DOG ATTACK!

Offering your forearm to an aggressive dog sounds very wrong to me. One thing that's important with aggessive dogs is not to look them in the eyes--that can be interpreted as an challenge.

I had an experience with a young (but full-grown) Great Dane I was walking where she got overexcited and flung herself at me, growling and biting and jumping up. I stood up really straight, made my shoulders big, and took my voice down a couple of octaves and loudly demanded that she sit. She sat. I made her lay down for a minute and by then she was calmed down so that I could walk her back. She was just play-biting, but it's totally inappropriate as well as fucking scary for a dog that size to behave that way.

this was a friend of mine. crazy story. and very sad because the dog was always super sweet when i hung out with it. i'm not sure what's happened to the dog since then, but i saw my friend and her head looked fine, but she had a cast on her hand.

it's really sad that there are all these attacks because three of my really close friends have pits and they are sooooo sweet. i know that there is some craziness in their blood, but i also don't want all of them to get the stigma of being attack dogs.

I have a pit / lab mix, and she's sweet as pie. It's not the breed so much (tho of course certain breeds are predisposed to violence if they are given reason) as the owner. I don't want to have to put a muzzle on sweet Sadie Mae Glutz (don't let her name fool you - she's a princess) just because some sad loners are breeding killer dogs for cash and amusement, but that's what they're lobbying for...

Luna has two pits, and says they're the sweetest dogs in the world. They've never bothered her 6 yr old son.

I've seen more pit bulls than I can count go through the humane society where I used to work. I'm sure that some fail the temperament testing and have to be put down. Some of them are at the shelter for a long long time because of the stigma of the breed. Every pit I've ever met, however, has been sweet and affectionate. One was adopted out to a family who had a mentally disabled child. (or whatever the term is for that). We got a glowing letter about the dog being really loving and gentle with the kid, and the kid becoming more expressive since they'd adopted the dog.

but that was some troubling shit with those big dogs that ate a lesbianlast year in cali

I'm sorry that happened to you, Kirsten, it must have been fucking terrifying.

However, at the same time there was much attention given to the rottweiler breed and how dangerous it can be. Now it so happens that all the Rottweilers I've encountered personally have been v. docile indeed, giving weight to the idea that how a dog is trained is U&K. When i was at uni a couple of Rottweilers came into my school playground and attacked a few kids (there was an emotive pic in the national press of an Enfield mum holding up her son's torn school shirt). The dogs were apparently bravely fought off by a teacher whose real name escapes me right now - he was however universally known as Scumbag (as this was his fave way of addressing kids he didn't like).

A big issue of it is the dumbass owners, as has been mentioned. My sister was attacked by a pit bull while walking her dog (the pit was interested in mauling her dog rather than her). Luckily, she had steel-toed boots and a car drove by that stopped and got them out of the situation. It's really fucking sad when a dog owner learns how to properly restrain their dog as the result of having to pay reparations for such a thing (the attackee was chewed up some but okay after a couple hundred in vet bills, which the pit owner paid).

Anyone who gets a big strong dog because they think it looks cool is a fucking idiot. One problem with breeds like pits and rotts is that they are very intelligent dogs in addition to being very muscular. Which means it's important for them to have owners that are more intelligent than them so they can be trained effectively. Of course they are a very very bad combo with dumb owners, and (shockah) many people are dumb and don't put the necessary time and effort into caring for their dogs. Good breeders and shelters are generally very thorough about screening adopters (making sure the potential owner is dedicated and also more intelligent than the dog), but unfortunately that's not the case wtih pet shops.

Many breeds of dogs can be dangerous when not trained well. A trainer friend of mine had a story about a teacup poodle (basically the smallest kind of dog you could imagine--5 pounds or so). The dog was owned by this huge tough-looking guy, who she put in the ER with one bite. How? The dog was on the counter, jumped up on him and bit him on the neck. She hit his jugular.

In Ohio, animal shelters are not allowed to offer pit bulls for adoption. They have to put all pit bulls down. This rule may have changed since I heard about it a couple of years ago--I certainly hope so.

