Attacked by Pitbull.. What would you do?

[ClayCow]

My experience with dogs has been not to trust them.unleashed around other animals. My dog runs around unleashed around adults and teens with myself nearby(people i know who are in my yard or home) my dog loves little kids but i always make sure im there just in case. Im prepared to put my dog down the moment he attacks a person.

 

[Protected One]

People have to control their dogs. This one was always nice as could be. Don't know what set him off. Just came right up and attacked.

I wish I'd been closer.

P.s.- My wife is signed up for the next available ccw course.

Some people will control their dogs, while others either won't or can't. Best to be prepared to "control the dog" myself.

 

[Faulkner]

Funny how some folks who don't keep a close eye on their dogs and let 'em run loose to get in other people's business are the first ones to get all fussy and defensive when you call them on it. Life long fueds have been started over dog killings whether deserved or not. If you're going to do the deed it's best to bury or haul off the evidence.

 

[mistermills357]

I Shot A Pitbull, because it had attacked my black lab.

Then, I took it and put it in a garbage bag. Then I threw him into a dumpster.
If I sound cruel, I am not, I merely got rid of a threat.
I was not going to wait for it to attack me at some point.
So I acted preemptively.
And the owner never found the dog, but he may have guessed what happened.

Funny how some folks who don't keep a close eye on their dogs and let 'em run loose to get in other people's business are the first ones to get all fussy and defensive when you call them on it. Life long fueds have been started over dog killings whether deserved or not. If you're going to do the deed it's best to bury or haul off the evidence.

 

[KarmannGhia]

OP,
If you are satisfied with the outcome then you did fine.

As a police officer (with all the "cop shot my pet for no reason" hate), I have made the personal choice to take a bite before I shoot a dog (especially on the dogs home turf). I have been charged at several times and (so far) the dogs have backed off as I stood my ground.

Again, that's for me personally. I do not expect my wife or kids to wait.

PS: If you are bit, do not shoot the head. The brain needs to be uninjured to test for Rabies.

 

[3dots]

This pit WILL attack you or your dog again. I think you're very lucky with the outcome of the first encounter. May want to carry a couple less-lethal rounds with you on your strolls if you're not wanting to lay waste to this beast.

 

[DevilDog72]

I am a dog lover, that said...... I would have killed it... p e r i o d.

 

[Rastoff]

PS: If you are bit, do not shoot the head. The brain needs to be uninjured to test for Rabies.

This is a really good thought, but hard to do. If I'm bit, I'm shooting the dog. I will aim for the largest thing I can that won't get me or anyone else shot in the process. After the first shot, if another is warranted, I'll try to aim for a more precise location.

 

[ricky_45]

Hard to say. I had a similar experience at a store the other day. Some boxer/pit mix looking ugly stupid dog that was leashed in a jeep jumped out to get at my GSD (working dog from Czech, would rip that mutt to shreds). Anyway, it slipped the collar and came at us. MY GSD went at the dog, I pulled her back and drew a G19. Being that I have already shot one dog, I was very hesitant to pull the trigger, though I was in the right. Instead, I kicked the heck out of it. That, combined with my dog flared up, and ready to get the dog made it change its mind.

So, I think you did good. Believe me, when you shoot a dog and it is yelping and bleeding front of you, it isn't fun. Neither is spending a lot of money on an attorney to keep an idiot dog owner who doesn't know how to use a leash from having you brought up on felony charges.

 

[Protected One]

I saw the Pit in the yard, I stopped, the guy said what in the banned are you doing? I said watch this, he said don't open the truck door he'll eat you. I opened the door and charged him, he ran like the wind to his house. The other tech said what the heck? I said that is the one I trained the other day. He remembers my voice.

P.S. I'm a lifer phone guy, I have 10 or 20 good dog stories.

Tell us the TOP 5!!!

Believe me, when you shoot a dog and it is yelping and bleeding front of you, it isn't fun. Neither is spending a lot of money on an attorney to keep an idiot dog owner who doesn't know how to use a leash from having you brought up on felony charges.

I believe you, but it's better than ME yelping and bleeding because I let the dog "have a bite".
I'll deal with the owner later!

 

[bucknrut23]

A little bit off the track here. Absolom above mentioned people across the street from him had "Beware of Dog" signs all over their property. For those of you with dogs and signs; an attorney aquaintance once told me never, ever put up "beware of Dog" signs or caution, German Sheperd on duty type signs. They are a direct admission when taken to court that you know/knew the dog is aggresive and you know the dog will bite.

 

[Rastoff]

They are a direct admission when taken to court that you know/knew the dog is aggresive and you know the dog will bite.

This is similar to the gun signs like, "Trespassers will be shot, survivors will be shot again."

Can you point to even one court case where the sign was a significant part of putting someone in jail/prison?

