#dog fights

[starrfettii]

It’s not even halfway through week one and I’m already emotionally wrung out.

[merrybarkstudio]

How to Break Up a Dog Fight

Dog fights are intense, dangerous, and scary. And when your beloved pet is involved, your instinct will be to step into the line of fire to rescue them. It’s essential for your own safety and that of your dog that you know how to correctly recognize and break up a dog fight.

Why Do Dogs Fight?

Dogs fight for many reasons including resource guarding of territory, toys, or food. Or they might react out of fear. Some dogs go on the offensive when they feel threatened hoping to scare the other dog away. Frustration can also lead to aggressive behavior, especially in a dog who has not learned emotional self-control. And a dog can also be pushed too far past their point of tolerance. This can be the case with a reactive dog who is overwhelmed by certain triggers, or a dog who is in pain and therefore lacks patience.

How to Tell a Dog Fight From Rough Play

Dogs play to rehearse more serious behaviors, and many of their games can look aggressive with body slams and throat bites. Plus, many dogs play growl which can make the activity seem even more vicious. So, how do you know the difference between roughhouse wrestling and a dog fight? A close look at the dogs’ body language and behavior should help you decide. Here are some things to look for:

Are they relaxed and floppy or tense and stiff? Dogs at play will have a looseness about them.

Are their mouths hanging open or are their lips tight or snarling? Dogs use a wide-open play face to show the other dog they mean no harm.

Does the action start with a play bow (the dog’s front end goes down to the ground while the rear end stays up)? This gesture signals that everything to follow is all in good fun.

Are the dogs taking turns doing the chasing, slamming, and biting? During play, dogs will alternate being the mock aggressor.

Do they bounce around with big movements? Dog fights are efficient with fast movements, not the exaggerated gestures of play.

Prevention is the Best Policy

Because there are so many causes and because the consequences of a dog fight can be so severe, the best approach is prevention. Learn how to read dog body language and understand your dog’s signs of stress. Anytime you see that your dog is approaching the edge of their comfort zone, intervene and remove them from the situation. You want to predict a fight before it occurs rather than waiting until it’s too late.

The following list of possible signals will help you recognize when your dog is stressed:

Vocalizing. Your dog might growl, whine, or bark.

Tucking the tail.

Flattening the ears back against the head.

Showing whale eye. This is when you can see the whites of your dog’s eyes.

Lip licking and/or panting.

Yawning.

Excessive sniffing. This can be a displacement behavior to avoid confronting the source of the stress.

Pacing.

Also be aware of signs of aggressive intent, both in your dog and in those you encounter. For example, a hard stare is a threat in dog language. A dog who is guarding something will often lower their head below their shoulders and stretch their neck forward. Raised hackles are another common sign where the hair on the dog’s back will stand up. Freezing or sudden stillness often precedes an attack. And don’t be fooled by a wagging tail. Although an aggressive dog will often have a stiff or straight tail, wagging just the tip, or short, sharp wags can be a threat gesture as well.

How to Break up a Dog Fight

Even with the best prevention strategy, your dog could still be involved in a dog fight. And intervening can literally be a matter of life and death for your dog. But how can you safely break up a dog fight? First, never put yourself at risk. It’s instinct to jump into the fray, grabbing the other dog or sticking your hands near their mouth. But even your own dog won’t recognize friend versus foe in the heat of the moment. You could suffer serious injuries as a result and still not break up the fight. Plus, if you’re injured, who will be there to care for your dog?

Instead, here are several methods for breaking up a dog fight that will help keep you safe while hopefully diffusing the situation between the combatants:

Distract the dogs. Anything that diverts their attention can potentially allow your dog to escape or you to safely pull your dog away. Try a loud noise like blowing an air horn or banging metal pot lids together. Soak the dogs. Either spray them with a powerful hose or dump a bucket of water on their heads. Throw a blanket or jacket over each dog so they can no longer see each other. Or spray the dogs’ faces with citronella spray, lemon juice spray, or a vinegar spray.

Use an object to separate the dogs. Be certain to keep your hands and face as far from the dogs’ mouths as possible. Options include a metal garbage can lid, a piece of plywood, a baby gate, a chair, or a large push broom. Depending on their size, you can also try to get each dog in a laundry basket or other enclosure you can drop from above.

Physically separate the dogs. This should be your last resort as it puts you at the most risk. If there are other people to help you, you can use the wheelbarrow technique. One person is assigned to each dog involved and approaches that dog from behind. Then grab each dog by the hind legs and lift them so they are balancing on their front legs like a wheelbarrow. Then walk the dogs backwards, away from each other and into separate areas. Keep moving until the dogs are apart to prevent your dog from turning back and biting you.

