Proof of Bite Inhibition

***WARNING***GRAPHIC PICTURES BELOW***

This morning as I was getting ready for work, two of our dogs got into a fight while coming in from the backyard. My American Pit Bull Terrier Enzo and one of my husband's Saint Bernards. I heard a couple of low growls and then it was on. It happened so fast and in the hallway that they go through all the time. The Big Blending Project has been going very well and this was the worst fight yet (we've had a few squabbles, but no real fights). As you may or may not know, I have Multiple Sclerosis and am not very strong and my husband was already out of the house. I have broken up probably a hundred dog fights through my various dog jobs so I'm pretty experienced and confident (and I've never been injured in the process). The problem with the Saints is that they are litter mates so when one gets into trouble, the other comes to help. Well, Rufus and Enzo were going at it (lots of noise, very little contact) and Bruno comes to help and is pushing his way through Rufus so I have 275lbs of Saint pushing toward a 60lb APBT (all in a narrow hallway so I have no option as to how to go at them and they have me pinned against the wall/corner). I was screaming and pushing them back but they would not stop. In the process, Enzo bit my arm and while I continued to try to pull them apart, Rufus escalated and bit my arm as well. The bite from Rufus sunk into me deep and it burned like fire. I finally got them to stop, separated them and surveyed the damage to my body. I had a huge chunk out of my forearm (I was actually missing some flesh), a puncture on the bottom side of my forearm and two punctures in my left leg (I was wearing my robe while all of this was happening so I was quite vulnerable). I immediately called my husband who hurried home, helped me get dressed and took me to the hospital.
I am always always always talking about Bite Inhibition to anyone who owns a dog. Most "civilians" don't know the term or have any idea how to teach it. Dr. Ian Dunbar always says you don't know if a dog has bite inhibition until it bites you which is why I try to make dogs bite me when I assess them for the rescues I volunteer with. Yes, I am a little crazy, but one of the main reasons that I adopted Enzo as an adult was because I was 90% sure he had great bite inhibition. Today I learned that I was correct in my assessment. In the heat of the moment, in the worst fight I have ever seen my dog in, he bit me and barely left a scratch. This first picture is of where Enzo bit me (you can click on the pictures to enlarge them):

If you can see the red dot on my wrist, that's where his tooth hit me and nicked the skin. It feels like I may end up having a bruise there, but no major damage.
The pictures that follow are of my arm and leg where Rufus bit me.

This is right after it happened:


This is my inner left thigh where Rufus bit me (the lower puncture is super deep):


This is at the hospital after they cleaned up my arm a little:


The under side of my arm:


They managed to pull the skin together and stitch closed the worst one and I got one stitch in my leg. They used tape/glue on the under side of my arm because I was not handling being stitched up very well. The only thing that I have experienced that was more horrible than receiving these stitches was having a spinal tap.


And it all happened in this narrow hallway (so my options were limited as to what I could do):




BITE INHIBITION IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU CAN EVER TEACH YOUR DOG!!!!! There is a small window when dogs are puppies to teach them so DO IT!! It is nearly impossible to change their bite inhibition when they are adults. Get Dr. Dunbar's book "After You Get Your Puppy" to learn more about teaching Bite Inhibition. Click the link to download the book for free. It's FREE so read it and share it with others. Bite Inhibition should be a term known by all dog owners. Learn it and teach it to others.