A cluster of dog fights

[sanford]

A fight broke out between 2 dogs at the run today. It was brief - the owners quickly separated the dogs, but one dog came away with a bloodied ear. The dogs and owners left, and 20 minutes later, another fight erupted, also with bloody results. Incredibly, as Ruffy and I sat there throughout these 2 disturbing attacks, a 3rd one took place 10 minutes later, involving 2 other dogs, at which point we hastily left.

The dogs were all mixed breeds, (Shelties, Terriers, Beagles, etc.), approx 30 - 40 lbs. Can anyone explain this? Is such a cluster of attacks a once-in-a-blue-moon unusual coincidence, or is it a predictable example of dog run behavior? Could something in the air/environment, (perhaps pheromones?) have been a trigger? I don't know the sex of the dogs, or if any were neutered or not.

Three separate fights in such a short span of time seems bizarre. I've never heard of, or seen such a thing in 15 years at dog runs and I worry about returning there.

[Sam I Am]

Off leash dog parks are never on my agenda, exactly for what happened when you took Ruffy. As Sam is intact I did read that intact dogs will trigger aggression in neutered dogs. Strange though, you would think the opposite . Perhaps an intact dog or a couple were in the park?Also perhaps a new dog in the neighbourhood, or a female in season even if she isn’t in the park they sure can smell her from a fair distance. Or perhaps it was going to be full moon. My wee Scottish Gran was a firm believer in odd behaviours associated with the coming of a full moon.🌕

Edited July 7, 2018 by Terrier lover

[pkcrossley]

it sounds from your description like each time a new fight broke out, all participants from the previous fights had left. but i would guess that the new participants saw the previous fights. among people as well as animals, observation (or violence or friendliness or whatever) causes brain chemicals to become active as if the observer were participating. anxiety and aggression spread quickly. if you've ever seen a group of horses reacting to something that upsets, angers, intrigues, or pleases one of them of them you get the idea. with horses (and probably many other animals) i think there could also be some kind of odor or hormonal trace lingering at the spot --i've seen horses who knew nothing about previous trouble react very negatively to entering a space where a horse had very recently been frightened or angered.  

it sounds like once trouble breaks out, people have to do everything they can to redirect the attention and reset the brain chemicals of the dogs. put them in different groups, get them engaged in some kind of interactive play with people. just leaving might not work. recent research shows that animals tend to engage with people or animals they know on the basis of their last engagement --if it was a nasty one, nasty can quickly break out again. if it is safe, get the dogs thinking neuttally about each other before anybody leaves. 

[Guest dog person]

Not unusual at all.  A dog fight/attack can happen in the blink of an eye.  Even between dogs that know each other.

I wonder if a female dog in heat was around.   Males will fight each other, they can smell the scent for miles and will become aggressive.

It is usually advised not to bring a dog in heat to a dog park, but some people just don't think.

I don't go to dog parks, don't want to risk having to go to the emergency vet $

Edited July 7, 2018 by dog person

[sanford]

Thanks for the replies, which is a wonderful example of why I love this site! It helped open my eyes to possible triggers for behavior I'd never seen before. The rapid succession of 3 fights in a row really threw me for a loop because I couldn't make sense of it. Each of the 3 above explanations sounds plausible and reassures me to know that dogs won't erupt for no reason. Unpleasant though it is, I can understand the reality of dog behavior a bit better now... and act on that knowledge by leaving the run in the future.

P.S. Clearly, there are pros and cons to using dog runs. In my case it was 15 years before something like this ever took place, so I'd like to consider returning, just maybe not as often.

[hheldorfer]

Based on several years of bringing dogs to the dog park I agree with pkcrossley.  When one fight breaks out it seems to cause, for lack of a better term, a disturbance in The Force.  Dog socialization is a complex dance of body language and scents, and sometimes one dog is offended by another's actions in a way that isn't apparent to us uprights.  One fight puts everyone else on edge and things can escalate quickly.  

I don't think you need to avoid the park altogether, just keep your eyes and ears open.

(Side note:  Owners are responsible for their dogs' behavior and should always be paying attention.  I've seen too many people distracted by their cell phones or having conversations with others, totally ignoring the fact that their dog is bullying other dogs in the park and causing trouble.)

[bradl]

This is a very interesting topic to me as I have no experience of dog parks. 

I have seen a phenomenon occasionally in other situations with a lot of dogs in an environment — if there is a high degree of agitation going on somewhere, a dog at some distance from the action may engage the closest dog to it. It seems to be some sort of displaced aggression or frustration effect.  Immediately after being distracted or broken up they go right back to being peaceful pals as if nothing had happened.

[Pepper Bug's Mom]

The dog park that I walk to is wonderful - very local and no more than a few dogs at a time.  Teddy (the lab) is only concerned about his tennis ball and ignores everything else...he has reacted twice in his three years to another dog and quickly stopped - I never did figure what started that one.  Brodie (the one year old trouble maker Cairn) is VERY social and runs up to the other dogs and is happy to say hi and run around.  Pepper (the 7 year old Cairn with the HIGH prey drive) is allowed to run with her leash dragging behind her - there are way too many rabbits at this time of the year!  Pepper will run and say high but would rather chase the tennis ball with Teddy.  Pepper will snap if the 3 second butt sniffing rule is broken but then she moves on happy as can be!  We never stop and chat because for sure Pepper or someone will run into the blackberry bushes never to be seen again, or eat grass or whatever.  There is a nice long trail that we all walk along once the tennis ball throwing is done!  Both Cairns are on leashes and the lab just trots along!