Char asks: Is fighting ever okay?
I’ve won fights and lost fights. I’m a good fighter. But I don’t like fighting.
Actually, let me restate that. I love fighting, but not when it’s real. I love tumbling with my buddies, grabbing at them and being grabbed at, till someone yelps, and then we stop for a second – and then jump back in!
But real, serious fighting? That’s what I don’t like. In fact, I have a great way of dealing with it when someone picks a fight with me. A dog will attack me, and I’ll use my long legs to get above her, and force her to the ground. Instantly, my mouth (which you see in the picture is really long) is open and clamped onto her throat. She stops moving at once, feeling very nervous. And once she calms down, I let go and back away. Sometimes the other dog will then choose to ignore me, or to play in a way I like. And if so, that’s great. But if not, if the dog goes in for another attack, I do just the same thing again. Sometimes they learn. And sometimes they don’t, and eventually their owners just pull them away embarrassed.
So my advice to kids, about fighting? Best to avoid fights whenever you can – you’ll probably both just get in trouble if you do it. Find some other way to resolve your differences. And no matter what anyone says, it’s okay to tell on someone who’s picking on you.
But if you’re forced into it, the best thing to do is to end it as fast as possible. If that means giving up, okay, you’ll live to deal with it another day. But if you can win, then just show them you’re able to take them, and then let them be. You won’t believe how much they’ll appreciate it. You might even get to be good friends out of doing that. It’s sure worked for me.