I've been thinking about how far you would go to defend your dog from another dog for the past week or two ever since I read the story about Clara, a pit bull up for adoption at Petsmart who slipped her collar and attacked a Westie. The Westie's owner stabbed Clara and she was later euthanized (there are various polarizing details but I'm not going to go into them, I've linked to the story).
It's a sad situation all around what happened at Petsmart. And a preventable one. Why would you bring a known dog aggressive dog there and with flimsy equipment?
Mr. N has almost been attacked three times. A couple of dogs escaped their yard and the pit bull came charging at Mr. N. I yanked him up by his leash and screamed and the dog's owner's relatives and a neighbor came running and corralled the dogs.
Another time a stray pit bull was walking down the street. We were about maybe twenty feet away from the dog (he hadn't spotted us yet) when he saw a black dog across the street and ran across the street to attack it. The cops came and took the pit bull to animal control where the owner later reclaimed him (in both cases, the owners said they were pit bulls so it's not just my guess at the breed).
We were at the park and a sight hound mix pinned Mr. N after Mr. N barked at him for almost running him over. The dog wouldn't let go even when Mr. N yelped so I had to run over (I was picking up after Mr. N so I was distracted for a few seconds) and yank him off.
I think it's safe to say that all three times I wasn't thinking rationally. I was in the middle of an adrenaline rush and I wasn't thinking about anything beyond protecting Mr. N. I wasn't worrying about getting bitten or anything else.
If Mr. N was (significantly) bigger, he might have a chance at staying alive but as things are, one good bite or shake and he would be dead. It would be over in a matter of seconds.
I don't know what exactly I would do if I was at that Petsmart but I would try to protect Mr. N, no matter what. And I don't carry any sort of weapon with me so I really don't know what I would do.
What would you do to defend your dog(s)?
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That's a hard question.
ReplyDeleteThe from ASPCA has a post on how to break up a dog fight.They suggest having a plan ahead of time, and carrying a Citronella spray to use if you need it.
I'm like you, though. I'd go on adrenaline and probably get hurt trying to protect my pups.
Wags (and purrs) from Life with Dogs and Cats.
I have citronella spray but I've read that it won't stop really aggressive dogs.
DeleteWe don't carry weapons either. We have had some dogs come out of their yards at us. Normally Mom starts yelling real loud and matter of fact which often startles the dog into stopping for at least a second, and often the owner will come when they hear the noise. It is scary. We are each 38 lbs, but that is also small compared to many dogs. Some people just don't think and that is the dangerous part.
ReplyDeleteHi Y'all,
ReplyDeleteMaybe all you Humans should consider carrying pepper spray. Or the kind of spray mountain hikers carry for protection against lions and bears.
Y'all come by now,
Hawk aka BrownDog
The situation at the PetSmart was beyond tragic, but if you have read all the articles out about exactly what happened there, you get a better idea of just what happened. Clara, the Pit Bull who was stabbed and died, had been taken outside to potty. The owner of the little dog was coming into the store at the same time Clara was, and made some very anti-Pit Bull comments - and not just under his breath. He was very loud and outspoken and even then said that if they didn't get the *expletive* Pit Bull away from him that he would stab it. Rather than just take his little dog and move to another part of the store, the man stayed and was acting far less than friendly towards Clara. Then his little dog started barking at Clara - probably in response to his owner's actions. So, it's not like the little dog and his owner just walked in and Clara attacked. I'd say in this case that Clara was reacting to the verbal attacks by the man and the response from his dog. All in all, it's a sad situation and while the little dog sustained only minor injuries, Clara is now dead and the owner of the small dog was released by authorities without any charges. Do I worry about my own dogs being attacked by others? Yes. In fact, a number of years ago a neighbor's dog got out of their yard and went after my Misty while I was walking her. Mind you, Misty was a Beagle/Shepherd mix who weighed around 55-60 pounds and I picked her up and held her as far above the other dog as possible. After the other dog went back into his yard, I went to the front door of the house and told the owner about what had just happened. She didn't seem too concerned and explained that her son (he had to only be about 4-6 years old at the time) liked to open the gate and then their dog would get out. Never mind supervision the child, but in a case like this, couldn't they have put some type of lock on the gate to prevent this? The owner insisted their dog had never shown aggression towards any other dog, but later, I learned from some other neighbors that the dog had, indeed, had problems before and that AC would take him if he had one more complaint. Since I never called in about it, nothing was done. Luckily the owner was more careful after that. We also had a Chow that lived in a house without a fenced yard, so the owners would put him out on a tether in their back yard. He would go nuts when he saw other dogs going by, and while a friend of mine who lived just a couple of houses away told me the dog was friendly, it always acted aggressive when I would walk my dogs past their house (and as our subdivision is basically a circle, there's no way to walk it without going past that house). I would take my dogs to the other side of the street, but it really didn't help. One day the dog broke the tether and came after my senior girl, Suki. I did my best to block the Chow and started yelling and screaming at the top of my lungs until the owners came out and got the dog. Again, these people claimed the dog had never gone after another dog, and again, I found out from others in our subdivision that this dog HAD gotten loose and gone after other dogs before. Luckily in this case, nobody was hurt, but let's just say I didn't cry when that family moved.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, though. Just like most dog bites are totally preventable, dog attacks can be preventable, too. Thanks for the great post.
