attack
What would you do ?
I walk my to dogs twice a day around the hood. Early morning a few weeks ago the dogs and I were about a block from home. The house we were across the street from I heard loud barking from. From a hole in the fence ( that had been plugged by a sign leaned against it ) came a large PIT BULL terrier. It charged towards my male Shiba and female Hokkido who were both on a leash. The pit attacked Fable the Hokkaido and started bitting her. I yelled at the Pit but to no avail. I made the decision to kick the pit to try to get to stop. I must have kicked it eight times as hard as I could before it looked up. Fable then had a chance to run and as luck would have it her collar slipped off. She ran a couple of houses down the street to safety. At this point Rikki and I ran to her and were being pursued by the slow Pit. At this point I was tired and getting worried that the dog would come arter me. As we three headed home I yelled "get Away !" and the pit finally gave up. I got home and checked out Fable and was relieved that there was no broken skin or bones. She was in shock the rest of the day though.
I called the police and reported the dog attack. The dispatcher asked if the dod had attacked any people. I said no and she said that there was nothing the police could do except connect me to animal control. (they were closed)
I drove my car past the house after calling the police and the dog was still in the un fenced front yard so I did'nt stop.
So you can see that I'm frustrated about this, should I just forget about it and advoid that street ?
I walk my to dogs twice a day around the hood. Early morning a few weeks ago the dogs and I were about a block from home. The house we were across the street from I heard loud barking from. From a hole in the fence ( that had been plugged by a sign leaned against it ) came a large PIT BULL terrier. It charged towards my male Shiba and female Hokkido who were both on a leash. The pit attacked Fable the Hokkaido and started bitting her. I yelled at the Pit but to no avail. I made the decision to kick the pit to try to get to stop. I must have kicked it eight times as hard as I could before it looked up. Fable then had a chance to run and as luck would have it her collar slipped off. She ran a couple of houses down the street to safety. At this point Rikki and I ran to her and were being pursued by the slow Pit. At this point I was tired and getting worried that the dog would come arter me. As we three headed home I yelled "get Away !" and the pit finally gave up. I got home and checked out Fable and was relieved that there was no broken skin or bones. She was in shock the rest of the day though.
I called the police and reported the dog attack. The dispatcher asked if the dod had attacked any people. I said no and she said that there was nothing the police could do except connect me to animal control. (they were closed)
I drove my car past the house after calling the police and the dog was still in the un fenced front yard so I did'nt stop.
So you can see that I'm frustrated about this, should I just forget about it and advoid that street ?
Comments
Asking your dogs to go near that house/down that street again doesn't make any sense, if you have other choices. No point in risking it. Don't force the issue if they are shaken by the experience and dont want to go that way either. Who's up for a scary walk?
Poor Fable! Take the walks Fable enjoys, avoid that house if the dog is not likely to be controlled. She needs to know you will make decisions that keep her safe, and she would vastly prefer those decisions be ones where she doesn't get attacked in the first place than ones where she gets attacked and you have to fight to end an attack. You are absolutely in the right to be upset, but being right just means you get to be right, and that doesn't keep Fable and Rikki safe.
This forum is a very kind place as bb's go, but our tenor here is very down on breed stereotyping. Lots of us love breeds commonly painted with the broad brush as "aggressive:" pits, rotts, akitas, dobes, on and on...so expect some reaction to your emphasis on breed (caps) in your post, because you will be called on that before people can address the incident the way you really mean it.
"This forum is a very kind place as bb's go, but our tenor here is very down on breed stereotyping. Lots of us love breeds commonly painted with the broad brush as "aggressive:" pits, rotts, akitas, dobes, on and on...so expect some reaction to your emphasis on breed (caps) in your post, because you will be called on that before people can address the incident the way you really mean it." Quoted for emphasis, becuase it's a very important statement. Thanks, Chrystal, for your voice of reason and logic, it is most definitely appreciated.
