My little Shih-Tsu just got attacked!!!

[Sparkly]

I am SO beside myself with shock and anger right now!!

She seems okay, thank GOD -- but I am shaken. This just happened.

We ALWAYS walk our dogs on leashes. This same dog -- a huge, fluffy caramel colored German Shepherd I'm told -- is frequently out of its yard, off leash, owner nowhere in sight... She's harassed ours while we were walking them on more than one occasion. Sometimes we'd hear the owner calmly calling the dog's name.

When Stinky isn't here (like today), I just walk the little one -- she needs it for her weight and potty schedule. Today the woman had the big beast on a leash but it was so determined it tugged away and got loose, and ran right up to my baby growling and barking -- it was hard to catch either of them but I got the big one's collar and yelled to the woman "Call her back! Call her back!" but she was still 30 feet away taking her time and mildly calling the dog's name, like that was going to do anything.

I managed to pick my dog up and the big one still stayed at our side as I continued walking home. It ran off into someone else's yard and the owner was just strolling along, and said not a word to me. I said, "You really need to control your dog!!" She said (I believe -- English isn't her first language): "She asked for it, usually she is very friendly." I said, "Well, clearly she's NOT!!"

I don't know what to do. Like I said, my dog seems okay, but this is getting ridiculous. That dog is a MENACE!!!

Arghhh! Just had to vent. It's like seeing something happen to your kid, I guess. I can't believe how shaken up I am!!

[Kota]

1. That dog owner is a menace.

I'm glad your babies fine.

[Sparkly]

4. Thanks.

She's acting okay, so I'm guessing she's fine.

[elleng]

2. SO SORRY, Sparkly.

I understand your reluctance to contact 'the authorities,' but might you and Stinky speak with her (and her family, if any) in their home, knock some evening for a chat, inform them of the rules/law?

Glad to hear that the little one is OK, and hope you are, too. I'm pretty shaken up just thinking about you 2.

[Sparkly]

6. Thanks, elleng

[OffWithTheirHeads]

3. My last Shitzu was attacked by a Rot, twice.

I started carrying a gun on our walks.
The first time I reported it to animal control. Their response was "Bad owners! Bad bad owners". Lotta fucking good that did. The second time my wife was walking the dog. She ended up with a broken ankle. "Bad owners"
Fuck that, if there had been a third time they would have had a dead Rot.
They moved out of the neighborhood a few weeks later.

Edited to add: It still pisses me off thinking about it now and it was almost a decade ago.

Glad you and yours are O.K. Believe me, I know what you are feeling right now.

[Sparkly]

7. Wow.

Definitely a bad owner, but I don't know what to do about it. I think I'll talk to my dog-owning neighbors (it's been discussed before, but this is the worst) and see if we can all put something in writing, I don't know.

Yes, it totally pisses me off. I'd never want to, or be able to, hurt their dog but we've got to figure out some way to fend it off. Like I said, ours are always on leashes so it's like they're trapped, and the loose one just goes right at them.

[TorchTheWitch]

13. I think talking to them is a waste of time and may bite you on the butt

Personally, I wouldn't. If they've been talked to before and haven't even felt sorry or bothered to do anything then they don't care. Considering the jerk tried to blame YOU and YOUR dog in this situation, then I think it's apparent that they don't care and can't even see that it's themselves that are the problem. They also might get pissed off at YOU for daring to complain about their bad owner behavior and go about making the lives of both you and your dog even more miserable.

Our police here are very good about stuff like this and will go have a talk with the bad owner. I don't know how your police department is about these sorts of things, but it also may help if you can enlist other neighbors to join in the complaint... you're likely not the only one that is pissed off about these people not controlling their dog. I think the police look a lot more favorably on these kinds of complaints if there is more than one neighbor complaining.

[Sparkly]

19. That's kind of what I'm thinking...

... seeing if other neighbors would attest to the problem somehow -- whether in a letter threatening to contact animal control or police, or just in making a complaint.

