Lessons from a dog fight

It's been more than two weeks since my neighbors' dog got out, and made a beeline toward me and my dog as we walked down our driveway for our daily walk. I froze, not knowing what the dog wanted. I'd never seen her loose before. I knew from walking on the path behind the dog's yard that it was a snarly, yappy little thing.

It trotted toward us, not showing any clear signs of aggression. No growling or barking or teeth baring. No obvious hackles up. It didn't occur to me that she was coming to attack.

My dog, Sterling, got the highest level of "dog friendly" at the Longmont Humane Society where we adopted him. He absolutely loves other dogs. He has an off-leash tag, and we go to Boulder Reservoir and Twin Lakes. If he gets the slightest indication a dog isn't friendly, he simply dashes off. He knows how to handle himself. But he didn't this day.

The neighbor's dog came up as if to greet Sterling, but instead attacked. Sterling was so shocked he didn't fight back at first. He is twice as tall as the other dog which lit into his legs, went for his belly, then under his neck. That's when I started kicking it, something I was reluctant to do at first. My instinct as an animal lover was to not hurt another dog, but I thought it might kill my dog if she got her teeth into his neck.

The other dog wouldn't let up, even with my kicking. I tried to drag Sterling back to our back yard to get away, but I quickly realized that meant he couldn't defend himself. He eventually started doing just that, but didn't seem to know how to effectively fight back.

After what seemed like an eternity, the neighbor came, grabbed her dog and Sterling limped off, three-legged. Sterling had at least one puncture wound to his front leg. I took him to the vet immediately.

I was shaking, unable to take deep breaths or focus. All I could think about is what could I have done differently? Why didn't I run into my back yard when I saw the dog coming? Did I make it worse by trying to pull Sterling away? How could I have stopped it if the neighbor hadn't come?

What I learned is that there is no one easy answer for how to prevent or break up a dog fight. But Sarah Beckwith, animal control officer for Longmont Police Department, offered some great ideas.

The first thing I beat myself up about was why I didn't just turn and run into the safety of my back yard. I wasn't able to read the dog's intent. Beckwith said that dogs have different behaviors and that some breeds are harder to read. In our situation, the dog wasn't verbally aggressive and didn't have long enough hair to raise hackles, at least not that I could see. Beckwith said that friendly dogs tend to be all wiggly and loose, but if it is very deliberate, or you aren't sure of its intent, it is good to avoid the dog and look for an escape plan.

First, keep your dog close to you, so you can keep track of him or her. Do not run away quickly, Beckwith said. That can excite the dogs. Instead, back away slowly so you can keep an eye on the other dog. You don't want it to sneak up on you.

If possible, get into a car, inside your house or behind a fence. If you can't get inside, go on the opposite side of a car or another barrier. Look for any way to put distance between you and the other dog. Put an object between you and the dog - grab a broom, a walking stick or swing a purse.

It can be hard to stop a fight once it starts. If you don't have a broom or stick to put between the dogs, look for a hose to spray them. Beckwith said kicking is an option (I had on long jeans), but keep your distance. You don't want the dog to redirect its anger toward you. Do whatever you can to avoid putting your fingers and hands near the dogs' mouths. "We get most of our dog bites from people trying to break up a dog fight," she said. "We definitely want to keep people safe as our main priority even though we understand it sucks when a dog is being attacked by another."

My feelings about whether to kick the dog are common. "Usually the person kicking the dog feels terrible about it. We can certainly understand they don't want to hurt a pet, much less somebody else's pet," Beckwith said. "But you have the right to defend yourself. Don't take it as - it's mean to the other dog. You have the right to defend yourself. We'd rather have some type of defense response than having your dog eaten. No one wants that."

Beckwith has seen people grab the hind legs of dogs and pull them apart. "I've seen it happen and do OK. It depends on the type of people involved in that situation. You have to make sure that no one else is going to get hurt either."

It's easier to avoid dog fights when all dogs are on leashes. Not every dog is comfortable in an off-leash situation like a dog park. "They can just run up to each other and sometimes that isn't comfortable for everybody. That's why we like having a leash law because dogs don't have a reason to interact with each other at that point. It's just a safety concern."

When out with your dog, Beckwith suggests carrying an umbrella, a walking stick or cane - something to get distance between you and another dog if you need it. She said some people take pepper spray, but that can cause a lot of other problems. Instead, she recommends citronella spray. "That works really well and it won't hurt the dog. It will just irritate them. It is a lot easier to clean. And it doesn't cause an irritant for the owner. I highly recommend citronella spray versus pepper spray." Beckwith said it's available at hardware stores, pet stores, other outlets and online.

Most dog fights end with cooperation between the owners, Beckwith said, "A lot of times that's how things go - it's an accident and the dog gets out and it gets into a situation that no one wanted it to happen. Usually owners are really responsive to that on both sides. In case that's something the other owner isn't comfortable with, we are an option to get things resolved."

It's up to the victim's owner whether to call the police or sheriff and report the case and they can say how they prefer to have it handled. Beckwith said it doesn't mean the dog or the owner will necessarily be in trouble, "We can do a warning and just talk to them. Give them ways to correct it. Another option is we can issue a ticket, depending on each case - each case is different. A ticket is a mandatory court appearance and restitution could be ordered for any vet bills that happen."

Reporting a dog fight can be helpful to law enforcement if there are multiple offenses. "It's good to build up a history even if you don't want us to get involved."

If a person gets bit by a dog, or any pet, that must be reported to police. It's the law. Fortunately, that didn't happen in my case.

Sterling had one puncture wound that was stapled, had to wear a cone, graduated to a long-sleeve tee-shirt to avoid licking it (wasn't fool proof), took pain killers for a few days and antibiotics for two weeks. We had to limit his movement. It was all a big pain, but it could have been much worse. He has a scab but isn't limping. I'm grateful that he hasn't lost his friendliness toward other dogs, which some dogs can.

The owner apologized, and paid the vet bills. Her dog wasn't hurt. I let other neighbors with dogs know what happened. By all accounts it was an accident that the dog got out, but I haven't gone near that dog's backyard since. I don't want a snarly flashback for me or Sterling. But we're back on other parts of the trail, able to relax by being better informed and physically prepared with my citronella spray.