This was Scary!
Today I was walking a block from my home with both Merlin and Blue my ancient 14 year old Blue Heeler/Lab. It was a block I've walked hundreds of times in the past 8 years since I've lived there. Today a woman yelled out her window, please be careful there is a loose dog around the corner from you. I thanked her and turned around to go the other way..suddenly I heard her screaming. I turn around and this Pittbull/Boxer is running full steam towards us about 1/2 block away. Can't run so I brace myself, trying to get my dogs behind me. He runs right into Merlin and attacks him !!! I'm trying to get Merlin behind me and yell very sternly NO! NO! at the dog..he continues to charge. It's difficult with two dogs on a leash as he's intent on getting Merlin. I let go of Blue's leash..Blue charged him and the two of them fight. Suddenly three men run out of their homes and surround us, yelling at the dog. Blue immediately stops fighting and runs to my side. The dog seeing he's outnumbered runs down the street. Whew!!! Blue???? I woulda never thought he had it in him! Just goes to show you that the pack will fight to protect one of the members. The whole thing was frightening! I'm again glad that neither of the dogs were hurt and considering buying a spray of some sort. As I said I've been walking the same blocks for 8 years and never experienced this before nor seen that other dog. |
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| Thank the Lord,you nor your dogs were not hurt.Pitbulls or pitbull mixes are very,very dangereous.Has anyone reported this dog on the loose.I know I would and find the owner.Why wasn't this dog on a leash?Spray will not help if the dog attacks you first.My 5 yr.son was attacked by an irresponsible pittbull owner.He just started chasing him from down the street,just like, what you described.I do not mean to scare you,only warn you from experience.Call the police and the animal control before this dog really hurts someone or another dog.Take care. |
| man... your dogs are just not having good luck.. but im very proud of blue for protecting his brother!
i heard somewhere that during a dog fight youre not supposed to yell as it makes the dogs more excited, unfortunately i dont think anyone can keep their voices down when their dog is being attacked. the only ways ive ever known to stop a dog fight was to grab the aggressor by the scruff (obviously not in this case as the crazy dog probably wouldve bitten you), spray them with water (again not really an option), or throw something into the mix... it usually frightens the dog for a moment so they stop. i think its a good idea for you to carry a spray around, although i dont know what kind would be best to freak the dog out but not hurt it. at work we have a spray bottle full of bitter apple and if we can we stream line it into a dogs mouth if theyre attacking a dog who cant fend for themself so they stop and lick their lips and shake their head instead... haha i can just picture you trying to hold two leashes and a bottle of bitter apple fending off all the wild dogs! |
| wow, I'm so glad everyone is ok. Poor merlin! And poor you!
Sadly, any dog can do that, not just pitbulls. Though if a pitbull gets a grip on another dog's (or any animal, including two leggeds) it can be more dangerous than other breeds because of the way their jaws are. A friend of mine had a horrible experience with a dog that had been a member of the family for 6 years and then attacked suddenly. The dog had been her in laws. They were visiting, like they had done a million times, my friend, her husband and their son who at the time was almost 3 years old. They were all sitting in the family room, and the in laws dog, a fairly small, but not tiny (maybe 30 lbs) schnauzer/poodle cross was laying under the coffee table. My friend's little boy was sitting on his fathers lap quietly, doing nothing, and the dog suddenly rushed out from under the coffee table and attacked him, tearing his face badly, he needed to be flown by helicopter to sick kids hospital where he required 7 hours of surgery to repair the damage and reconstruct his face. The dog was healthy, and had never shown any signs of aggression before. The doctor said most likely my friends little boy may have been staring at the dog. He said that was the number one cause of what seem to be unprovoked animal attacks. Looking a dominant animal in the eye. He also said that although you only hear about rottweiler and pitbull attacks, just as many attacks are by other breeds, including labs, golden retrievers etc. You just never know. Anyway, I hope Merlin is feeling better soon! |
| You poor baby. Two attacks so close together, you must be a exhausted.
And poor Merlin. He is going to want never to leave the house. Good boy Blue for standing up for his brother. I know we can't really help but Henry and I send lots of sympathy and best wishes to you and Merlin. |
Is it evil of me to be silently wishing that Panda had been there, and in a grumpy mood?   |
| Ha! Thanks Ron would be nice if I had Panda too but out of the three he's been the most docile when it comes to dominate dogs, let alone overly aggressive ones. I suspect he would have done the belly flip. While Blue is cantankerous and grumpy and very ball pocessive, and Merlin is a bit of a mama's boy. In the 12 years I've had Blue, I've never seen him attack although he's been on the recieving end of a few. The exception is with Merlin and Panda whom he views as his subordinates. Yeah for Blue for protecting his baby brother and myself!
Thanks everyone that wrote in and sympathized with what happened to us. I agree you should never make direct eye contact with an aggressive dog or any for that matter as this in dog language is a form of challenge. When the woman screamed for the second time we actually had our backs turned as we were heading the way we came. I heard her yell "Look out" and turned around to see this charging dog! (Until that time I hadn't seen him.) You're right about screaming as this would only cause the dog do overexcite and make the situation worse. If it were a dog that just approached me..the rule of thumb is "stand like a tree" hands down and appear to be non threatening. Most dogs will sniff and just go away. A charging dog can sometimes be made to stop in their tracks if the human makes himself appear as big as possible and very firmly (like I mean business) NO! This method prevented the wolf hybrid from attacking Merlin a second time when I sort of covered him and yelled it out to Radar. Some dogs may only be dog aggressive and will not challenge a human. Fortunately the first time this dog attacked Merlin (again couldn't get his neck due to the profuse coat) I yelled NO! and he backed off, but then charged again. Each time he charged and attacked I yelled NO and he would back off so I instantly knew he was not people aggressive but as I didn't know this dog that could have changed. Animals in the wild often weigh their options...you hear of them choosing the weekest, youngest or oldest to attack as they look for the easiest target. If they become outnumbered or the animal starts putting up more resistance or especially if the mama comes to assist (they don't want to be injured themselves) they sometimes back off. When Blue attacked him and with me Yelling No, then with the three men that came to assist he immediately took off running. One of the woman at the dog park told me a horrific story yesterday. While driving down the street she viewed a man beating on a Rottie. She immediately stopped her van and confronted the man and only then did she notice a very pregnant woman with two small dogs cowering in a corner. The Rottie had done the same thing to her that had happened to me and he ran to her assistance. She got back into her van and laid on the horn which scared the dog off. I was thankful that mine weren't smaller dogs as it could have ended badly for them. Another option if this happens is to jump up on the nearest car. I did in my few seconds scan if any were within distance but none were close enough. I think the adreneline may be enough for even the smallest of us to boost our sheepies up. The fight of flee situation of our ancestors which we feel when we are threatened. Hopefully, we never have to resort to this kind of stuff. As a sidenote the woman in the house said she was calling authorities as did the men. I returned home immediately as I didn't feel comfortable with the dog still running loose but may stop in one day to thank them again and ask what happened after I left. Marianne |
| An air horn might be an option to frighten an aggressing dog and even prevent the attack I don't know were you might get one but maby someone on the forum could help in that area.so sorry about your babys being attacked I was 15 years old walking my lab and anouther lab in the back of a truck jumped out of the truck and they got in a fight in the middle of the road.It didn't last long but I was so scarred that one of them was going to get hit. |
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