Dog Fighting

How can you tell if a dog is being trained for dog fighting?

Our neighbors behind us (a 6' privacy fence) have at least 2 dogs - a larger dog and a smaller dog (going only by the sounds they make). Today was the third time in the past week where I heard the lady screaming and yelling (she was speaking in a language I don't speak so I don't know what she was saying) and the dogs making an awful sound. It was horrible.

The very first time it happened there was a child in the backyard (could hear the little one) and I honestly thought the dogs were attacking the child. The dogs sounded vicious. That stopped soon after it started.

Today the lady was yelling and then I heard a man yelling, could hear the dogs, and I saw him swing a big stick in the air and then strike down. He did that several times and each time he did the big dog made a horrifically pathetic sound.

I called the police and they called out animal control. I felt like one of 'those' neighbors. But I was frightened, scared for the animal (even though I have no proof they were beating the dog) and my dog who was outside came running inside and hid under the table.

The animal control guy came to my house and wanted to confirm the house (I didn't know the house number but pointed it out). He said he's dealt with them before.

Would this be a dog fighting thing?

dog abuse....I am not seeing where dog fighting comes in? I highly doubt if he were beating a dog with a stick for attacking another animal it would be a dog fighting thing. More like an abusive idiot thing?

Could be two dogs that don't get along who the owners leave out together unattended, then scream at them to break it up. Spanky and Bandit cannot be left alone together without going at it. However I don't leave them alone together.

Abuse, yes. Dog fighting? Probably not.

BTW my dogs have disagreements at times esp when in season or pregnant. These disagreements are LOUD and require me to yell LOUD to stop and somtimes I even need to separate them with a broom or piece of wood while I grab the instigator.

Sometimes when you live with multiple dogs...disagreements happen and yelling is needed.

The stick issue is worrying but much less so than the yelling, IMO.

Same here HoundedbyHounds. Or if I have nothing to split them up with I sound especially angry. A not very nice sounding "Drop him you #$@ head" is said followed by a few more curses. The dogs get the point.

You just knew if the dog's bark sounds like crying or not, it might be a dog abuse. Did you know what happened later, did you talked to the animal control guy after he visited the house.

It sounds as if the dogs are fighting on their own terms and not getting along. The woman is screaming because that's all she knows to do and the man is too lazy to do anything but beat them.

If they were truly responsible dog owners, the dog's would be separated and not left together.

As for how to spot signs of training dogs to fight, you can't unless you actually witness a planned fight in progress. The whole list of items such as flirtpoles, springpoles, treadmills, break sticks, multiple dogs, dogs on chains, etc. etc. is a big load of b.s. perpetuated by the HSUS and PETA. These items are used by regular responsible dog owners and that's the kind of people those lists hurt.

I'm thining its probably that they're 2 dogs got into a fight.

Ours have a few times, it happens. usually our fault. Like if we put a thing of left over gravy down for Harry to eat, Buster is food possessive with teh other dogs and Sophie is a pig, Sophie went for it, Buster thought it was him, fight. Usually if Buster has a go at her then she just stands back and takes it till we grab him, but he'd done it to her a few times that week and she went back, we did break a washing basket over her back trying to get her to stop, before we could pull them apart.

Usually they stop with a yell but, there have been times that they havn't, like Harry and Mac, Harry is about 3 times Mac's size yet she still picks fights with him despite that, so they are seperated when we arn't home now because they can start over something like a toy (even if we remove all toys, it might happen over a stick)

Also, if we do ever have fights, its usually multiple times over a week or so, then nothing again for months, they just go through stages where they are really on edge. But we've learned to pick up certain "looks" or eye movements that indicate one of them (Usually Mac/Harry) wants to start something and they get told off and seperated immediatley.

If they have a big dog and a small dog, then the big dog could do a lot of damage very quickly, hence the need to split them up fast. Although hitting them with a stick isn't a nice, or necesarily the best option, it mgiht have been a "spur of the moment" type thing.

90% of the prooblems here we can stop purely by voice, the other 10% require somethign more hands on.

I'm going to have to agree. Every time my dogs have gotten into a fight it has been totally my fault for not paying close enough attention to them. I'm on board with it now and haven't had one in so long. I like to keep it that way.