And yes, that's why I said, "You need to control your dog!!" (It's a big thing for me to say ANYthing confrontational like that.) She didn't make any attempt to hurry up and get the dog, or to say sorry, or ANYthing -- no urgency at all.

We were a distance ahead of them and walking away from them when the dog broke loose from her and ran at us. And she still does nothing... incredible.

[Texasgal]

5. Owwww! How horrible!

I'm so glad your baby is alright!

I really HATE irresponsible dog owners!

[Sparkly]

8. Thanks.

TOTALLY irresponsible.

[Sparkly]

9. It's this kind of dog -- very pretty

Pretty, but horribly raised, untrained, and aggressive.

[Irishonly]

46. I carry Dog Repellent

I have had to use it a few times. My mail peron gives it to me. So many people let their dogs run here he has a big supply and every month or so I find one in my mailbox. I will say again I think the dog needs to be removed from the home. No dog or any human should ever be in danger walking. My evil fantasy is to spray the owner. Added-any cat or anything else my addled brain can''t think of right now.

[PotatoChip]

10. I'm so sorry to hear about this.

Even if you or your or your Shih-Tsu were (apparently) not physically hurt, I can see how that incident would be unnerving. And to make matters worse, it doesn't sound as if the other dog owner is likely to change her ways- based upon the reaction you got from her.

Nonetheless, it still might not hurt to at least try to convince the other dog owner to keep better control of her dog. Hopefully, a courteous approach for the sake of good 'neighborliness' will help- (you never know). If the problem continues despite your best efforts, then perhaps a call to animal control would be in order? At least you will have made a good faith effort to solve the problem before resorting to that.

My first inclination was to suggest an alternate dog walking route, but why should you? And that wouldn't change the fact that a neighbor's dog is running amok. Not good. What if it were to actually hurt someone else's dog- or even a child? I don't blame you for wanting to vent. The other dog owner is selfishly putting you (and probably other neighbors) in an awkward position.

Sorry that you and your little Shih-Tsu had to go through that. I'd want to vent too if I were you.

Good luck, and I hope that the situation will work out ok in the end.

[Sparkly]

20. Thanks, PC

Yeah, I am weighing contacting her somehow or calling animal control or police...

Thanks for understanding the vent!

[avebury]

11. I would be concerned that the dog might attack a child. You might want to think about

calling the authorities. It is sad that the GS is probably a victim of having a bad owner who hasn't taken the time to properly train it. If the owner refuses to be responsible, the situation could only escalate in the wrong direction.

[Sparkly]

25. Yup, exactly.

I don't like the dog, but it's the owner I blame.

[TorchTheWitch]

12. I really hate shit like this

People have a right to walk their dogs without being harrassed by other peoples' dogs they are either unwilling or unable to control. I ESPECIALLY hate those people that blame the innocent people and their dogs as being the problem when they're the victims... as if your just BEING there calmly walking your dog on leash is the problem.

I'd talk to the police about this person. Thankfully, the dog though harrassing you and your dog didn't actually attack her. I totally understand that this is very upsetting and can be very scary, and you and your dog shouldn't have to be put through this at all. Sometimes a good talking to by the cops is exactly what is needed to convince a bad owner that they need to control their dog.

[PotatoChip]

15. I know what you mean.

I ESPECIALLY hate those people that blame the innocent people and their dogs as being the problem when they're the victims... as if your just BEING there calmly walking your dog on leash is the problem.

And unfortunately, it sounds as if the owner of the other dog might be the victim-blaming type. Still, I hope everything will work out ok in the end.

[Stinky The Clown]

14. Update and comments

First, thanks to everyone for your understanding comments. They meant a lot. I didn't find out about this until I got home. I turned off my cell phone as I went into a meeting this morning and forgot to turn it back on, so I missed the flurry of text messages about it all.

