How to Prevent or Stop a Dog Fight
happy with the surroundings or other animals. You can look for the obvious things like growling, showing teeth, tail erect, snarling or deeper than usual barking.
A highly controversial topic is whether your dogs should be on leash or off when greeting other dogs. While no two dogs are the same,professionals agree that leashes tend to complicate dog greetings. Dog teacher Laurie Luck wrote a great article on the topic of on vs off leash greetings and the most plausible reasons seemed to be that the leashes can get in the way when a dog wants to greet a fellow and also gives them a feeling of being trapped with no escape if they fear another dogs advances.
- Throw water at the dog – use a hose if possible. Hidden Valley’s K-9 Corral has a short hose for this purpose (or to fill the water bucket for refreshment.)
- Find something to put between the dogs like a board, blanket or branch
- Use something to startle the dogs like opening an umbrella. Some carry a whistle or bicycle horn
Never reach for your dog’s collar or head while it is fighting and always check for injuries after.
All that being said, most dogs get along better than us humans so know your dog and help them to make friends but don’t force them if their personality or mood isn’t up to it. While you visit Hidden Valley RV Park don’t miss bringing your fur babies to the K-9 Corral for a play date or just a few minutes of playing with the toys there.
By Rachel Blaschke