Pip was attacked!
I was out walking Pip in the yard, so he could go potty before I left for work... pretty much an every morning occurrence. He is always out on his leash (I never let the dogs out in the yard unless their leashed, or attached to a long line if we're playing, since we have roads on 3 sides, and no fence) We had pretty much finished with our walk. I noticed that the neighbors girlfirend had their 2 dogs out, the Akita, and her pit cross. Neither of them is ever on a leash, or contained, not to mention the Akita won't listen to anyone but his master, my neighbor (not her!) So of course the akita comes strolling into my yard, gives Pip a reasonably friendly sniff at the nose, and goes to do his business in m yard (grr... a normal, but extremely rude occurence for him). Pip is being his normal happy self, play bowing to the akita and wagging his butt. To be fair, I wasn't paying much attention to the pit cross, he was mostly hanging out by his person, who was busy yelling at the akita, who was in turn ignoring her. So I'm watching the akita releiving himself, and the next thing I know I've turned around and the pit cross moves in on Pip in a FLASH and has grabbed him BY THE SCRUFF OF THE NECK!!!! We're not talking play bite, we're talking full fledged pit aggression. Pip did the right thing and froze in a submissive position. I was terrified! I yelled in my biggest meanest most pissed off voice, the pit let go quickly, which was enough time to get Pip out of the middle of the action (it happened so fast I didn't have time to think). I yelled at the woman, told her to put the dogs on a leash, like mine was, keep off my property, and if my dog was ever attacked again, she'd be hearing from animal control! All the time she's saying "Well that dog doesn't listen to me" indicating the akita, who didn't even attack Pip! (Really other then being generally unfriendly, the akita hasn't ever been a threat to anyone). I got Pip back inside, and checked him over. He's fine, thank God! Not even a little mark, no blood. In fact he was his normal happy self, not upset or anything. (I was much more upset by the whole thing then him!) I'm just furious about the whole incident. I have every right to have my dog outside, leashed on my own property, without fearing for his, or my safety! What if that dog had hurt Pip? Or what if the pit cross had turned on me??? She had no business letting those dogs outside off leash if she couldn't control their behavior! I know there should have been something I could have done to avoid this all together, like getting Pip into the house as soon as I saw the dogs, but I had no reason to beleive he would be attacked! Really, I had no clues from the dogs behavior that there would be any issues...other then the woman screaming her head off at both of them to get back in their yard. Mike is going to have a talk with Warren, our neighbor, to make sure this doesn't happen again. Since there was no injury, I'm inclined to give them this incident as a warning, assuming there is no more threatening behavior on my property again. But GRRRRR!!!!!!! I'm still as mad and upset as all get out! |
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That is so scary 
I'm glad Pip is alright  |
| Thats scary.
Can you not report them to animal control but say you don't want any action taken at this stage? In the Uk we have had some incidents recently where dogs have attacked other dogs and then gone on to attack and on one occassion just after Christmas kill a child. If this woman can't control her dogs she should have them on a leash! |
| I am so glad that Pip is okay, and that you are okay as well.. you do not need this stress right now.
You assume that your dog is safe in his yard.. you take precautions to ensure he is due to the absence of a fence right at this time.. a person should have to worry that their dog is going to get attacked in it's own yard. I think I would go one step further with my neighbours.. I would report this pit incident to animal control.. it could of ended a different way..... |
| Poor Pip!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I hate pits!!!!! Someone is going to jump in and defend them but the bad ones far outnumber the good. |
| Oh my gosh!!!!!!!!! YES, YOU DO NOT NEED THIS STRESS during a very critical time in your life!!!!!!
THAT IS SO SCARY!!!! Quote: I yelled at the woman, told her to put the dogs on a leash, like mine was, keep off my property, and if my dog was ever attacked again, she'd be hearing from animal control!
You should get Mike to tell them that you will call the police even if the pit-cross is seen OFF LEASH. The dog bites. Period. There should be 0 second chances as far as allowing it to be off-leash. However inconvenient for them ...it does not matter... ensuring their dogs are on leash 100% of the time or calling the police makes for a safe environment for YOU, MIKE, YOUR NEW BUNDLE in the making, AND THE DOGS! I'm SO PISSED right now hearing this happened to you and your dog. I'm SO glad everyone is okay. |
| I'm glad you and Pippin are ok, how scary!
