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After a Dog Fight: When the Dust Settles
If you have ever witnessed a dog fight, you know that it’s over well before your adrenaline settles.
This week’s CATCH Community newsletter (Look for it Friday!) shares Bliss’s story and how I handled the moment she was attacked. (She’s okay now.) Here, I want to talk about what comes next.
???? After a fight, dogs can look like they’re okay on the outside while their emotions are high and their systems are still flooded with adrenaline. That’s when we need to handle them with care.
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Give space and time. Arousal can last for hours. ⏰
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If the injury isn’t severe, give them time before treatment. Even if they are normally cooperative, heightened emotions may translate to “don’t touch me”. ????
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Avoid new stressors. Keep things simple: no extra trips, no greetings, no emotional challenges for the rest of the day. ????
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Reflect before reuniting dogs or introducing new playmates. Are there things you could have done differently? Were there hints of a problem you missed earlier? ????
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(In our case, I saw signs the other dog was uneasy about Bliss, but I errantly believed the best about her, instead of correctly assessing the risk for my dogs. It won’t happen again.)
????Afterward, the goal isn’t to label anyone as “aggressive.” It’s to understand that emotions spike fast and recovery takes time. Even social dogs need help coming back down to baseline.
Let’s talk about it:
How have you helped dogs recover after a fight? What signs tell you they’re really calm again?
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5 Replies
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I am so sorry and saddened to read that this happened to you and Bliss. I hope you all are recovering and healing from this event.
Dogs fights in my opinion are very unsettling and traumatizing to watch and be involved in for so many reasons.
Unfortunately I have been involved in separating dog fights and have seen them; one even going back to when I was about 5 years old with my first dog who was attacked while on his chain.
In my cases, dogs were physically injured and required medical attention. I had no choice but to seek medical care for them first.
After that was a long road to decompress as they healed from injuries. I spent a lot of time sitting with each giving individual attention as well as management and trying to make the moments positive.
I think some of the early signs that at least one of the dogs was “calm” was their willingness to show play and affiliative type behaviors in the presence of the other dog.
It can be so hard to trust to put dogs back together after a fight. I will use muzzles on all to be safe. We may see the “good” behaviors but things can go “bad” fast.
I hope for a positive recovery for all involved. Please keep us updated as you do.
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Hi Jen,
Thank you for your kind words. Bliss is fine. I waited to share our story because I wanted to be able to say we’re good to go, and we are. She still loves all dogs and humans. I’m more cautious with strange dogs and likely will take fewer chances going forward. It was a good reminder, and we got away relatively cheaply for the lesson.Those fight experiences can be so rough on you as well as on the dogs. Thank you for sharing. You’re making me think about a whole ‘nother aspect which is self-care for the humans involved!
When I was a shelter behavior program manager running playgroups, there were occasionally a few surprises that escalated into damaging fights. It’s really tough to deal with the aftermath. At one point, I questioned my ability to read dogs at all. ???? It was unsettling, to say the least.
The thing is, they are dynamic individuals and just like with humans, we can never really fully predict what anyone will do when the conditions are right for certain behaviors. We can only do what we can to keep the dogs as safe as possible, and help them recover if things go an unexpected direction.
Honestly, I am better now at self-care than I was back then. I was too deep in the trenches to fully understand the importance of taking time to reflect, rest, reset, and renew. It’s important for anyone working with difficult dogs.
What have you done to care for yourself after difficult situations like breaking up a fight? Any ideas to share, in that regard?
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Glad you both are well. Glad to read Bliss still seems to love all dogs and people.
I understand about the shelter environment, too. I was watching a play group once and, just adding a 5 month old into the play area changed the dynamic. Two male dogs immediately went from play to fighting. Ironically, they separated on their own but their energy triggered two females to engage in a significant fight, leading to significant injuries before being separated physically. Meanwhile the 5 month old was still minding his own business. I agree, we can never fully predict scenarios.
I think we question our “ability to read dogs” incorrectly. Personally, for me, I think I can read body language fairly well however, it is that time between what I saw 1 second ago and what I see now; that change is happening in a time frame where I often find the inability to react quick enough. It is my opinion that my mind may trick me to doubt myself vs grasping the reality 1.3 seconds was too short to change the outcome. For example, I was too far away.
For self care after breaking up a fight the first time; I dove into learning about behavior!
The second time, I don’t think I understood the importance of self care back then, enough. I just remember thinking, “not on my watch!” and jumping into something when I should have learned from the first time. Knowing me and my coping mechanisms, I probably worked 91 hours that week instead of 60!
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Oof, @jenz this is the REAL DEAL you are sharing, right here. You are so right, things can change in an instant. And a lot of times, we just don’t have time to act even when it happens in front of us. Moreso, I have been guilty of thinking I knew a dog (or a person, for that matter) with just a few experiences around them. I thought I knew what they would do, that they would choose a certain behavior given a certain set of circumstances. Sometimes I’m right (very validating), but sometimes I’m wrong.
For example, at the shelter where I worked, there was this amazing little black and white pitty we all loved immensely. Young, sweet, wiggly with everyone he met, a goofball in playgroups. “A breed ambassador” I called him, right up until the day a young family came to consider adopting him. A child was sitting in a chair since the dog was a bit rambunctious. One of our veteran adoption handlers brought the dog into the enclosure and within a few minutes the dog viciously attacked the child with a bite to the face. No one saw any hint of a sign that it was going to happen. It was devastating.
Personally and professionally, I was wrecked.
I look back on those days and realize I did not have enough scaffolds in place to support myself during the difficult work I was doing. I learned that one simply cannot continue to work in that kind of stress-filled environment without making one’s own mental and physical health a priority.
I applaud everyone who works to make a better world for the animals experiencing transition. Shelters and rescues are havens for them, and good people are needed to keep it going. And I hope that the work we do at CATCH, even this conversation, can help even one person take a reflective look at how to give themselves a stronger platform upon which to continue the work.
Here’s one model that might have made a difference for me: GREAT: Gratitude, Relaxation, Exercise, Acknowledge feelings, Track thoughts – I can see how these strategies would make an impact for the long-term.
Take care of yourselves out there, folks!
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Imma just drop this here in case anyone is looking for more information and helpful tips on managing stress and anxiety.
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