If Your Frenchie Is Attacked — Don't Use Your Hands

Step 1 — DO NOT REACH IN WITH HANDS

In a fight, dogs bite whatever comes close — even your own dog, in the adrenaline.

Hands between fighting dogs is how owners end up in the ER.

Step 2 — Use What You Have: 6 Ways to Break It Up

Pick whatever is at hand in that moment. Keep your hands away from their mouths.

1. Loud noise — air horn, a metal bowl, pot or chair banged or dropped near them; a sudden noise can make them let go
2. Water — hose, bucket or bottle to the face; it often works, not always
3. Citronella spray aimed at the biting dog's face — it may make him let go, but not always
4. Something solid between them — a board, a chair, a bin lid
5. A blanket or jacket thrown over them — one over each dog works best
6. Back legs, two people — each takes one dog by the back legs, lifts and backs away in a curve. Only when neither dog is holding on with his teeth — pulling a dog that still holds on tears the wound

Step 3 — Never Pull Them Apart While Either Dog Is Still Biting

Never put your hands between the dogs — you will be bitten. Wait for a moment when neither dog is holding on.

• NEVER grab the collar or scruff — your hand ends up right next to the teeth

Step 4 — Once Separated, Restrain Immediately

Keep your dog on a leash, in a crate, or in the car. Do not allow re-engagement.

After Separation — Wound Assessment

• Apply pressure first with clean cloth — at least 10 min of solid pressure stops most bleeding
• DO NOT panic-clean — pressure before water
• Look for puncture wounds — close over within minutes, look like "just a scratch." VCA: small puncture wounds from canine teeth "can close over quickly and can easily be missed."
• A Frenchie coat makes this worse — the dense, short coat makes wounds almost impossible to spot if he has not been brushed recently. When Spike was attacked, we only found the bites with a flashlight, after wetting him down so the fur lay flat against the skin.
• Cover with clean damp cloth, transport to vet

Why Frenchies Are Particularly Vulnerable

• Small size (8–14 kg (18–31 lb)) — single shake = spinal/internal injury risk
• Flat face and narrow airways — panicked breathing during an attack can trigger a BOAS crisis (BOAS: the breathing disease of flat-faced dogs). 50% of Frenchies have clinically significant BOAS at baseline; stress amplifies it.
• Spine — malformed vertebrae are common in French Bulldogs, even in dogs with no symptoms.
• Eye proptosis risk — even minor head trauma during an attack can pop the eye out.

Why Vet ALWAYS — Bite Wound Infection

A dog's mouth carries many kinds of bacteria:

• In one study of 50 people with infected dog bites, Pasteurella grew in half of the wounds
• Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, Fusobacterium and Bacteroides were also common
• Anaerobic bacteria thrive in puncture wounds — canine teeth inject bacteria DEEP, skin closes over → anaerobic chamber

Standard veterinary protocol:

• Surgical enlargement of the puncture for drainage
• Dilute antiseptic lavage
• Broad-spectrum antibiotics covering Pasteurella + anaerobes — vet-prescribed

Our own vet’s first words when we brought Spike in: “Thank you for bringing him — you would not believe how many people say it is nothing, and that can be fatal for the dog.” He gave an antibiotic and pain relief right away, cleaned the wound, and the first thing he asked was whether Spike was vaccinated. Keep your dog’s vaccines up to date before you ever need this page.

ER vs. Regular Vet

ER NOW

• Uncontrollable bleeding
• Breathing difficulty (especially Frenchie!)
• Pale/blue gums
• Collapse
• Eye injury
• Abdominal/chest punctures
• Unconscious

Your own vet, right away

• Any puncture
• Any bite that broke skin
• Even "just a scratch" from another dog

Legal & Evidence

• Photograph everything — wounds (with ruler/coin for scale), location, the other dog, owner ID
• Report it to animal control — in many places this is required
• Dangerous Dog Laws vary: registration, muzzling in public, mandatory confinement, liability for medical bills
• Keep all vet receipts

Emotional Aftermath (PTSD in Dogs Is Real)

Behavioral changes after attack:

• Trembling on walks
• Refusal to leave home
• Leash reactivity to ALL dogs
• Hypervigilance
• Sleep disturbance

Recovery:

• Gradual desensitization (parked car at distance from a friend's calm dog)
• Classical counterconditioning (high-value food at sight of dogs)
• Severe cases: vet behaviorist — any medication is your vet's decision

Prevention

• Our opinion: skip dog parks entirely
• 6-foot (1.8 m) leash, never flexi-leash
• Read body language: stiff tail, hard stare, raised hackles, lip-curl = walk away NOW
• Carry: air horn, citronella spray, treats for distraction

About the Author

Spike’s Dad

Not a veterinarian — the human behind Spike, a dark brindle Frenchie, for 7+ years. What is written here is checked as carefully as we can against the sources listed above. When real life with Spike differs from the studies, we say so.

How this site is researched →