Our dog is none the worse for this. She wasn't bitten. It was probably more a case of "doggie drama," but frightening, nonetheless. The picture of the white long haired GSD Sparkly posted upthread is exactly the same kind of dog we're discussing. Her size makes her appear fearsome. In fact, she's probably not.

What she is, is an undisciplined dog who is the alpha of her family. The woman who was walking her is the most type B person you can imagine. She walks the dog on a leash . . . . . sometimes. Other times, the dog just walks alone, whether by having gotten loose or by design, we don't know.

Another neighbor family are very dog friendly, do some rescue work, and also have raised service dog puppies to the point of being ready to train. They have tried to work with the dog in question, but gave up as the owner was too lackadaisical to do any followup or reinforcement.

The dog is not particularly aggressive and I really don't think it is mean or stupid. It is simply, as I said above, undisciplined.

The dog also gives a wide berth to our Border Collie - our alpha. What I think we're going to do from now on is have Sparkly walk the little dog and the BC together, not just the Shih-Tzu. We've had the dog shadow us in the past (kinda creepy) by staying a few hundred feet behind us as we walked. The BC kept turning around and giving "the eye" to the white GSD. That seemed more than enough to keep her at bay.

Several of the neighbors have had issues with this dog, too, just running free and uncontrolled. No aggression, as such, just the annoyance of barking and getting their dogs (in yards and under control) all stirred up.

A part of me wants to call animal control, but another part doesn't. Talking to the owner is not an option based on the experience of others. The owner's first language is other than English. She knows what's being said is is hardly not understanding a damn thing, but feigns that as a way to avoid hassles. She also makes up really quite preposterous excuses for the dog. Sparkly ahs spoken to other neighbors today and they all report similar occurrences, but this is the first "aggressive" sort of behavior. Of course, they all have bigger dogs, too. Well, except for a pair of Beddlingtons.

Anyway, we're still undecided . . . . .

[TorchTheWitch]

16. this is where the police need to come in

If the dog is uncontrolled and the alpha in its relationship with its owner then there is always the potentional for dangerous aggression and why the dog MUST be controlled at all times. So far nothing detrimental has happened but that doesn't mean that it may not ever happen. The alpha dog is the leader, and when the leader sees a problem they believe requires biting for whatever their own dog-reasoning is they'll do it.

The owner just doesn't care. Therefore, the owner needs to be convinced they MUST care, and this is where the police come in. They are the ones that seem to be able to convince people to wise up where others haven't gotten through to this woman... and they haven't gotten through to her because no one has yet given her a deep enough reason to start caring. Once she has to start worrying about fines or the dog being taken from her, she'll likely miraculously start caring.

[Sparkly]

22. That's what I think.

It seemed to me that at any moment the dog could bite my dog's side out -- it was really scary!! I'm not sure what contact it made but Asia did make the sharp "ouch" yelp (like if you accidentally step on their foot or something) a couple of times. The situation was NOT in control. Very scary.

And the owner clearly has no control of the dog at ALL.

I have heard others say the dog is "friendly" or not really a problem, but at least with Asia, she was anything BUT.

(They'd encountered each other once before -- Asia always does the tail wag and looooves to meet other dogs -- but this was the one and only time she tried to get away from another dog. Usually if she lies down and acts submissive to a more dominant dog, they're okay. This one just kept at her.)

[TorchTheWitch]

29. So the dog actually came into physical contact with yours?

That's not a good thing. Especially if your dog was acting submissive throughout. If she made hurt noises she may have been bitten lightly or got trampled or something. It may be that your intervening kept something worse from happening, but intervening can backfire in a BIG way with an aggressive dog. Dogs are pretty single minded, and when they're attacking they don't care who or what is getting in their way. It's a lucky thing this dog didn't turn on you. Sounds like this dog only barely kept itself in check from a full blown attack, and who knows what it was that kept that from happening... who knows what could set it off into a full blown attack, and that is a VERY scary prospect.

