A Man Hit My Dog In The Face With A Hurley

Whispered

OP, you poor thing!

I know it's little consolation after seeing something like this, but we used to live in a house with a GSD whose owner would play fetch with a hurl. One day his brother accidently hit her instead of the ball, full force in the face. There were killings between the brothers, but the dog made a full recovery and still gets all excited about going out to play ball.

I can't advise you on dealing with the man who did it, but with the dog, I would suggest you physically fix her up then forget about it. Don't allow yourself be nervous of meeting this man again, or treat her any differently when going to the beach. It was a horrible experience, but the dog will move on quickly enough so long as you don't make an issue about it in front of her.

Lucyx

doubleglaze wrote: »

What kind of dog did this man have? What did the man look like? Age? Colour of hair, etc? Someone else from your area might read this thread, recognize him and you might then be able to trace him and put some manners on him.

He had a little white dog and some brown markings and the man had a bloody hat and glasses on so might be hard to recognise again but he had a blue jacket on and I'd say he was mid 40's. Skinny guy too. A weedy little coward he was.

Maybe it was Mr Presentable since he thinks the guy was justified. 'uncontrolled' is pretty broad in these terms.

cruizer101

Sorry to hear of this is horrible thing for anyone to do but really seems strange for another dog owner to do.

That said the title did make me laugh a bit, years ago I was hitting a tennis ball with a hurley for the dog, of course he got a bit to excited by it all and decided to go for the ball just when after I threw it up for me to hit, I was already mid swing and couldn't stop in time, he got an almighty smack on the head. I was so worried but he just picked himself up shook his head, picked up the ball and ran off. Me nearly in tears worried about it and him wagging his tail looking to be chased. I was often amazed at how tough dogs are.

Anyway this is still a terrible thing to do, anyone with dogs should know they just want to come over and have a sniff and say hello.

Mr. Presentable

Lucyx wrote: »

He had a little white dog and some brown markings and the man had a bloody hat and glasses on so might be hard to recognise again but he had a blue jacket on and I'd say he was mid 40's. Skinny guy too. A weedy little coward he was.

Maybe it was Mr Presentable since he thinks the guy was justified. 'uncontrolled' is pretty broad in these terms.

I didn't say it was justified, I said it wouldn't have happened had you control of your dog.

Bullseye1

Mr. Presentable wrote: »

I didn't say it was justified, I said it wouldn't have happened had you control of your dog.

The other guy had his dog it's lead too. Since he resorted to violence....

Lucyx

cruizer101 wrote: »

Sorry to hear of this is horrible thing for anyone to do but really seems strange for another dog owner to do.

That said the title did make me laugh a bit, years ago I was hitting a tennis ball with a hurley for the dog, of course he got a bit to excited by it all and decided to go for the ball just when after I threw it up for me to hit, I was already mid swing and couldn't stop in time, he got an almighty smack on the head. I was so worried but he just picked himself up shook his head, picked up the ball and ran off. Me nearly in tears worried about it and him wagging his tail looking to be chased. I was often amazed at how tough dogs are.

Anyway this is still a terrible thing to do, anyone with dogs should know they just want to come over and have a sniff and say hello.

I think their heads must be very very tough cos honestly I don't know how she was even conscious after it happened. I was expecting her to pass out any second. Head of steel thank christ.

hdowney

your poor doggy. that guy is such a pr!ck

i had a similarish experience a number of yrs ago. i was like 15ish and walking my yr old collieX at the time up my local beach. dogs can be off or on lead there. i am very responsible and was even then, if there were dogs on the lead, i wouldn't let my dog be all over them (cos theyr obv on the lead for a reason) and i wouldn't let her cause nusiance. so whilst she was off the lead she WAS in my control.

dogs would come up and they would sniff and whatnot then go on their way.

so this westie comes up - off lead - and starts sniffing my dog, she is sniffing back and they are having their chitchat when this BIG man comes up and hits my dog a FULL FORCE kick with his steel toecap boots. she was well whimpering in pain and i was like :eek::mad::eek:.

i rang my mam and she came hairing up the beach - we live next to it - and said to ur man WTF did he think he was doing kicking my dog full with his steel toecaps when the dogs were just chitchatting, and his dog had approached mine in the first.

his answer - his dog was a bitch in heat and he didn't want my boll*x of a male anywhere near his precious babba!!!! :eek::eek:

well my mam let rip. first she says our dog is a neutered bitch, second if your dog is a bitch in heat why the F do you have her off lead in a popular walking area where there could be intact males off lead! you are in the wrong and you hurt my dog - although she used more voiciferus words and whatnot. she demanded his name - chap at this point least had the decency to look sheepish, you don't mess with my mam! - and contact info and if the dog needed anything from the vet she would be billing him.

thank mercy my babba was fine physically, but too this day she is wary of men, particularly tall ones, and will bark the boll*x off them if they come near our house.

i was :mad:

The Sweeper

Lucyx, what sort of dog do you have?