I think I would have done the same thing, but if they don't actually listen and keep their dogs leashed and on their own property I would definitely call animal control. It's bad enough it happened to Pip, but what if it was a child? |
| I would call animal control REGARDLESS, perhaps they will "officially" put your neighbor on notice to control their dogs! |
| Yikes! I am so glad Pip is ok!!
What is your neighbor like? Does your neighbor also let them out offleash? Can you talk to him about what happened and ask for assurances that the he and the girlfriend won't go out with them offleash? If he seems uncooperative or unconcerned, I would definitely report it to animal control. |
Iriskmj wrote: I've had a VERY bad morning!
I'm just furious about the whole incident. I have every right to have my dog outside, leashed on my own property, without fearing for his, or my safety! What if that dog had hurt Pip? Or what if the pit cross had turned on me??? She had no business letting those dogs outside off leash if she couldn't control their behavior! I know there should have been something I could have done to avoid this all together, like getting Pip into the house as soon as I saw the dogs, but I had no reason to beleive he would be attacked! Really, I had no clues from the dogs behavior that there would be any issues...other then the woman screaming her head off at both of them to get back in their yard. Mike is going to have a talk with Warren, our neighbor, to make sure this doesn't happen again. Since there was no injury, I'm inclined to give them this incident as a warning, assuming there is no more threatening behavior on my property again. But GRRRRR!!!!!!! I'm still as mad and upset as all get out! Yes you have every right to be angry and to take appropriate action, legal or otherwise. Don't just "let it go" because there were no injuries to Pip or you this time. The only thing the "no injuries" status of this incident should affect is the degree of responce. Next time, and there will be a next time, the outcome could be very different. I wholly agree with talking with your neighbours (both him and her). He may honestly be unaware of the problems his dogs are creating when he isn't there, I doubt it but you need to approach it as though that is the case. Either way they need to know that it is totally unacceptable for his dogs to trespass onto your property and soil it. (Just because you have a dog and are cleaning up anyway doesn't abrogate their responsibility to control where there dogs relieve themselves and clean it up for themselves.) And it is even more unacceptable for their dogs to in any way cause concern, fear and harm to you and your dog. The last time I checked private property was still just that in the US, PRIVATE not a communal asset! It is where you have every right to feel safe and not have the actions of others imposed upon you. You might also remind them of their legal liabilities if/when their dogs actually physically harm somebody - nothing gets people to correct errant behaviour like a risk to their wallet. And of course shock like this can be particularly devestating to you right now, do they want to risk further legal action if the worst were to happen from extreme stress? It is also important for this behaviour to be "nipped in the bud" because this sort of incident is often the nucleus for anti-dog legislation. If it happens enough and people with small children witnesses it then they quite rightly become concerned for the safety and welfare of their family. Subsequent police complaints and letters to editors and local politicians will quickly result in "knee jerk reactionary" legislation that can impose all kinds of restrictions from mandatory leash laws (something I don't mind) to mandatory spay neuter laws, mandatory muzzling, limits on number of dogs in a house hold etc. Good luck and best wishes. Carl |
| So glad Pip wasn't hurt and you do have a right to be concerned. Lets hope the neighbor is going to do the responsible thing and listen to all your concerns and make sure it doesn't have happen again.
Sloppy kisses from the boys to Pip. Marianne and the boys |
| Wow Karen! I am glad both you and Pippin are okay.
I would report the bite. JMO If anyone has any further problems with the dog it will already be on record that the dog is aggressive and dangerous. You should be safe in your own yard. When I lived in my townhouse in NY my dogs had 50 tie outs from the backdoor. Which let them reach pretty much anywhere in the backyard and run around. We could not have a fence as it was against the homeowners assocation's stupid nazi policy. I always went outside just incase. Well the one time we were out this guy is walking his two Chows. The dogs see Roxie my boxer and start going ballastic. One of them got free from the owner and went after Roxie. Luckily my screaming scared the Chow just enough for the owner to be able to grab him. I told him my dogs have the right to be in their own yard, that if he couldn't control his dogs he shouldn't walk them past my house.  I guess my screaming must have scared the guy. I never say him walking past my house again.  |
| Personally.... I like your idea of giving them another chance SINCE Pippin' is okay.
