What should you do if your dog is attacked?

Parent Cafe
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<p>I was talking to our trainer about this, because our dog’s tail is in almost constant motion. I said, “Gee look at how happy he is all the time.” And our trainer said that is a misconception. He said a number of years ago, studies were done to study dogs tail wagging patterns. Thousands of hours of video were studied very carefully and show that there are very subtle differences, barely visible to the naked eye (in fact, they have to slow down the video to pick up the differences), that indicate whether a dog is wagging his/her tail because of happiness or not. Researchers noted that dogs who were wagging because they are generally happy at the moment, had tails that trended toward the left side of a complete wag. But it’s such a small variance that it’s difficult to pick up with the human eye. Dogs who are wagging for other reasons (such as they’re excited because they’re about to attack someone/another dog, etc.) that aren’t considered so positive, generally wag, trending toward their right side. The general consensus is that, no one should ever consider a dog is happy, approachable, and/or well-behaved just because they’re wagging their tail. </p>

<p>Since he told me this, I’ve tried to watch my dog’s tail and see if I can notice these subtle differences and see if the coincide with the mood I think my dog is in (based on the behavior/action going on such as meal time, going to the vet, being around other dogs, having strangers approach him, etc.), and I think I see these differences in his wags. </p>

<p>I thought it was all very interesting, and I learned something good. Of course, if a strange dog approaches me, one that I’m not familiar with their wag, it would probably be more difficult for me to read the situation in an instant and know which he/she was doing.</p>

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<p>When we walk on trails where a lot of dogs are off leash, my H carries a big stick. Most dogs are instinctively wary of humans with sticks. We have a little dog (poodle/terrier mix). </p>

<p>I thought I knew all there was to know about dogs’ temperaments having been around dogs all my life, but my D recently acquired a pitbull mix and she has been working with a trainer who has really opened my eyes. Apparently, it’s not so important whether a dog is an alpha (dominant) dog, but how it reacts to threats. Her dog is a “flight” dog, which means that she reacts to a threat by running away, but if she feels trapped, she might bite. Fortunately, this has never happened. But what I realized is that there is lot of misunderstanding between humans and dogs and the real problem is that humans think they know dogs. My D has stopped tying her up on the street while she does errands because people will approach the dog. Her dog generally handles it well, but some people are really insistent about petting a strange pitbull! I wouldn’t approach any strange dog like that.</p>

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<p>No, momofthree, not hijacking at all. It’s very interesting and informative to hear about different dogs. I have so many misconceptions…ie, teriwitts comments about wagging tails may not mean happy and friendly. Yikes! I sure was wrong about that.</p>

<p>After listening to these stories, I realize that our experience was small potatoes compared to what others have gone through. So very sad. But it was striking to me how that dog went for my dog’s throat, and though people have said that if the dog wanted to kill, it would have…I still don’t know. It is a small throat, mostly covered by a collar, and the twisting and writhing that my dog was doing, plus my kicking, would have made it difficult to grab ahold of. I would like to understand for sure, if it was intent to kill, or something else. Obviously your dog was not doing this to the strange dog!</p>

<p>It does seem nuts for people to approach unknown dogs without their owners present, as mousegray mentions.</p>

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<p>And here is a good pit bull story: [Rescued</a> Pit Bull Saves 4-Year-Old’s Life | Pets - Yahoo Shine](<a href=“Rescued Pit Bull Saves 4-Year-Old's Life”>Rescued Pit Bull Saves 4-Year-Old's Life)</p>

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<p>That’s a wonderful story, onward. I have heard that pit bulls are extremely smart and loyal.</p>

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<p>And here’s another pit who was in the news for a good reason: </p>

<p>[Bully</a> for her! Elle the pit bull is 2013 American Hero Dog - TODAY.com](<a href=“http://www.today.com/pets/bully-her-elle-pit-bull-2013-american-hero-dog-8C11332418]Bully”>Bully for her! Elle the pit bull is 2013 American Hero Dog)</p>

<p>And just an interesting story about dogs and their feelings in general: </p>

<p><a href=“Opinion | Dogs Are People, Too - The New York Times”>Opinion | Dogs Are People, Too - The New York Times;

