How to Stop a Dog Attacking Your Dog: Ways to Tackle and Recover

Dogs are among the friendliest animals on the planet. However, when they get furious, their friendly nature quickly turns aggressive. When dogs become aggressive, they attack and try to bite. Often, the victims of their aggressive behaviour are other dogs.

If your dog has ever been attacked by another dog, you probably know the horror of the situation. It is tough for an owner to see their pup being attacked. You wouldn’t want to face it again. Thus, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Don’t worry; this article will help you understand why a dog attacks another dog, how to handle such attacks, and the measures you need to take to avoid them. 

No more wasting time; let’s talk business.

Understanding Why Dog Attacks Happen

Dogs might attack another dog for various reasons. The most common and natural reason is when a dog enters its territory. The dog feels the need to show its dominance and possession of the place, so it attacks the other dog. Their aggression accelerates when the other dog attacks back.

The possessive nature of dogs isn’t only applicable to their territory but also to their feelings for their owner. Many times, dogs get jealous when other dogs or pets get more attention and care from their owner. So, they attack out of jealousy.

Other than that, some breeds of dogs have an aggressive bullying nature, such as American pit bulls, Bull Terriers, or French Bulldogs. They are generally bigger and stronger than most other breeds of dogs. So, they like to show off their dominance over others.

Sometimes, the reason for a dog showing signs of aggression can be a side effect of a disease or mental issue. Many times, past traumatic experiences or memories trigger dogs to attack other dogs. Pain or threats are also one of the most common triggers for a dog to attack another.

How to Stop a Dog from Attacking Your Dog?

Seeing your dog being attacked is such a painful experience. You feel helpless and scared to go forward and save your baby pup. Actually, it is impossible to handle such a situation without implementing proper strategies. So, here’s the right approach you should try to follow in a critical situation like that:

1. Stay Calm and Assess the Situation 

No matter what, you shouldn’t react in a way that increases the dog's aggression and causes it to attack you, too. If you see an unleashed dog coming towards you and your dog aggressively, stay calm and try to understand why it’s behaving that way. It’s going to be much difficult done than said. But you need to try your best. Sometimes, when you and your dog are calm, the off-leash dog just loses interest in attacking and moves away.

2. Create a Distraction 

Instead of fighting or screaming at the dog, a simple distraction can save the day. You can lure the attacking dog with treats or snacks. Throw some biscuits or chips in the opposite direction so the dog gets distracted and moves toward that. If you don’t have any treats, a squeaky toy that makes noise might also do the trick.

3. Using Barriers Strategically 

If you see anything around you that can potentially create a barrier in front of the attacking dog so that it can’t reach you and your pet, try that. A bush, a car, or a trash can could be the options you need to look for. The best way to deal with it would be to distract the dog in a different direction and then take shelter behind one of these barriers with your pup.

4. Know When to Intervene Physically 

Try to understand the dog's nature. If you feel that the dog isn’t the type that would attack you unless you attack it, gently show the gesture to stop with your hands. In case the dog runs towards you, try not to run away. With a deeper voice, tell the dog to go away or move. It might not understand the language, but it will get the hint by your body language and facial expressions.

How to Avoid Dog Attacks?

Don’t wait for the mishap to happen. Take preventive measures beforehand to prevent this critical situation from happening. Here’s what you can consider:

Socialize Your Dog Properly 

Let your dog get acquainted with other dogs in your area. Take it for a walk and encourage it to interact with the other dogs and socialize. So that every dog in your area understands that he is not a threat but rather just another addition to the dog community of your neighborhood. Connect with other dog owners and arrange doggo play date sessions for socializing.

Always Be Aware of Your Surroundings 

Observe and know the traits of the dogs in your neighborhood. Try to find out which dogs are bullies to other dogs and which places are potentially dangerous for your dog. Communicate with people and learn about their similar encounters.

Use Protective Equipment 

By protective equipment, we wouldn’t suggest you carry a gun. What we mean is that you can carry an air horn or an umbrella. Air horns are both distracting and repulsive for dogs. So, when an attacking dog approaches your pet, blow the air horn near it so it moves away. And as a safety shield, an umbrella can be a perfect option to carry with you.

Recovering After an Attack: What to Do Next?

If you encounter such an unfortunate event where your dog gets attacked, do the following to deal with its aftereffects:

Check Your Dog for Injuries 

This isn’t something we need to tell you. The first thing you’ll instinctively do after an attack is check if your dog is hurt. In case of any injury, treat your dog immediately with first aid. If the wound looks too bad and requires medical attention, take your pup to the vet as soon as possible. Don’t let your baby suffer in pain.

Report the Incident 

Next, you should report the dog’s behavior to its owner. The pet owner has the right and the necessity to know that his dog harmed another dog on the street. If there’s an animal welfare community, animal control, or animal emergency service in your area, share this incident with them so that they can take preventive actions to control aggressive dogs.

Helping Your Dog Recover Emotionally 

Being attacked by a dog is traumatic for you and your pet dog. Such an incident can affect your pet mentally and emotionally. In these circumstances, you need to be its mental support. Do everything you can to cheer it up. Keep it distracted; don’t let it remember the horrifying experiences it went through. 

Reflect on What Happened 

Take learning from the incident. Reflect and understand what went wrong, what triggered the attack, and how you could prevent it. So that if by chance it happens again, you’re ready to deal with it. 

Legal and Community Considerations 

Do your research and learn about the legal and community support you can get. Right after you get home from the attack, note down the size, color, breed, and other description of the attacking dog. Later, when you report the incident to your local council, you’ll need these details to describe the culprit. You can take help from a bite attorney to understand the regulations in your area better. A pet insurance can be beneficial in this case.

Addressing Long-Term Effects

Often, these traumatic encounters end up with long-term effects on your dog. It might cause behavioral changes that you have never observed within your pup before. So, how can you help it overcome that? Here’s a few advices:

Behavioral Changes in Your Dog

Observe your pet and see if there are any visible behavioral changes. Sometimes, when dogs are traumatized by an attack, they become inactive and unsocial. They try to avoid interaction with other dogs and get anxious when visiting the same spot where they were attacked. Note all these common signs of behavioral changes, if any, and see if your dog is healing with time. 

Rehabilitation

If your dog's mental and behavioral condition becomes too concerning and it takes too long to recover, get help from a behavioral specialist. Let your dog take therapy sessions to control its emotional or conditional triggers. Assistance from a specialist will help you reinforce positive behavior in your dog and rehabilitate interactions. 

Building Confidence

Motivate your dog in different ways. Do things that make it feel stronger than others. Play several physical games and carry out physical training and exercises to enhance its self-defense strategies. With good self-defense and proper training, you can help boost your dog's confidence.

When to Seek Professional Help?

Don’t just run to get professional help when your dog has been attacked. First, observe the issues and jot them down. If your dog doesn’t experience anything too severe, you can try first aid and home healing. 

Seeking professional help should be the last option. When you feel that weeks have passed since the attack, but your dog is yet to recover from the trauma, that would require professional help. Moreover, it highly depends on the extent of the bite injury. 

If your dog’s physical injury is too much for simple first aid, don’t waste your time and seek help from a medical professional. 

Final Words

It is very difficult for an owner to see his dog suffer in an attack. Nobody wants to face that in their life. Thanks to this article, now you know how to deal with such situations smartly. 

Just remember, not everything will work for you. Try to find solutions that actually match your situation. 

Leave the rest for the best!