A dog attacked Panda!
Hi guys,
I'm a little shaken up. I just got back from walking my dog, Panda. I was walking with my almost 3 month old son in an ergo baby carrier, and my mom was walking my dog. Anyways, a loose dog walked straight up to my dog . . . I tried to tell my mom to let go of Panda's leash, but she didn't hear me and the dog grabbed Panda's neck and wouldn't let go. The 70-80pound dog was shaking my 30pound shikoku and wouldn't let go. My mom and I were kicking and yelling at it, but it didn't let go until about five neighbors that heard the dogfight came and helped kick it off. It was terrible! The dog had her by her neck and was trying to get her jugular. I really thought the dog was going to kill her . . .
My mom is taking her to the vet right now so I don't know how badly she was injured. The only blood I saw was dripping out of her nose, but she seemed ok, so I'm pretty sure she wasn't too badly injured. Thank god she has a pretty thick coat. I think her furry scruff saved her. Anyways, I won't be taking her on walks alone, especially in that area until that dog is caught.
I'm a little shaken up. I just got back from walking my dog, Panda. I was walking with my almost 3 month old son in an ergo baby carrier, and my mom was walking my dog. Anyways, a loose dog walked straight up to my dog . . . I tried to tell my mom to let go of Panda's leash, but she didn't hear me and the dog grabbed Panda's neck and wouldn't let go. The 70-80pound dog was shaking my 30pound shikoku and wouldn't let go. My mom and I were kicking and yelling at it, but it didn't let go until about five neighbors that heard the dogfight came and helped kick it off. It was terrible! The dog had her by her neck and was trying to get her jugular. I really thought the dog was going to kill her . . .
My mom is taking her to the vet right now so I don't know how badly she was injured. The only blood I saw was dripping out of her nose, but she seemed ok, so I'm pretty sure she wasn't too badly injured. Thank god she has a pretty thick coat. I think her furry scruff saved her. Anyways, I won't be taking her on walks alone, especially in that area until that dog is caught.
Comments
Word of advice for next time a dog charges at you, stand tall facing them and point at them sternly saying no. Though, if the dog has serious intent on hurting your dog, I dont know if that would work. But ive done this a few time on walks with Toki and it works. Just hold your ground. In thr past ve looked the dogs in the eye, but I dont know how smart that is.
How scary. I hope animal control locates the loose dog and fines the owner.
I feel so bad . . . I wonder if maybe I could have avoided the dog fight somehow. If I had been holding the leash maybe I could have hurried us along and yelled at the other dog. My mom just stopped and it happened so fast I couldn't do anything.
I'm so glad my baby slept through the whole thing, and luckily the dog didn't try to attack us when we were trying break up the fight. My husband thinks we should take a bat with us next time we go on a walk . . . we might have to.
Do you know who the dog is or where he/she came from? That dog's owner really should be turned into the authorities. I would also have them check for rabies certificates and such.
I hope that the vet report continues to check out okay and that the owner can be found and fined.
@tjbart17- I don't know who the dog belongs to
It's so strange, I've walked that route so many times and I've never seen that dog before. I don't even know if it had a collar on. I'm so luck that so many people ran over to help us. I think like five neighbors were there trying to help us after only 30 seconds or a minute.
http://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2011/12/how-to/break-up-a-dog-fight
Anyways, I'm glad it looks like Panda only received a few puncture wounds, just make sure to keep them clean as it seems such wounds have a tendency to get infected.
My mom was walking her three dogs when a dog jumped the four foot fence and ran a very busy road I was surprise the dog didn't get hit doing it. Then he circled mom and the dogs and tried to go for Pearly our oldest female boxer. Junior went after the loose dog pulled so hard mom had to let go and he chased him off and came back to her luckily no one was hurt. We found out who the owners was, but we did nothing.
This sounds like the dog had serious intent and no yelling before it came close probably would stopped the dog..
Sad the animal police won't do anything at least drive by to try locate it. way the dog acted seems dangerous for kids and dogs..
Maybe tell the neighbors if they see the dog again to let you know maybe it's a stray that is loose? or just a dog that got out of the yard and traveled some.
I hope Panda does well and doesn't get reactive over this.
Those are always scary situations. I'm glad that Panda will be okay. I so happy there were people to help out!