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<p>OOhh so sorry!! I loved my cavalier and would be outraged if anyone’s dog attacked him and the owners didnt fall all over themselves apologizing and trying to rectify the situation. Glad you called animal control. The dog will probably have to be checked for rabies. Keep us posted and hug your doggies!</p>

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<p>Thanks for your clarification mo3b.</p>

<p>However, your dog’s “temperance training” probably doesn’t do much good unless he was a big drinker:
tem·per·ance
noun ˈtem-p(ə-)rən(t)s, -pərn(t)s&lt;/p>

<p>: the practice of drinking little or no alcohol</p>

<p>: the practice of always controlling your actions, thoughts, or feelings so that you do not eat or drink too much, become too angry, etc.</p>

<p>Thinking you probably meant “temperament training” ;)</p>

<p>I think the takeaway from all this is:

  1. Never underestimate the unpredictability of dogs, your own and also everyone else’s.<br>
  2. Always be prepared to defend yourself first, and your dog second.
  3. Don’t go looking for trouble, if you don’t feel safe walking by a particular house or dog, then don’t do it.
  4. Don’t worry too much, these incidents, while scary, are also rare. Take your dogs out for walks, it’s great for all of you!</p>
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<p>I will speak up in defence of bull terriers, also. They are tempramentally very sweet dogs, although people who do not care for their dogs are drawn to them as symbols of thuggishness, and so some are full of anxiety and fear.</p>

<p>The dogs that I most dread meeting on our walks are small dogs, whose owners apparently feel they do not need to train because the dogs are too small to warrant a threat. However all dogs should know how to greet other dogs and people and not get whacked out just because a larger animal is present. Just because your dog only weighs 12lbs is no reason not to be controlled. </p>

<p>But for the most part, we like meeting other dogs and giving ours a chance to greet them and exchange pleasantries. Especially now, that ours is still young, other dogs recognize that and give him great leeway in all the sniffs he desires. Which as he apparently has some scent hound in him, is quite a lot!</p>

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<p>A few years ago, an unleashed, unattended German Shepherd rushed off his porch to attack my son. I think my son was about 10 at the time, but thankfully tall for his age. Fortunately, he had an unzipped jacket on, and when the dog approached (silently) and jumped for his throat, my son turned so that the dog only got his loose jacket and grazed his back. The dog then walked back to his porch. </p>

<p>My son wasn’t walking toward the dog, simply down the sidewalk in front of the house, so there was no provocation. </p>

<p>We took our son to the ER, because the bite broke his skin. The hospital then called animal control. Although the dog was current on his rabies vaccination, they had to quarantine the dog at a vet for 3 weeks. We also filed a police report and an insurance claim on their insurance (to cover medical bills and the cost of his jacket). The insurance company was VERY anxious to have us settle, and offered us more than the costs incurred to do so. I was fine with that…because my point of filing on their homeowner’s insurance was to get the bite on record, not to make money. A friend who’s an insurance agent told me that there’s basically a one-bite rule when it comes to dogs. They’ll pay for the first bite, and the rest are on you. I wanted to put pressure on them to do something with the dog before some smaller child (like my six year old who was across the street with his father and could just as easily have been walking on that side) was seriously injured.</p>

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<p>First let me say that I’m so sorry you and your pups went through such an attack, Busdriver. That’s an awful thing to go through. </p>

<p>My little Sheltie was attacked by a German shepherd mix on the sidewalk one night when we were walking from our car to our house. I pretty much did the same as you (kicked the dog, and hit it in the eyes with my purse) until my husband grabbed it. My movements were limited since I was holding the leash. My husband did what I yelled at whim to do, which is grab the attacking dog’s back legs. </p>

<p>They say that the most dangerous thing you can do is try to separate dogs by grabbing collars or anything near the mouth since it’s easy to get bitten, even by (as happened to an earlier poster) your own dog who can’t distinguish what he’s biting. If you grab the hind legs and pull them a few inches off the ground, the dog is essentially immobilized. I don’t know if that’s always possible, but it worked for us. Don’t have a clue what I would have done if there had only been one of me, though. </p>

<p>I’ve had dogs all my life including dog obedience competitions, etc. Most breeds can be wonderful citizens and pets if handled properly. However, I believe it’s true that certain breeds have been bred for certain temperaments. It’s very hard to train a normal Sheltie to be an attack dog, and it’s hard to train a chow to herd sheep. A big part of the reason certain breeds are associated with attacking humans, however, is that certain humans get those breeds specifically because they want them to be aggressive, and they encourage them to be nasty. One way the Romans used to train attack dogs was to chain it up then taunt it with sticks. Think about how much modern treatment of dogs can mimic that. </p>