The only point I would like to add is that in most cases it's probably possible to stop an attack before it starts. Obviosuly the first step is to avoid the area where the problematic dog lives. Another step that I've taken to avoid conflicts on walks with ANY dogs is to make sure my dogs aren't communicating anything negative to other dogs. I prefer my dogs to ignore other dogs on walks, which avoids all of the minute glances and body language signals that may motivate another dog to attack. Another important part is making sure I'm scanning as far ahead as I can for any problems, and listening to the way a dog barks and watching their actions before I even get close to them. Constantly assessing the situation means I have as much time as I can to react appropriately. As the last preventative measure, I make sure that I'm communicating with the affronting dog that they are NOT allowed to come near me. Whether it's simply stepping in front of my dogs to create another hurdle for the problem dog to overcome, or whether it's verbal or body signals as quickly as possible, it's important to take charge of the situation before it's out of control. Ultimately the dog owner is responsible for keeping their dogs safe, and by acting smartly, quickly, and confidently most dog confrontations can be avoided.
I did a quick search online for ways to avoid dog attacks, and most people said carry pepper spray or an air horn. Some people said carry a bat. I think as a very, very, very last resort I'd carry a weapon, and I'd do everything in my power to avoid striking another dog if it was engaged with my dog on the chance that'd I'd inadvertantly injure my dog. I'd also be concerned about the dog turning it's aggression towards me. I think the smartest way is to just stay defensive and deal with the situation before it becomes a problem.
Couple things. My PIT BULL that passed away in June was viciously attacked by 3 different golden retrievers to the point that any time we saw one she would cower. My PIT BULL was also attacked by a cocker spaniel. That dog lives in my neighborhood. I don't walk down that street anymore. When my PIT BULL died, I rescued another PIT BULL. This PIT BULL is presently sitting in my lap licking one of my cats ears while getting her leg chewed on by my shikoku.
My point being a) if you know there is a poorly cared for dog (that is often where viciousness stems, unless we are talking trained guard dogs which pit bulls rarely are) is in your neighborhood and you know it, avoid walking past that house. That may not seem fair, but neither is life. I pick my dog walking route by where the shitty dogs don't live. Like the basset that goes after my shikoku and the cockapoo that is from the bowels of hell.
b)In no way am I belittling your incident. You should talk to animal control. That dog should be contained. The owner should be repremanded. Regardless of breed however.
c)When you sensationalize an incident by dwelling on the breed you punish good dog owners. In Denver authorities literally went to pit bull owners homes and gave them 2 weeks to relocate their family dogs (regardless of temperament) or have them killed. All because every time an incident happened people dwelled on the breed. I can bet with a good level of certainty that had your poor dog been attacked by a Laborador Retreiver that you would not have put that in all caps and referred to the breed every time you mentioned the dog.
Punish the deed not the breed.
Jesse
Animal Control really is useless in large areas of the USA.. I wouldn't count on them for hardly anything, unless a person happened to be attacked.
And I really don't care if it's a pitty or any other dog. If any dog or person threatened any of us, I'd have no qualms about using pepper spray on them.
As far as animal control goes.Yukidomari is unfortunately pretty spot on. They tend not to do much. But don't hesitate to pester them. Look up your cities off leash dog ordinances. Know what laws this owner violated. The squeaky will is pretty key here.
Also FYI dog aggressive dogs are not necessarily human aggressive dogs. Especially pit bulls. They have been bred for hundreds of years to fight other dogs, but to know not to bite a human if they get in fray. Now this is in no way a suggestion to stick your hand in the middle of a dog fight. But you had mentioned worrying about the dog attacking you. While it is possible, especially with pit bulls dog/dog aggression is precisely that.
1) It makes you uncomfortable to walk your dogs in your own neighborhood.
2) It's yet another bad story about a specific breed that doesn't need anymore bad press.
At first I was going to get on you (the OP) for calling this an "attack"... but I think it was. I mean, it wouldn't change the story that much if the other dog had hurt your dog, it still scared the hell out of you an your dogs... right? I mean, if some belligerent man ran out of his house an yelled at you for no apparent reason it would be called a "verbal attack". I guess this is the same, like a dog's version of that or something.