(And before anyone jumps up with 'it doesn't matter it doesn't matter' - yes, the breed is no justification for randomly belting someone's dog with a hurley, but I want to get a picture in my head of what stick-swinging guy thought he was fending off.)

smellslikeshoes

I'm not defending what sounds like an obvious case of cruelty but how was the guy with the hurl to have known your dog's intentions?

If as you say your "dog gets excited when she sees another dog running around" then you have absolutely no excuses and it's downright wreckless to not have her on a leash somewhere like the beach where there is a good chance you might run into other dogs.

I hope your dog makes a full recovery and hopefully you will use it as a wake up call to be more careful around other dogs as this could have ended up much worse.

ISDW

The Sweeper wrote: »

Lucyx, what sort of dog do you have?

(And before anyone jumps up with 'it doesn't matter it doesn't matter' - yes, the breed is no justification for randomly belting someone's dog with a hurley, but I want to get a picture in my head of what stick-swinging guy thought he was fending off.)

Lucyx wrote: »

Shes a collie cross. Shes absolutely gorgeous and the skin just above her eye is all cut now and I hope it heals well cos she has the most beautiful face and I'd hate for her to be scarred forever. I got her from a rescue that I was volunteering in. She chose me as opposed to the other way around

magentas

what an a$$hole. hope your little lady is OK

Lucyx

smellslikeshoes wrote: »

I'm not defending what sounds like an obvious case of cruelty but how was the guy with the hurl to have known your dog's intentions?

If as you say your "dog gets excited when she sees another dog running around" then you have absolutely no excuses and it's downright wreckless to not have her on a leash somewhere like the beach where there is a good chance you might run into other dogs.

I hope your dog makes a full recovery and hopefully you will use it as a wake up call to be more careful around other dogs as this could have ended up much worse.

I've been going there everyday for the last few years and she has a sniff and walks on everytime. sometimes a bit of a bark too if the another dog hangs around too long and starts pushing her too much.

'its downright wreckless'.........gimme a break.

boomerang

The guy was totally out of line, but then, you have no right to let your dog bound up to someone else with their dog, uninvited. They were minding their own business. I have a dog who is not comfortable with loose dogs coming up to her as your dog did, and even on lead, she would have attacked your dog while you were running to catch up from what ever distance to get your dog back under control. I think it's inconsiderate and dangerous to let your dog off to interact with whoever she pleases. Wait for an invitation!

johnthemull

Lucyx wrote: »

I was walking my dog on the beach today and another dog was playing fetch with his owner and my dog gets excited when she sees another dog running around so she ran over and the owner smacked my dog in the face with the hurley he was using to play fetch. I was absolutely horrified and ran over and got very upset but the owner was totally unaffected and felt no remorse whatsoever.

I brought my dog to the vet and it seems that the cuts are only superficial and she got more of a shock than anything else and I've to keep a close eye on her to see if she becomes disorientated or anything like that. But I just can't believe that someone did this. The thought of someone deliberately doing this so brutally is just so upsetting to me. I love all dogs and I'm still sick to my stomach over this. I'm just wondering would a dog be affected by something like this in her mind. She seems in good form and eating and all that but this guy swung the hurley with full force into her face. Surely this will traumatise her ??

Your dog will be fine. Just give her extra love. There is no hope for the human.

boomerang

Lucyx wrote: »

If I see someone with their dog on the lead I'm totally respectful of that and know that they don't want to be bothered or theres some reason that their dog is on the lead and I immediately put mine on the lead. But if the dogs are off the lead you make the assumption that its all cool and they can meet and play and sniff etc.

I'll be so careful after today though. Not a good day at all.

That's the thing - you can't make assumptions about other dogs. My dog minds her own business, doesn't approach other dogs (she actively keeps away from them) and won't stray from my side if I have a ball or a frisbee.

Now along comes a young, goofy dog who thinks a stranger is just a friend you've yet to meet and bounds up to my dog to say hello. If he ignores my dog's signals to give her space, she will jump on him and pin him to the ground. No bites but your dog will have got a right fright. And it'll be far, far worse if my dog is on the lead, as it makes her more reactive. It's bad for your dog too, because a bad experience like this can make a dog fear aggressive around other dogs.

I hate that you had to learn this lesson in such a horrible way. I'm sure your lovely dog will be just fine.

smellslikeshoes

Lucyx wrote: »

I've been going there everyday for the last few years and she has a sniff and walks on everytime. sometimes a bit of a bark too if the another dog hangs around too long and starts pushing her too much.

