Best Tools to Stop Dog Fights

Dog fights can be incredibly distressing for both owners and pets, and when things escalate, it’s essential to know the right ways to break up the fight safely and effectively. While it's always preferable to prevent altercations before they happen, understanding how to safely intervene when necessary is an important part of dog ownership. Proactivity through training is crucial to raising dogs as it can give a handler the utility of obedience commands to manage a dog's emotional state. Several tools are commonly suggested for breaking up dog fights—some more effective than others. Among these are cattle prods, break sticks, leashes, and air horns. Let’s take a closer look at each one and evaluate their effectiveness, risks, and proper usage. This page contains affiliate links that provide us with a small commission at no cost to the reader. All products mentioned are items we have utilized as dog trainers or researched extensively. We are a small business that appreciates your time and support.

1. Cattle Prods: A Last Resort

A cattle prod is a tool designed to deliver an electric shock to an animal, usually livestock, to encourage movement. Some dog owners and trainers may consider using cattle prods in extreme situations, believing the shock could disrupt a dog’s focus during a fight and break the cycle of aggression. However, using a cattle prod on dogs is highly controversial for several reasons:

• Risk of injury: The electric shock can cause pain, distress, and potential injury to the dog. It can also exacerbate aggression if not used properly, potentially causing a redirection of force to the handler.

• Training and technique: Without proper training in using a cattle prod, an untrained handler could inadvertently make the situation worse, possibly escalating the fight or harming the dogs involved. We recommend using a tennis racket or something similar to help maintain separation once dogs are separated.

For these reasons, cattle prods are generally not recommended for breaking up dog fights. There are far safer alternatives that should be utilized as a first line of defense. This is an option to only use when fights become constant and injury or rehoming needs to be mitigated. We, META K9, do not endorse the use of cattle prods. Our goal here to is to educate the public and prevent fatalities and mutilations that can occur to both humans and dogs in the presence of canine conflict.

2. Break Sticks: The Tried-and-True Tool

A break stick is a tool specifically designed for safely breaking up dog fights, particularly between dogs that have a hold on each other. A break stick is a strong, flat, wooden or plastic tool that is inserted into a dog's mouth, between the teeth, to pry open the jaw and release the bite.

• How it works: The break stick works by providing leverage to open the dog’s jaws without causing harm to the dog. In the event of a fight, the handler would insert the break stick into the dog's mouth and apply pressure to force the dog’s teeth apart. For bully breeds the stick should be inserted behind the back molars toward the temporomandibular joint or hinge of the jaw. If the dog is not a bully it will go behind their canines. Once the stick is inserted into the dog's mouth flat, it must be twisted vertical to loosen bite, subsequently allowing for a moment of separation.

• Effectiveness: Break sticks are one of the most effective tools for breaking up a fight between dogs, particularly when the dogs have latched onto each other. Unlike using forceful or harmful methods like a cattle prod, the break stick allows for a more controlled and precise intervention. However, it is not without its own risk.

• Risks and considerations: Using a break stick requires knowledge of how to safely and effectively apply the tool. Improper use can injure the dog's teeth or make the fight more intense. It’s important to remember that a break stick should only be used if the dogs are actually fighting and need to be separated. If the dogs are merely posturing or growling, it's better to use other tools or methods to diffuse the situation. Break sticks require a dog owner to become directly involved in the altercation. It is EXTREMELY important to properly judge the distance of your head and neck in relation to the fight as you utilize the break stick. Please read our section on how to use leashes to maintain separation below as breaking up the fight is only part of the equation.

Break sticks are generally considered a safe and effective choice for breaking up dog fights—provided the person using them has experience or training in dog behavior and handling.

3. Air Horns: A Non-Physical Distraction (Our Most Recommended Option)

An air horn is a loud, high-pitched noise-making device often used for signaling or emergency situations. In the context of breaking up a dog fight, air horns can serve as an effective distraction. The loud sound may startle the dogs and temporarily break their focus, allowing an opportunity to separate them.