<p>People can laugh about tiny chihuahuas being aggressive, but I would not have a chihuahua if I had a newborn baby. What may be an aggressive ankle biter to you, can give a dangerous face wound to a crawling child. Dogs bred for centuries to be small or very large, often are selected for size rather than personality. To make matters worse, it seems that the smaller the dog, the less likely people are to discipline and train them. </p>

<p>The one exception to “most normal dogs can be trained” school of thought seems to be the Preso Canario, which should just be outlawed, period.</p>

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<p>There are three moments in every dog attack: before, during, and after. During and after have been addressed extensively in this thread: break up the attack and then report the dog. </p>

<p>Let me address the before part.</p>

<p>There’s a lot you can do to PREVENT an attack. Watch other dogs, on-leash and off-leash. Dogs on flexi leashes should NOT be allowed to run out to the end of the leash to approach another dog. (I think flexis are actively dangerous for many reasons.) Dogs should not be allowed to greet another dog when on leash unless BOTH leash holders agree. Assume ALL other dogs are aggressive until evidence is provided otherwise. Do not allow your dog to stare at other dogs. If you have a little dog, especially a small white and fluffy one, be aware that many dogs don’t read that as a “small dog” but as prey, and do not allow your dog to approach other dogs, even if they’re on leash.</p>

<p>Personally, if I see an off-leash dog (and my dogs are on-leash), and it’s paying any attention to my dogs at all, I will ask the owner to leash the dog. If they say “my dog is friendly” (which usually means they have a lab or golden retriever and think all dogs are like that), I say “but my dogs aren’t” and go the other direction as fast as I can. </p>

<p>I have worked extensively with my dogs to improve their on-leash behavior, but I often run into clueless dog owners who make things worse. There was the man who allowed his golden retriever to run up to my dog (both were off-leash) and throw herself on her back on the ground in front of my dog (from about 50 feet away). My dog responded with a play bite to the dog’s neck (and yes, it was a play bite, followed by a play bow)–and the owner launched into an attack on me and my dog, complete with swearing. I put my dog on leash as soon as I could get a hold of his collar–but the man is convinced that his dog did nothing. Not so. His dog was asking my dog to play–but in a bizarre fashion (not an appropriate play bow) which caused my dog to respond in a way that her clueless person misinterpreted.</p>

<p>There was the woman whom I asked to stop where she was so that I could slip down a side trail–my dogs on leash, as were hers–who asked me “why should I?” and kept on coming. Well, because my running down that trail it avoided an encounter between her dog, who was staring at my dogs with a hard stare, and my dogs, one of whom was staring back. I feel confident that, had I allowed them closer, our dogs would have squabbled (barked and lunged) and she would have accused my dog of being aggressive. Nope, both of them were being aggressive and I stopped it before it could escalate.</p>

<p>A dog that is moving slowly, staring, and wagging its tail slowly? That’s very aggressive behavior and can proceed an attach. It can also indicate a play stalk behavior; it can be hard to read the difference. In that situation, I often clap or whistle loudly; a dog that is planning play will look away, while a dog intent on a fight usually doesn’t break attention, in which case I will put my dog close to my side and start swinging the end of my leash in a circle.</p>

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<p>On the top ten list of “bully dogs”. Strangely enough, by the CDC list of fatal attacks, the “bully dogs” do not make the cut. This issue is not the dogs tendencies towards aggression, but the tendencies towards aggression along with remarkably strong bite.
The pit bull’s is a stunning 1000 PSI (pounds per square inch). </p>

<p>Now in my back yard I have some extraordinarily aggressive squirrels. They have no qualms about chasing both of our dogs. Even our big Labrdoodle. We also have had a bear in our back yard. She was very shy. But I can easily tell you which scared me most.</p>

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<p>Great tips, dmd - I completely agree. Frequently it’s the owners that could use those lessons in how to avoid an unpleasant encounter (NOT busdriver’s situation at all). There’s nothing wrong with changing your route to avoid a close encounter. I’m always amazed on the people who insist on their “rights” at the expense of peace. </p>

