History Main / DisneyDogFight

In TV Land, when two people lay claim to a pet, things like bills of sale do not matter. No, in matters such as these, it is always best to put the pet between the two owners, and let the pet decide. What we have is a good old fashioned Disney Dog Fight.

Despite the name of the trope, it does not have to involve a dog, nor does it need to be in a Disney movie. Dogs just seem to be most often used, with horses and children running a close second. It is part of the trope that if it is a person, not an animal, making the choice they are somehow decision impaired (a child for instance) or is somehow making the decision not using higher brain functions (a HormoneAddledTeenager for instance). Creator/{{Disney}} is invoked mainly because they perpetuated the trope in numerous Live-action movies and TV shows, but also because the name Disney is often synonymous with [[DisneyDeath toning down content for younger viewers]], so this is Disney's version of a Dog Fight.

Compare LetHimChoose. Compare/contrast with JudgmentOfSolomon. [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant Not to be confused with]] an OldSchoolDogfight in a Disney movie-- or, for that matter, an ''actual'' [[BeastlyBloodsports dog fight]].

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* Subverted ''and'' played Straight in ''Manga/CaseClosed'' in ''The Beckoning Calico Cat'' - where the animal in question is a rare male calico cat. One of the hopeful (non-)owners used catnip to attract the cat, who subsequently was all over him. Later played straight when the cat recognized his real owner by the sound of the foot steps through a closed door.

* Slightly weird version in ''Film/PoisonIvy''. It seems at first that Ivy is trying not to win, in order to prove to Sylvie that she is ''not'' stealing the affections of her father and her dog - but due to her personality she can't handle actually losing, and uses the food-cue training she set up earlier to get the dog to come to her.

* One episode of ''Series/{{CSI}}'' had two victims: one killed by gun and another killed by dog bites to the neck. The investigation of evidence showed that the two victims were husband and wife, and they were getting a divorce. They were arguing over who'd get 'custody' of their pet dog. The female victim had bacon grease under her fingernails to lure the dog to her side. [[spoiler: How did they die? The husband got a similar dog to replace the first dog. The wife found out and shot him. The gun shot scared the new dog (due to him being abused) and attacked the woman, killing her.]]

* In the first HenryHuggins book by Beverly Cleary, Henry has to do this to lay claim on Ribsy. He tries to sweeten the deal by offering horse meat (which he doesn't have), which he is called out on by his opponent.

* LetsPlay/SimonLane and LetsPlay/LewisBrindley once tried to get a pet wolf to do this in their [[Machinima/YogscastMinecraftSeries Minecraft series]] after getting in an argument about who tamed it. They forgot that once you've gotten a wolf to sit, it won't move until you click on it again.

* In the classic Chekhov's story Kashtanka (which surprisingly [[IncrediblyLamePun doesn't feature any]] [[ChekhovsGun guns]]), the eponymous dog heartily rushes to her previous neglectful owner as soon as she sees him, despite her new owner treating her much better.

* Subverted ''and'' played Straight in Manga/DetectiveConan in ''The Beckoning Calico Cat'' - where the animal in question is a rare male calico cat. One of the hopeful (non-)owners used catnip to attract the cat, who subsequently was all over him. Later played straight when the cat recognized his real owner by the sound of the foot steps through a closed door.

Compare LetHimChoose. Compare/contrast with JudgmentOfSolomon. [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant Not to be confused with]] an OldSchoolDogfight in a Creator/{{Disney}} movie, like in Film/TronLegacy.

* In ''Manga/HetaliaAxisPowers'', England and France do this with a young America. He eventually chooses England after England gets depressed that he can't offer anything as good as France can.

* In one of the ''LightNovel/HaiyoreNyarkoSan'' shorts, Nyarko thinks her pet [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos Shantak]] is getting too attached to Mahiro, but insists that she'd always choose her real owner. Mahiro suggests doing this test and despite Nyarko's attempts to call, Shantak immediately jumps into Mahiro's arms. Nyarko flips out and, one RelaxOVision sequence later, she's snuggling a badly beaten-up Shantak and cooing "Oh, I ''knew'' you'd pick Mommy!" while a terrified Mahiro calls her a monster.
* In ''Manga/AxisPowersHetalia'', England and France do this with a young America. He eventually chooses England after England gets depressed that he can't offer anything as good as France can.

* ''WesternAnimation/FancyNancy'' does virtually the same plot as the ''SpongeBob'' example with "Frenchy, Mon Amour", as Nancy's dog Frenchy prefers to go with Jojo. He goes back to Nancy in the end when it's revealed he only wanted to go with Jojo because of a sandwich in her overalls.

In TV Land, when two people lay claim to a pet, things like bills of sale do not matter. No, in matters such as these, it is always best to put the pet between the two owners, and let the pet decide. What we have is a good old fashioned DisneyDogFight.

* At the end of ''Disney/{{Pocahontas}}'', Percy the pug actually abandons his evil owner Governor Ratcliff in favor of the title heroine -- though no one ever asked him to and Ratcliff doesn't seem to notice.

* Done in ''Disney/TreasurePlanet'', with Morph having to choose between Long John Silver and Jim. Subverted, in that Morph doesn't really ''[[TakingAThirdOption choose]]'' [[TakingAThirdOption who wins, per se.]] Also notable in that ''both'' of the people loved Morph with all their heart. They both also ''really'' wanted the map to the treasure.

Compare LetHimChoose. Compare/contrast with JudgmentOfSolomon. [[IThoughtItMeant Not to be confused with]] an OldSchoolDogfight in a Creator/{{Disney}} movie, like in Film/TronLegacy.

* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' had this with Silkie trying to choose between Starfire and Killer Moth. The indecision was so stressful that he exploded.

This is seldom played straight anymore (''AirBud'', a Disney dog picture, is a notable exception). Mainly it is played for laughs, for example where the dog does not pick the Universe's ChewToy, or a human is reduced to animalistic base functions to make a decision. Sometimes it is Subverted.

* In one of the ''LightNovel/HaiyoreNyarkoSan'' shorts, Nyarko thinks her pet [[CthulhuMythos Shantak]] is getting too attached to Mahiro, but insists that she'd always choose her real owner. Mahiro suggests doing this test and despite Nyarko's attempts to call, Shantak immediately jumps into Mahiro's arms. Nyarko flips out and, one RelaxOVision sequence later, she's snuggling a badly beaten-up Shantak and cooing "Oh, I ''knew'' you'd pick Mommy!" while a terrified Mahiro calls her a monster.

* A variant in ''WesternAnimation/TheGoodDinosaur''. Forrest, the pet collector, takes an interest in Arlo's nameless pet human, and quickly says, "I name him, I keep him!" Cue the two of them taking turns calling out {{Stock Animal Name}}s at the human until he finally responds when Arlo says "Spot".

Despite the name of the trope, it does not have to involve a dog, nor does it need to be in a Disney movie. Dogs just seem to be most often used, with horses and children running a close second. It is part of the trope that if it is a person, not an animal, making the choice they are somehow decision impaired (a child for instance) or is somehow making the decision not using higher brain functions (a HormoneAddledTeenager for instance). {{Disney}} is invoked mainly because they perpetuated the trope in numerous Live-action movies and TV shows, but also because the name Disney is often synonymous with [[DisneyDeath toning down content for younger viewers]], so this is Disney's version of a Dog Fight.

Compare LetHimChoose. Compare/contrast with JudgmentOfSolomon. [[IThoughtItMeant Not to be confused with]] an OldSchoolDogfight in a {{Disney}} movie, like in Film/TronLegacy.

* A Disney ''Cat'' Fight happens on an episode of ''GoofTroop'', when Pete tricks Goofy into giving up Waffles so he can use him in commercials. Any time Goofy or Max tries to get the cat back, Pete quickly lures him to his side with steak and lobster, which ultimately foils his plan when Waffles's appetite is spoiled and he's no longer able to eat the food in the commercials.

* Subverted ''and'' played Straight in DetectiveConan in ''The Beckoning Calico Cat'' - where the animal in question is a rare male calico cat. One of the hopeful (non-)owners used catnip to attract the cat, who subsequently was all over him. Later played straight when the cat recognized his real owner by the sound of the foot steps through a closed door.

[[folder:Film]]
* ''AirBud'', as mentioned above.

* Used in ''AsGoodAsItGets'' between Verdell (the dog) and Simon and Melvin. A twist is that Melvin was trying ''not'' to win.
* Slightly weird version in ''PoisonIvy''. It seems at first that Ivy is trying not to win, in order to prove to Sylvie that she is ''not'' stealing the affections of her father and her dog - but due to her personality she can't handle actually losing, and uses the food-cue training she set up earlier to get the dog to come to her.
* ''SeeSpotRun''
* Used in MrPoppersPenguins, twice. First time subverted, second played straight.

* In a ''{{Taxi}}'' B-Story, Alex sees a man whip his Great Dane as he's about to get out of the cab. Once the man gets out of the cab, Alex speeds away with the dog. Later in the garage the man comes back with a policeman in tow demanding his dog back. They do the standard bit of Alex on one side and the man on the other both calling to get the dog to come to them. After a few minutes the dog goes over to the man...and attacks him.
* One episode of ''{{CSI}}'' had two victims: one killed by gun and another killed by dog bites to the neck. The investigation of evidence showed that the two victims were husband and wife, and they were getting a divorce. They were arguing over who'd get 'custody' of their pet dog. The female victim had bacon grease under her fingernails to lure the dog to her side. [[spoiler: How did they die? The husband got a similar dog to replace the first dog. The wife found out and shot him. The gun shot scared the new dog (due to him being abused) and attacked the woman, killing her.]]

* The second-season finale of ''SeventhHeaven''. Happy won a guest spot on a TV show, which was seen by a little girl and her father...said little girl happened to be the dog's original owner and demanded her daddy get "Whitey" back right away. Daddy did indeed take the dog back as Simon and Ruthie cried their eyes out, only for Happy to run away and rejoin the Camden clan. The original owners understood and took their loss gracefully.

* Done in ''Disney/TreasurePlanet'', with Morph having to choose between Long John Silver and Jim. Subverted, in that Morph doesn't really ''[[TakingAThirdOption choose]]'' [[TakingAThirdOption who wins, per se.]]
** Also notable in that ''both'' of the people loved Morph with all their heart. They both also ''really'' wanted the map to the treasure.

* At the end of ''{{Disney/Pocahontas}}'', Percy the pug actually abandons his evil owner Governor Ratcliff in favor of the title heroine -- though no one ever asked him to and Ratcliff doesn't seem to notice.

* Subverted ''and'' played Straight in DetectiveConan In ''The Beckoning Calico Cat'' - where the animal in question is a rare male calico cat. One of the hopeful (non-)owners used catnip to attract the cat, who subsequently was all over him. Later played straight ehen the cat recognized te real owner by the sound of the foot steps through a closed door.

* ''Theatre/OneTenInTheShade'' does this with a love-addled Lizzie in the climax of the play. "Come with me Liizzie/Stay with me Lizzie"