'its downright wreckless'.........gimme a break.

Wise up. Sooner or later your dog is going to go bounding up to a dog for a sniff who would rather be left alone and it will kick off and I can tell you the injuries could be a lot more severe than what you described was done with the hurl.

The Sweeper

To be fair, Lucyx may need to do more recall training with her dog. To have your dog off leash, you should be able to call your dog to your side no matter how exciting the distraction is. So you should be able to call your dog away from other dogs, from a rabbit that breaks from the hedgerow, from a cat out in the street, from a child whizzing past on a scooter, from a guy on his bicycle, from a roller-blading girl, from a bunch of skateboarders. To have your dog off leash, your dog should turn and look at you when you whistle or call, no matter how interested they are in what they're doing.

That's "recall". Recall isn't "He never runs away, he will come back to me before we go home". It isn't taking your dog to the park and letting them off-leash and being sure you can put them on-leash again before you go home. Recall isn't going walking in the woods and letting your dog off-leash and having it trample through the undergrowth in a 300 yard circle around you and you having to spend 10 minutes getting the leash back on it at the end of the walk.

I'll put my hand up straight away and admit I don't have the recall as described above with my dog. It's hard to do. It takes work. If I could get somewhere utterly deserted I could let him off-leash, but the flip side is the sort of bushland where we wouldn't meet another person is the sort of bushland where we'd meet snakes, and given they're poisonous down here I'd need to be certain Gus would come when he was called (and he really wouldn't) or else he'd literally be dead. Subsequently I walk my dog out bush with a 20-foot horse's lead rein.

ppink

I dont actually think you should leave your dog approach anyone anywhere unless invited.

However saying that if I had a hurley and I was worried about a collie cross coming my way I would hold it at bay with the hurley while shouting to owner to call back the dog. Easily done with a hurley!

Hitting a dog for me would be a last resort at attack stage not at "enquiry level"

Cú Giobach

If a man did that to one of my dogs, for no reason other than being approached, I would end up in court for assault and I wouldn't regret it one little bit.

piperh

While i don't and never would condone hitting a animal in the first place and cannot understand this mans reactions or reasoning i have to say i think the op is being a little ignorant in her responsibilities as a dog owner.
I would not appreciate someone allowing their dog to approach my 2 just because "thats what dogs do". How do i know her dogs intentions or its temperament and i would certainly question her control of the dog.

ISDW

feelingstressed wrote: »

A dog in our estate runs at me and nips me so last time I hit full force with the bag I was carrying.
Didn't even connect fully but he got a right fright and ran away crying.

Don't regret it for a second though the owners were hysterical and thought I was a monster for hitting a dog. Yeah, but the dog drew blood on my ankles, others would have demanded he was destroyed.

And I'm reading posts here about cruelty and contacting the gardai. Realy?

Hitting a hurley is pretty severe and this was a collie.
But if the other dog attacked her she would have come off with more severe injuries then a belt from a hurley.

The collie learned a lesson

Where does it say the dog went anywhere near the man? Why are you making out that this dog is aggressive?

I understand completely why you hit that dog that bit you, but this dog on the beach didn't bite, or attempt to bite anybody or anything.

What lesson did the dog in this instance learn? It was off lead on a beach, not being aggressive and a man carrying a stick hit it - maybe the lesson it has learnt is that it should bite men carrying sticks before they hit it?:rolleyes:

Hypothetical children and hypothetical bites now in this thread.

whydoibother?

I'm not sure what is meant by the dog was getting "excited". Perhaps that could be clarified. But a stranger who doesn't know a dog, may find it hard to interpret a dogs behaviour. I'm not talking about OP's situation here specifically as I've said I don't know exactly what happened.

I'll give you a tame example. I was wearing flip-flops recently and had my toes licked by a strangers "friendly" dog. F$cking terrifying! I didn't know if I was going to keep my toes or not. I'm not really an animal person. I don't know much about animals and though the owner may have been confident I was in no danger, allowing this dog to interact with me regardless of whether I wanted to or not was totally unacceptable. It should have been on a leash if it wouldn't obey oral commands to leave me alone.

mattjack

johnthemull wrote: »

Your dog will be fine. Just give her extra love. There is no hope for the human.

perfectly said.....

Lucyx

The Sweeper wrote: »

To be fair, Lucyx may need to do more recall training with her dog. To have your dog off leash, you should be able to call your dog to your side no matter how exciting the distraction is. So you should be able to call your dog away from other dogs, from a rabbit that breaks from the hedgerow, from a cat out in the street, from a child whizzing past on a scooter, from a guy on his bicycle, from a roller-blading girl, from a bunch of skateboarders. To have your dog off leash, your dog should turn and look at you when you whistle or call, no matter how interested they are in what they're doing.