Check your doggie all over VERY closely to see if there's any evidence of a bite or if she seems to have any pains anywhere. If she made hurt noises, she was hurt even though it may have only been a little hurt from a soft bite or being trampled or whatever.

If this dog aggressively came into physical contact with yours this was an attack that the police need to know about. Barking and growling is hassling, but aggressively coming into contact with your dog when it was acting scared and submissive is an unacceptable attack in the human world when you weren't on this woman's property and not in close proximity to her. Unfortunately, once a dog is allowed to get away with this behavior it will keep up and likely escalate.

Call the police about this now. I mean it.

In the meantime, if you can, walk your dogs somewhere else just to be safe. Just walking her by this woman's house with the bigger dog doesn't mean it won't attack again, and with the bigger dog with you you may end up with a full blown fight to deal with. Far better to avoid this problem dog as best you can. I know, it sucks. I've had to do the same thing before, and I have great big mean beasties. I just don't want the hassle or blame being turned around on me for someone else's aggressive attacking dog. If you can't avoid this woman's house, consider walking your dogs in that area with a big stick... something to both beat it off if you have to or use to try keeping it away (way safer than your own arm).

[yellerpup]

17. If the dog is in control of herself and her owner

her behavior probably won't change. It is a dilemma as to how far to go with a neighbor, though. Looks like your BC is going to need to change her initials to BG for bodyguard.

[Sparkly]

23. Ha!!!

Yeah, she is that.

[Texasgal]

18. Perhaps you could send a

certified letter to her explaining that her dogs behavior is not acceptable, and that next time you will involve the police. I would maybe list what your City/towns law is regarding controlling her dog? Does your area have a leash law?

I would also document every occurrence that something happens. IE: off the leash, attacks, growling etc. This way if you do have to involve the law you have some fire power. Pictures are even better.

I would be MORTIFIED if someone sent me a letter saying my dog was out of control. Ofcourse, my babies would never be off their leash for a walk.

Hope things work out and I am just happy Sparkly and Baby did not get hurt!

[Sparkly]

24. Good ideas.

My next-door neighbor suggested something like that. Good idea to cite the local laws and ordinances.

I can't think of another dog owner who wouldn't be mortified if their dog pulled away and attacked another dog!! But this one acted like it was a mere annoyance.

[Sparkly]

21. Well, what I saw was aggressive.

A dog running at us, snarling growling barking and biting at the little one, totally unprovoked, seems aggressive to me.

Yup, the "town tough" goes with me next time.

[Stinky The Clown]

26. The "Town Tough" and her pet doggie

[Texasgal]

28. AWWWW!

*thud*

I am dying over here! What sweethearts!!!

[TorchTheWitch]

27. That is aggressive behavior

Aggressive behavior to an extent isn't a bad thing in and of itself... it's good that dogs are willing to protect their owner and their owner's property. It's aggressive behavior that is uncontrolled that's a problem. Running at another dog barking and growling may be perfectly normal dog behavior according to a dog, but it's not acceptable in the human world. This is why dogs must be on leashes when out in public... so they can't get into being able to do unacceptable things.

Though it happens that sometimes a dog on leash may get away from their owner it's still the owner's responsibility what their dog does if that happens, that the owner correct the dog lunging and pulling on the leash, if it gets away to run after it to at least try to prevent a problem, get ahold of their dog and for the love of all that's holy be apologetic and upset with their dog and themselves when such a thing happens.

This owner from your description just flat out doesn't give a rip and isn't going to do a damn thing until someone MAKES her. It's likely that she's already had neighbors write letters or get in her face about her dog. I wouldn't bother with any of that especially since it can just come back on you by just pissing her off and deliberately doing things to make things even worse for you and your dog. Since this dog has already behaved badly because of its uncaring owner and other neighbors have also had issues, I think it's past time to go to the police.