Blahblahblah I obv feel strongly about this. I have seen too much of the effects of cruelty and neglect and improper training. When people are fucking moronic insensitive assholes they should not inflict themselves on some poor animal.

The thing that is often even sadder is seeing people put pinch collars or head halters on their dogs, and not know how to use them. I saw a girl with a huge newfie down at Pike Place market yesterday... she almost yanked her dog off his feet twice when he paused to sniff at something. I have nothing against pinch collars- I use one sometimes myself, but jeesh. It's not like it's rocket science to learn how to correctly use it.

I'm probably over sensitive about all this because my little sister was actually attacked by a dog when she was little- in front of me- and it took me a long time to get over it. I worried a lot the first few times I took my puppy near babies, but he's so good natured, he behaves perfectly with them. I had him with a friend's 9 month old baby once, and the baby punched him the face as he was trying to walk. I thought for sure pup would snap, but he just sat down & looked at the kid like "hey, fall the other direction next time."

My friend's dad bred Rotties, Dobies, and Pit Bulls (American Staffs Bull Terriers). One day, one of the latter got loose and killed a small puppy in front of its 8 year old owner, a traumatic event for the little boy and a horrible (albeit quick) end for the little pup. My friend's dad -- after another couple of incidents with these dogs -- eventually quit breeding them completely, yet he swears by the other so-called "dangerous" breeds.

I don't really have a definitive opinion, but I do have a concern. (Just be wary of these exceptionally, frighteningly strong dogs, is all. In my limited experience, the initial poster, kirsten, is very lucky.)

Another day, another dog attack...

LOS ANGELES -- A man working as a caretaker at a residence owned by actor Ving Rhames was found dead on the property Friday morning after being mauled by two dogs, authorities said. The man died at the scene of the attack, which was reported about 7:15 a.m. in the 12900 block of San Vicente Boulevard, said Los Angeles police Officer Sandra Gonzalez. His name was withheld pending notification of relatives.

A police spokesman says the death appears to be a "tragic accident." The actor is reportedly out of the country.

Los Angeles police Lt. Ray Lombardo said the man, in his 40s, had been a caretaker at the residence about two years.

He "appears to have suffered a number of injuries as a result of the dog mauling," Lombardo said.
"There were dogs loose on the property. Those dogs have been captured by animal regulation (officers)," he said. "We have four dogs that have been taken into custody for quarantine pending further investigation ..."

Police said investigators quarantined a pair of 200-pound mastiffs, along with two other dogs.
"Both those dogs are mastiffs; they're rather large," Lombardo said. "Normally we understand they are pretty friendly dogs. But, you know, there are occasions where dogs will turn on their owners or their caretakers, and this looks like a tragic accident."

The man had numerous dog bites all over his body, but the exact cause of death was pending a coroner's ruling.

Authorities said they could not be sure whether it was the dog mauling that proved fatal, or if the man suffered some other type of health problem, such as a heart attack, brought on by the dog attack.

Mastiffs seem surprisingly chilled-out and pleasant, but geez, yeah, at that size you don't want to be around if some random thing activates the bear-hunting instinct!

Oh, that's sad. It's true, mastiffs usually are pretty nice. That would be a pretty terrible way to die.

Maybe the guy was already dead of a heart attack, and Ving Rhames hadn't fed his dogs because he was out of the country, so they ate the dead caretaker.

Mastiffs were used as war dogs from Roman times onward.

who's taking care of the house now that the caretaker is dead?

I guess it would be tacky to turn this into a mastiff picture thread?

It's apparently due to a heart attack, as the bites could not have caused the death. Back to loving cute ole mastiffs ey? I don't understand why people can rely on "looks" when it comes to dogs (and humans and...): any animal can *turn on you* or be aggressive despite their cutesy looks. I'm guilty as charged (on misinterpreting and cutesy looks). ;-)

My own cutesy looks are constantly misinterpreted.

Look out!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zrqx_rDHMpY

DOG ATAT!

LOL

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/playdead/play-dead-the-cutest-zombie-apocalypse-movie-ever-0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nF4m-agoyk

Zombies + dogs + miami

A small-to-medium dog can punch through 15oz denim and penetrate half an inch of calf flesh. Who knew! Love those little guys.

great revive