That's "recall". Recall isn't "He never runs away, he will come back to me before we go home". It isn't taking your dog to the park and letting them off-leash and being sure you can put them on-leash again before you go home. Recall isn't going walking in the woods and letting your dog off-leash and having it trample through the undergrowth in a 300 yard circle around you and you having to spend 10 minutes getting the leash back on it at the end of the walk.

I'll put my hand up straight away and admit I don't have the recall as described above with my dog. It's hard to do. It takes work. If I could get somewhere utterly deserted I could let him off-leash, but the flip side is the sort of bushland where we wouldn't meet another person is the sort of bushland where we'd meet snakes, and given they're poisonous down here I'd need to be certain Gus would come when he was called (and he really wouldn't) or else he'd literally be dead. Subsequently I walk my dog out bush with a 20-foot horse's lead rein.

This is what drives me a little bit mental about boards. Things get completely blown out of proportion. We were waaaayyyy up the beach and there was no one but me, my dog, fck face and his dog and mrs fck face. I don't let my dog near kids on scooters, girls on rollerblades or guys called Bruce on skates and it wasn't Venice Beach that we were on either. My dog has good recall and I'm aware of whats going on around me and people wanting their own space and all that. We were walking by, his dog was running at speed to get the ball and my dog ran alongside him (the other dog I mean, I don't like referring to dogs as 'it') and she would have come back to me literally seconds later. But the guy was obviously all fcked up from the experience with the other dog that had bitten his dog. Nothing to do with me.

I don't do any of what you're describing. I'd never let my dog off leash like that willy nilly. I love her and I want to keep her with me, not ramble miles away from me.

And as for feelingstressed. Thats a totally different story. Thats obvious aggression that you should have gone to the owners about. Thats not a bit cool. You've a bad attitude too. No wonder the dog nipped at you

And my dog is all anxious now and obviously affected. I walked her earlier and she was all tense and not happy at all. So I've to try to get her over that now. Great.

I definitely don't condone toe licking. Thats grotesque.

purity

What you should of done or what I would of done was go right up to him and shout at him right in his face and embarrass him. How dare he the pathetic creep, The poor dog I would of reported him but animal welfare isn't a serious matter in this country when it should be. Animals should be considered as humans are.

serenacat

yosser hughes wrote: »

Shouldn't you have had your dog on a leash? No sympathy for you.I have sympathy for your dog though.
The dog will get over it.

I'm shocked about the number of people thanking this post, whether the dog was on a leash or not is irrelevent, hitting the dog was wrong and unjust. The owner could hit his own dog like that behind doors and should be reported. I feel so sorry for the OP's doggy and hope she recovers ok.

Lucyx

purity wrote: »

What you should of done or what I would of done was go right up to him and shout at him right in his face and embarrass him. How dare he the pathetic creep, The poor dog I would of reported him but animal welfare isn't a serious matter in this country when it should be. Animals should be considered as humans are.

I did scream in his face and i think i pushed him a bit (I was so upset that its kinda fuzzy) but he didn't seem to care at all. I was shaking too cos I got such a fright and my dog screamed so loudly with the pain and the fright she got.

The vet told me to keep watching her to see how she behaves so I'm like a hawk keeping a good eye on her to see if shes acting peculiar at all cos there could have been a brain injury. Its that serious. Shes on metacam so hopefully if there is any pain, those are taking care of it.

ppink

some people are idiots so it is best if you do not give them the opportunity.
your dog may have been running alongside his dog but one way or another your dog came too close to this lunatic and his hurley without you being there to protect him.
If mine even look in the direction of anyone I put them on a lead just in case.

Virtually Solid

I would have followed him, got his car reg and reported him to the gardai.


What would the Gardai do....?? (Come on like there is horses and traps belting up and down the 6 cross roads causing all sorts of issues and the cops don’t lift a finger)

what type of dogs are involved??

How hard did he smack your dog??

You smack a child on the bum or back of the hand right, a dogs nose is similar?

I have two King Charles and prob would have waved the hurly at your dog to distract him from my dogs...BUT if though your dog was coming to get my dogs I would have no hesitation in using the hurly to defend my dogs

This has a lot of factors to take into consideration before judgment can be passed down on either party

boomerang

Virtually Solid wrote: »

You smack a child on the bum or back of the hand right, a dogs nose is similar?

It's not actually, one thing you should never do is smack a dog on the nose or tap them on the nose with a newspaper. The anatomy of the nose is very delicate. Plus if something's ever hit you in the nose (like a dog jumping up at you for example) you'll know how bloody sore it is compared to a smack on the bum!