My dog attacked

biggybum

Just had an incident with my pet dog Max. He is a 2 year old Staffordshire bull terrier, a real docile yet active little fella !! Anyway brought him for a walk at 10am this morn, put his muzzle and short lead on as always may i point out!, on my journey back a little jack russel belonged to my neighbour 5 doors down came belting towards us and grabbed onto Max's hind leg. No matter how i tried to drag Max up the rd the little fecker hung on for dear life. At this point Max's leg started bleeding and i began to get quite emotional to say the least. I eventually managed to kick the other little mutt off and bring Max indoors. His leg was not badly injured but to be on the cautious side i brought him to the vet where he was lookes at and given a packet of antibiotics for the next week. Cost me nearly €80 all in which i dont really give a damn about tbh ! My point is my dog is under the dangerous dogs act and is constantly on leash and muzzle which i personally hate but have to abide by the rules and yet here is a dog that can roam the streets and attck whatever comes into sight. It has me so wound up all day !!

andreac

Join the club!!
Im sorry to hear about your poor doggie, hope hes ok now. Did you contact the owner about this? i would be looking for them to foot the vet bill if it was me i tell you. I wouldnt stand for that.

I know a lady who owns a dobermann and it was savaged by a labrador while she was out walking, and her dog was muzzled, lucky enough he was ok but needed a lot of stitches, the labrador ended up being put to sleep.

leelee_m

Thats awful!!! glad your little fella is ok though. Id defo be going after the owners to pay the vet bill!!!!

doctor evil

Report it to the dog warden and get the neighbour to foot the bill.

Does the JRT have a history of this, is it often roaming?

Check with residents and see if a pattern emerges. Is there a residents association?

biggybum

Yeah i've been to see if the neighbours are about but i'd imagine the same thing happens everyday '' we'll leave the dog on the streets while we go to work'' I think some people are under the impression that a small dog can be left out on the streets but big dogs need to be kept in. I actually have a jrt myself but she has a lovely tempermant !

andreac

Yeah def report it. I had to report a boxer dog who tried to attack my rottweiler twice, the owner was a fool and couldnt control his dog, it was bloody viscous.

Maggie.23

Sorry to hear about that, I can imagine how distressing it must have been. I sometimes worry when I'm walking my dog that a roaming dog will attack and I wont be able to fight it off. I hope the owner apologises/compensates you and keeps his/her dog from roaming again.

biggybum

Its the first time this has happened to me tbh and its the worst feeling, and i'm sure it will have future consequences for Max also, he gets on so well with dogs within the family and friends etc, i'm kinda worried this event will effect his attitude towards them now

Munster Gal

That's awful!!! I agree with the other posters about reporting the JRT, if it has been the other way round there would have been an army on your doorstep screaming for blood. It drives me insane when people don't socialise, contain or train their dogs. That JRT could have maimed a child or knocked over an old person but just because he's small people don't get worked up about it. In our estate westies, CKCs and retrievers roam free - one of the westies has bitten several children in the estate but the residents only got worked up when a Staffie moved in - even though the dog is never out except on a lead for walks and is well socialised with other animals.
Give Max a few days to get over the trauma of it and bring him for his walks where he mightn't meet any other dogs and gradually socialise him again. Your vet might be running puppy parties you could take him to. If he seems traumatised I can recommend Tellington TTouch, it's a type of therapeutic massage - Rescue Remedy is also good.
Believe me I feel your anger and please give Max a hug from me!

Dr_MaSoN

same thing happened my aunt a year or so ago, think it was a jack Russel also who has been attacking and harassing her German Shepperd for a few weeks while being walked and on the muzzle, tried to tell the owners but to no avail.


Got really fed up of it and let her's off the muzzle one day.



Bit much imo to let the Shepperd have a go at the jack Russel.

arybvtcw0eolkf

Because of attacks against my two I never muzzle them now, and I'd say 90% of the time its JRT's doing the attacking, of course the little Jack'ers owner's think its hilarious to see their little thing attack what to them looks like two fairly tough looking, muscular dogs - little knowing that those same two guys are the softest creatures to walk Gods earth and won't retaliate in a month of Sundays.

Kess73

Have a similar tale that involves a JRT.

My mother's ****zu was attacked twice by a loose JRT, the second time quite badly as the JRT caught the back of the neck and kept biting and shaking. My mother was 65 years of age at the time and not able to stop the JRT so it did a lot of damage. The owner was complained to and he came out and said that it was up to my mother to stop it attacking as his dog had "rights" that allowed him to be loose on the road.


After the ****zu had recovered my mother started driving away from where she lived so that she could walk the dog in peace, until I got wind of it that she was doing this, so I started driving to her house in the evenings to walk the dog with her, and within two days the JRT tried to attack again. This time I grabbed it and held onto it, and it nipped my hand. So I simply called both the Gardai and the dog warden, and when the owner came running out, I told him the Gardai were on the way and showed him my bloody hand. His tune changed totally as I was quite aggressive in tone and this time he was not dealing with a quiet woman.

