Immediately following a dog fight

[hunterisgreat]

What do you do? Both with the dogs and how you interact with them... Scolding? Comforting? Indifference? Do you put the offenders back together? Do you seperate them?

[gsdraven]

Keep everyone apart to give everyone (including me) a chance to settle down. How long depends on how bad the fight was. It takes 3+ days for brain chemistry to return to normal after a real fight and the potential for it to be "on" again at the drop of a hat is too great to just return to normal.

Though my jerk reaction would be to scold the instigator, by the time I get to it, it's too late. I would act indifferent and as normal as possible. I would also be hyper aware when they are allowed back together and step up on the rules.

[Caitydid255]

Both dogs are required to follow commands for 48 hours in which they have to stay by my side; Sit, heel, down, stay, etc. The only break they get is when I let them outside, one at a time. All toys are also picked up, so there are no possible squabbles over them. The last fight was 100% Freyja's fault. Angus was sleeping and she walked up to him, stepped over him and bit him in the ear quite hard while growling. This resulted in both of them being scolded (all fights take two to tango) and Freyja being tethered to my waist for the rest of the day.

Breaking up the fights, I step in between the two dogs (I might get bit, Oh well, better than injuries to the dogs) put my back to Angus and pick Freyja up, and walk away with her. Let me tell you, picking up a squirming, growling, 75lb animal when you have a torn rotator cuff is not easy. But within seconds she realizes that she's not going to win and starts to whimper and lick me. If either dog will not release I jam my fingers into their mouth and pry it open. We've only had 4 fights and luckily my husband was there for two of them to aid me. As he puts it "Mommy gets scary when she's mad."

[Lilie]

I've only had one fight between my GSD and my Golden and the trigger was human error. Hubby and I each grabbed a dog by his back legs and pulled them apart. They were both in trouble because (IMO) 1) fighting isn't allowed 2) I screamed "Quit!" as soon as the started (gave an ugent command and it wasn't followed) 3) the focus off the other dog wasn't broken until we had them totally seperated.

I removed the trigger and seperated the dogs for 24 hours. I stepped up simple commands that I know will be obeyed with out fail (sit, down etc.) and utilized them while using NILF.

While Tug couldn't care less what happened 5 seconds after the fight, I had to wear Hondo pants for a couple of days. He hates making me cross. Therefore I made a big deal out of each reward provided to him.

[kiya]

The only problem I have is between Lakota (70lbs) & Apache (115lbs). He could pummle her, thank God he has no desire to fight. Grabbing her collar only sets her off into gremlin mode, so I try to defuse before it happens. I can tell when she's looking for trouble.
The last one was the worst, it happened by my husband, he grabbed her collar and she freaked out trying to get to Apache, she wouldn't let up. By this time I had gotten to the area and shouted NO (and what ever else came to mind) with a voice that could have woke the dead. I dont know what set her off. He continued to hold her till she settled down. Apache just looked at us like what the ----. Normally I would just go about my business and let every one settle down, but you could really feel the tension and she still looked unsettled (best word I could come up with). It was almost time to go to bed so I "come on lets go potty" and acted like everything was fine. They have a love/hate relationship. I can't keep them separated my house is too small. I don't allow them to chew bones together, I have to watch while they eat because Apache is a resource guarder (thats where she learned it from) not with people just other critters.
Apache can be very boisterous. He acts like a grizzly bear when it's time to go out. He messes with the girls, sounds really wild. Every once in a while he will piss Kiya off by blocking the doorway or tripping her up. She goes for him and I don't say a word because he deserves the "correction" she's giving him. But I guess thats not a "fight".
Then I think to myself he's going to be 9 (next week) for him to still act like a puppy like that I can't get mad at him, one day he just might loose that spark.

[selzer]

Since I have all intact females, I figure any fighting is my fault. I get them apart, clean and fix any wounds, and put them on antibiotics if necessary. Calm down. Kick myself a few times. I raise my level of vigilance with everyone. I do not hold it against bitches if they do fight. I do not make them tow the line. I probably will not let those two loose together again, if they are kenneled or crated next to each other, I might move dogs around to give them some distance. Intact bitches have some instincts, that being human, I do not fully understand. They are not all the same either, some have a higher level of various instincts/drives than others. It is up to me to keep them all safe.

[Wild Wolf]

I bring them immediately back together, have them both lay down and correct any aggressive, dominant or confrontational behaviour. Separating them and keeping them apart will make things worse next time around. I used to work at a dog boarding kennel, and I have witnessed this first hand many times.

[4TheDawgies]

Originally Posted by Wild Wolf

I bring them immediately back together, have them both lay down and correct any aggressive, dominant or confrontational behaviour. Separating them and keeping them apart will make things worse next time around. I used to work at a dog boarding kennel, and I have witnessed this first hand many times.

This is exactly how things go at my house as well. things go back to normal VERY quickly this way

[CarrieJ]

It really depends on the dog and the situation. Some dogs can blow it off and continue their happy little lives. Other's are "I hate you on sight and want to kill you".....
We had a lab at work who was (I can only speculate here) corrected for growling/warning. The lady used a dog walker during his puppy training.
He has since been ejected for Dominant Aggressive behavior and Resource Guarding.
Situation, we were standing in front of the gate and the dogs were in front of us. A young female brushed past this lab. That's all; just brushed into his space. No, lip curl, no growl, just a explosion of aggression (possibly dialated eyes---but I definitely missed that) he pinned her so fast it was unbelievable. She was squealing and the rest of the dogs came in (God I HATE squeaky toys). A boxer/pit mix came in fast to nip/peck at the female while the other handler was trying to pull this lab off (pits aren't the only dogs that lock on) I blocked her path and tried to stop the bull terrier. Jeez that guy was fast, he came in and grabbed that dog and full on shook her. All four of his feet were off the floor. All things considered he did better than the lab. As soon as I grabbed his scruff he released. That lab did not. It took a handler used to large dogs (Newfies and Leonburgers) two hands and hard tugging and he locked on.
I had the Lab removed and the Bull Terrier. (and the lab's victim) Sometimes you can re-introduce a dog back into the situation. The Lab, no; I just didn't feel comfortable with a dog with no warning system. The bull terrier, no; once a terrier gets into that "shake and kill"/prey mode it takes awhile to bring them back out of it. The best thing at this point would be to change his environment. (He has since been with the victim dog and no problem. He was only reacting in a normal pack environment. Normal prey action there.)

At home, there is no value on toys. I have two females different breeds but the size difference makes things a bit different. Raw bones are high value so they get them in their crates. If I'm playing tug with Zoey (little dog) Alice has to do a down stay otherwise she comes in and tries to run the show. Nope, not her job.
I have no problems with them at home for the most part.

P.S. I still love the term "Hondo Pants"

[hunterisgreat]

Originally Posted by 4TheDawgies

This is exactly how things go at my house as well. things go back to normal VERY quickly this way

Also what I do. Within 60 seconds they are made to lay together touching. They usually lick each others wounds. Last fight was rough

Whoever puts their hands near a dogs mouth on a fight. You won't do that after you get a real full on defensive bite