witnessed horrible dog on dog attack

After a fun morning at the park with loads of dogs on Saturday I decided to take Caley back again yesterday morning for another play.

When I arrived I had notice an elderly gentleman, must be in his 70s, walking what looked like a bulldog on a leash and the dog was muzzled, I remember thinking I will keep Caley away. I never thought anything more and proceeded to where the other dogs were that Caley played with, whilst taking her off her lead a rottweiler came over and appeared friendly, he was trying to say hello to Caley and I remember laughing and saying to the rottweiler "give me a chance to get her lead off", the dog was absolutely fine. The rottweiler was with a bunch of dog walkers who were walking dogs a little way from us.

Anyway, this rottweiler then spotted the elderly man and the bulldog and bounded over there and I guess you know what is coming next, the bulldog went mad and lunged for the rottweiler, the man shouted to get the dog away but at this time the rottweiler then went mad and started attacking the bull dog, all I could think at that time was grab Caley as she was off the lead, luckily she was still right beside me and to be honest I don't think she realised. The noises coming from the dogs was horrendous, it took one of the dog walkers to come running and kick the rottweiler to get it to let go fo the bulldog, at this point the poor man got pulled over and hit his head on the concrete. What amazed me most was how calm the rottweiler was after they separated them, it just layed down, the poor bulldog had puncture wounds and needed the vet and the poor man had the ambulance called for him. I had never been so scared to witness it, its now made me so unsure of letting Caley off her lead, yet she is doing so well with her recall.

I also thought to myself what is the best way to separate two fighting dogs, I honestly have not thought about it much, but going to research that now...perhaps you guys can advise what you think is the best way?

It was certainly a day I will not forget in a hurry, but pleased to say that Caley did not notice a thing, she was still too busy wanting to play with the other dogs - bless her.

I have found that when my older dog was on her lead and another dog approached her she became slightly more aggressive as though she couldnt protect herself but when meeting the same dog off the lead she was fine. It seems like a territory thing where the leaded dog becomes more territorial. I may well be incorrect but this is my thought.

PS hope the old man and the dog are ok

One way of seperating two dogs is to lift the back legs of one of them, as if to give it a wheelbarrow if you know what I mean. Another would be to throw a jacket over the face of the dogs, and another to throw water over them.

It's a very difficult situation to be in when you witness it, the info sheet below may also help:

https://staffy-bull-terrier.niceboard.com/t20526-how-to-break-up-a-dog-fight

I also carry one of these in my bag:

http://www.petsathome.com/shop/pet-corrector-spray-50ml-by-the-company-of-animals-14415?freeText=pet+corrector&msg=MSG_SEARCH_ONE_MATCHING_PRODUCT

Sorry you had to witness that, must have been horrible hope the dog and the man are OK. It must have been scary, and of course keep a close eye on Caley when she's off the lead, but don't let it ruin her fun days out. Most dogs aren't going to kick off. If the Bulldog was muzzled, it probably needed to be, so two dogs like that are bound to cause a reaction, whereas with calmer dogs, the Rottweiler had nothing to cause it to react.

Interestingly enough, I was going to make a topic asking how to break up a dog fight if the need ever arises. I haven't seen dogs seriously fighting, but if ever it happened, I think it's important to know the best way of stopping it safely. I'm glad Caley wasn't traumatised by it or anything though

God how awful

This - http://leerburg.com/dogfight.htm?set=1 is the generally accepted best way of breaking up a dog fight but thankfully I've never had to intervene in a full on fight so I wouldn't personally know.

I've only ever had to break up handbags at dawn type fights where usually a booming 'OI' (or similar) or something like the pet corrector that Kathy has posted will suffice.

I've been involved in a few of these discussions before and the general consensus is that intervening in a full on fight is a very high risk thing to do so it's much better to take preventative measures.

What you witnessed is a prime example of why people should never allow their dogs to run up to other, unknown dogs; no matter how friendly you think your dog is. If you can't recall your dog from another dog then don't let it off lead!

All I do know for sure is that many people's immediate reaction in a situation like that is to 1) kick/hit the attacking dog or 2) try and pull the dogs apart if one/both dogs are holding. Both of which should NEVER be done; kick or hit an attacking dog and you enrage him/her further and risk getting yourself injured; pull a holding dog off, you will rip the skin of the other dog. I've seen pictures of some horrific injuries that would've been straight forward puncture wounds if someone hadn't have pulled the biting dog off.