A walking stick is a great idea, but pretty hard when you are walking 2 dogs.
Pepper Spray is kinda dangerous.
An air horn might work, but also might scare the crap out of you Inus - just as much as a dog attacking them.
I have no advice really, I just wanted to share my thoughts. Maybe try a rock - throw a rock at the dog that is charging you. I have done this, and hit a charging dog, and it stopped them in their tracks. I felt kinda bad... but, we have to protect ourselves and our family.
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Snf
Deterrents are best used before or at the beginning of a fight. You can carry around a spray bottle full of water(safe and surprising), the mace/pepper spray (which has the issues stated earlier in the thread), a hose and sprayer (if a fight breaks out in your yard), some sort of citronella dog deterrent spray, and even a small fire extinguisher.
Whistles are good at scaring and 'hurting' the attacking dog, but you are also at risk of hurting yours and your dogs ears.
Throw a blanket over each dog and this can help confuse them. Also, if for some reason you are willing or need to pick up one of the dogs, the blanket can help reduce any dog bite damage by cushioning the bite.
Loop a leash around the attacking dogs neck, if able to, and try to cut off air flow. If the dog's mouth is clamped on another dog, and you can't get the leash around, see if it has a collar that you can twist and tighten to cut off air flow. This will cause the dog to open it's mouth to get more air, but be careful that it doesn't go after you next.
A method best used with two people and on lighter dogs, some day cares use this method as well. When two dogs are fighting, grab the rear of one of the dogs and lift. With the back paws off the ground, the dog is unbalanced and has a hard time chewing on the other dog. The other person comes in and drags or leads the other dog away, from the rear if possible. Be careful that the dogs don't try to turn around and bite you. Throwing blankets on the dogs might make it a little safer and easier to to execute.
These are more directed to light fights that may occur when two dogs are playing, so I'm not sure how well they would be in an attack. But I figure it's worth a mention.
I personally would rather have to dog bite me then bite my dog. At least if I get bit, my health insurance will pay for it or the dogs owner. If my Shiba gets bit, I am stuck with the bill.
And at least if you yell loud enough somebody might come out and help you.
Heather, Oso & Roxy
I just started doing that this morning, we usually pass a rather agressive Lab that's chained to a post while his owner is gardening in the morning, or he slams against the storm door when we walk by..after reading your post it's better to be safe than sorry.
I also realized the one time Shao New lunged and attacked another dog was when I walked by a known agressive Shnauzer (sorry for spelling error) and decided instead of crossing the street .. I'll just get btwn them (usually the agressive dog owners cross the street themselves to avoid a problem)...well the dog lunged at HER, but I think she thought it lunged at ME (maybe it was), and she lunged full on into the other dog. The owner was like OMG (he's an idiot he always thinks it's funny his dog tries to attack other dogs) and pulled his dog in the air, and I was like HUH? (she usually ignores agressive dogs or gives them the what's wrong with you look). Even my super who was out that night said "was that Shao New??"
I wonder if swinging the plastic poop container at the aggressor would destract an animal..
Anyway, best to avoid situations like these if possible :)
I guess I've been lucky, running into loose dogs that were either just excitable or ones that heeded my message when I would crouch a bit, hold my hands in front of me and bellow "STOP".
Maybe I'll feel different about the kicking of any dog when it comes down to that level of aggression.
We are all innovative people here - aren't there any better options than pepper spray and beating someone else's dog?
Lantis was attacked by an escaped pittie once who bit him till he drew blood. It was a friend's boyfriend's dog. My dad who was visiting at the time also kicked the dog - hard. What else could be done in such a situation?
LOL..."Why is my dog covered in poop?"
"Well this wouldn't have happened if you kept control of your dog"
Problem solved =0)
Or this thing: http://www.squidoo.com/dazer
Knock on the door, when they answer punch them in the balls and when they ask why you say "You know why!"
Jen, I did post earlier of some alternatives that you can use to break up a fight (such as a fire extinguisher)