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Shonie got grabbed by a pit bull


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DH walks Shonie 3 mornings a week, while I take Sam to run. Shonie can't run anymore, and would wake DH up anyway if left behind when I take Sam, so that's the compromise we worked out.

 

DH had Shonie on her leash, in the vacant field they always go to, a guy drove up, let his dog out WITHOUT PUTTING ON A LEASH, and the dog went straight for Shonie. Got her on the left hip, and evidently held on until the owner got there and got him off. DH didn't think to get the guy's license #, they did have some sort of conversation, DH is too shaken to be clear about the details and he's not got that good a memory anyway.

 

I checked her over thoroughly, she's a little stiff in that hip, but no marks on her skin at this point. She's freaked, though. Thank god she's got a good thick coat, or she would have been hurt much worse. She's only 35 lbs, too. She's also the kind of dog who will take her anxieties out on the other animals, so we get to be extra vigilant in that regard, as well.

 

Jeez, maybe we could have a pinned 'stupid people rant' at the top of the board. My dogs have been in scuffles before, but this still has my heart pounding, just hearing about it. DH doesn't want to go back there, ever, and I'm pretty sure Shonie will have a hard time with it, too. Aaargh.

 

 

Ruth, a shaken DH, and a very leery Shoniegirl

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Very sorry to hear that. Glad everyone is (physically) okay.

 

Bad things happen. My suggestion is to focus your attention on what you and DH can do in future to lessen the odds. It's perfectly okay to decide not to go back there ever again. Even if that counts as "superstitious behavior", if the decision makes you feel safer that's good. Also, you and DH should have a discussion about how you would handle something like this if it ever happened again in the hypothetical future. Maybe get a can of Direct Stop to carry? Anyway, developing a plan should empower you a bit and get the focus off reliving what happened.

 

Don't know who else uses the field, but I have seen people in your shoes put up a notice at the dog park where an incident occurred informing others to be wary. Makes you feel part of the community, and puts peer pressure on the outsider who behaved irresponsibly.

 

ETA: Okay, I figured Bad Rap would have something useful to say on this subject, and they do. Here is solid information on how to get a pitbull to let go of another dog. It's a bit scary to read, but a lot less scary than not having that knowledge when you need it.

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One of my dachshunds was very badly attacked by a pitbull/spaniel mix this past summer. He had gashes torn in his chest and neck-- this dog wasn't playing around. Thank god he was still on a leash, but I have no idea how I got the dog off of him. He had to have emergency surgery, but thankfully was ok. It hasn't affected him negatively at all. He's always been shy around bigger dogs, but no more than he used to be. Watching it happen was pretty horrifying, but I know that my apprehension will only make the dog more nervous, so I make an effort to be relaxed when my dogs are playing with strangers. I know border collies and dachshunds are very different, but it's entirely possible she will be fine with no adverse affects. Just pay attention to your reaction so that you aren't inadvertently sending her fearful signals.

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Man, things like that p*ss me off like you wouldn't believe...esp. with bully breeds. They give everyone a bad name. Good to hear she's ok and I hope that this incident does not leave any residule side effects.

 

+1, Many of those "bully breed" dogs can't be trutsed. period. To each his own but I have no desire to own one of those dogs, I don't like them and I don't like being around them. It's a wonder that DH did'nt get bit too, glad to hear your dog is O.K.

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Many of those "bully breed" dogs can't be trutsed. period.

 

Like Border Collies are crazy non stop maniacs that cannot be trusted around small children or cats because they are a herding breed and will nip, bite chase and maybe even kill?

 

Just as not everyone and their brother should own a Border Collie, not everyone and their brother should own a Pit Bull.

 

Back to the OP. I am sorry to hear about your girl. I have had a young dog (puppy) of mine attacked at a disc dog event a few years back, by a Border Collie none the less, who wanted nothing less to kill him which was clear as the handler pull his dogs jaws off my puppy's neck. I was livid and the puppy was pretty shaken up but he got over it fast enough.

 

Its us, their people, that have the hard time getting over things, not them. I think we forgot that more times then not, dogs are always the first to forgive and forget no matter the situation.

 

Katelynn

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Katelynn, that is so right. Ruth, I'm really sorry to hear about Shonie's close call. Odin had a similar one a few weeks back and it was absolutely terrifying. He seems to have put all his apprehension not on other dogs, but on the location of the attack itself. Hopefully Shonie will do something similar. How is she feeling today?

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Like Border Collies are crazy non stop maniacs that cannot be trusted around small children or cats because they are a herding breed and will nip, bite chase and maybe even kill?

 

Just as not everyone and their brother should own a Border Collie, not everyone and their brother should own a Pit Bull.

 

Back to the OP. I am sorry to hear about your girl. I have had a young dog (puppy) of mine attacked at a disc dog event a few years back, by a Border Collie none the less, who wanted nothing less to kill him which was clear as the handler pull his dogs jaws off my puppy's neck. I was livid and the puppy was pretty shaken up but he got over it fast enough.