Carrying an extra leash is a great idea. I like the super soaker too, lol. Pepper spray as well (yeah, I know it's a bit much but -shrugs-). What I have found to be the best method to break up a dog fight/attack is to grab the attacker's legs right out from under him/her. I've never had any success with shouting, hitting and attempting to pull apart a real dog fight.
A few things I've done when I come across loose strange dogs:
First off, I try to quickly assess the dog's temperament (if possible) and then go based on that.
- Avoid eye contact with the dog but keep a visual view of dog. Casually and slowly walk away (continue in direction I was walking or go back the other way).
- I've put my dog on down or tie their leash to something sturdy nearby - like a fence or tree. Using my extra lead... I'll leash the other dog (if dog is human friendly) and gain control of that dog.
- Immediately pick up my dog and carry above the other dog's reach. If there is an elevated surface such as a wall, back of my truck, etc...I will stand my dog on the higher ground.
- I've also kicked strange dog aggressive dogs in the face and side (yeah, it's cruel but that is not going to hurt the other dog and it protects both dogs from punctures and potential surgery).
The above mentions generally only work with dog aggressive dogs...if the dog is also human aggressive...it's best to try and shove something random in their mouth and high tail it out of there! It does make the situation a bit more difficult and dangerous. =/
One person I know brings a large tennis racket to the dog park. In "friendly" mode, it's a ball launcher for his dog. In "defensive" mode, I've seen him use it to block dogs from attacking -- not to actually club them with it.
The thing about getting in there and kicking or handling strange dogs is you have to be thinking fast, moving swiftly, and be totally prepared to get bit. I've had dogs redirect on me a couple times... though yes, the dogs were eventually separated. It's hard to do the right thing in the heat of the moment. Grabbing the attacking dog's legs (if just one attacking dog, and they're not both going at each other) works but you have to keep dragging until the dog is dazed or far enough from the other dog that he won't just dive right back into the fray.
Unfortunately, I don't think there's any surefire way to prevent a random off-leash dog from attacking and injuring. Active avoidance, maybe some mental rehearsals of what you could do in such a situation, and then quick thinking and a bit of luck are what it comes down to, in my experience.
I'm sorry this happened... and disappointed that animal control didn't seem to help. Hope they at least dispatched someone to patrol the area for the loose dog? They've done as much in my neighborhood, even if they can't do anything until the owner is located. At the very least, sounds like the dog's owners owe you for the vet visit.
I carry pepper spray now. I just got it on Amazon. There's kinds that will shoot in a stream rather than in a cloud, which is better. I got the kind for bears, because,yeah, we have bears and coyotes too, but I got it more for dogs, as there are too many loose dogs in my neighborhood, and especially, I will not let Toby get hurt by another dog.
The extra leash is a good idea, though.
The wheelbarrow things works for your own fighting dogs, but I wouldn't do it with a dog I didn't know. Rather use pepper spray or something.
That can be one of the scariest moments and it happens so quickly that you just do everything you can to save your dog so please don't second guess yourself too much or feel like you didn't do enough.... You did what you could in that moment and you protected your dog in the best way you could.
I am so sorry this happened =(
Update on Panda, She's doing fine, she has some bloody punctures on her neck, one of which is dangerously close to her jugular. The vet cleaned out and shaved around her wounds and she'll be taking some antibiotics for a few days.
Some pics of her injuries:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliantchang/sets/72157631855104818/
Poor Panda! It's a good thing you were able to get her in quick and get it taken care of. Toby, my Shiba has had those kind of bites from Bel, and if it's not taken care of right away, it's drain time, and the drains are a pain. (I can't tell you how many times I've had to flush drains after dog fights. Ugh. )
I'll be hoping for a quick recovery for her, and no drains! And also that she isn't too traumatized. Last time Toby got bit by another dog, he was terrified to go outside for weeks.
That's pretty scary, I can't even imagine that happening to Ren or Tsune.
I don't think pepper spray is "extreme" whatsoever, an aggressive 50+ lb dog is a extremely deadly, not just to the pet but to an intervening owner. All it takes is one bite+tear on the human inner elbow to tear major blood vessels and cause permanent damage/death, a forearm means major tendon damage. I'm not saying a dog would intentionally go for a person, but anyone bit while breaking up a dog fight knows it just happens. I don't think anything is too extreme in that case where it's literally your dog in the process of being killed...
I am glad that she is doing okay. Give her some extra cookies from us!