When a dog bites your dog?!- what do u do?
Either at a dog park, or while walking on the street. And i dont mean a "back off"' warning bite but a real attack bite with skin puncturing/blood?  Do you call the police? Animal control? Do u make the other owner come to you to the vet? Just exchange numbers? Take photos? I know this is a rare and hypothetical situation but anyone have any experience or a plan? |
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| Depends I think on if you know the person or not who owns the dog. I was at the dog park, where we'd been taking Tonks and Luna daily for 3 years. Another park frequenter's dog had been acting very strangely for weeks; attacking dogs, biting, being bossy-- very out of character. We'd all talked about it, and talked with the owner. We were concerned about her dog's health, what might be happening to cause the attacks, and that other dogs were being hurt. One time, it went after Tonks, who instantly fell apart and ran crying and yelping, which attracted a BIG group of dogs. As that aggressive dog caught up with Tonks, Luna came out of NOWHERE, and launched her own attack, effectively ending the event with 3 swift blood-drawing bites. We were all in shock. Luna is the sweetest thing, she's on the heavy side so no great runner, and she lets Tonks beat the crap out of her. We had NO idea she had any fighter in her, and here she was defending Tonks viciously. We looked at the bites Luna inflicted, which to me appeared serious. I offered to pay the vet bill for her dog, and to even go with her to the emergency vet. The dog's owner was adamant that her dog would never have been bitten if it wasn't being a jerk, and refused our offer. She took him home and cleaned the wounds and they were back at the park the next day. Oddly enough, Tonks and Luna and that dog got on amazingly well after that. |
| Actually it is a lot "less" rare than you think. Bailee was attacked by an American Standard Bulldog who was off leash and sitting on an outside porch while totally unattended. It never barked at Bailee or anything other than lauch itself like a Cruise missile at us. I fought it off as best I could and the owner (who was visiting from out of state) came out and was able to get his dog under control. Bailee had one very minor scratch on his nose but I made it clear to the owner that if he needed any real Vet care he was paying. The owner agreed and took his mutt inside the house. I now walk Bailee and carry a "deterent" in my back pocket just in case. An ounce of prevention is worth a lot of TROUBLE!! |
baileesdad wrote: I now walk Bailee and carry a "deterent" in my back pocket just in case. An ounce of prevention is worth a lot of TROUBLE!! What do you carry in your pocket? Pepper spray? I can't believe how many loose dogs are running my neighborhood, didn't really notice until we got Patty and I started walking her. I have been worried about Patty or I being attacked. We live in a rural community, around 2000 ppl in it. I also carry my cell phone with me but I'm really not sure what to do when a dog comes running up barking! |
| ^^^^^ Can you please share what kind of "deterent" you carry? |
| It's not pepper spray, suffice to say it is a rather hard steel bar. I have not had to use it yet, but you must take steps to protect both yourself and your dog. |
| we had in our neighborhood 2 pitts that kept getting loose i walk my boys daily i take with me an air horn from the dollar store or walmart has them and trust me it stops all dogs on site good thing to carry even at the dog park!! |
| ^^^^^^ Nice!! |
| I continue to get such great ideas! I don't think I've got a steel bar that will fit in my pocket, I'll have to look around but I will be investing in a blowhorn, brillient! |
pattycake wrote: I continue to get such great ideas! I don't think I've got a steel bar that will fit in my pocket, I'll have to look around but I will be investing in a blowhorn, brillient! you can get one of those long, metal flash lights. I walk my girls at night, and a big heavy metal flashlight may as well be a steel bar! |
Does the air horn scare all the dogs, including your own? Bailee freaks out enough when he hears thunder or fireworks an up close air horn blast might give him a heart attack!  A nice medium size Craftsman breaker bar about 7 to 8 inches long is fine. |
| I had a dog run to attack my girls while they were on leash once. A boot to the head stopped him in his tracks. The dog's owner had the nerve to be upset that I kicked their dog. But what was I supposed to do, let it attack my girls on leash??? I should have dropped the leashes and let Luna eat him.  |
As a responsible pet owner WE are OBLIGATED to protect our pets. That and lots of love are the only things he asks of us, of course that occasional daily meal also is on our "Must Do For My Dog" list.  |
