So Murphy likes to get a toy and taunt Daisy... "I have a toy... you don't have a toy... my toy! My toy! Not for yooooouuu!!!"   He will carry it around in front of her and then sit down and chew on it... all the while watching Daisy to see if she is watching him.  Of course... she is.

Last night... Daisy just lost it.  She went all Werewolf of London  on Murphy... and of course Murphy loses it... loses control of the toy... loses control of his circumstances... loses control of his bladder.  And Daisy is growling and biting at him in a way I have never seen before.  They play bitey-face, but this was way different.  Murphy was squealing like crazy and Daisy wasn't letting up... all teeth and biting and growling.

I yelled at them to stop but it was spiting in the wind.  So.... I though it would be a spiffy idea to put my hand in the middle of that.  It's a day later, and the cut on my finger still bleeds when I take the bandage off to change it.  I probably should go get a few stitches put in it.  I did manage to pull Daisy off of Murphy and while he was shaken up, he was OK.   And shortly, they were back to the old game of "I have a toooooy!  No toy for yooou!" and they were playing like always, again.  It was like it never had happened... except for my mangled digit, anyway.

Next time something like this happens... I'll be sticking a boot between the two of them, but I think I'll keep my hands up and out of the way.

Indeed... bad judgement call for Mitch.  I'll have a scar to remind me.  Seriously, if this doesn't stop bleeding... I'll go to the doctor.  Eventually.  At some point.  Maybe.

Arrgh! That's alful! GOOD thing they are, and have, LITTLE canines!

Happened with Rosey-Rescue and Yogi the other eve...Yogi is on a diet (NOT his idea...harhar) and Rosey gets full food...well...he is NOT a happy man about this. (Smolders)

Gave them both little chew toys each, and he decided he wanted HERS too...and went for it, and her, like a little frenzied badger! Tooth and nail. (VERY unlike him)

I Threw a bag of treats at them and broke it up...(they then kissed my butt ...remorsefully...hehheh)

But hearing your story...glad I didn't grab!!!!! OUCH!!!!!!!

I wish I had a nickel for everytime I advise against doing just what you did, Mitch. :=( However, being the humans that we are.... it's human instinct to do exactly what you did. I've caught myself almost doing it too... but fortunately caught myself before I almost lost a finger. It's highly unlikely that a doctor would stitch your finger, as they usually don't stitch wounds created by dog bites. Most often the wound is left open to heal to lessen the risk of infection. Please be sure to put neosporin (antiobiotic) ointment on the wound. If you are due for one.... probably a tetanus shot is in order.

I'm glad you were not injured any worse than you were. Dog bites create wounds/punctures that are often difficult to heal.

Mitch, I feel your pain...I had all four of mine fighting on top of me in the bed the other night. I had a box of crackers, setting beside the bed on the nightstand. I was preparing to lie down, and somehow the box fell over and dumped a cracker out...Well Miss treat hog Brielle went ballistic, and starting attacking Reni, because she thought she was going after the treat, then the boys just started fighting for the heck of it. I was yelling for my husband to come help me get them apart, and all he does is go for his handgun. I yelled, don't kill my babies and finally got Winchester by the collar, and Brielle by hers, and yanked them up, with Reni dangling by Brielle's leg with her teeth. I was so bit up and scratched it has been three days, and I still hurt. They all spent the night in their crates. Arrgh! I still have marks on my legs, fingers, hands, arms, stomach, and feet. Ouch!

Egads!!!  That's scary!  I think I'd been more freaked out by the handgun than the dogs!    Sounds like they roughed you up pretty good.  

I have to admit, Murphy is asking for it when he taunts Daisy the way he does.  Daisy really could care less about dog toys... she's just not that kind of dog.  But she DOES NOT want Murphy to have a toy... she IS that kind of dog.  So Murphy just baits her and baits her... I can't say it was completely unexpected that she went postal.

Well, leave it to me to do it the wrong way.  I've kept a butterfly bandage on the larger puncture in my finger, and that seems to be working OK.  And yes, keeping it clean and antibiotic ointment on it. I also had a whole battery of shots before going to India, and tetnus was one of them, so I should be good in that department. 

It's tough to type though... I spend al day at a keyboard.  As if I didn't typo enough.

Squirt gun, Mitch, squirt gun lol  I also have been bitten breaking up dog fights.  Squirt guns don't always make 'em stop, then try a glass of water or if you're outside, a hose.... 

I think usually for bigger dogs..BUT...if a  bigger dog attacks your little baby...good advice.

Might even save your baby AND you from serious injury....

leerburg.com/dogfight.htm

Interesting video. 

ouch!!  hope you finger feels better ..........my dog gets like that with the cat....she can be really mean at times .........I get the squirt bottle seems to work for now. 

Couldn't have said it better.  Our black and yellow labs are females, and the yellow one goes postal on the black one so often that we have to keep them separated.  She goes for the throat and she's not stopping until what she wants dead...is.  The yellow lab hates all other female dogs.  We've trained, desensitized...you name it.  At one point, we almost had her PTS because she was so aggressive toward other bitches, but in the end, she's such a sweetheart to us, we decided to keep her separated at all times.  She loves being outside anyway and we make sure to get in plenty of "Satchel time" as well    Just...away from all other dogs.  And her part of the yard is escape proof and you've got to have a key to enter as well.

The water works.  Just don't go get a tiny cup filled with just enough water to fill a Dixie cup (my grandmother did this once when our choc and black lab fought over a bone...I said, "WTH IS THIS FOR?!"  I was expecting at least a pitcher-full, LOL). 

On the stitches...I absolutely HATE to say this...but, hold off if you can.  If you tell the truth, your dog may be confiscated and quarantined for 10-14 days (it all totally depends on the laws where you live).  They may even deem the dog vicious.  Again, totally depends on where you are...I don't think most (if any) will deem a dog to be vicious after one "altercation" ... but some used to.  We've had to break up several squabbles between my grandmother's chinese shar pei and her lab and have had wounds bad enough that they absolutely HAD to have stitches.  The shar pei (Dini, pronounced Denny) has been in lock up 3 times, I think, and he's got a rap sheet as long as his tail.  We once blamed the wounds on the lab, even though the shar pei did it.  I know, bad thing to do, but we knew he was going to be put down after one more offense...we still had hope for the wrinkled up dude, though.    He wasn't a danger to anyone but us (and then only in a fight) and the other dog, so we just decided to keep them separated at all times...and now Missy, the lab, is about to turn 17 on Christmas Eve, and Dini, the Pei, is turning 15 on the 28th of this month.    (The oldest Pei I can find on record is also 15...but we've got no papers on him...so...)

If it becomes commonplace, until you can work out the cause of the aggression, you also might want to keep some pepper spray on hand if the water trick doesn't work.  Of course with a smaller dog, the scruff of the neck is a great place to grab, as Bethany said, but you're still running the risk of getting chewed up again.

Hope your finger feels better soon!

I always wondered how dogs that live together tolerate each other day in and day out 24/7. Eventually one of them has to lose it. I mean we have to live with our partners day in and day out and we pick them!!

Why do ya think I live alone with my babies, Val?  LOL!  I think I'd wind up killin someone!  LOL

I am tellin ya......I look forward to the times I get the house to myself!!