Do Not Get Between Fighting Dogs

I had adopted two dogs five years ago. One was a pit bull and the other a sheppard/lab mix. When I first introduced them to each other (the pit bull was adopted a month earlier) there was a little of that tension as they sized each other up, but it was not too long before they were both running around the back yard.

A couple of weeks went and they both seemed to get along well with each other. One day I was sitting in the living room watching television with both dogs resting on the floor. All of a sudden they began barking, jumping, and biting at each other. I stood up and yelled both of their name to no affect. Then I did a dumb thing. I threw my arms and hands in the middle of that heap of teeth in an attempt to push them away from each other when the inevitable happened. I got bit.

I was afraid to look at my hand certain that the damage was bad. Fortunately for me there was just a little piercing of the skin. No blood. My afterthought was telling myself how dumb that was, and being grateful it was not worse.

There are a number of reasons dogs will fight each other, and for the most part when they do no matter how well trained they are they are unlikely to cede to your command. The best thing is to keep you distance, and if you have to break them up use something long like a stick to push them away from each other. Never get between fighting dogs.