Note: These events are a bit old - I've been waiting to see how things fall out before posting.
So The Girls settled in togther in a satisfactory manner - Not quite closest of friends, but tollerant of each other, and somewhat social, with occasional bursts of play. Life was good!
Then the wheels come off...
Dakota went counter-surfing, and got caught (I knew she was doing this, it was just a question of catching her in the act), and so was corrected. This seems to have set of a social reaction of disturbing proportions. At least, I believe this is the proximate cause. About an hour after being corrected, Dakota jumped Suka from behind, right at my feet. OK, Rule #1 for breaking up a dog fight: DO NOT GET BETWEEN THE COMBATANTS! Fortunately, I was immediately behind the combatants, and in place to use my favorite (and maybe only safe) tool for breaking up fights: Grab one of the dogs by the hind legs, and back up - fast. Turn as you do, to force the dog to side-step to keep on her feet - this keeps her too off-balance to turn and try to bite you, if she's so inclined.
Ideally, you should have two or more people - one for each combatant - to prevent one dog from following and continuing the fight. If you don't have enough people, isolate the dogs in seperate rooms, behind fences, or if not that, then take a lead, hook it to a collar, loop it once around the dogs waist, and tie it off to something solid. Then you go after the other dog... Ideally, you want to get the dogs out of sight and sound of each other.
Within a second, Dakota had Suka pressed to the floor, still upright. Suka had twisted her magnificently flexible neck around to engage, but was still at a terrible disadvantage. When I grabbed Dakota's legs and jerked her backwards, Suka was off like a shot - headed for her crate. One combatant I needn't worry about following up! Dakota whipped her head up to look at me - I daresay she'd forgotten I was present at all, and I literally hiked her like a football back between my legs, grabbing her scruff on either side of her head, just behind her jaws. That's 100 pounds of dog, all four paws on the ground, going backwards like a pigskin at the snap... Adrenalin is potent stuff! With her head immobilized, and her attention suddenly and totally focused on me, it was clear the fight had completely gone out her. I must've roared, too, at some point, as people came running from all corners of the house. (My wife says I'm scary when I roar. Go figure.)
Dakota's head still immobilized, I frog-marched her to her crate and shut her in. Suka, I had to literally haul from her crate, so I could inspect her for injuries... And there were some. A pressure cut to her lower right eyelid, and a minor puncture about an inch below that. Messy, but minor. She allowed me to give her a complete and thorough checking, though it was clear she wanted back to the safety of her crate. Put her back to her crate, then hauled Dakota out to inspect her, too. Again, I had to haul her out - She was clearly reluctant to face me, but put up with her inspection with proper manners. No blood, but a LOT of saliva on her throat - Suka hadn't been screwing around in defense - Any better angle, and Dakota'd have taken a serious injury.
A couple stitches, and everything is well, health-wise. I became the Fun Nazi - Only one dog out of their crate at a time except when I'm immediately present, and extremely close supervision even then.
Two days later, came a near-exact repeat, dispite the close supervision, only this time with Suka getting a solid piece of Dakota in return - A seriously bloody lip - with Dakota actually doing no damage to speak of. I was now the Fun Gestapo. No more than one dog out of their crate at a time, period, no matter who is present. Both dogs sleeping in their latched crates at night. Both dogs on-lead in the house.
Since that time, some time back, Dakota has been much more obedient. She apparently had some reservations about who was in charge. Not any more - Getting man-handled like she was a puppy seems to have made an impression. Since that time, she and Suka are both at once more snarky with each other, and more tollerant of each other, if that makes any sense - They express their opinions, but also seem to get along better. Certainly the 'play' aspect of their lives has improved. I suspect that the clashes, and my immediate and very dominant response, have sorted out the relative relationships.
In retrospect, I should've gone all 'Fun Gestapo' right out the gate. Lesson learned - they're both good dogs, but dog society and people society do not correspond exactly. I need to think like a dog, and I still watch them closely. People wonder why I don't let the dogs oiut into the back yard unsupervised. I don't, because I'm thinking like a dog - I'm The Boss, and I want to make damn sure that The Girls know The Boss is watching. Dakota is huge, powerful, and fast. Suka is if anything, even faster, and has very sharp teeth. They don't get the chance to get at each other without someone responsible and capable to stop them if they forget their places again. They can play, and run and pace, and bark, and all the rest, but they also know that if they step out of line, The Boss is right there to put them back in their place. It means less screwing-off time for me, but if I wanted my time all to myself, I would've never married, much less brought dogs into the house... :-p
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4 comments:
several thoughts rushed thorugh my head as I read your post.
First is that management alone will often fail. Management in this case being, only one dog out at a time.
Second is that fighting dogs are loud, scary and can have serious consequences....like dead dog serious.
Third, be very very very careful when handling an aroused dog.....if they are out-of-their-head ....they may bite first and be sorry later.
I am glad the wounds were not serious, and I am glad you were not hurt.
All good thoughts. Breaking up a dog fight is very serious business.
Clearly, management didn't work initially. What does seem to have worked was a powerful, immediate, and extremely dominant response. After some time in lockdown, they've been allowed back out together again, albeit under my fishy eye, and it appears that social equilibrium has been restored. Dakota has even largely given up attempts at fence-running.
With these two, 'dead dog' consequences are entirely plausible. Dakota is an ISSR Shiloh Shepherd - Big, fast, smart, powerful. She wasn't raised particularly well, her first five years, and she's had to learn a few rules in my house that apparently weren't taught her previously. Suka is snake-fast, agile as a weasel, and has very sharp teeth. Which is why I don't, can't, let them settle things themselves - The chances of a bad outcome is far too high.
Part of the reason for the leg-snatch approach is to keep your tender body-parts as far away from where the biting is going on. That's also the reason for the turn - To keep a frantic dog from successfully turning on you. These aren't the first dog fights I've had to break up - Most dogs we get at The Farm are basicaly good-natured. But not all of them.
Hiking Dakota between my legs was a spur-of-the-moment move I've never done before, but it put my hands on her scruff very handily, with her body pinned between my legs - complete physical control. I don't think I'd try it with any other dog, aside from these two. I don't recommend anyone else try it, either. Had it gone wrong, I'd have been bleeding.
Ah, the well-known (and much-to-be-avoided) bitch fight. Sigh. I had one knock-down, drag-out bitch fight in my house - only one, ever, but MAN are they doozies. I'll take a fight between my males over a bitch fight any day of the week.
Glad you got out unscathed and that no one was badly hurt. It certainly does decrease the anxiety in the house when the dogs know clearly that it's not THEM who is the boss... they don't have so many decisions to make, and their anxiety goes down accrdlingly in the face of a clear leader. Once they know they no longer have a choice about that, they usually feel easier in themselves. Hopefully Dakota will feel more secure now that she knows that she isn't responsible for running the show, and that'll ease tensions.
Suka is still the senior of the pair - Dakota will defend her high-value items and food, and try to sneak toys, but she will generally yield right of way to Suka, nor will she face her down head-on. Dakota's more of a sly opportunist, rather than in-your-face. Now that she (and Suka) are more certain what I will or will not permit, the do get along a lot better. It's been weeks since this went down, and I watch closely, but it seems that this phase is handled. Doesn't mean I can relax, though. I do that, and one or the other may decide that they have to start making decisions again, which may well lead to trouble.
As Professor Moody says: 'Constant vigilance!'
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