Small dog owners...please take note (page 3)

restrangled

Vinney....

I was out walking one of my dobes and a neighbor let loose ther huge pit, I mean huge, which attacked my dobe in the street. They got into a huge fight and I was screaming for help. My dog had a 2 inch spiked collar around his neck. My dobe got a hold of his head and bit down...the dog screamed and ran back to his own house.

In the mean time I was shaking like a leaf. in fear of damage, to either dog. My dog was like ok lets go on and keep walking.

I have not walked my dogs since, past a half block from my home. Once in awhile I get them out and every idiot owner of a small dog lets them loose and my dogs get attacked.

So when this happened today, all I could think was too damn bad. I pay big bucks to the county to keep them legit, I paid for a big fence and someone thinks it's ok to let their little pip squeak go.

I feel really bad if any dog was hurt, but by god that is the owners fault...especially chasing my cat!

r

LoverOfTruth

Many people don't realize mixing large powerful dogs with smaller dogs is a dangerous mix. If you are a "dog" person, you already realize dogs get into disagreements. A 5 lb. dog is no match for a 60 pound pup.

Two years ago, I put my Precious Lucie Jo to sleep because she accidentally killed her "Chihuahua Sister" Poppi Leigh in a disagreement over her bed and Stuffed Bear.

looking_glass

This is a hard situation to be in. It is not the dog's fault for doing what is inherent in them to do (as you have said about your own dogs being great protectors). The owner/handler of a dog are the one's with the greatest accountability. If the smaller dog managed to get out of a fenced in area, then you cannot really be too upset w/ the owners because most likely they did not know about it. To error is human ... etc.

I work w/ deaf dogs. The greatest fear for a person who handles a dog w/ a hearing loss is them getting off lease b/4 they are properly trained because a deaf dog will not respond to verbal cues. I too have a double collar system in place just in case one collar does not work. But even a well trained dog can do things that we would not expect them to do.

And for the prior poster regarding pits ... As for pits, they get a bum wrap. Just the same as dobermans, rots, german shephards got years ago. In another 10 years it will just be another bred that people will misunderstand and label as dangerous. It is all in the training. And you will always have those idiots that use a particular breed for a killing sport. Those are the people you should be upset w/, because not all pits are bad. It is like the JWs saying "we are living in the time of the end, look at all the wars and disease and disasters" well is it really the case or is it because it is more commonly reported and do the papers/news just have the worst case scenarios out there. If you go to a shelter or work w/ a group that handle "troubled dogs" you will find ALL breeds, not just pits in the group. Actually the place I am volunteering at now has 2 goldens that have attacked people and have aggression issues, so again, it is not fair to pick out a particular bred and label it dangerous. It is about how the dog was treated and trained.

I hope for the small dog's sake, it is ok and the owners look into how it escaped so as to prevent it from happening again.

Peace (and dog lov'n) to all - L_G

primitivegenius

regardless............ i dont like pitts at all....... never have. my aunt on the other hand has loved them from day one........ a couple months ago she went to a park and saw a pitt running toward her and tried to calm it down....... if she wouldnt have shoved her hand into the damn dogs mouth she woulda gotten taken by the jugular and that woulda been it. as it was she barely made it to the hospital............ yet she will still defend them to the death............ and fact is she almost did.

i know any dog can become a biter or vicious especially as a reflection of their owners....... but ive always been the type that if my dog bites someone......... and i mean seriously breaking skin not just snapping at an annoying bratt............... its over for the dog.

now on the other hand....... if someone is after me and my dog bites their head off............ thats a good dog but other than that i will not let a biter live........... to much danger of a repeat....... maybe even with a child...... no thank you

i had one of the most beautiful siberian huskies you ever have seen........ but he wasnt a people person. he would let you mess with him but he would snap at you when he was tired of you......... never really makeing contact...... more of a warning...... and i was always afraid i was gonna hafta put him down because of it......... eventually i gave him to someone who had a better place for him.

Vinny

Sorry to hear about your dog being attacked by a Pit as well.

Basically, I really like pit-mixes of less than like 25 or so percent. That breed is usually very upbeat, playful/youthful and loyal. But when you start getting into the pure breeds, you really have a dangerous animal often on your hands. I have seen so many out here in Hawaii that wanted to attack any and everything that walked by.

They are not good with other dogs at all. They are usually great with known family, but even there can be unpredictable at times. Though the same can be said of other aggressive breeds such as Dobermans, Rotts etc.

But because they are so massive and built for fighting (with huge heads), even a small supposed skirmish can be bad news for whatever happens to be on the other side.

I just think the pure breds are bad news overall. But I also would add that my last all time fav dog was perhaps close to half pit. He was everything I described above in a positive way.

And our third dog (actually my son's, but lives most of the time with me) is also mixed with pit and is my fav of the three. Just soooo much fun and enthusiasm! You gotta love that.

PoppyR

sorry to throw the cat amongst the pigeons, but no dog should be kept on a leash AT ALL TIMES! They need to run and play and have loads of exercise, it's simply not fair. And if your dog cant be trusted around other dogs... then that's you as the owners fault.

I have owned many dogs, and properly socialised them all, now I only have one, but he runs off the lead (on the fields not the footpath!) absolutely no problem, comes back immediately when called and has never had a fight.

When I see anxious owners grabbing their dogs and shackling them back up.. then i know the dog senses straight away that the other dog must be a threat.. why would their owner be concerned otherwise? This conditions them to be aggressive when they see another dog approaching.

In your own back yard, is a different story, dogs are, and should be territorial, and if someone climbed over my fence, I hope my dog would bite him! But come in through the front door, or meet you on the street, no problems, because he knows those things are perfectly normal interactions.

Poppy

shell69

Poppy, I can see where your coming from. Perhaps my fright of other dogs when I was a child is affecting how I take care of my dogs.

I know my springer spaniel would love to have good run. He's 7 months old, but (a) I'm frightened of his running away or into a road and (b) I frightened of interactions/altercations with other dogs!

Advise please??

Shell

changeling

My old, toothless schnauzer would put your warlock dobermans in their place if they ever dared to enter his territory. He does not know he's a little dog and has taken on many a big dog and sent them running.

changeling (I may be a wimp but my dog is not)

changeling

Have you ever watched "the dog whisperer"?

changeling

PoppyR

Funny you mention 'the dog whisperer', I was just writing about that to shell69.

I love his shows, but sometimes do finish watching and think.. yes he corrected that problem, but how!!

I saw a great one last week where the dog was so nervous it would not even allow the owner to pet it, and he basicly just sat in the pen with it but totally ignored it. By the end of the show they were walking it and everything!

In the UK, we have a woman called Victoria Stillwell on a show 'Its me or the dog', who is very scary and always says there are no bad dogs, just bad owners..lol. But again.. by the end of the show the dog is behaving itself.

Poppy

Small dog owners...please take note

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