Protecting your dog from a dog attack

[Lily Freya]

I was once told by a vet to pick up the offending dogs back legs and pull the legs apart as this unbalance the dog.  Don't know if it would work.  It's my biggest fear, I go the opposite way if we see a dog I dont know

This is a good method for separating two dogs that are fighting when you have another person to assist you, though you grab the back legs, drag out and swing away to both separate the dogs and also to decrease the chances of the dog biting you.  This is not a good method for most terrier breeds that latch on and shake as doing this will only increase injury to the dog being bitten.  When breaking a fight it really depends on the situation, the individual dogs, and why the aggressor is attacking in the first place (out of dominance or fear, out of fight or prey drive, etc). 

I wouldn't say it's breed bashing to mention the breeds you've personally had bad experiences, though I will admit that I am very leery of certain breeds that are known to be dog aggressive and even larger dogs that are known to have high prey drives. These are breed traits for some dogs and though I won't blame the individual dog for acting on its genetic drives, I will blame its irresponsible owner for not being aware of those breed traits and drives and not maintaining control over them. If some owners were more knowledgeable of and responsible toward their breed of choice BEFORE the act then we wouldn't have to "blame the deed" AFTER an innocent dog has already been attacked.

Very well put Praia......totally agree with all you've said here.
None of us want to breed bash.....it's just sad that the incidents mentioned have involved similar breed dogs. 

[Ben's mum]

I didn't want to breed bash in my post - although I know I mentioned specific breeds.  But I wonder if there is a link, not in specifying a particular breed as any more aggressive than another, but that our own perception and fears cause anxiety that is picked up by our dogs which makes their own responses differnet or more extreme - sort of a catch 22 situation.  Could this cause an escalation of aggression, leading to an attack, which could be avoided?

I know Ben is very sensitive to my responses, Harry less so.  I used to be frightened of boxers (not breed bashing, just a fact) at agility I used to avoid Lily the boxer or pull Ben away from her.  It was her owner that pointed out that I was actually causing a problem that didn't even exist for Ben as he started to grumble whenever he saw Lily arrive.  After that I used to try to make sure losend his lead and didn't move away and actually it turned out that Mr Grumbly Ben who doesn't really like other dogs got on quite well with Lily, it was my fears causing the problem. (I actually discovered that I like boxers after all, they are quite soppy and playful when you get to know them  )

[MaggieR]

I didn't want to breed bash in my post - although I know I mentioned specific breeds.  But I wonder if there is a link, not in specifying a particular breed as any more aggressive than another, but that our own perception and fears cause anxiety that is picked up by our dogs which makes their own responses differnet or more extreme - sort of a catch 22 situation.  Could this cause an escalation of aggression, leading to an attack, which could be avoided?

I know Ben is very sensitive to my responses, Harry less so.  I used to be frightened of boxers (not breed bashing, just a fact) at agility I used to avoid Lily the boxer or pull Ben away from her.  It was her owner that pointed out that I was actually causing a problem that didn't even exist for Ben as he started to grumble whenever he saw Lily arrive.  After that I used to try to make sure losend his lead and didn't move away and actually it turned out that Mr Grumbly Ben who doesn't really like other dogs got on quite well with Lily, it was my fears causing the problem. (I actually discovered that I like boxers after all, they are quite soppy and playful when you get to know them  )

There's a lot of truth in that... I know I physically tense when I see a big bouncy dog - doesn't matter what breed it is or if its showing signs of aggression - I do it because I am so aware of Maggie's back I don't want it accidentally landing on her  But I know if she's close to me she'll pick up on it because she completely changes and turns into a screamer  which makes her more of an exciting/interesting dog to the big one and it is a vicious circle then.  If she's away from me she deals with it fine on her own and just gets out the way until she can get past and back to me.  I try really hard to remain very calm, but its very difficult so I can imagine how hard it is for someone who's dog actually has been attacked etc...