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Off leash Attack dog charged us today

Lynn

Lynn

Well-known member
This afternoon on my walk with Molly & Max a very vicious dog charged us. I was on the sidewalk and he came off his property on to the side walk to attack us. His teeth were fully bared as he snarled and barked viciously...he lunged twice at us...he obviously was trained to attack. (I think he was about a 40-50 pound dog) I put myself in between my two and the vicious dog and attacked back with my voice and presence.

To better explain this...imagine someone meek...always trying to go unobserved through life...keeping to herself...5'10" tall and big, but quiet & shy ....turning into a lunatic woman screaming...almost growling back at the attacking dog. I felt like there was this incredible hulk inside of me that all of a sudden immerged. As the dog lunged at us twice, I was ready & willing to fight back, but thankfully the owners called it off, and it left us, never touching us. Then I YELLED at the owners ...I can't believe that I did this....I yelled 'THAT dog is supposed to be on a leash!!!!' and the man said 'WHAT did you say???!!' trying to frighten me back. I responded the same...but even angrier...'THAT DOG IS SUPPOSED TO BE ON A LEASH!!!!!!!" and he said 'ohhh he isn't going to hurt your little rug rats'. (we do have a leash law here in this state)

I went right home and called the police (in our little town they also deal with animal complaints) and the officer laughed when I told him the address...he said...'let me tell you why I laughed...because I have to go talk to the people at that address tonight about a different issue....so your complaint does not surprise me'

I guess what I really want to share about this experience is that I have always been scared of this exact thing happening when I was alone walking the dogs and I never thought I would have it in me to fight back. [My hubby even bought me a pepper like spray called 'Halt' to use on an attacking dog, but I always forget to bring it along] What I experienced today was amazing. I KNOW now that I could and would fight back. I was not one bit quiet & shy and I KNOW that I would have done whatever it took in order to protect my two 'babies' . I think if there is anyone else here who has the same fears....fear not...I will bet that the 'momma bear-hear me roar' in you will immerge if it ever needs to.
 
Good for you in standing up to him and reporting him!! I'm like you....if anyone is threatening my babies....watch me roar!!! After Shelby's rottweiler attack I now carry a pepper spray with me any time I have the dogs with me. That will never happen again without me having some defense!! I have about 3 cannisters and I've rigged up a velcro loop so I can rip it right off and use it if I need it. Makes me feel better.
 
awe im sorry you had to go threw that..
I cant stand it when dogs are off leash in those kinds of public places.
Not only is it dangerous for them... but for other people like you who are walking their dogs.

However...being a shy perseon myself.. i think the experiance of you being forced out of your shell for a few minutes is good for you :)
in the past few months i have been forced otu of my shell more then i would have liked but it helps with grownth.

that being said..i hope you dont find yourself in that kind of situation again..i hope those owners keep their dog on leash from now on

glad you and your furr babies are okay:)
 
Glad that turned out for OK you and your dogs. And good for you that you were able to let the "Hulk" out to protect yourself and your babies. You knew what had to be done and you did it. BTW, I was told by the military when I was on my way to Vietnam (in response to a question I had) that a person may be surprised at what they can do when they have to when their life or the life of someone they love is in danger. Guess the guy was right.
 
My last cavalier was attacked as a puppy by a German Shepherd and lost an eyeball in the process. My puppy was on the lead, where as this brute of a dog was off-lead.

I have since kicked dogs off and scooped my own dog up and shouted at the owners. I am especially weary of certain breeds. I see them coming so I walk the opposite direction!
 
I'm glad you know how strong you are now, Lynn. It was stressful just reading about it, so I can imagine how you felt.

I hope the police can get that stupid man to behave himself and obey the law! Sometimes it seems like someone has to get hurt before anything can be done.
 
Wow that is once of my biggest puppy related fears too!

Good on you for standing to the dog and its owners.

I only hope I could do the same in your position.
 
This is one of my greatest fears too. I am so glad you stood your ground and called the cops!
 