His dog was taken away and he got a nice fine for his troubles. But it was only after all this that other neighbours came out and admitted that they had had problems with the same dog, and that it was a regular nipper at people as well as other dogs.

Dr_MaSoN

well the plan is that i wont have to muzzle my Shepperd, seems fairly docile when interacting with other dogs now.

Ruby Soho

Oh I feel your pain OP, my on-leash greyhounds have so far been attacked by boxers, collies, labradors, newfoundlands and most recently, a pomeranian who dashed across the road in a fit of barking and attached itself to my dogs face. There was a scuffle between them (naturally) and then the owners accused ME of having the dangerous dog?!
My dogs are required by law to be leased in public (not muzzled though) and I'm aware that they have a high prey drive, but I'm responsible enough to keep them under control, I just wish people would take a leaf out of their own book sometimes...
Drives me INSANE!!!! I'm so annoyed now because my dogs are developing a fear of off-lead dogs, as they are so used to being attacked and harassed in the park. I swung a kick at someones dog who was trying to kill my bitch, and the owner screamed the head off me. When it comes down to it though, I will defend my dogs if necessary, and people need to realise this before letting them off gallavanting around pissing people off and potentially injuring other dogs.

Maggie.23

It is worrying to read about so many attacks. My dog is a very gentle Samoyed who I adopted a few weeks ago. She doesn't bark at or worry my rabbits but wags her tail and trys to lick them through the wire of their run! Anyhow, I don't know what I would do if she was attacked while out on the lead - what's the best way to fight off a dog?

biggybum

Update; I purposely did'nt go to the gurads today because i wanted to hear what the owners had to say about the situation !! so i called around an hour ago and guess what greeted me at the front gate ??? yes the little ankle biter himself. Anyway i kept my cool and explained the situation to them and they listened,i gave them the usual ''you should keep the dog off the rd and had it have been a child the dog bit the scenario could have been a lot worse'' In all fairness they were extremely apologetic and agreed to pay the vets bill,they assured me the dog would be kept in the back garden from now on!! Some people on here may think i was a bit soft but if my dog attacked another i'd hate to be on the other side of the fence and i think they do deserve ONE chance... I will monitor it closely for the next while and see how genuine there promise is

biggybum

what's the best way to fight off a dog?[/quote]

You cant really !! if its small kick it, if its big run lol, genuinly i dont know i just panic'd and hoped he'd leave go !!

GalwayKiefer

Very sorry to read about all this biggybum. It absolutely drives me insane the amount of owners i meet with aggressive little dogs off a lead, extendable lead pulled as far as it can go, etc. Yet because I own a Shepard and a Staffie I'm the dangerous owner with the dangerous dogs :rolleyes:
I refuse point blank anymore to muzzle my two dogs because of incidents like yours (none too serious thankfully). (They're both well trained, great temperaments and are always kept on short leads when in public I would like to point out though.)

I could rant forever but to keep this on topic - one incident hopefully wont alter your dog's approach to strange dogs but keep an eye because after the 3rd small dog to attack my Shepard he became proactively aggressive to any dog smaller than himself, presumably expecting to be attacked. I began socialising him with new small dogs as i had done when he was a pup and he's back to his friendly old ways now.

i think they do deserve ONE chance Very fair of you to do this, hopefully they will keep their word.

countesshouse

Hope Max is okay,had the same thing happen to me with my lovely quiet docile German Shepherd a few months ago when out walking him.Had him on a lead and out of no where comes this little terrier barking like a maniac and went for his hind legs,i let a roar at the owner to control their dog but the abuse i got was unreal as my dog was bigger.I went to point out that the sign at the entrance to the park states 'all dogs to be on a lead' some people take no notice of signs. My 6 year old German shepherd is a rescue and has been part of the family since he was six weeks old.I am glad the owners of the JR listened to you most dog owners if they love their pets would be as upset as you that this incident happened.Also hope it does not put poor 'Max' off his walks with you.Some people think that when you have a large dog that they are dangerous it is the small little ones u have to watch out for.

helimachoptor

OP I feel for you, In a smiliar enough situation except its my dog Vs 4 Jack Russells!!

Everyday we walk by and they come running out trying to nip him, I told the guy I ahve no problem kicking them back into the garden, I'm not gonna stand there and watch those little runts bite my dog, I dont have a muzzle on him (GSD) and sometimes I feel like letting him grab on of them but sense prevails but these pess irritate me so much!!!!

ISDW

Well done for giving them the one chance, as usual its the owners and not the dogs who are at fault, they should keep him in.

