Collie Rescue - Fightin' over the females - Joseph Max Lewis

Fightin' Over The Females!!!!!


For over 15 years I’ve been involved in Collie Rescue including adopting the more difficult to place males that have gone stray. For those not familiar with the breed, Male Standard Rough Hair Collies (like Lassie) go about 80 to 85 lbs, so they’re pretty big boys.

One of the first things to understand when adopting ANY dog is their three major instinctive drives. Every dog has a Prey Drive, Pack Drive and Defense Drive. Prey drive in its most basic form motivates dogs to hunt and kill animals so they can eat them. It’s exhibited by high-pitched barking and pouncing. The pack drive enables a dog to work and cooperate with other dogs - and people - and is exhibited by play behavior and expressions of affection. Finally, Defense Drive is just what it says - it’s the dog’s instinct to protect itself and the pack, but it can become a problem if not properly channeled, ie guarding food or toys and growling at or attacking other dogs or humans.


When two large dogs get into a fight over territory or, what else . . . a female, what will most likely end the fight naturally and, if it does not end, how does the American Kennel Club recommend ending the fight? Two answers: first, “Social hierarchy,” when one dog signals submission to the other. Dog fights can appear terribly violent, but in the end dogs seldom cause each other serious harm – unless some donkey trained them to hurt each other. When one dog starts to win, when it becomes clear he’s the tougher dog, the weaker dog will signal submission by rolling over on its back and exposing its belly. The dominant dog will prance around for a while, growl, snip at and basically humiliate the other dog, but won’t hurt it anymore. On rare occasion two dogs that are both physically well matched and equally dominant will fight and that, especially if the conflict is over a female, can go on too long and get vicious.

So what do you do if a dog fight does not resolve itself?

DO NOT stick your hand in unless there’s no other choice. Instead, according to the AKC, dump a bucket of water on them. Seriously – preferably cold water. It’s hard to be a tough guy when you’re soaking wet, you know?



Joseph Max Lewis josephmaxlewis.com author of The Diaries of Pontius Pilate, Separation of Church and State and Baghdad Burning.

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Joseph Max Lewis served as a member of an Operational Detachment in the U.S. Army's Seventh Special Forces Group, the storied Green Berets. During his service Lewis received antiterrorist training and his detachment was tasked to "Special Projects." Afterward, he served as an instructor at the Special Forces Qualification Course. Lewis attended the Pennsylvania State University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, the University of Tel Aviv in Israel, and the University of Pittsburgh, receiving degrees in International Politics and Law while being certified in Middle East Studies.

After living and studying abroad, first in the Middle East and then Southeast Asia, Lewis returned home to practice law. He’s a columnist in the New Bethlehem Leader-Vindicator, author of The Diaries of Pontius Pilate and currently lives, writes, and practices law in and around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.