I've read a number of conflicting reports... so I'm waiting until they finish their investigation. It's scary when your dogs get attacked. I think it's important to call animal control so at least there's a record. I called them about the first incident and they gave them a ticket for having their dogs off-leash.
DeleteMom always thinks about this but has never come up with a plan. Time to start thinking. Great post, thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteSuch a terrifying thing to have happen to you or see. Dog attacks can be 100% preventable, it just takes good pet parents.
ReplyDeleteI do think about this and used to carry a stick with me. Hard to do with two dogs so now I use avoidance.
ReplyDeleteDuring that second encounter, I had Mr. N and the foster pup with me and I was trying to figure out if I could make a run for it with both dogs. One more reason I think we're going to stay a single dog household.
DeleteI worry about this a lot as Rita has been bitten and we've been charged a couple of times. The hubs bought me both pepper and citronella spray, but I never remember to bring either one. Plus, we love by he coast and it's usual pretty windy, so I worry the spray will just blow back on Rita and she'll end up in an even worse mess. I tend to walk "defensively" and am always looking for an escape route or a wall to toss Rita over or truck bed to crawl into.
ReplyDeleteI do that too. I'm like if I put Mr. N on top of the car will he be safe? There are dogs that can jump six feet though...
DeleteI sometimes wish all my dogs were small, so that I'd at least have the option of picking them up if another dog came after them.....but in your stories that may not even be the answer since you can't be hovering over them every second. And you certainly don't have time to think when it happens....it's all so fast and you are just working on adrenaline like you said. I avoid places in my neighborhood where I know there might be off leash dogs....but how is that fair, when it limits where we can walk? I think a lot of us know that we could get bit ourselves when trying to defend our own dogs. I try to remember to carry mace, but how easily will I get to that when I'm in a panic anyway?
ReplyDeleteThat story of Clara was very sad but I imagine there's a lot more to it than we've been told (and honestly, I didn't even want to know the gory details).
Jan, Wag 'n Woof Pets
Even when they are small, it's hard when you have multiple dogs. The thing is I can't really predict where there are going to be off-leash dogs aside from the parks. It can happen pretty much anywhere even places where you think the dog owners have to be insane to let their dogs off-leash.
DeleteYesterday, we were walking by a busy street (bikes and cars) and this guy was walking his poodle off-leash. I picked Mr. N up and crossed the street. The poodle came up to us and followed us halfway across the street before the boyfriend managed to shoo it away. The dog could have been killed!
Last time we ran into an off leash dog on our rail trail (and I had my leash reactive beagle who had a fit!) we were coming up on a stretch of the trail that goes right along a very busy road where cars are going quite fast! As far as I could tell, this woman wasn't even carrying a leash. I couldn't even imagine. If we ever walked a dog off leash in the past (and we don't anymore) it was only when we were out on a woods trail, never by the road!
DeleteThis is very scary to think about. We have never been in such a situation (thank goodness), but whenever I see an unfamiliar dog off leash coming near, I immediately pick Riley up and walk in the other direction. I'm not sure what I would do if Riley was any bigger, though. Thankfully, we live in a very small town and have only ever encountered friendly dogs here.
ReplyDeleteIt is such a scary situation! When Barley got attacked, I felt so helpless since I didn't have my citronella spray, my pepper spray, or anything other than my body to get it off of her--so I know I probably made the situation worse by screaming, but it was the only way I could get other people to come help, but if there would have been a shovel or a rake around, I wouldn't have hesitated to hit the other dog. I can't imagine how scary it must be with Mr. N--I at least know Barley's big enough (and feisty enough) to hold her own for a few seconds while I gather my wits!
ReplyDeleteMr. N has never started a fight and I think it unlikely... but he's a terrier and he does not believe in backing down. Which is a problem when you don't have the bulk to go along with it!
DeleteI threaten to put Mr. N in one of those hamster balls for his own protection every once in a while. I do wonder if I need to carry something though. I have citronella spray but I've read that won't do anything against really aggressive and intent dogs.
Reading the drama going along with this incident makes me cringe. There's a lot of people bitching about "damn small dogs", and it makes me cringe.
ReplyDeleteNola's been pounced on twice, both by golden retrievers, when we've been out. She wears a harness, so I yank her into my arms and kick the dog away. I'll be getting a permit to carry concealed soon, too.
DM
It's like victim blaming to me... Even if the dog did bark or growl, that doesn't mean she deserves to be attacked.
DeleteI do not carry weapons either - but I believe I would be severely injured because instinctively I would want to protect Harley. I believe I would be just like you.
ReplyDeleteDog crazy folk right?
Delete