44 - North Shore News — Sunday, September 17, 2000 Joan lucha canine contection EVERY once in a while, I meet with fel- low dog training friends over coffee. The purpose of these gatherings is to network ‘and help each other with situations or problems that each of us may be having with a particular dog or stu- dent. At our last mecting, the subject of why dogs fight came up. Some of us suggested the large dog population was causing a strain within the territories that our dogs share. Others thought that there was a lack of socialization and training. And another suggested that some people like the idea that their dog is a fighter and somehow pro- mote the behaviour instead of control it. Bur whatever the reason, we did agree that dogfights should be prevented. It is true that dogs are social creatures, just like humans and they enjoy the time they spend with their own kind. But like their ancestors, the wolf, they also live by the rules of pack hierarchy and territory. In the wild, a wolf’s ter- ritory can spread for hun- dreds of miles and it is unlikely that they would see another wolf pack tor months at a Gime. But unlike the wolf, our domesticated dog has a ter- ritory that is the size of our back yards. And they come across other pack members every day of their life. Each household that has a dog is a pack. And since most homes have one or two dogs, there is a hierar- chy within that household shared between humans and canines. So our dogs learn to cope with a multi- tude of packs whase territo- ries cross over each other and they de a pretty good job of it. But once in a while there is a dog thar feels its territory is larger than its yard. —— PETS dogfights: a lesson Or, it hasn"t been prop- erly socialized and doesn’t know how to conduct itself in the presence of another dog. Sometimes there are two dogs that just don’t like each other. And then chere is the dog owner who is short on brains and big on ego, and likes their dog being the toughest one on the block. Inevitably, these are the dogs you run into, To prevent a dogfight, the first thing one should do is break che eve contact bernveen the avo dogs, as direct eve contact is a chal- lenge to fight. Crossing the street, turning around or changing the side vour dog is walking on can do this. If the owner is around, I like to remind them of their responsibility to control their dog’s behaviour by asking “Is your dog going to be OK?” If the dog owner is absent or unwilling to con- trol their dog, having the dogs meet may be the only option. If the two dogs sniff each other and go their sep- arate ways, great! If not and a fight starts...do not stick your hands in the mid- Complete mechanical & electrical repairs by factory trained technician IMPEX AUTO 1 166A West 14th Street Tel: 985-6237 _ (oft Pemberton Ave., entrance at rear) Visit our web site: wwwiImpexaute.com The New Rick Honey Show Weekday eMornings dle of it. If the other dog owner is willing to help, cach of you should quickly grab the back legs of your dog. Then lift the dog’s legs in the air, and walk them backward, like a wheelbar- row about 40 paces. Sinee dags don’t realize they have a back end, this action breaks their concen- tration as they try co figure out what happened co their back feet. Now leash the dogs and leave. ‘Tf done properly, it is not possible for the dog to turn and bite the person behind them. For a dog to do this, they have to lift a front foot off the ground to turn. This means that the dog will only have one foot left on the ground. Since it has no idea where the rest of its feet are, it makes the choice nor to move either foot. Being proactive by pre- venting dogfights is ideal, but if you make the choice to break up a fight, put your safety first. Jonn is the awner of Sierra K9 Trainin. For advice or training email her at joan@sierrak9.com Comsnents to the editor are welcome. KIDS FOLLOW THE WATER SAFETY RULES pO YoU? Cg The Canadian Red Cross Society + Face Painting attoos & Body Art Human’s" name: - Alex, 4 years old. we Pet's name: Chelsea.- : Favourite ‘activities: Chelsea’ likes playing with Charlie the. dog. Favourite : treat:- She loves. tuna and cat treats. For info on Pet Paulse, e- mail .. -