Breaking Up Dogfights

Dog fights don’t occur if your dog is well trained. This is true even of the so-called alpha breeds with hard-wired instincts. If your dog is so hard wired that you can’t train it then it is not suitable to be a pet.  

If you know your dog is a fighter then you need to take him or her to obedience school. If your dog suddenly turns into a fighter with no prior history of fighting it means that you have lost control of him. A dog that is suddenly irritable like this might also have a physical problem so it may be time to take him to the vet.  

Keep in mind too that dogs don’t have to be vicious to get into fights. A dog that is nervous or submissive can simply irritate other dogs with its presence.   A nervous dog also makes other dogs nervous because it is obvious that you don’t have control of it. This can inspire a strange dog to ,take charge.,  

The reason it is so important for you to get control over an aggressive or nervous dog is because dogfights can be expensive. If he harms another animal or person you could be sued and your dog could be put down.  

However you can’t always prevent two animals from squabbling.   The first rule of thumb — If your dog does start to fight with another dog don’t try to get between the two of them!   They will snarl and bite at anything that gets in the way.   Your own dog could harm you. To put it in a nutshell the fighting dog is not your pet anymore , it is a wolf.  

If you do not want to make the fight worse or get hurt then you might have to stand by and let the fight take its course.   The second rule of thumb to remember , you need two people to do this or you could get hurt.   Your best course of action is to get the owner of the other dog to grab it by the hind legs and pull it away from the fight while you do the same thing. Be prepared to be kicked and scratched in the face while you do this.  

Don’t try to drag the dogs away by their collars, as you will risk getting bit.  If you are near a water source, you can try to throw a pail of water over them or spray them with a hose. The shock of this is usually enough to get the two scrapping dogs to separate. If one dog has his jaws clamped on another’s neck as is often the case with a pit bull then try pouring a glass of hot water into the dog’s mouth to make him release his jaws.

 Unfortunately so often when it comes to dog fights only one winner emerges which is why it is so important to make sure your dog is obedient and well socialized before you take him out for walks.

Nostalgia for Cartoon Dogs

If you own a pet dog you probably like cartoon dogs a lot as well. One of the astounding things about cartoon dogs is how humanized they were in character but if you really think about it we also humanize our pets in a similar way …here are some of my favorite animated canines from eras gone by.  

Ruff from ,Ruff n’ Reddy was probably the first of the funny cartoon dogs. He was a Hanna and Barbera cartoon that was paired by a bossy cat named ,Reddy, that was coincidentally colored red.   This dog first made his appearance on television in the fall of 1957. Ruff was also interactive with a live host who asked him questions to which Ruff would provide dumb answers.  

The second big animated television cartoon dog was Huckleberry Hound was not that much different in looks than Ruff from Ruff n’Reddy. This is not surprising as this cartoon series was all made by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera’s. In fact the only difference might have been that this dog had a Southern draw. Another interesting fact about this show is that it was the first television show to win an Emmy for animation. Before that only Disney movies got that honor.  

Another one of my favorite dogs was Mr. Peabody, the smart white dog with the whiny voice and glasses that starred in ,Mr. Peabody’s Improbable History, This was about a famous time traveling dog and his pet boy Sherman who he time traveled with in his Wayback machine. This cartoon series started in 1959.  

Once he was released from the confines of the back pages of the Funny papers Snoopy also became a well-known funny dog on the small screen. The famous beagle and his creator Charles Schulz won and Emmy in 1964 for the show ,A Charlie Brown Christmas.,    You might also remember this dog ‘s imitation of a World War I Flying Ace named the Red Baron.  

No blog on cartoon dogs can be complete without mentioning Dino. Dino’s breed was technically a ,Snorkasoraus, and he was purple. His famous bit was trampling his owner Fred Flintstone in the opening credits.   He was also famous for his bark that sounded like ,rubba, rubba, rubba, Dino also talked in some episodes and his voice was bestowed by the fey and dry sounding Las Vegas style comedian Phil Silvers.  

Yet another great cartoon dog was of course Scooby Doo. This star of ,Scooby Doo Where Are You?,    Scooby  had a cute little ,intellectual, sidekick named Scrappy and a not so bright country cousin called Scooby Dum.  

My favorite dog of all time however has to be Ren from ,Ren and Stimpy,. This emaciated sharp-witted Chihuahua was companion to an overweight cat with bad breath. To me the two of them seemed more human then most human beings.  

Some other very famous cartoon funny dogs include Deputy Dawg from the Hi and Lois comic strip,  Underdog from the cartoon series and Otto from the Beetle Bailey comic strip.