Loose dogs are a menace, and the police have more reason to not like loose or uncontrolled dogs than most since it's usually them that has to deal with them most often. A loose dog is a menace whether because it's being aggressive, digging up peoples' yards or running into traffic causing accidents. Our local police are more than happy to go have a chat with a bad owner and follow up to make sure that the bad owner took it to heart. They don't like bad dog owners any more than we do, and they're the ones that have to deal with the sometimes tragic aftermath of bad ownership whether it's a dog attack from an aggressive dog or a car accident from a dumb dog running into traffic.

Call the police and talk to one of the officers about this problem owner and ask them to just go have a chat with her since you and your neighbors trying to convince her to deal appropriately with her dog has fallen on deaf ears. They know well how to do the "Fear of God" chat.

[Curmudgeoness]

30. I am so sorry this happened to you and your baby.

And I am glad that it didn't turn uglier than it was.

I tend to go along with the people who suggest a call to the police. I don't know of anyplace where dogs are allowed to run free, and aggressive behavior while off leash is something that the police should be concerned about. I would not try to reason with or confront the dog's owner, let the police do it. They have power behind them.

[get the red out]

31. I am glad your dog is ok

I am so sorry this has happened. So many people with large, powerful dogs seem to refuse to train them or even control them that it often gives all dogs a bad name; especially large breeds. There's a large male GSD in our neighborhood that is a joy to encounter, because he's trained! Dogs, big or small, usually don't become manerly on their own (well, maybe Golden Retrievers, but certainly not my little Aussie/BC/Mutt mix, LOL).

The thing this lady doesn't understand is that if she continues to not care what her dog does, she could end up losing her dog. If the dog were to attack another dog and harm the owner breaking it up, she could have hell to pay. It looks like she could at least have enough sense to want to look out for herself and her dog?

I hope your neighborhood can band together and find a solution, it would be best for you and the bad owner, whether she knows it or not.

[Catherina]

32. Just so you know

I'm really sorry and can imagine what kind of a cold fright you had.

One of my dogs doesn't take kindly to new rescues coming into the home at first and used to attack all the new dogs.

I found out the hard way to never get in there with your hands because even your own beloved dog will accidentally bite you in the angry melee.

I hope you never need this advice but if you do, you don't have to stand by helplessly frozen watching your dog get attacked or waste precious moments looking for a water hose which probably won't work.

The professional advice is this

Never step in the middle of two loving pets and try and grab them by the collar to stop a dog fight. If you try this, the chances of you being badly bitten are extremely high. People don't understand that 2 animals in the middle of a fight are in survival drive. If they see you at all, they don't look at you as their loving owner. When you charge in and grab them they either react out of a fight reflex and bite, or they see you as another aggressor. When they are in fight or flight mode they will bite you. You can take that to the bank.
http://leerburg.com/dogfight.htm?set=1

I can vouch for that first part because the only time I ever got bitten breaking up a fight was when I stupidly went for the collar of the attacking dog.

Get behind the attacking dog, grab its legs, lift it up by the hind legs and lift it away. Never mind if it's still got its fangs attached to your baby's neck. Lift it away, you don't have much time. You'll find the strength from nowhere.

I've had to do this several times. I hope you're not too tiny because you really need to LIFT and pull away the attacking dog so it lets go of the other one. If the dog is too large for you to lift off, go for the leach method. My attacking dog is medium size, about 70 pounds, and when the adrenalin kicked in, I managed to left her a foot off the ground with my army straight in the air. I'm not that strong normally but seeing my other puppy getting so mercilessly attacked pumped me up.

This part is important. If it's two dogs, equally going at each other, you'll need two people so each person can grab a dog's hind legs and walk them apart like a wheelbarrow in reverse. Try to remain calm and methodical during all of this.

While you're shaken and upset after separating them, there's the consolation that few domestic dogs are actually trying to kill the other dog. The usual end is a few bites, punctures, stitches, just like young boys who really got into it.