<p>Sabadog and I go to class - full of all kinds of dogs teaching their owners obedience. The trainer will actually set up barriers that prevent some of the dogs from making eye contact so their focus can be on learning positive behavior - not “I’m going to run over there and show Sabadog I’m the boss”. </p>

<p>Hayden, I completely agree about small dogs. Sabadog gives small dogs a wide berth - a Jack Russell bit him on the lip when he was a puppy and the dog that’s attacked him twice is about a third of Sabadog’s size. Sabadog is really a marshmallow and I want him to stay that way.</p>

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<p>2013 Dog Bite Fatality Victims: (just so far)
from the CDC</p>

<pre><code>Betty Todd, 65-years old - Killed by her son’s pet pit bull.
Christian Gormanous, 4-years old - Killed by his neighbor’s chained pit bull
Elsie Grace, 91-years old - Killed by her son’s two pit bulls
Isaiah Aguilar, 2-years old - Killed by his neighbor’s chained pit bull
Ryan Maxwell, 7-years old - Killed by a pit bull while visiting family friends
Daxton Borchardt, 14-months old - Killed by his babysitter’s two pet pit bulls
Monica Laminack, 21-months old - Killed by her family’s pet pit bulls
Tyler Jett, 7-years old - Killed by his neighbor’s two pit bull-mix dogs
Claudia Gallardo, 38-years old - Killed by a property owner’s pit bull
Jordyn Arndt, 4-years old - Killed by her babysitter’s pit bull
Beau Rutledge, 2-years old - Killed by his family’s pet pit bull
Rachael Honabarger, 35-years old - Killed by her family German shepherd
Pamela Devitt, 63-years old - Killed by a pack of loose pit bulls
Carlton Freeman, 80-years old - Killed by four roaming pit bulls
</code></pre>

<p>Does not include this local recent story:</p>

<p>[2-year-old</a> dies after pit bull attack in Colton | abc7.com](<a href=“http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/inland_empire&id=9259360]2-year-old”>http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/inland_empire&id=9259360)</p>

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<p>dmd, great post.</p>

<p>A friend had a Yorkie that flattened her son every time he tried to stand up and walk. Me S was also afraid of this dog, who jumped up and snarled and snapped in their faces with no provocation. (I would never sit idly by and let a toddler manhandle a small dog, or a large one for that matter.) Meanwhile, neither child had a problem with m German SHepherd, who not only never knocked them over, but tolerated their attempts at affection.</p>

<p>The problem with most small dogs is that they are completely untrained, IMHO. Of course, that is also the problem with most large dogs. :)</p>

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<p>Really great information here!! I am going to be completely educated (and armed) the next time I take a walk.</p>

<p>You mean we are supposed to train our dogs? I thought they trained us.</p>

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<p>Small dog owners seem to find their antics cute. Those of us who dislike being jumped on and clawed and having our pants and stockings shredded, not so much. :slight_smile: Then there are the terriers who bite, but their owners call it “terrier character.” Right. I observed an obedience class my H took our GSD to once, and saw a terrier turning and snapping at its owner repeatedly. No comment from the instructor. She did however, make a big deal of the fact that our dog, who was a puppy, would rather attempt to play with his classmates than pay attention to H’s recall.</p>

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<p>Well not all untrained dogs are awful. My rotten little girls won’t jump, snap or bite, but they will crawl into your lap uninvited. And stay there all day. The oldest will grumble if you don’t scratch her back. Untrained isn’t always annoying and threatening. I do know some of those jumpy, yappy type of dogs, though.</p>

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<p>ITA about the flexi leashes. They are a hazard to pets & humans.
I dont know why someone wouldn’t want their dog trained. Just makes it nicer for everybody.
But if your dogs only sin is that she is a snugglebunny, I admit that is pretty hard to resist. Unless he is a mastiff, or even the size of mine, who must be at least 50 lbs by now.</p>

<p>We just returned from the dog park. He was acting up ( but weve just had him a bit over a month) so we left.
I cant hope to keep him from stealing everyones balls, but I draw the line at stealing the chuck- its.
There were a few dogs that were pushing their play fighting a little to close to real fighting as far as I could tell, so it seemed a good time to make our exit.
A boxer seemed to be instigating it, but his owner seemed pretty ineffectual.</p>