dog advice

right as there are a lot of dog owners on this site I thought I would put my dilema to the experts.

whilst sitting in my car tonight outside local shop I noticed a dog - boxer or pit bull mix (this shall be known as nasty dog) running about. I hoped it would not run out onto road to be squashed. I then noticed it do exactly that (but not get squashed) it ran towards shop out of my sight but I heard screaming, yelping and snarling. jumped out of car as daughter was in shop and is terrified of dogs. to see nasty dog with a spaniel pup in its mouth. pup was on lead and owner screaming and trying to pull it away. boy who had been with nasty dog saw the attack and walked other way.

what to do? if I had jeans and boots on - wade in and kick nasty dog - distracting it from pup and putting myself in line of fire maybe. unfortunately it was shorts and sandals.

as I stood contemplating a guy came out of shop and grabbed nasty dog by ears. youth appeared with lead put it on nasty dog and walked off laughing.

wee pup had peed itself (owner might have as well) I checked pup over and despite everything seemed ok. not bleeding. able to walk but it was shaken.

I would possibly have reacted differently if it was my dog or child but felt so useless and scared.

any tips on what to do if that situation arises again? apart from wearing boots all the time

[Luckypants]

Well in a similar situation I grabbed dog by ears then threw it on its back and put my boot on its throat and pressed. After a minute or so it 'submitted' and stopped struggling. I eased the pressure but made sure it knew who was boss. got it on a lead and locked it in my garage, made sure lady with little attacked dog was OK. Called owners and when they collected informed them I would be reporting them for a dangerous dog. They volunteered to have dog destroyed after Police called round.

The dog was known to be allowed to roam, but this was a serious attack so warranted Police intervantion.

Originally Posted by Luckypants

Well in a similar situation I grabbed dog by ears then threw it on its back and put my boot on its throat and pressed. After a minute or so it 'submitted' and stopped struggling. I eased the pressure but made sure it knew who was boss. got it on a lead and locked it in my garage, made sure lady with little attacked dog was OK. Called owners and when they collected informed them I would be reporting them for a dangerous dog. They volunteered to have dog destroyed after Police called round.

The dog was known to be allowed to roam, but this was a serious attack so warranted Police intervantion.

i would do this then laugh at the teen after, then run when he puts out a knife ????

I've broken up a couple of dog attacks in my time. One time my (collie cross, wouldn't hurt a fly, he's caught rabbits before but never even harms them) dog unfortunately suffered a rather nasty puncture wound to its right rear leg, I nearly choked the offending mutt to death with its collar whilst the owners trotted towards me along the path without a care in the world. I reported the incident and the police had them pay the vets fees.


What you can do depends on how big the offending dog is and what you're prepared to risk for a dog, but the vital thing is that you report it, to stop it happening to someone that can do nothing about it. There are far too many stupid, lazy, ignorant owners out there with "cool" big dogs.

Originally Posted by sinbad

What you can do depends on how big the offending dog is and what you're prepared to risk for a dog, but the vital thing is that you report it, to stop it happening to someone that can do nothing about it. There are far too many stupid, lazy, ignorant owners out there with "cool" big dogs.

with full motorcycle gear ill say to the dog bring it on

Important thing is to report it to the police, we have a lot of trouble in London with uncontrolled Staffs whose owners think its big to have their dogs attack other dogs, one day this will be a child and we will have more legislation banning us more responsible dog owners from taking our dogs out.

I will second the ear grabbing. Basically, anywhere close up to the scruff of the neck minimises the options for the dog - it can only squirm like hell or try to bite some other part of you to get loose...

... so hold at arms length and hold on tight.

Never be tempted to go for the jaws - 9 times out of 10 it will release whatever it is biting to go for its new antagonist (you).
Force the head towards the floor and pin it there whilst the whole time scream your head off at the dog. It doesn't matter what you are saying, as long as you are making more noise that the offending mutt it all adds to you asserting your dominance over it.

Don't rely on grabbing the offending dog's collar, you never know if it's corrctly fitted, and with some breeds with 'bull necks' there is a real chance that it can slip out of the thing and go for you. Scruff then throat are the ones another dog would go for, so follow their moves.

My wee beastie has never been attacked, but how far would I go if he was...

... I seriously pity the poor dog, owner or burgler that laid tooth or boot on him in anger.

Never thought of grabbing a dogs ears, good plan.

I also have a rather large maglite in the car (for breakdown) which could be used to render the dog unconcious.

I am not sure what I would have done on that particular occasion though...good thinking by the shop owner.

[Stingo]

Originally Posted by Luckypants

Well in a similar situation I grabbed youth by ears then threw it on its back and put my boot on its throat and pressed. After a minute or so it 'submitted' and stopped struggling. I eased the pressure but made sure it knew who was boss. got it on a lead and locked it in my garage, made sure lady with little attacked dog was OK. Called parents and when they collected informed them I would be reporting them for a dangerous youth. They volunteered to have youth destroyed after Police called round.

The youth was known to be allowed to roam, but this was a serious attack so warranted Police intervantion.

There. That should sort it.

Oh my, yet another stupid owner with a dog they cannot control, sorry you had to experience this.

I have no worries about pinning a dog on the floor by the scruff of the neck... hell i do it more then once a week with my pup. It's so easy to sit back after and say what you should have done. Calling the police would have been a good option.

We socialise Lupo with many dogs of his own breed, and as lovely as Lupo is or can be, there are some really nasty dogs out there as my breed can be same sex aggressive, one even went for me as he smelt Lupo on me, and Gwyene as she smelt of her dogs. She grabbed offending dog by the scruff and pinned him straight on his back... but this is dog - human aggression, i would have done the same thing if he had attacked Lupo (only 7/8 months old at the time). Saying that pinning a dog requires experience as it can so easily go the other way in favour of the dog, you have to be so careful.

As for the kid, i can't believe he laughed!!! I think or should say know that this dog has been trained to attack other dogs. Dogs react to laughter so whether he was trained to or not, by laughing at it he thinks he is doing right by his owner.

It just ****es me off so much that there are so many good owners of big dogs and it only takes one **** to make it bad for the rest of us. I know my dog may have problems with other males when he is older, we have seen it gradually develop in a friends dog, and for that reason we train him hard and keep him on a lead at all times unless we can see everything that is going on!!! I would be so laying in to that kid too!!!! what the **** was he doing on his own with a dog!!!! i would never dream of letting Lupo out with a kid he is far too big and strong and kids don't understand the responsibility when they are out with dogs!!!