I think giving the neighbors, who you see daily, a chance to put their dogs on a leash would be nice. I don't think it's your obligation to give them a second chance AT ALL, but it would correct the problem. I would only call if after talking to them tonight when Mike comes home... they disagree about putting them on a leash 100% of the time. I don't think you're endangering anyone by waiting to see if this happens. At least from where I sit. Considering you keep Pippin' on a leash (that could only be so long)... I would think there would be time to pull your dog back into the house if they decided to let him out without a leash. THEN I would call the police. That's just me though... I don't think telling on them right away is the WRONG decision, just not what I would do if I can solve the problem myself and they were my next-door neighbor. |
| Thanks for the support everyone. I really, really appreciate it. I'm going to wait and see what our neighbor has to say to Mike tonight, before I think about contacting the authorities. Warren has been a good neighbor so far (besides letting his dog wander around), and Mike has a good relationship with him. I'm hoping the talk will be all that is needed to get the dogs under control. The girlfriend and her pit are a pretty recent addition to his household, so I'm hoping once he knows there is an aggression issue, he'll take care of it.
If not, and I see the pit on my property, or if it is threatening to me (or pip, or watson) while I'm on a walk or outside I will be calling the authorities for sure. I'm also going to try to talk to some of my other neighbors to see if they've had any problems, if so we'll need to escalate things. I don't want to ruin our relationship with Warren over one incident if it is something he is willling to correct and control in the future. But I'm also not going to put myself, the baby, or anyone else in danger with an uncontrolled dog! Why oh why couldn't they have a friendly dog that Pip could play with???  |
Oh no! Your little boy! I'm glad that neither one of you was hurt. How scary though  |
| Karen - I'm really sorry you had such a frightful morning.
I think you've got the correct approach, though. Since Mike does have a good relationship with the neighbor, I would hope that calling his attention to the seriousness of the situation would be enough to correct the behavior. If not, definitely do not hesitate to call the authorities. |
| I am so glad you are both ok. Sounds like it could have
turned bloody quite easily. The emotional distress after something like this is horrible, and I am sorry for that too! Thank goodness the other dog let go before he broke skin or worse. I learned my lesson after Zeke was attacked, and then I was bitten. Write everything down with the date and time and hang on to it. You may want to mention it to the authorities - it may not be the only incident. Sometimes it is a good idea to just let someone know even if you choose to take no action, in the event that it happens to someone else or God forbid a child. Make absolutley sure Pip is not injured and if you find nicks or bruises take pictures. It may sound silly, but you never know how these things can turn around when retold by the other owner. Document everything. CYA!! The fact that the dog is not controlled or contained seems like reason enough to report it. I hope you are relaxing out of the horrible feeling this created! Shellie |
Tasker's Mom wrote: I would call animal control REGARDLESS, perhaps they will "officially" put your neighbor on notice to control their dogs!
I agree with Ginny..... Karen, what if it was your toddler out there with you and Pip? Who knows how many times this has happened and no one reports it. At least if it happens again to another neighbor you know you did everything to stop it. I am so glad that you and Pippin are ok. Now take it easy little mother, you need to not be stressed to take care of the little one inside you  |
| I'm sorry this happened to you guys. The way I see it though, if you can't keep an eye on your dogs and obey the rules, you shouldn't have them. It isn't fair when someone else's irresponsibility starts affecting your life.
I called animal control on my neighbor and it was the best choice I've ever made. I let him get away with letting his dog in my yard a (documented) 15 times over a 2 month period. On the 16th time, I called animal control. I'm really sorry that I let him get away with it as long as I did because I found myself getting so stressed out and angry. He had to come and get the dog every time so he was very aware of the problem but he often would leave the dog in my yard for hours and I didn't want to let me dogs out with his fear aggressive, unsocialized dog. He would play video games with headphones on so he wouldn't answer the door when we knocked. Man, I hate that guy... |
| Oh! How scary! I'm so sorry this happened.
