How to Break Up a Dog Fight

When you see dogs at risk of hurting one another, it’s natural (and commendable) to want to step in and halt the madness as soon as possible — especially when they are both your dogs. But for your sake and theirs, it’s important to be prepared before you step in.

What are the signs of a potential dog fight?

“A hard stare is one of those  subtle signals that’s often missed by humans, but not by other dogs. A hard stare can easily trigger a fight,” says professional canine behavior specialist and Certified Professional Dog Trainer Nicole Wilde. Pet parents might even misunderstand which dog actually started a fight, if they missed that initial stare.

“Another small signal that is sometimes missed is a raised lip… sometimes a dog will display a subtler version, such as a slightly raised and trembling corner of the lip,” says Wilde. Then there’s more obvious body language like a stiff body,  growling, lip-licking, yawning, scratching, sniffing, averting the eyes or turning away from the other dog.

Here are three ways to break up a dog fight:

There is no surefire way to break up a fight between dogs, and there is no guarantee that it can be done safely. There are always risks, but some techniques for breaking up a dog fight are better bets than others — and depending on the seriousness of the dog fight, you may be willing to take a big risk. If you ever have the misfortune of seeing dogs fighting (rather than just playing roughly) with each other, consider your options and choose what you think is the best way to handle the situation.

1. Distraction

Distraction is low risk; it’s not always effective, but it isn’t likely to cause a problem, either.

Sudden loud noises

One option to break up a dog fight is making a loud sound such banging any loud metal objects together or blowing an air horn. Dogs often ignore these attempts, but for dogs who are not that committed to the fight — or who actually want to stop fighting but can’t seem to break it off themselves — loud startling sounds can work.

Sudden spray

This method is pretty hit-or-miss. It’s true that spraying dogs with a hose may stop a dog fight, but dogs so rarely fight within reach of one. I’ve heard of cases in which fighting dogs were pushed in a pool and stopped, but again, there’s not always a pool handy when you need one. If spraying them with water isn’t an option, dumping a bucket of water over them can break up a dog fight, but some dogs don’t seem to care. Spraying dogs with a citronella spray can have the same effect as water.

2. Separation

Breaking up a dog fight with direct physical contact has the best chance of stopping the fight, but it also poses the biggest risk of you being bitten.

Barriers

Using a barrier to break up a dog fight is riskier than the above distraction suggestions, but also more likely to work. Inserting a cookie sheet, a piece of plywood, or even a thick piece of poster board between two dogs can break up a fight.

The bigger the barrier, the lower the risk of being bitten, because you can keep your hands further away from the mouths of the dogs. It’s wise to lower that probability any way that you can. That said, it’s a major feat of coordination to accomplish this during a highly active altercation, especially at a dog park. It’s best to call your dog away before the fighting starts.

Wheel barrow method

If two people are there, an option is for each person to grab the back legs of a dog and pull them away from each other. Yes, it can work, and yes, it’s awkward to time this right.

Dogs have almost no power when their back legs are not in contact with the ground, which is why this is not likely to lead to a bite to the people. Of course, a failed attempt in which one dog is being held and the other gets away can put everybody at risk. I’ve seen people separate dogs by grabbing tails instead of hind legs. It’s not very pleasant for the dogs, but it’s generally better than continuing to fight.

3. Last Resort

The worst and riskiest ways to break up a dog fight involve putting your hand near their front ends. That includes grabbing at collars and reaching for an object that is the source of the dispute.

Breaking up a dog fight with your hands (or other body part) so often leads to dogs turning and biting at people’s hands, but it’s only fair to point out that reaching into the middle of a dog fight is most people’s natural response to trying to stop it. And though reaching in is risky, if a dog’s life appears to be in danger, it may be worth doing anyway.

When The Fight Ends

Once your break up the dog fight, the next step is to read body language. You’ll want to understand why a fight occurred instead of just assuming it was a fluke or hoping the same type of situation won’t occur again. A majority of the dog aggression behavior cases involving bites that I treat have a history of getting into low level spats which over time developed into more dangerous fights. Many fights can be prevented simply by noticing when one dog is tense around another and calling the two dogs apart before there’s trouble and then rewarding your dog for good behavior.