Here's advice from the pros

The worst case scenario is that you are alone when a serious fight breaks out. There are a couple things that you must keep in mind:

Keep your cool you have a job to do.
Do not waste time screaming at the dogs. It hardly ever works.
Your goal is still the same; you must break up the fight without getting hurt.
Go get a leash (allow the fight to continue while you do this).
Dogs are almost always locked onto one another. Walk up and loop the leash around the back loin of the dog by either threading the leash through the handle or use the clip. I prefer the thread method.
Now slowly back away and drag the dog to a fence or to an object that you can tie the leash to. By doing this, you effectively create an anchor for one of the dogs.
Then walk around and grab the back legs of the second dog and drag it away from the dog that is tied up. Remember to turn and circle as they release.
Drag the dog into a dog pen or another room before you release the back legs.
Go back and take the dog off the fence and put him or her into a dog kennel.

http://leerburg.com/dogfight.htm?set=1

Good luck

[Sparkly]

35. Thanks for this!

I appreciate the information and advice! Yes, I realized later it was risky to pull the dog by its collar. I was trying to get between them and didn't want to let go of my little one's leash.

I did get bitten once too -- soon after we got Asia, she got into a fight with the BC (in the picture Stinky posted). I was sitting on the couch and they were on either side of my legs, hemmed in by a coffee table. I tried to use a leg to get between them and sure enough, the little one bit me HARD! I was wearing sweatpants and it was still bad enough that I had to go to the doctor for it!

Good point that the dogs aren't trying to kill each other. That's what was going through my mind -- that any second the big dog was going to take a chomp out of the little one's side. So I panicked.

This is good info to have!

[Catherina]

38. I feel for you

You know what worked for me with my attacking dog? After she accidentally bit me and I got her off the other dog, I locked her in the bathroom with me and started melodramatically wailing and crying, showing her my hand, looking at my hand in *shock*, crying some more in pain and putting my bleeding hand in front of her face wailing "Look at what you did to me, it hurts so much!"

The poor thing was shaking so much. Grovelling from shame and shaking so hard her teeth couldn't stop chattering. She couldn't splatter herself on the floor low enough.

I cleaned up my hand, bandaged it, pretend-wailing the entire time, and left her in there to stew a bit.

It wasn't a miracle cure but every little bit helps and that was a big thing for her. Very shortly afterwards the attacks stopped. I think there were 2 small ones after that and I'm finally the alpha dog lol.

I can't believe that little one bit you through your sweatpants and sent you to the doctor's. Just reading that makes my leg hurt!

I hope you never need that information.

[Stinky The Clown]

39. Some of the worst bites come from small dogs

Obviously a big dog, like our GSD can do serious damage without even trying, but we tend to underestimate the bite impact of a small dog with sharp teeth. She broke the skin on Sparkly's calf and left one hell of impression of her upper and lower jaws.

There was a story not very long ago of a Shih-Tzu who bit a woman's nose off. It was in a Home Depot store in Toronto. It seems they allowed dogs in there. The dog was in the child seat of a shopping cart. This woman leaned down with her face to "koochie-koo" the dog and startled it. It bit off the top of her nose! I'm not sure what fate befell the dog (if any), but the victim was clearly at fault and clearly underestimated the dog.

Dogs bite. Its just that simple. Our GSD drew blood on me more than once, always when I was rough housing with her. No intent, but when her teeth contact flesh, they can do damage in a heartbeat. We get pretty spirited in play and these were pure accidents, but they DO happen.

[roody]

33. Carry citronella spray and spray the bad dog. eom

[Warpy]

34. I don't think there's anything more infuriating than some dog owner

who blithely tells you how sweet her dog is while said dog is attacking either you or your dog.

Are these people blind? I know they're stupid and deluded and have no idea about the true character of their or any dog. They make riding a bicycle or simply going for a walk an experience in terror just because they won't keep Muffy leashed or behind a fence.

I am sick of these people. I report them to Animal Control. Leash laws in this town are taken very seriously and the fines are steep.