One of my sibes isn't great with some other dogs, but I run him with a scooter locally and there is one house that a small dog used to come tearing out of and have a go at him. Now Diesel is in a harness and tied to a scooter, so I can understand that he feels threatened, he retaliated with this dog, didn't get hold of him, but made a lot of noise, the owner came running out and got his dog, but because of the noise Diesel was making, went on about how vicious my dog was:mad:

countesshouse

That would be typical,just cos ur dog barks and is bigger than the little runts that can nip ur dog in the legs, ur dog is wrong its maddening

tinkerbell

OMG that is such an awful story, your poor Max I really don't like Jack Russels, they always seem so vicious. I actually don't like small dogs that much as I have found them to be quite scary. My folks have an elephant size Newfounland so it's not like I'm afraid of dogs I'm just wary of small dogs, have never had any problems with big doggies!

Well I guess it's good that you went to the dog's owners first but if that was me I would've been on the phone to the Gardai straight away, a dog like that is a danger tbh.

Lauragoesmad

The fact of the matter is there are always going to be some dangerous dogs of all shapes and sizes. Usually this is down to lack of socialisation and neglectful owners but not always.
I mind 2 dogs that are very dog aggressive. One, a boxer was a show dog and at about age 3 he just decided (no incident occured with another dog) that he wants to tear the heads off all male dogs he comes across, but his owner never lets him off the lead and he would never let him out on his own. The owner has had him to animal behaviourists, trainers, bought every book you can think of but there is no socialising this dog.
Also, a rescue irish terrier that I mind is a nightmare with other dogs. She barks and growls and on one occasion, even turned her owners other dog as she could not get near the dog she wanted to attack. I don't even think Cesar himself could tame this irish terrier!:D
The reason that I thanked the OP for not calling the garda is that it is not the fault of the dog that its owners let it run wild. Jack russels are one of the easiest dogs to train IMO and once they are socialised from a young age, they are brilliant with other dogs. I wouldn't want the poor dog to be PTS because of its owners stupidity and neglectful attitude! Obviously if this happened again though, something would have to be done.:(

biko

Mairt wrote: »

Because of attacks against my two I never muzzle them now, and I'd say 90% of the time its JRT's doing the attacking, of course the little Jack'ers owner's think its hilarious to see their little thing attack what to them looks like two fairly tough looking, muscular dogs - little knowing that those same two guys are the softest creatures to walk Gods earth and won't retaliate in a month of Sundays.

Can I ask why you have removed the muzzles if they won't bite back?

arybvtcw0eolkf

Magnus wrote: »

Can I ask why you have removed the muzzles if they won't bite back?

I've never punched someone on the nose in the street, doesn't mean I'll keep my hands in my pockets when someone gets fresh with me.

biko

It's so they can bite if they need to? I understand that you would want them to have the ability to defend themselves if need be (just you would not have your hands in the pockets if there might be a fight, I would do the same) but the problem is that other people don't know how friendly your dogs are and also that the law states they must be muzzled (correct me if I'm wrong here).

Noopti

Magnus wrote: »

Can I ask why you have removed the muzzles if they won't bite back?

I was going to ask the same question.

I understand you want your dogs to have the ability to defend themselves, that is fair enough in principle. However, consider these scenarios:

You have your dogs muzzled. A JRT attacks and starts biting your dogs legs. You manage (as you should being a strong bloke) to pull the JRT away, or otherwise stop the attack. The end result is the dogs might have some cuts/bruises, as might you. Vets/Doctors bills etc. The owner of the JRT is in trouble (in theory).

You have your dogs unmuzzled. A JRT attacks and starts biting your dogs legs. Your dogs defend themselves and attack back. There will be only one winner, let's not dispute that. You end up with your own dogs being possible PTS.

I know which scenario I would rather choose.

biggybum

Magnus wrote: »

It's so they can bite if they need to? I understand that you would want them to have the ability to defend themselves if need be (just you would not have your hands in the pockets if there might be a fight, I would do the same) but the problem is that other people don't know how friendly your dogs are and also that the law states they must be muzzled (correct me if I'm wrong here).

The unfortunate thing is if my dog bites another i am liable for any damages to that dog and i've broken the law by not putting a muzzle on him.... thats the unfortunate issue really, but i know where your coming from !! If the truth were to be told i know my dog could potentially kill another if he did decide to retaliate whereas your average dog probably could'nt

arybvtcw0eolkf

biggybum wrote: »

If the truth were to be told i know my dog could potentially kill another if he did decide to retaliate whereas your average dog probably could'nt

You've never seen an average dog fight so.

Dogs don't have the ability to open a can of food, or pour a bag of dry food - or order from a McDonalds menu!.

By nature dogs must have the ability to kill its prey and protect itself and its environs, some are probably better at it than others, but don't kid yourself that the 'average' dog couldn't kill or badly maim.

biggybum

Mairt wrote: »

You've never seen an average dog fight so.

Dogs don't have the ability to open a can of food, or pour a bag of dry food - or order from a McDonalds menu!.

By nature dogs must have the ability to kill its prey and protect itself and its environs, some are probably better at it than others, but don't kid yourself that the 'average' dog couldn't kill or badly maim.

I understand what your saying and your correct, the point i was making is similar to that of yours!! But i know my dog could do a hell of a lot more damage to a pomeranian than it would do to mine... If that makes sense.