• How it works: The sudden, loud noise from an air horn can be enough to startle the dogs and interrupt their aggressive behavior. Once the dogs are momentarily distracted, you can step in and use other methods—like a leash, chair, door, kennel, tennis racket, really any way to create distance—to separate them.

• Effectiveness: Air horns can be an excellent tool for disrupting the fight without physically engaging the dogs. The surprise noise may cause the dogs to temporarily break their grip on each other, giving you a chance to act quickly.

• Risks and considerations: Air horns can be effective, but they’re not always a guarantee, especially if the dogs are extremely focused on fighting which can be common with more tenacious and serious breeds.

Air horns are generally safe to use and can be a valuable tool when combined with other methods to safely break up a dog fight. They are one of the best tools to stop dog fights and we recommend them to clients often. We highly recommend having more than one around the house as they can on occasion leak air and become empty when needed. There are also hand pumped air horns that, while not as loud, always work and can be a good back up.

5. Other Considerations, Tools, and Techniques

While tools like cattle prods, break sticks, and air horns can be helpful, it’s important to remember that prevention is the best approach when it comes to dog fights. Avoiding situations where fights are likely to occur, such as closely monitoring interactions between unfamiliar dogs, avoiding resource guarding scenarios, tight spaces, and addressing aggression through proper training, is essential.

In addition, some general safety tips for breaking up dog fights include:

• Stay calm: Your energy will influence the dogs. Try to stay as calm as possible, even though the situation may be incredibly stressful. In most cases yelling at dogs that are tense will actually escalate a conflict and make things worse.

• Use barriers: If possible, create a physical barrier between the dogs, such as a large object or a door. If you have a second person nearby, this can be incredibly helpful in keeping the dogs separated.

• Choke Release: If there are no available options present, a choke release may be your best bet to get breathing room in a fight. Hoist the dominant dog up by either their flat collar or a leash turned into a slip lead. Hold the dog up off his front paws until the bite is broken.

• Rump Poke: While this method won't be pleasant for anyone involved it can certainly be effective. Place a thumb in the dog's anus to jolt it out of the altercation. It is important to always assume a dog will redirect its bite toward whom ever is closest to it.

• The Wheelbarrow method: This entails grabbing the dominant dog by its back legs while walking backward and turning in half circles. Lifting a dog's back legs can influence a sensation of vertigo causing a disruption in the altercation. The reason for the half circles is to avoid the dog's redirection on to the handler and not allow them any advantageous positioning to bite. A little time will need to pass for the dog to leave its conflict-oriented state of mind and allow for adrenalin to settle.

  
  
  
  

Leashes: Best Tool to Stop Dog Fights and Maintain Control

If you’re in a situation where the dogs are on leashes, pulling the leashes apart with controlled force can sometimes help separate

them. It is important to note that pulling during a dog fight can cause more damage by turning a puncture into a laceration. Having a good multi-purpose leash can provide more flexibility in managing a fight and can give you the ability to anchor the aggressor. While the dogs are fighting, calmly thread the leash clip through the handle around the dog's hindquarters. The result should be a slip lead holding below the abdomen. Now that you have the dog leashed you have two options. You can try and anchor the dog to a fixed point before you break the bite or after. If possible, we suggest getting the most aggressive dog secured to a fixed position as soon as possible. This will reduce the possibly of further damage to a dog or person. If you are a breeder or house multiple dogs, it is a great idea to have fastening points with carabiners in key areas ready to go in case of emergency.

Conclusion: Know Your Tools, Know Your Limits

Breaking up a dog fight is a high-stress, high-risk situation that requires both calmness and quick action. Tools like break sticks and air horns are generally safer and more effective than using high risk methods like a cattle prod. However, it’s essential to remember that no tool is a magic solution. Understanding dog behavior, de-escalating situations before they become fights, and taking preventative measures to avoid aggression are equally, if not more, important.

The best way to ensure the safety of both you and your dogs and is to educate yourself about dog behavior, be prepared with the right tools, and know how to react in these high-stress situations. Given the right approach, you can safely intervene in a dog fight and help prevent it from escalating further.