Man attacks dog

[Victor]

Hi,

I'm feeling a little bad about myself tonight. I picked up a dog from the lost animals home about 2 months ago. She's a whippet cross labrador (I think) - really nice family pet, would/could not harm a flea. Great with my 7 year old daughter and her friends etc. We (the kid and I) have been taking her to dog obedience classes every Sunday and she is coming along nicely.

This morning was like any other Sunday morning untill she was attacked in the park by a stafforshire bull terrier - you know the ones, they look sort of like a pit-bull. Anyhow, it was beginning to lock-jaw onto my dog. I yelled at the moron owner to tell his dog to back off and it then became pretty clear that he had no control over his dog.

About 50 other dogs in the area and maybe 70 odd owners where watching the spectacle in silence by now.

I took a flying run-up, kicked the bastard fair and square in the head (just happened to be wearing the size 10 docs). It went flying through the air, "master" in tow. We did'nt see him or his dog again for the rest of the session and now I feel sort of bad - like I over reacted. Things did become a bit of a blur but I found it hard not to go berzerk given I had my little kid there and am the protective type.

Anyone here ever attack a rabid dog?

[Adam]

I had to haul a Staffordshire Bull Terrier off my 7 month old Beagle just last week. We walk in a local park which is well known for it's "off-lead" areas.

My guy is very social with other dogs, but this thing ran him down and locked onto the back of his neck. Same story - moron owner who just stared at me like a dummy when I roared at him to control his dog, so I jumped in. I hauled on his collar to try to get him to release, twisted his ear, but ended up punching him twice in the eye socket to make it let go. You know I'm 6'2" & 230lbs. I can hit pretty damn hard and that little bastard scored two decent hits before he let go and backed off.

I don't think you over-reacted, Vic. People want these "tough" dogs, but haven't the slightest clue what they've got themselves into when it comes to control. It's a breed choice driven almost entirely by "fashion". I don't have kids, so I didn't hold back when I gave the guy an earful after it was all over...

[pwd72s]

Neighbors left the area one day, leaving their 2 dogs to roam free. Dogs came after Cindy when she went out to get the paper from the box across the road. They must have thought our paper box was their territory. We'd had trouble with the mutts before, they running into our yard to tree our cats, constant barking, etc. Not bulldogs, a blue heeler & a sheep dog. This chasing of Cindy was close to the final straw. Neighbors gone, couldn't complain to them. They were off to another of their horsey set shows with their Tennessee Walkers. Cindy called county animal control. Surprisingly, an officer arrived 1/2 hour later, pulled into neighbors driveway. Both dogs started jumping up on the door of his rig, barking, growling. He left...did NOT take the dogs, as I'd hoped. Funny thing tho...the neighbors seem to have taken care to keep their damned mutts home! I also had over 400 feet of chain link fence, 5' high, installed. The neighbors now know for sure where the line is. Should their Mutts cross that line, come after Cindy or I again? I'll kill 'em! I like animals, but dogs are like children...people who can't control 'em, shouldn't have 'em...

[livi]

You did the right thing !

IMO both the dog and the moron owner should be shot. Nothing I genuinely hate more than dogs coming charging toward me and my kids, jumping up in their face. Me totally loosing it with the owner, kicking them both just to hear the stupid mother f%&# cry - Ohh but she is such a nice dog, she just want to play and say hello to your (now terrified)children. She has never bitten anyone. - Perhaps not yet, you dumb bugger..

Just keep on kickin´! Your doing great !

[stomachmonkey]

My current Mastiff is as sweet as they come. Took her to the dog park every day to socialize as soon as she was old enough. Also obedience training.

Can't have a 150 lb animal that you can not control, not good.

There was this Great Dane at the park that used to bully Dakota constanly which in retrospect may have contributed negatively to her social development.

Dakota turned 3 years old and her disposition changed. All of a sudden she became territorial and refused to take s__t from other dogs.

After nearly drowning a lab over a ball and a couple of aggressive displays for seemingly no reason that was the end of the dog park.

We are not sure why she dislikes certain dogs but I'm not taking any chances.

Owning a pet is more than giving them a name and some food.