Hopefully, you and your dog will never find yourselves in this situation. But if you do, get your dog to a veterinarian immediately for assessment.

[cupcakes-and-pain]

Ezra

Ezra is a defiant, vicious pet whumpee who was bought specifically to put into dog fights. They hate their job and their Master, but there’s very little they can do about it. Ezra doesn’t want to hurt the other Pets but it’s the only way to survive in a world that is exceptionally cruel to them. Definitely has a secret soft side and would like to have a comfort object, although it’d quickly get destroyed in the fast pace life of a dog fighting ring. They just want to feel safe again, let all their emotions out, and have someone there to comfort them. But until they escape or a caretaker comes along, Ezra will have to continue to bottle up their emotions and wear a mask of defiance and hatred.

[blackswallowtailbutterfly]

In the 15-year period of 2005 through 2019, canines killed 521 Americans. Pit bulls contributed to 66% (346) of these deaths. As a radical feminist, you are a woman who believes in biology, science, and statistics, even when the loud misinformed people scream that you are wrong. Pit bull advocates act and sound a lot like TRAs in their rhetoric. “That never happens!” is the rallying cry for both groups.

I don’t know of anyone claiming pitbull attacks never happen. I’ve been bitten twice as a child--once by a pitbull, once by a husky/lab mix. My sister was also bitten by the husky/lab mix. I can tell you what both dogs had in common: rough treatment since puppyhood. I’m well-acquainted with another pitbull who’s an old boy now and has never bitten anyone in his life, despite being around two children. Can you guess what the difference in treatment was?

Pitbulls are the dogs most often used in dog fights. Men (and some women) who get pitbulls often treat them badly and encourage aggressive behaviour. Dogs are domesticated gray wolves--that is, they’re not even considered a separate species; they’re just another subspecies of gray wolf like the arctic wolf, the Arabian wolf, etc.. Domestic dogs are sweet, and loving, and social, but if you treat them badly and encourage aggressive behaviour, you find out very quickly that the medium and large ones can be dangerous.

If pitbulls are dangerous most often it’s because they’re treated like shit most often. Because here is the difference: dogs are sentient, they are not sapient. They do not make a choice to hurt people based on a fetish. They do not pretend to be labrador retrievers (which absolutely will bite if you treat them like shit). They are not campaigning for the right to be in the homes of people who are uncomfortable with them. They are just dogs. Treat them well, and they’re just big babies who like to sleep between your feet and sing along to instruments. Treat them poorly and someone is going to suffer for it, be it you or an unsuspecting child.

Trans-identified men are at best delusional gay men whose internalized homophobia pushed them to drastic measures, and they need therapy, not validation for their delusion, and not access to spaces that weren’t made for them. These are the small minority of men who identify as women today. At worst TIMs are violent and predatory men of any sexual orientation (mostly straight) who want access to a steady victim supply. Men are not treated worse than women, so poor treatment in childhood doesn’t hold up as an explanation for why they behave that way. Most victims of child sexual abuse are girls and yet most perpetrators of child sexual abuse are men.

Trans-identified men, like men in general, have a terrible sense of self-entitlement which makes them believe they must be the centre of attention at all times, that their feelings should come at the expense of women and children’s safety, that getting laid is a human right for them, that “no” is oppression, and that they should be allowed to view child pornography, to rape women and children (and some men), commit physical assault and murder with impunity. For predatory men, identifying as women is just another way to possess us.

If you really think pitbull advocates are the same as trans advocates I really don’t know how else to tell you that an abused, non-sapient dog and a predatory sapient human are not the same thing.

[rat-daddy]

Kitbull

I love kitbull for obvious reasons, but after rewatching it again, I realised that after the dog taught the cat to trust, it helped the dog escape, and with that newfound trust, it allowed the kitten the trust the human, unlike at the start, and it just, every time I think about or watch this video I just start tearing up I love it so much

[jaybirdsdelight]

Y'all ever get back to back commercials about adopting old dogs and dogs that aren't perfect (ie. Missing an eye) and about pitbull fighting and just start bawling... like they were drawings and in Spanish so I only understood 65% of what was said but just wow..... both ended happily and I'm still crying..

[sweetmetalmemories]

Everybody going off about the slap and how they would love to see more of it on award shows—I know they are just jokes of course, but like...that’s literally why the Roman Colosseum was a thing. People really do love violence of any kind and it’s just kinda creepy.

[buffaloretro]

Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies

A jet fighter for the ages. Editor’s note: So this was originally published on a lovely website I wrote for called pinkiesparadise.com. The original can and should be viewed here. For long time readers that have followed me from that website I apologize for the recycled material BUT for my own cataloguing and OCD purposes – I did want to officially rate this beautiful work of art and have it on…

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