How to Break Up a Dog Fight:

SUCCESS is about STRATEGY, NOT SPEED!

According to Play N Stay fight protocol, you should always:

1. STAY SAFE! Do NOT PANIC! Do NOT RIP dogs apart! You will cause more injury!

2. BREATHE & CALL FOR HELP on the walkie talkie/state your location. BREATHE again.

3. INTERRUPT! Get LOUD (once or twice to see if it works) – but don’t panic! YELLING INCREASES FIGHTING AND CHAOS. STARTLE the dogs (water throw/hose, rattle paddle, clang metal bowls, stick, whip)

4. WAIT for help!

5. SECURE! First 2 people secure fighting dogs. We prefer “Leash around Loin” method FIRST. Wheelbarrow SECOND. Choke hold THIRD. Rest of crew removes other dogs – watch for spin off fighting in highly aroused state.

6. ISOLATE – After the fight, DO NOT LET DOGS LOOSE BACK INTO GROUP ONCE THEY ARE RESTRAINED! Take them straight into the building.

7. Body checks, emergency care, and written statements are next steps. TIME STAMP the fight, so that surveillance can be pulled for learning.

DEFINITIONS:

CUE-

AKA “Command”) Tells the dog what to do. (Usually verbal English, but can be WITH or WITHOUT a hand signal.)
We do not teach verbal cues to dogs who do not KNOW the behavior – “Don’t name it until you love it!” (We may CHECK to see if a dog knows a behavior, but we will not repeat the CUE over and over…or we will RUIN the CUE.)
Examples: Sit, Place, Wait, and other words

MARKER –

Short exclamation or *click* that “Marks” the exact moment of the behavior you want. Tells the dog when he NAILS it!  Can also be used to “shape” behavior.
EXAMPLE: “Yes!” or “Good!” or *click* with clicker.

REWARD –

aka REINFORCEMENT –  Feels good.  Increases behavior. Can be ANYTHING the dog wants.  Can also include longer messages that the dog is on the right track/”getting warmer”. 
EXAMPLES:Pleasant facial expressions, pleasant tone of voice, rapid treat firing.
“Good doggies…nice pups….very good.”

NEGATIVE MARKER/CORRECTION – 

Tells the dog he’s made a mistake or is “getting colder” and needs to try again.
EXAMPLE: We use “uh uh”.

CATCH and PRAISE-

aka “Catch them doing something right.”- “Catch” the dog doing what you want and reward it!

HUMANE CORRECTION-

A correction that is effective and doesn’t have to be repeated over and over.

Learning Window of Time for MARKING behavior:

0.6 to 1 second (used to be 3 seconds. Science now shows that is LATE.)

“Burning a Cue”

A cue can be mistakenly used, over and over, in an attempt to GET a behavior. Unfortunately, using a cue like “SIT” – while the dog is standing – simply names the standing position with the word SIT. This confuses the dog, frustrates the handler, and gives a new, unintended meaning to the cue…thereby BURNING the cue.

We also see this with dog names: “Maggie, Maggie, Maggie….!”  We should NEVER say a dog’s name, without a cue after it OR a reward for turning/looking toward us.

IMPORTANT DEFINITION:

“Extinction Burst”

When a previous behavior chain gets BROKEN. The dog will go back to the link that it EXPECTED would work, repeating it with more enthusiasm. The dog THINKS it can get the chain to COMPLETE, if it can repeat the steps that usually work.

This is why it’s so HARD to break a HABIT. Stick with it!

—- IGNORE BELOW THIS LINE —-