Scott

[JavaBrewer]

We had to give up our German Shepherd for the same reasons. As a puppy we socialized him with other dogs on the street alot and it all was going very well. Before he was 1 year old we had two incidents where he was attacked by dogs (off leash) while on walks. My foot and voice helped chase the dogs off, the owners just stared, but the damage was done. Over the next year despite our efforts, and some professional training, he became more and more aggressive towards dogs. The final straw for us was when he started becoming aggressive towards strangers as well. I refuse to live with that kind of responsibility. The kids miss him very much but in my heart I know I made the right decision.

[Rick V]

You did the corect thing although you forgot to kick the owner as well. People who can not control thier pets need to have one of thoes little overbreed types that do nothing more than shake and s@#T. My wife was backed against her car some years ago by the neighbours loose pit bull. Well he ended up one dog short and I spent 30 min. cleaning the ol' 45.

[Rick V]

And I hope your dog is ok

[928ram]

I think you did the right thing, defending what is dear to you.

The fellow with the agressive dog likely knows the dog's temperment and it's likely not the first time; he should keep his pet out of the social environment.

There is also the possibility that there was a ***** in heat in the park too, dogs; much like young men, can act like total fatheads when there's a hot and horny piece on tail nearby. If that were possibly the case, the owner of the ***** should'nt be in the park until it passess.

[speeder]

You did the right thing. Well played also. I have a problem w/ public dog parks in general, there is too much of this type of thing. Dogs will be dogs, and a large number of them will act aggressively towards other dogs under some circumstance.

[mikester]

Back in my early twenties I had a little English Springer Spaniel. We had also had a mutt for about the last 10 years, together they were pretty good. No complaints at all. The Mutt, Sandy was quite certainly the best dog ever. Seriously, Ever. She unfortunately had been beaten by the fellow who owned her before us (our neighbor) whic just for the heck of it I'll tell that story too.

Our neighbor at the time in military housing was an MP with a Korean wife and a couple of kids. He had quite a temper and one day we simply had to call the MPs, they came (again) and took everyone into custody and had Animal control come for the dog (Sandy). My dad met them outside and said he'd have none of that, he'd take the dog if they would let them. They did and for about the next 15 years we had the best dog ever.

So, back to the spaniel. In the mid nineties dad retired and we moved back to Florida with the dogs and the family and such. They were living in close quarters at my grandparents house with their toy poodle "Punkin."

I hate punkin. It's the yappiest little dog ever and when we took my son their this year he tried to attack him a bit but I digress...

So Now in my Grandparents house are my Dad, Mom, Sister and Brother and the three dogs. I stayed with the other side of the family...

Punkin just loves to get him some Sandy though...The whole time they were there Punkin was attached to sandy (A sizeable mutt of about 100lbs) trying to hump some part of her body. Emily, the spaniel for some reason went absolutely bonkers one day and tried to attack Sandy. Nobody could some up with a good reason but from that point on the dogs had to be separated. I took emily where I Was staying which was darned near a trailer park kind of neighborhood. So fleas were a big problem. I dealt with it for a few months but in the end when Dad got a house together Emily had to go there. They actually separated the back yard with a fence and kept the dogs on either side for about a year. Finally Dad had enough, emily had to go.

That was that.

The point is that dogs have personalities too and they will develop over time much like a person's does. Those things that happen to them over time will also influence that personality. We have control over some but not all of it. Mom took getting rid of emily very hard and still hasn't forgiven dad for it (they've been divorced for some time now and both have remarried). The fact is Dad did the right thing in my mind, She was crazy and couldn't be trusted.

[Victor]

Originally posted by Rick V
*SNIP * My wife was backed against her car some years ago by the neighbours loose pit bull. Well he ended up one dog short and I spent 30 min. cleaning the ol' 45.

Sensational! I hate those dogs - they usually match the owner too. I was attacked by one for no reason at all when I was a kid. I used to live in a street with these fat wankers who rode harleys up and down untill 3:00am. Guess what - pit bulls everywhere.

Thanks for the replies - and yes, my dog is fine. I think I "Diego Maradonna'd" that POS just in the nick of time.