You poor thing, I learned to cope with most of the time but not all times. Mostly I swing my leg out in front of SiânE and shout ‘SLOW’ or ‘STOP’ to the dog and that seems to work until the owner says their dog is ok. I then point out that SiânE is blind and a dog jumping all over her or barking is not helpful, they then go red and say sorry and lead their dog away.

Unfortunately sometime a dog seems friendly and they stand there looking at one and other and then the dog attacks SiânE. I had one case where I was walking SiânE and her cousin Cassie. The staffy came up to Cassie and jump around with her in play and then came over to SiânE, took one look at her and then attacked. The owner seems shaken up by it, he swears his dog has never done it before but I am kind of paranoid now (it happen before) about dogs that come to say hello to SiânE now as it seems to be something to do with her blindness that she is not giving off the right signs. I have a list of things now in my mind now about how they come up to her, if it ok or not.
 
I am so glad you defended your dog, Lynn! Way to go!
A bit of advice: In Denmark pepper spray is prohibited (yes, we protect the offenders, not the offended, here! (I hope you read the sarcasm)). But small spray deodorants have the same effect as pepper sprays... and they are legal! You never know when you suddenly want to smell good...
 
ourempire said:
A bit of advice: In Denmark pepper spray is prohibited (yes, we protect the offenders, not the offended, here! (I hope you read the sarcasm)). But small spray deodorants have the same effect as pepper sprays... and they are legal! You never know when you suddenly want to smell good...
Click to expand...

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:
 
I have been giving this situation a whole lot of thought the last couple days. Even if I had had the pepper spray with me, there would have been no time what-so-ever to get it, because the dog was right in front of us in about 3 seconds. I had the leashes in my right hand and a bag of poop in the other. Most of those few seconds were used by pulling Molly & Max behind me so that my body was between them and the vicious dog.

In my original post I said how it felt like the 'hulk' immerged, and that is truly what it was like, minus the green skin and ripping clothes!!! (today I am sore & lame...and the ONLY thing it could be is the 'hulk' episode) I am convinced that what kept that dog from biting was that I showed ZERO fear and I was SCREAMING in the deepest, loudest voice I had in me and I was STAMPING MY LEGS at it, (In my mind I felt like I was one of those animals that puffs up when in danger to look bigger. ) I was showing that dog I was NOT scared of it and ready to fight. It is simply amazing to me that this frame of mind & body happened INSTANTLY. There was no time to think about it. This is why I am SURE that anyone here that is scared of this happening to them, your protection instict WILL switch into gear.

A long time ago my uncle told me to keep a dog from attacking you should do something to confuse it ....he was no expert...and this was when I was a teenager that he told me this....but it is my GUESS that at least with this vicious dog, he expected me to cower or freeze with fear. (isn't it what bullies feed upon...your fear?)

Thanks so much for all the support & kind words!
 
Just last night, my boyfriend was walking his Giant Schnauzer when a neighbor dog off-leash attacked his huge dog. His dog ripped a toenail and bled for a long time. My bf yelled at the neighbor about leash laws and she was such a jerk and told him to get over it. He said he ws going home to call animal control and she said that wasn't very neighborly now, was it. He replied that it was not neighborly to have her dog off lead and attack his dog. He has since put Animal Control's number in his cell phone and said next time he will call them on the spot.

A few days ago a guy in his neighborhood had a very small puppy running all over the street, I was trying to drive by and the pup kept running in front of my car, the man was doing nothing about it and it was a very small dog. Finally he picked up the dog, I said "hey you, there is a leash law!" and he told me to go have sex with myself. Instead of thanking me for not running over his dog.

I'm going to start carrying pepper spray now when I walk Barkley. Mostly I exercise him in the fenced yard but we do one nice walk every evening. Why are so many people such big jerks???
 
Oh my gosh Debby, that is horrible. Your neighbors should be sent to a boot camp and get their @$$es kicked for real. I think carrying a pepper spray is one good idea, but I'm just not sure how fast you can react when the situation occurs. Things like that just happen so fast...
 
Maybe those of us who frequently encounter those thoughtless owners of off leash dogs should invest in a Taser gun instead of pepper spray. Not for the dogs - their owners. Some people. . .
 
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