying to get along will approach each other on a curve and keep their bodies at an angle.
• Snarling and/or growling. Lips may be curled showing teeth is the most obvious and frequently last sign of an impending altercation. 

If any of these behaviors are observed, the best thing to do is separate the dogs. Break eye contact, step away and re-focus your dog's attention on you and walk away. It’s just that simple, but you need to recognize what’s happening and stop it before it escalates.