[gavinlit]

Good boot victor . I had a whippet/border collie & had to do a similar thing once, only there was a half brick handy & I had thongs on. Fortunately the owner objected so he got a frienly hello as well. I guess you can't help irresponsible people owning pets - which is a pity when the pets are potentialy dangerous.

[930addict]

Our neighbor had a pitbull that kept getting out of his backyard. We warned the neighbor about it but he was just a cluless idiot. Well it got out one day and was going after our horses, so I got out my 30/30 and shot it. I took three shots. First one missed. Second hit it in the chest but the dog kept trotting along. The third hit its heart and down it went. I never gave it a second thought. Barried the dog in my yard and built a planter over its grave. - and I never told the neighbor.

Dogs are animals first and pets second. You did the right thing.

[Jeff Higgins]

We just had a long exchange on this very board about pit bulls and dogs in general. I learned a lot from that, most important of which it is generally the owner, not the dog. That said, when the dog (not its owner) is threatening, it's time to deal immediately and decisively with the dog. The owner should be next.

I had a similar incedent over 15 years ago when I was out mowing my lawn. I live next to about 18 acres of undeveloped property that was unfortunately used by dirt bikers, drug dealers, and a combination thereof. One of their dogs, I believe a pit bull, ran out of the woods and attacked my lab that was laying under a tree watching me mow. It locked onto my dog's neck, at which point I let go of the mower. I ran full speed down my front hill and planted the instep of my size 11 boot right into its ribs. Having played soccer my whole life, right up through college, I kind of knew how to do this. The dog quacked like a duck once, and lay still in the yard. He later died from internal bleeding and a collapsed lung.

Like I said, the owner should be next., and this one was. He came running up to me with a couple of buddies in tow. Surprisingly, they all stopped short - maybe the look on my face. The owner picked up his limp, gasping dog and tried to leave. As they were a bunch of punks that I felt were probably capable of some form of sneaky, cowardly retribution, I stopped them.

I then proceeded to explain how they were now in charge of my dog's long life and happiness; the safety and well-being of not just him, but my property in general. They very stand-offishly stated that I could never prove a thing. I pointed out that I would never even try - it was just between us; our little secret, if you will. I never had any further trouble from them, even after their dog died from his injuries.

[livi]

930addict,

You are now my official hero !

Just out of curiosity, would it be possible to shot the ignorant owners too, say for ex in Texas ?

In Sweden that would render 10 years behind bars, but I know you have somewhat more lenient laws in US.

[Victor]

I'll say! I was threatened with legal action just for putting boot to face!

[930addict]

Originally posted by livi
In Sweden that would render 10 years behind bars, but I know you have somewhat more lenient laws in US.

You can almost get away with anything here in California.

[Mule]

Regardless of the breed, out of control dogs should be dealt with in whatever fashion necessary to solve the problem. Unfortunately, we can't do the same with the owners. As a Pit Bull owner myself, I take extra care to make sure my dog is a. friendly & well socialized, and b. under control at all times. Although my dog gets along well with other animals, he is NEVER, NEVER off the leash outside the fence. My dog has been in crowds of people and other dogs numerous times. The closest he has ever come to any kind of incident was due to moronic owners of other dogs inciting their dog towards my dog. When this happens I get him far enough away, sit him down and discipline him to act in a reasonable fashion. As a Pit Bull owner I know what these dogs are capable of under the worst conditions and I know how loving & well behaved most of them are. When I hear a story about an unruly Pit Bull I want to smack the owners worse than you do!

[TerryBPP]

Just to let you know that it takes all breeds. When Caeser (my pitbull) was about 4 months old I had him in the local dog park. I Golden Retriever, id say 4-5 yrs old, that a redneck was letting run around like and idiot came up and jumped on Caeser from behind. Caeser was tied to a picnic table and wasnt even looking at the dog, total unprovoked. By the time I reached them the Retriever had put a huge gash on his face that required 5 stiches. I grabbed the Retriever by the tail and yanked him off. The redneck owner was just sitting there laughing. Saying my dog just whipped a pitbull's ass.

I won't talk about the final result.