[CC]

36. I skimmed through the whole thread...

I can't blame you for being scared and you were much nicer to the woman than I would of been. On thing I did not see mentioned is that the neighbor's dog is under a death sentence if things remain the way they are now. Since the owner does not take any active action on her dogs behavior it is only a matter of time before it bites, another dog or even a person. Once that happens the clock starts running out for him/her. I would file a complaint with either the SPCA and/or the police dept. They may only talk to the neighbor but it starts a record on the dog and her inability to control it. You are in MD, we have leash laws all over the state. You neighbor is breaking them at the least. Then there are questions on does such an inept owner bother with keeping vaccinations up to date, specifically rabies. We do still have an active rabies problem in our state. (Not sure if it is still considered an epidemic.) Also what this woman is doing is so unfair to her dog. From some of what you wrote in the thread this dog sounds like it is confused and unsure of what it is supposed to do. That is so unfair to do to the dog.


I am going to post an article on kids & dog bites from Leerburg because it has great information for how to act if confronted by an aggressive dog. It also has good information for how to handle a neighbor that will not control/teach their dog and explains why letting a dog run loose makes it even more dangerous. WARNING!!! It contains some graphic photos of dog bites. In spite of the photos I hope it can give you some useful information.

http://leerburg.com/kidbites.htm



Glad you and your little one are alright. I have to stay up on stuff because I keep taking in do over dogs that need lots of help and training.

[TorchTheWitch]

37. excellent article

I love the Leerburg site. There is just soooooo much fantastic info available there. I constantly surprise myself that as much as I already know I always find stuff there that I didn't.

The photos weren't that horrible to look at for me, and I tend to be the really squeemy type... I'm talking REALLY squeemy. Admittedly, I kind of squinted my eyes up and scrolled past them, but normally even the slightest sight of blood makes me absolutely cringe and my stomach heave, but these weren't so bad for me.

[Stinky The Clown]

40. This thread is my first exposure to the site, but yes, its a good resource

The advice cited upthread for breaking up a dog fight seems a little hard to apply if one is alone with one's dog and another attacks. I want to find more on that site, but the site is HUGE. It says on the front page that they have 2900 pages!

[TorchTheWitch]

41. They have an absolute wellspring of great free info

And there's also a really good forum with very knowledgeable and very helpful people. They recently changed how the site is set up, so more recently I'm having some trouble finding things with all the tons of info about all kinds of dog training stuff, very helpful Q&A for all manner of specific issues, etc... but that's mostly because it's set up differently now than what I had been used to. I also really like it that they have a ton of photos and video clips especially since I'm the kind of person that it helps enormously if I can SEE something or something in actual action to really get a clear picture.

I find myself spending hours and hours there reading and reading since one thing seems to lead to another thing which leads to another thing, and I just keep going learning more and more new and important things. A lot of times it helps me to re-read something that I already know but it helps to read again for reinforcement and realizing that the devil is usually in the minute details that can sometimes get glossed over in my own head. I can't count how many times I've had little "a-HA!" moments there re-reading something but there was some tiny little detail my own head had glossed over that turned out to be THE detail that was really at the heart of some particular issue and exactly what I needed to focus on.

I think it's wonderful that they give out soooo much for free when they sell videos and all kinds of other stuff and will fully answer questions... most places will just give you some teaser or incomplete answer just to get you to buy their stuff.

As to your specific question... I know there's a lot of info somewhere on the site about what to do about a dog fight when you're alone with your dog especially since that's a special problem for me as it's just me and my dog all the time. I'm sure I read stuff there about that before, and I know one thing mentioned was to always carry pepper spray and always have it right at your fingertips... and don't be afraid to use and use it immediately (I've decided I'm going to do this). I'll look around the site again and see what else there is... I'm interested myself especially after that damn husky running around loose AGAIN last night harrassing me and my dog. He's not aggressive (yet), but he doesn't give up, and you can't get near enough to him with trying to hold onto your own dog and give him a good swift kick in the face. That damn dog is a freaking MENACE. I know somebody owns him because he's got a collar with tags but nobody has been able to actually get a hold of him to find out who the owner is so far. Thankfully, I don't run into the wretched beast that often, but it's always late at night, and EVERY TIME that idiot dog almost causes a car accident running blindly back and forth across the road. I want to find out how to deal with that damn dog whenever we have the misfortune to run into the horrible thing.