I like the idea of Mike talking to the neighbor and seeing how it plays out. I also like the idea of you saying if you ever see them out in the yard (his or yours) without a leash that you will call the authorities, even if the dog is sound asleep on the front porch. Poor Karen...you definitely don't need any stress! |
| I am sorry that this happened to you and glad Pip is alright. Send your husband over to talk to the guy. If the owner is hostile, call animal control. It's nice that you want to be hospitable to your neighbor and give a chance before contacting the authorities. Be careful, this dog sounds very aggressive and the last thing you need being pregnant is a nasty dog turning on you. If this situation happened to me, I don't think I would be able to control myself and I would have immediately reported the dog to animal control. |
Oh, Karen, I'm SO sorry you had to go through this! Poor Pip!  I also hate pits, purebred or mixes. Don't trust them at all. I hope your neighbor realizes the problem when Mike talks to him. If not, I would definitely call animal control, too, just so they have a paper trail on them if anything further happens, to either you or any other neighbor. |
| Glad Pip is okay. Since this is the first time this occurred, and you like your neighbor in general, then I would try to work it out with him first before you call the authorities. If he doesn't comply, I would go ahead and call then. |
| I'm glad Pip wasn't hurt, could be a bruise later though. Be real sure there isn't a puncture........
And then call Animal Control! Get it on their records. Next time it might be a child who will not stand still, but scream thus causing more injury. Those are two breeds that must be under control of their owners. This is a bad situation and a disaster waiting to happen. You might be the next victim.......a presidence has be set......... |
| I don't like any second chances in this situation. Both of those dogs are fighting breeds and there's always the pack mentality to think of.
If I were you, I would go with Mike to tell the neighbor what happened. You are the eye witness and should be telling exactly what happened instead of there being a question of second hand information. I would let this guy know that you don't trust either of those dogs or the ability of his girlfriend to control them. Even if they are on a leash, they could easily pull her down or get away from her. The pit has already demonstrated that it has an aggressive tendency and even though you were able to yell at it and get it off of Pip without incident this time, the next time may not be so uneventful. The next time you see those dogs off leash or in your yard, the authorities will be notified. I think of it like I do my part to take care of my dogs, train them to be good kids and clean up after them and I deserve that same courtesy in return. No question! |
| Thanks everybody. I'm gonna find out what the neighbor has to say when I get home. In the meantime, Pip happens to have his normal checkup tomorrow at the vets, so I'm going to mention it to them, and have the vet check the back of Pip's neck carefully, to make sure there isn't any damage there I couldn't see/find. |
Joahaeyo wrote: Personally.... I like your idea of giving them another chance SINCE Pippin' is okay.
I think giving the neighbors, who you see daily, a chance to put their dogs on a leash would be nice. I don't think it's your obligation to give them a second chance AT ALL, but it would correct the problem. I would only call if after talking to them tonight when Mike comes home... they disagree about putting them on a leash 100% of the time. I don't think you're endangering anyone by waiting to see if this happens. At least from where I sit. Considering you keep Pippin' on a leash (that could only be so long)... I would think there would be time to pull your dog back into the house if they decided to let him out without a leash. THEN I would call the police. That's just me though... I don't think telling on them right away is the WRONG decision, just not what I would do if I can solve the problem myself and they were my next-door neighbor. This would probably be my course of action too. considering that you are neighbors...and it really sucks when you have neighbors that you have issues with. Giving them a chance to rectify the situation lets them know you arent trying to be a jerk...but def. dont give them a second chance. They need to have those dogs on leashes when outdoors. Hope all goes well when you guys talk with them. Also very glad to hear that your Pip is okay....how scary! |
| How scary for you, and I am glad Pip was okay. Lets hope the neighbour is reasonable and keep the dogs leashed or in the fenced yard.
I'd be worried too about neighbour relations so talking to them is a good idea, and then animal control. |
| So darn glad Pip was not hurt and also his lovely nature was not affected as well from the attack.
Talk to your neighbour, but personally if it was me and I saw either dogs put a foot onto my property again there would be absolutely no 2nd chance. I would ring the animal control straight away, next time it could be a young child not a dog. I would tell the neighbour nicely that is what is going to happen as you will not risk anything next time either dog enters your property so forewarn them NOW and be prepared to act on that if you do see the dogs on your property again. Sometimes being too nice does not gain anything in situations like this, it only gets brushed aside by others and the problem just keeps happening, so be very firm with them and act straight away on this situation if the dogs enter your property again, safety for you, your family and pip is what is the most important thing here now, not what the neighbours think of you, so make your intentions to them very clear as to what is going to happen from now on.  |
| Animal control needs to be alerted and the attack on record.
Poor little Pip. |
| Karen, I glad that Pip is OK. But I agree with the others about reporting the incident to animal control. If they attacked your dog they could have easily attacked another dog -- or worse yet a child.