 

Its us, their people, that have the hard time getting over things, not them. I think we forgot that more times then not, dogs are always the first to forgive and forget no matter the situation.

 

Katelynn

 

Katelyn, I sincerely apoligize if I offended you or anyone else with my comments, that was not my intention. I'm new here and the last thing I want to do is get on someone's bad side. In fact I used to date a girl that had a Pit bull and she was a very sweet, gentle dog... But with all due respect, if you'll look at the amount of attacks by specific breeds and compare BCs to PBs you'll see that PBs are at the very top of the list and BCs are at the very bottom. Big difference, personally, I'd much rather deal with an angry BC than an angry PB or Rot anyday. I realize in this instance the owner is at fault, not the dog, but in general I think the statistics speak for themselves:

 

http://www.dogbitelaw.com/PAGES/statistics.html

 

"According to the Clifton study, pit bulls, Rottweilers, Presa Canarios and their mixes are responsible for 74% of attacks that were included in the study, 68% of the attacks upon children, 82% of the attacks upon adults, 65% of the deaths, and 68% of the maimings. In more than two-thirds of the cases included in the study, the life-threatening or fatal attack was apparently the first known dangerous behavior by the animal in question. Clifton states:

 

If almost any other dog has a bad moment, someone may get bitten, but will not be maimed for life or killed, and the actuarial risk is accordingly reasonable. If a pit bull terrier or a Rottweiler has a bad moment, often someone is maimed or killed--and that has now created off-the-chart actuarial risk, for which the dogs as well as their victims are paying the price."

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mattinky, you might be surprised if you take a look at this link: http://www.badrap.org/rescue/myths.cfm

 

Interesting read, I don't deny for one minute that PBs get a bad rap and I believe that in most cases agressive dogs are the result of bad handling. Like I said, an ex girlfriend of mine has a wonderful PB and it was not my intention to offend anyone here that owns a Pit or Rot, because in the majority of cases they're o.k. dogs. But in all honesty I can't remember ever hearing that a Border Collie killed or severely maimed anyone and in general the statistics prove that there are certain breeds that are more likely to attack... I sure did'nt mean to start a flame-war, sorry. Matt

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I can't remember ever hearing that a Border Collie killed or severely maimed anyone

Oh, I don't know. I think if you search this board for "reactive dog" you will find that border collies can do some damage. I don't want to name any names, but we have some members who, for instance, cannot obtain vet care for their dogs because there is no safe way for a vet to be in the dog's presence.

 

in general the statistics prove that there are certain breeds that are more likely to attack...

Not quite. The statistics you referred to show that in recent years the majority of people who have reported dog bite incidents have attributed them to "pit bulls". That is not at all the same thing as saying that pitbulls are more likely to attack [than what?]. Other statistics have shown that many people are likely to label any medium-sized dog a "pitbull" if it scares them, and a quick perusal of petfinder will show you that misidentifying the breed of a dog is extremely common, even among people who ought to have a little expertise on the subject.

 

Read What pit bulls can teach us about profiling by Malcolm Gladwell if you'd like to understand more about the statistics you cited (skip to section 5 if you're too impatient to read the whole article). Here's an excerpt:

 

The kinds of dogs that kill people change over time, because the popularity of certain breeds changes over time. The one thing that doesn't change is the total number of the people killed by dogs. When we have more problems with pit bulls, it's not necessarily a sign that pit bulls are more dangerous than other dogs. It could just be a sign that pit bulls have become more numerous....

 

Randall Lockwood, a senior vice-president of the A.S.P.C.A. and one of the country's leading dogbite experts, told me..."When I first started looking at fatal dog attacks, they largely involved dogs like German shepherds and shepherd mixes and St. Bernards—which is probably why Stephen King chose to make Cujo a St. Bernard, not a pit bull. I haven't seen a fatality involving a Doberman for decades, whereas in the nineteen-seventies they were quite common. If you wanted a mean dog, back then, you got a Doberman. I don't think I even saw my first pit-bull case until the middle to late nineteen-eighties, and I didn't start seeing Rottweilers until I'd already looked at a few hundred fatal dog attacks. Now those dogs make up the preponderance of fatalities. The point is that it changes over time. It's a reflection of what the dog of choice is among people who want to own an aggressive dog."

 

I don't think anyone contests that a pitbull who latches on can do some serious damage (which is the point of the last quote in your previous post), but the likelihood of that happening is more open to debate than Mr. DogBiteLaw's website would suggest.

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As an aside, a pittbull hopped on a school bus in our area last week and according to local news attacked an 8 year old in the back of the bus. Obviously, no dog should be loose and hopping on school buses, but they interviewed the boy and his mother. Her had a few scratches and tiny bruises...nothing close to needing stitches, but the media had a field day and the dog will be pts after 14 days. Poor ownership, yes. /Bad dog???

Barb S

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