[CC]

43. On the warning, I felt it was better to warn

just in case. As for the help I was thinking more along the getting the neighbor to do instead of make excuses and was also thinking about how a dog allowed to roam thinks its territory is a lot bigger than people might realize. I refer to Leerburg a lot since I keep taking in do over GSD. It is a great site with so much information. They are also open to progress in training and will change their advise if a better, safer way comes along.

[TorchTheWitch]

44. Oh, and I'm very glad you DID give a warning!

That way people like myself who are normally REALLY icked-out by even the slightest of graphic photos can decide for ourselves whether or not we want to risk the link. I just wanted to mention that even I wasn't grossed out by them (probably because I did the eye squint and scroll past trick). The warning certainly helped me because I was prepared and didn't give myself the opportunity to really look at them.

I can't even remember anymore how I found Leerburg's site years ago, but I'm sooooooo glad I did! I've learned a whole heck of a lot of stuff there.

It's wonderful that you do this second chance work with GSD's. I often wish I could do stuff like that, but I bond so strongly and so fast I'd never be able to say goodbye to a dog and give them up.

[CC]

48. On the do over dog...

I keep them. Up to 4 right now and not allowed more that 5. Once a fur/feather one hits here they are at their forever home. Just that I tend to find dogs, cats, etc. that need a home. Sometimes because they haven't been trained. This GSD was 5.5 months old when she came to stay. We have been playing catch up on socialization, training, etc. The do over part is training them.

[TorchTheWitch]

49. I wish I had that kind of space

I've always been limited to a smallish place where only me and one big beastie really fit. I suppose if I wasn't allergic I could have a cat or two though, then again, I really hate the litter box thing and I'm not much of a cat person. But finances are limited, so I'm glad I can afford to at least have one beastie. If I had a lot of money I just know I'd end up the local Kooky Dog Lady.


I'm really happy that your new addition is doing well and already has her forever home. Pets are just the bestest!

[jillan]

42. I went thru this with my dog. Another dog went for her jugular. Now

when I take my baby for a walk I take a bag with me. It has mace, and a shaky can.
A shaky can is an empty pop can with 13 pennies in it. When you shake the can, it startles the dog.

What a jerk that lady was.

(((hugs)))

[Irishonly]

45. I am so sorry

I take my life in my hands every day when I walk my dogs. I am astounded at how many people either let their dogs loose or think it's funny when they lunge at another dog. People walking dogs have the right to expect that neither they or their dogs will be attacked.

[CraftyGal]

47. People like that drive me nuts!

Last edited Mon Mar 12, 2012, 05:26 AM - Edit history (1)

We have 2 small dogs, Leo and Scrappy. Leo is a long haired miniature dachshund, black and tan, senior (12 this year) and Scrappy a wire haired dachshund fox terrier cross (6 this year). I can't tell you how many times people approach us with their dogs saying "oh my dogs friendly" and your saying "well mine is not. Both are rescue dogs and we have no history on them. Leo spent most of his year in a cage at the rescue as the foster homes were too nervous to take him as he had aggression issues big time. We did a lot of work with Leo, along with back surgery as it turned out he had a herniated disc due to IVDD. He is fine now although we still deal with leash aggression.

We are aware of this and we are working with him.

[IMG][/IMG]

TrogL says:

Bears kill people.
Badgers kills bears.
Dachshunds kill Badgers.
Do you really want to piss of a dachshund?

Love it! Glad your little one is okay.

CraftyGal