Honestly, I would be dead scared of a vicious dog and freeze.... instead of defending my puppy by swinging a pipe or kicking the attacker  How do you handle dog owners that leave their viciously attacking dogs unattended? Or bring them to the dog park? |
joanna21 wrote: Honestly, I would be dead scared of a vicious dog and freeze.... instead of defending my puppy by swinging a pipe or kicking the attacker How do you handle dog owners that leave their viciously attacking dogs unattended? Or bring them to the dog park? You might THINK you'd be scared. But when something is hurtling at your dog with bad intentions, you'd be surprised how your first reaction is to protect your dog. I was mowing the lawn once, and the dogs were out with me. I'm fairly afraid of snakes, and a little tiny one slithered onto the driveway. In a heartbeat I was stomping on it, afraid it was going to bite the dogs. Not the best thought out way to protect my girls, but my instincts kicked in and before I knew it I had smooshed snake. Don't under-estimate your protective instincts, or your dog's! |
| Vets, animal behaviourists, dog trainer etc all say you should NEVER intervene in a dog fight as you are likely to end up badly injured. And they are right. However, I have never been able to not intervene if my dog is in a fight. It hasn't happened often and only once was it serious but I've always just waded in. I always bellow in a big deep voice as I run at the dogs and that has usually given them pause. Boots are a great idea. I have been fortunate that when I've yelled and ran the dogs have backed off enough that I've been able to grab my dog and get them out of there. So the loud horn is a good idea. Also throwing water on them IF there's any handy can stop them. A truly serious dog fight though I don't think you can do much. What most of us call a serious dog fight apparently is not all that serious. According to my vet even a wound that needs a few stitches is nothing compared to what happens when a dog is seriously attacking.  I pray I never get that experience. |
| There is a spray you can get and carry with you called SPRAY SHIELD. Hank's trainer said she used it on a pre-fight situation and it broke all the dogs up quickly. http://www.premier.com/View.aspx?page=d ... escription Hank and I were charged by an angry dog the other night on our walk, luckily he got distracted before he reached us- but I'm planning on getting it just in case. Also- I've heard pepper spray shouldn't be used, it can anger the attacking dog more, and make things worse. |
MollyinPDX wrote: There is a spray you can get and carry with you called SPRAY SHIELD. Hank's trainer said she used it on a pre-fight situation and it broke all the dogs up quickly. http://www.premier.com/View.aspx?page=d ... escription Hank and I were charged by an angry dog the other night on our walk, luckily he got distracted before he reached us- but I'm planning on getting it just in case. Also- I've heard pepper spray shouldn't be used, it can anger the attacking dog more, and make things worse. I was going to post earlier that there was a brand of spray the daycare attendants carry at The Paw in case of needing to emergently break up a fight. I couldn't think of the name...but after going to the Spray Shield link - that's it! I don't know that they have ever used it, but they are prepared. |
| Way back in my previous life, I was walking my two dogs and these big dogs came from a house and came running at us barking like mad. I put both my dogs behind me( not an easy feat but I just reacted) and took one big step towards the dogs and brought my foot down hard and yelled in my deepest voice to get out of here. Much to my surprise they veered away and then the owner came out and called them. I had no idea weather these dogs meant harm or not but I wasn't taking chances. My biggest fear is that we will encounter an evil dog and I would not be able to protect them. Simon would never start a fight but would defend himself. Gar just being himself, seems to bring out the mean in almost every dog he encounters. For that reason alone I tend to be very careful where I let him off leash and where I keep him on a VERY short leash. |
| I also have had dogs run out after me while walking my dog or when I'm out running. I usually do what Pam said and get my dog behind me and stomp my foot, raise my free hand and yell at the dog "get out of here, go home" . So far that's worked for me and I've been lucky and not had a truly vicious dog try to attack. All of these dogs were in their front yard and probably just protecting their space. Fortunately in my neighborhood and city, dogs aren't running free and if they are, we know they got loose and might be lost. If I see a dog loose I try to catch them and get them back home. I've returned several lost dogs and the owners are so happy someone cared enough to find their lost pet. That Spray Shield sounds like a good idea to have though. Cindy |
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