How do you break up a dog fight?

A month ago I was out walking with my JRTx and husband. My dog was attacked totally unprovoked by a Rottweiler. Owner totally lost control, she was shrieking at my husband and I to restrain her dog...

After a very frightening few minutes of a mixture of my dog running for her life and us desperately trying to grab the ********** dog, in desperation I had to go for it's back end. I managed to grab its tail and heave it back, my husband was then able to help and we caught it. I thought it was going to kill my dog, I would rather have been bitten myself than have my dog killed. No contest.
 
Dog fights generally take on one approach or another. Those fights (more spats really), which are noisy, bearing of teeth and one dog generally pining the other to the ground, are probably more easily stopped by wading in and setting about the protagonists. Looking for a broom, it seems to me allows the fight to progress, and one might just as well write them a letter. If contact hasn't been made, then scruffing the nearest dog, whilst fending of the other with a foot, is generally the simplest method.

The more serious fights are those where there is little sound, little posturing and when they engage, they tend to lock on. The last time that I stopped a serious fight was with a friend's terriers, the underdog was literally on the floor, and the aggressor was engaged on the other dogs rear jaw end, ear and neck. I stepped on the dog which was getting the worst of it, to keep her where she was, and took the other dog, by the throat and choked her until she was on the point of passing out, and she realised her grip. Maintaining my hold, I then took the aggressor outside, whilst she calmed down, and whilst my chum dealt with the injured animal. A couple of weeks later, the aggressor, aided by another, killed the 'underdog' and in front of their owner. My chum wouldn't be told!

With larger dogs, generally a tail hold, and in the case of males, squeezing the testicles can help, but do be careful when your charge turns around! Again, choking a dog will invariably force it to release its grip, but then the risk is that the other dog may well come piling in for round two.

Being Top Dog with my little pack prevents fights. I won't tolerate it, and that's that. It's one of the benefits to the 'Pack' system.

Alec.
 
I am not going to even pretend to know the answer. What I can say is when my mothers dog (old long haired jack russell, innocently sitting under chair whilst owner having cup of tea at cafe) was attacked by an entire staffie on long line lead, the only thing that saved him, was some passer by kicking the staffie in the rear end. Not saying correct thing to do, just worked that time.
 
I've had great success when in the house, by grabbing a rag rug to pull one out and away. Never been bit using this method.
In yard, a water hose does wonders!
 
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