Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Dogfight...dogbite

Dogs love their friends and bite their enemies, quite unlike people, who are incapable of pure love and always have to mix love and hate. - Sigmund Freud


Well...now that Ive had a couple days to think about it...I am realizing how damn lucky I am to not have gotten hurt more than I did.

I had to break up a dog fight Sunday morning.Why did it happen? Because I let 2 dogs whose owner said they were to be kept seperate because "once every 9 months or so" they fight...like have to go to vet and get stitches fight. And I had gotten lax (and let myself get run down so I wasnt fully paying attention) because the dogs had gotten along so well and were sooo sweet. Well, as the song says "We Wont Get Fooled Again"

It was the most horrifying moment of my life.This was not snapping to say "Get away" this was furiously fighting to the death. It was a border collie and a small German Shepherd. Both females. I still am not sure *how* I got them apart.

But somewhere in the tangle of fur and fury, my left hand(thank goodness it wasnt my right, nor was it worse) got in between one dogs neck and the others mouth.

I have one kinda deep but small puncture wound and a couple little bites where just the skin was broken.It is mnostly sore, from the dogs jaws clamping down on it.

No..I havent seen a doctor. I am up on my tetanus, and the dogs are up on their shots...Ive been soaking it and bandaging it and soaking it more and watching it closely for ANY signs of infection. It was pretty sore the 1st 2 days, I do have full range of motion, its just sore. No numbness or loss of dexterity. Im a former nurse so know what to look for as far as infection and nerve damage.

Today it is not so sore, and I have been kind of moving my hand around, to keep it from getting stiff.

Now if I could only make the panic attacks where I see the dogs turning on me as I try to break them apart go away. Which I am damn lucky didnt happen...but am trying not to think about.

Theyre only fleeting images though, and I only panic for a few seconds and it subsides.

I called a dog trainer my boss knows today and left him a voicemail asking if he had any tips or would be available to talk to me about this.

2 comments:

Uncle said...

The best advice I ever had was to remember that I am one of the largest and most ferocious carnivores on earth, and to approach any confrontation with an irate dog exuding confidence...and carrying a blunt instrument. Buckets of water used to work wonders on fighting dogs too...although I don't know what that'd do to the clients' house.
They need Uncle Matty: it isn't entirely right for dogs who live together to fight like that.
Those are nasty, slow-healing injuries, and I'm sorry it happened.

crispix67 said...

Well..one website I read said "It requires 2 people to break up a dogfight" well..yeah, but what if youre alone and its 7 am on a Sunday morning so nobody nearby is awake...and believe me, I screamed alot...so someone could have heard and come in.

BTW- screaming and yelling is on the "dont" list. As is hitting them and grabbing their collars. Which is how I think I got them seperated...grabbed ones collar and pushed her back..putting my body in between them...and then putting the gate up and getting her in the back bedroom.

I really cant clearly recall how. I just know I did. Thank goodness.