I think I'm a peacefull even going guy, but inspite of reports to the contrary by professional trainers, I wouldn't trust any dog with pit blood in it and think the breed should be outlawed. I've heard all the arguments to the contrary about proper training, socialization, etc. but I still don't trust the breed. |
| If it makes you feel any better...Panda was attacked last night by a neighbors 10 month old German shepard.....she put him in the backyard while showing me her kitchen remodel, we went outside and were talking on her front porch when this huge GS ran around from the back of the house and went after panda who was just sitting quietly while dawn and i were talking.
He got the latch unhooked and bolted toward panda...got her by the neck and was pulling her down...dawn jumped on her dog and i got panda away (which was easy because panda was scared senseless)....she put him in the house and apologized profusely....she had wanted to have play dates but there is no way in high heck thats gonna happen.... she is taking him to training, but he seems to be very protective of his property.....sigh...Im not mad at dawn as she was practically in tears over it but i told her in no short terms that she needed to get her dog under control. she agreed...but she doesnt know what type of training would work, especially since the classes that she is taking him to isnt working! any ideas that i can tell her? ps...panda is okay...no blood, just scared....my poor sweetheart! |
| OH NO! BAD OES GETTING ATTACKED KARMA!
I'm sorry panda had to go through that, I understand completely how upset you must be! Pip sends her big kisses! Your neighbor might try going to behavior specialist, or someone that trains specifically with GSDs. I stumbled across a kennel is wI that does lots of schutzhund and obediance with GSDS exclusively. i look for the webite for you, they sell training tapes. I'll bet she could e-mail someone over there for help!!!! No news on the pit stuation yet. The neighbors weren't home at all last night, Mike's gonna try to catch him tonight. Pip goes to the vet at 4:30, but there was no redness, swelling, or bruising this morning, so I'm pretty confident he's just fine! |
| Darcy,
the webite for that kennel is: www.leerburg.com They train GSDs for police work, schutzhund, all sorts of things. They may be able to help your friend! |
| thanks kar, i copied it and am going to drop it off at her house! |
| Just make sure that everyone realizes that training for police work is waaayy different from training a family pet. Police training wants the dog to be like a robot...They use lots of fear tactics and "remote" training....which means electric shock collars. This is all punishment - based and does not make a happy dog.
Different strokes for different folks. |
| YUCK - I'm so sorry about the attack. I hope you call and let people know what's happening - maybe they'll at least get a note telling them to buy leashes. I'm happy Pip is ok - and for the future I wouldn't want my new baby running around a backyard that those two dogs could saunter in. |
| CALL ANIMAL CONTROL!!! Don't let there be a "next time". Lets play what if: what if, you talk to your neighbors and they agree to put the dogs on leashes but..what if the dogs pull and break away from this stupid women who takes dogs out who will not listen to her. What if.."next time" the pit ignores your screaming or worse yet because you are screaming the pit turns on you. If it happened once it WILL happen again. You are not calling animal control on your neighbor, its on his dimwit gf. I know this sounds harsh, but you and Pip have a right to be SAFE and happy in your own yard. You shouldn't have to dash into the house if you see these dogs again. On the subject of German Shepards...Man I don't trust those dogs. There is a reason they are used for guard dogs. I was bit once by one and I had a co-worker who was taking her GS to class for obediance(SP) and the dog turned on her and had to be put down. She will carry the scars from that for the rest of her life. |
| Even if she did call animal control, you could still play the What If game...
I may be confused and probable am... but plenty of people who had animal control called on them (for good reasons) ...still let their dog out loose the next day out of convenience, hoping no one is also outside, etc, etc. The first time is usually a warning and fine ...at least when I worked at a shelter. Having a leash break does not change just because she called animal control...I doubt even 20% of pet owners go to obedience training just because their dog was reported for aggression. |
| I agree with Joah....if at all possible, I think its a good idea to discuss this kind of thing with the neighbor first, before calling in authorities.
The reason is, that (as Joah said) the first time will only lead to a warning, and you will still have these people to live next to...We had a very bad experience, years ago, with a neighbor who "went to war" with us over a complaint about heir dogs. We (or rather, a house-sitter we had hired, actually) complained about their dogs constant barking. The next thing we knew, they were making up false complaints to call in about OUR dog! We were forced into having to prove that our dog was not a problem, which was very difficult, since its hard to prove a negative.
Until you can be sure that these people are not going to just become a worse problem out of anger, I'd be cautious. |
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