How do you break up a dog fight?

I was at the dog park today with my beagle (almost all of the dogs there were off-leash). I was throwing the ball for her and she was bringing it back to me when another dog almost twice her size attacked her! Don’t know why. Her owner and I both tried to break it up by grabbing the attacking dog’s collar, but neither of us could grab it (they were moving too fast). Thank god a nice man who seemed to know what he was doing was able to step in and stop the fight. My beagle was yelping and I couldn’t tell how badly she was being hurt during the fight. I was so shaken up, I didn’t even think to ask for his advice at the time. She didn’t have any bites on her. So what the hell are you supposed to do when a bigger dog attacks your dog? I would appreciate input! Serious answers only please. This is my dog that I love – don’t waste my time with BS if you don’t know what you’re talking about here or if you’re just online to F with people.

It can be really hard. It depends on the breed and the personality of the dogs involved. I’ve seen fights that one really couldn’t break up without some extraordinary intervention: one of my friends hit one of his own dogs as hard as he could on top of the head with a two by four, and that broke up the fight, and didn’t injure the dog (amazingly). In Alaska, where a lot of people run dog teams, one nightmare scenario is a big team fight that you can’t stop. Sometimes a gun being discharged will do it( I realize that you probably don’t have a gun, so the loudest noise you have, probably just shouting NO in an assertive tone will have to do). Sometimes you can wade in and start yanking dogs apart by their harnesses (one advantage with sled dogs, they’re in harness).

Pepper spray can work, too. There’s no easy answer: it depends on how confident you are yourself; the dynamics of the situation; the tools at hand. Actually, the bucket of water idea works well, although one never seems to have a bucket of water ready when one needs it.

One of my friends had her dog attacked by two Pits a month ago. They chewed him up pretty bad. If it had been me (her dog was on a leash, the Pits were running loose), I probably would have shot them. I would NOT wade into a fight of that sort, not with my bare hands. Good luck, it’s a very stressful and frustating situation, which, if it’s any consolation, rarely results in a dead dog. But those vet bills can mount up quickly.

Dog Training Collars & Harnesses : Using an Easy Walk Dog Harness

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