What to do if your corgi is attacked?
Google "how to break up a dog fight" and the first hit I got was this, which I recommend. It includes many photos of dog bite wounds, to remind us of what can happen if we react incorrectly to this very dangerous situation:
http://leerburg.com/dogfight.htm
An excerpt from Mr. Leerburg's website {without permission, hope he doesn't mind}:
"I will start with a warning. Unless you have a lot of experience do not try and break up a dog fight by yourself.
Never
step
in the middle of two loving pets and try and grab them by the
collar
to stop a dog fight. If you try this, the chances of you being
badly
bitten
are extremely high. People don't understand that 2 animals in
the middle
of a fight are in survival drive. If they see you at all, they
don't
look
at you as their loving owner. When you charge in and grab them
they either
react out of a fight reflex and bite, or they see you as
another aggressor.
When they are in fight or flight mode they will bite you. You
can take
that to the bank."
Don't think your corgi isn't dangerous just because it's a small dog. I grew up with a dachshund, not bigger than a corgi, which bit my uncle quite severely on the hand when he was trying to extricate it from a leghold trap. A panicked dog is a dangerous animal.
It may be important to distinguish a real dog fight/attack from a mere argument, which might look ferocious but is just a coupla dogs harmlessly working out a disagreement with no damage intended:
http://blacksheepcardigans.com/ruff/?p=4000
It would be a good idea to be able to recognize the body language that might signal a fight or attack, and know what to do. I've no clue.
This might be a good FAQ topic. Any experts, kindly hold forth?
http://leerburg.com/dogfight.htm
An excerpt from Mr. Leerburg's website {without permission, hope he doesn't mind}:
"I will start with a warning. Unless you have a lot of experience do not try and break up a dog fight by yourself.
Never
step
in the middle of two loving pets and try and grab them by the
collar
to stop a dog fight. If you try this, the chances of you being
badly
bitten
are extremely high. People don't understand that 2 animals in
the middle
of a fight are in survival drive. If they see you at all, they
don't
look
at you as their loving owner. When you charge in and grab them
they either
react out of a fight reflex and bite, or they see you as
another aggressor.
When they are in fight or flight mode they will bite you. You
can take
that to the bank."
Don't think your corgi isn't dangerous just because it's a small dog. I grew up with a dachshund, not bigger than a corgi, which bit my uncle quite severely on the hand when he was trying to extricate it from a leghold trap. A panicked dog is a dangerous animal.
It may be important to distinguish a real dog fight/attack from a mere argument, which might look ferocious but is just a coupla dogs harmlessly working out a disagreement with no damage intended:
http://blacksheepcardigans.com/ruff/?p=4000
It would be a good idea to be able to recognize the body language that might signal a fight or attack, and know what to do. I've no clue.
This might be a good FAQ topic. Any experts, kindly hold forth?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Natalie, Lance &Tucker on
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Thanks for posting. This is definately a good topic for a faq.
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Permalink Reply by David on
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It is a dangerous thing to break up a nasty dog fight. I agree with picking up the rear legs, but you have to do it in a very swift manner. I have done it quite a few times with my old dog (Chow/Huskie mix). Otherwise, you could give the dog a chance to turn around and bite you. A dog does not have to bite hard to have a serious consequences. A friend of mine broke up a dog fight and was nipped by his own dog, he got blood poisoning from the saliva and was in the hospital for 2 weeks.
As for the body language, here is a good site.
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Permalink Reply by Avyon on
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It's a good discussion because people don't seem to realize that corgis can be quite agile and quick. If you think you can out maneuver a corgi during an argument you're very wrong.
Thank you for sharing this information. We've been very lucky but you never know about the future :(
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Permalink Reply by Alice on
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In obedience class we were told to always grab for the back legs or tail to pull apart fighting dogs. Grabbing the collar when they are in fight mode to them seems like an attack.
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Permalink Reply by Elizabeth on
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I say the most important thing is knowing the signs and putting a stop to it before they get into a full blown fight. With Dex if a dog gets to rough he will go after the other dog. I know that the minute his lips start to curl (signal for I'm going to make you pay) I need to step in and call him back. I have had a couple of close calls with Dex at the dog park but because I watch him closely and thank god he listens pretty well, it has turned out okay.
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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This is good information. Any dog can get in a fight. Jack has been charged twice (once for the crime of walking by, and once for trying to drink from another dog's water dish), and both times he ran full-speed before the other dog could get to him.
Maddie is pretty submissive, but she once got in a snarkfest with a loose Boston Terrier while she was leashed. I think she WOULD have backed off but could not because of the leash. Thankfully both girls were more nervous than mad, and while it was very noisy there was no contact. My simply saying sternly "Girls, STOP it" made them both break off (I honestly think they were just looking for an excuse to stop, but neither wanted to be the first). The look on Jack's face while he tried to figure out why on earth they were arguing instead of playing was priceless!
That said, things can happen seemingly out of the blue and it helps to know what to do. For things that we can't actually practice first, it can be useful to imagine the scene in great detail and act it out in your head several times; picture yourself calmly going through the steps listed above.
Thanks, John, for the great info.
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I just wanted to add that when something troubling happens, it sometimes seems to move in slow motion so it does seem like you have ages to decide what to do, even though it's only seconds. When the Boston Terrier came charging over, she initially came up to say "Hi" but Maddie snarked and then the terrier snarked back and the next thing I knew, they were hollering at each other. I had both dogs and the Boston's owner was a field away, and I remember puzzling through 'What do I do, I have no hands free. Well, Jack has no interest in fighting and won't run off. We're not near a road. I'll drop Jack's leash and turn my full attention to these two girls going at it...." And all that went through my mind in a split second.
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Permalink Reply by Stanley & Charlotte on
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One time when we were at a dog park a bulldog and another medium-sized dog (I forget the breed) got into a fight. The other dog had bitten onto the bulldog and both owners had jumped in attempting to separate them. I happened to have a bottle of cold drinking water on me, and I instinctively opened it up and splashed some on the dogs involved. The dogs were shocked out of their aggression just long enough for their owners to pull them apart. I'm not sure if this would consistently work, but we were all glad it did then.
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Permalink Reply by MagnoliaFly on
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I think it is important to note that most "dog fights" end up without either dog having a mark on them. It is quite rare that a dog kills another dog and even rarer that a dog kill a human. When you do have a dog that injures another dog in a fight that means they have very poor bite inhibition and shouldn't be around other dogs or humans until they've completed a behavior modification program. Even then, they should still be considered dangerous if they've ever had a level 3 bite or higher on a dog or human.
Dog fights or bad bites can be prevented with proper puppy socialization. Read more about dog fights at DogStarDaily.
A safe way to break up a fight is Premier Direct Stop Animal Deterant Spray - it is made of very concentrated citronella so if the wind blows it back in your face you aren't harmed like you would be with pepper spray. I don't recommend using pepper spray because of the potential risks to any humans in the area.
If that doesn't work a backup plan would be to pick the dog up vertically by the back legs or tail. You want them to be surprised so that if they are holding down a bite you don't rip the other dogs skin by pulling one dog away. If they are hoisted up in the air they usually let go in surprise.
Prevention is key though, as someone else stated.
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Permalink Reply by Laura Jones on
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This is helpful since my female corgi does not like her half sister that lives with us while her parents are trying to find a new place to live. We have just been keeping them separated now.
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