Trainer reveals how to break up a dog fight — and following these tips will help keep everyone safe

While dogs are often social creatures, they won’t always get along with one another – just like humans! And in some instances, one dog may attack another, or two dogs might start fighting.

Hopefully, you won’t be in a position where you’ll need to intervene between two dogs, but it can still be good to know what to do in case you do find yourself in a situation that’s less than ideal. This might be as simple as throwing some of the best dog treats , but it could need to be more complex.

Juliana DeWillems, an expert dog trainer and the owner and head trainer at JW Dog Training & Behavior , has got some advice to share in a new Instagram post – she stresses that there are risks involved, but that this is a topic dog parents aren’t usually as informed about.

First of all, it’s best to prevent conflict before it starts in the first place, by stopping a dog who’s approaching you and your pup. DeWillems suggests using a pet corrector or animal deterrent spray, opening a small umbrella toward the dog, or chucking a handful of treats away to distract them. However, she says, “Each of these risk scaring your own dog. Consider proactively desensitizing your own dog to them.”

If you need to break up a dog fight, however, DeWillems urges us not to use our hands or grab collars, which can be dangerous – we might get bitten as a result. Instead, throw a safe liquid, like water, on the dogs, look for large objects nearby to put between the dogs, or make a loud noise to startle them – something like a horn will likely be more effective than simply shouting or yelling.

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When dogs are latched on to each other and won’t let go, the advice given to professionals who work with dogs is to throw liquid on them, spray animal deterrent spray up their nose and into their mouth, pick the biting dog up by their hind end if possible, though not pulling them as this can risk further injury, and use a leash or collar to restrain. “With each of these, be ready to restrain the biting dog the moment they let go,” DeWillems adds.

She continues, “Unfortunately, none of these techniques are foolproof. Intervening in a dog-dog conflict always comes with risks. However, these techniques are likely going to be safer and more effective than our human instincts to throw hands into the fight and/or become hysterical. Familiarizing yourself with these options makes it more likely that you’ll reach for them when your own body is in panic mode.”

Remember that, while you might want to protect your dog above all else, it’s important to keep yourself safe too. You don’t want to risk a trip to the ER – it’ll only add more stress on to the situation. And, don’t forget that dog play fighting can be totally normal, and is not the same thing as a dog attack.