Also general consensus seems to be that yelling, spraying water, pet corrector, hair spray, smelling salts etc. etc. will not work with dogs that are actually fighting.

Break sticks are something worth considering with bull breeds/terriers that will bite and hold. I've heard someone say that every responsible bite and hold type dog owner should own and know how to use a break stick although I know some people feel differently. I however would use one in a life and death situation I think rather than watch one dog kill another.

Choking an attacking dog off is another option I've heard if you're able to get a lead/rope around the dog's neck and have the strength to strangle it until it passes out.

Not a nice thing to witness or even talk about. Much better to take all reasonable measures to prevent fights/attacks in the first place!

Terrible thing to see, especially as one dog was muzzled & therefore unable to fight back!

I won't use a breakstick. One reason is because they can & do cause serious injury to a dog's jaw, and the other is picture the scene...two dogs fighting, neither (understandably) standing still. The breakstick must be inserted in the gap behind the canine teeth & in front of the Molars. Unless you have two other people to grab & hold the dogs fighting, there's every chance you will get seriously bitten before you even get the stick in place!

If the holding dog has a collar then the best way is to grab & twist the collar until the dog has to open its mouth to breathe, or to push the holding dog's face into the other dog so that you squash its nose against the other dog's fur - again, he'll have to let go at some point to breathe.

I am sorry you had to see that, to many dog walkers are walking too many dogs at once and don't have any control over them. That dog walker was at fault but that doesn't help the man with his dog. I would contact Dog Warden and tell them what you saw, they may already have complaints about that dog walker and the dog. I hope that man sues the dog walker.

If anyone used a pet corrector on any of my dogs they will regret it, they are cruel, there are other ways.

You can't use a stick for all dog fights but if a dog has hold of another and won't let go it is a good way of getting the dog to release the other one, of course if used wrong it can damage the dog but so can using a collar, head collar, etc if not used properly.

Dolly once attacked Bonnie, Bonnie manged to get her mouth round Dolly's and kept it shut but wouldn're release it, I had to use a stick to get Bonnie to release Dolly, I then had to grab Dolly before she attacked Bonnie again. I don't know why Dolly attacked Bonnie but she hasn't had the chance to do it again.

Cyril baby wrote:You can't use a stick for all dog fights but if a dog has hold of another and won't let go it is a good way of getting the dog to release the other one, of course if used wrong it can damage the dog but so can using a collar, head collar, etc if not used properly.

But you see this is what I mean when I say I won't use a breakstick...if the two dogs are still, or if you have two other strong people who can hold them still, then you can use one, but...

Caryll wrote:two dogs fighting, neither (understandably) standing still. The breakstick must be inserted in the gap behind the canine teeth & in front of the Molars. Unless you have two other people to grab & hold the dogs fighting, there's every chance you will get seriously bitten before you even get the stick in place!

I live on my own, there isn't anyone to help if a fight breaks out, I am also 70 years young, a geriatric teenage hooligan and have mobility problems I started using a stick because I have been bitten so much my hands are badly scared, these were not my dogs but other people's attacking my dogs. One dog was attacked so many times he started to have panic attacks which lead to seizures later in the day.

We all go by our experiences, I can only say what has worked for me, hopefully others wil say what has worked for them then the person having the problem can work out what they think will work for them. I have seen people take a little from one person, a little from another and had success but without reading those experiences they wouldn't have known what to try.

Absolutely, we all have different experiences! If it works for you, and you know how to use one properly, fine. I just see the scenario where you're trying to get a stck into the side of a dog's mouth when it (and another dog) are dancing round & round in circles trying to rip each other apart!

Dog fights are awful to witness much less try and break up. What ever method one chooses are is able to use, please remember, your personal safety must come first.

Sorry the hear you witness such a horrid attack, i hope the bulldogs ok plus his old owner.

As for how to break up a fight each is different noone can say this is the best way or that way is the best.
Each of us that have broke up a fight has a different story to tell, but the only similarity will be 2 dogs would of got separated.
Thinking about a fight makes you panic, but when ones kicking off infront of you, you just go into automatic pilot ... well i do.
I've stopped my fair share of fights, and one was a multiple fight between staffords and another breed at a mates kennels.
How did i stop them fcuk knows, but i do know after the adrenaline rush i was a shaking wreck.