 

[Protected One]

This is similar to the gun signs like, "Trespassers will be shot, survivors will be shot again."
Can you point to even one court case where the sign was a significant part of putting someone in jail/prison?

Pressuming the lawyer told him that, it's important to remember that lawyers can sometimes be over presumtuous about possible court outcomes. Still, even if no case law exist to support his statement, that doesn't mean its not good advise.

 

[okiegtrider]

Big dogs scare me. But not to be too judgemental, firing shots in the air might not be a good idea.

I'll say it. Firing shots in the air is a really foolish and irresponsible idea.

 

[OzarkNick]

Your wife and little dog are being attacked by a giant 200 pound Rottweiler you're still 50 yards away running as fast as you can. What would you do?

There was a safe area to fire my gun. I did and it got the dog to stop his attack. I'm not sorry at all.

 

[Rastoff]

Your wife and little dog are being attacked by a giant 200 pound Rottweiler you're still 50 yards away running as fast as you can. What would you do?

I agree that firing shots in the air is not a safe thing to do. However, when the lives of my family are involved, and I can't reliably shoot the attacker, I'll do the next best thing.

I didn't see the situation OzarkNick went through, but from his description I can't fault him. Change the story to, "I just fired my gun randomly without thought" and I will jump on the 'bad idea' bandwagon.

 

[Cooter Brown]

OP, I think you did fine.

These threads baffle me.

I've roaded my bird dogs for years and have encountered many, many loose dogs. In that time my dogs, while on a roading harness attached to a lead, have been attacked three times. Same breed every time. Guess the breed.

Nature versus nurture. Hmmm...my dogs have all, every one, pointed birds naturally. As a breed, this behavior was selected as a trait. It's literally part of their nature. It took very little reinforcement to make them solid performers. This is how all working dogs, dogs with a purpose, were developed, by breeding for specific traits. This is elementary dog stuff here.

Border collies are bred to herd--ever seen one that didn't have a real job trying to herd everything in sight? They can't help it.

Pointing dogs are bred to point, border collies are bred to herd, retrievers are bred to retrieve, hounds, beagles, to give chase and voice. Just try to stop that behavior bred in for hundreds, maybe thousands of generations.

Fighting dogs are bred to fight. Simple as that. It should surprise no one that they often choose to do so, even though they might sleep at the feet of their master and snuggle with the kiddies.

If you choose to own such a dog, you must accept and deal with the fact that it was bred to fight other dogs. Just like people that have collies, labs, beagles and other working breeds must deal with the somewhat annoying behaviors those dogs exhibit if they are not allowed to do what they are bred to do.

If people want to own pits etc., fine. What scares the hell out of me is people that own that kind of dog and defend them to the end and deny that they were bred to fight other dogs. That tells me that those people are refusing to take the proper precautions regarding those dogs around other animals.

Edit to add: I had a funny conversation with a guy in the city who had a Brittany as a pet, which kind of broke my heart. His biggest complaint? He had a hard time walking in the park, down city streets etc. because it kept freezing in place when it saw or smelled a bird. He was tired of having to drag it off. It's hard to stop those behaviors.

 

[Protected One]

Your wife and little dog are being attacked by a giant 200 pound Rottweiler you're still 50 yards away running as fast as you can. What would you do?

There was a safe area to fire my gun. I did and it got the dog to stop his attack. I'm not sorry at all.

It's easy for people to say what should or shouldn't be done when we are not facing the "immediateness" of the situation ourselves. Personally, I find NO fault with what you did...given the circumstances. And though I'd LIKE to think that I would have fired into the ground instead of the air, it's more likely that my mind would be more focused on my wife and dog than where I was directing the rounds.

 

[AlHunt]

Too bad you didn't frame the question as just an aggressive dog to weed out the pitbull factor.

My American Staffordshire Terrier endorses this idea. He'd have posted himself but he's busy cuddling with the cat. And twerking.

 

[model70hunter]

Tell us the TOP 5!!!

The pimp, the trained attack dog and the phone man.


There was a town right outside a large military base. In the either regions of this town were places that were off limits. Love hungry GI's would go there at night and buy happiness.

One of these places was run by a surly gent, a real Pimp. He had sent a German Shepard to St. Louis to be attack trained. He kept the dog close to him along with a pearl handled 357.

His girls all wanted phones, several to a room. When the phones guys went out to install, repair or disconnect the Pimp would demand the guys pack of cigarettes. He could afford gold plated cigs if he wanted, he just liked messing with folks.

My buddy who grew up coon hunting, when young he had to climb the tree to throw the coon out to the dogs. He got pretty good at keeping his hand out of biting mouths. He had to wade in and pull a coon from a pack of dogs. He had to break up fights when coon hounds went at each other. Lots of dog experience.

He showed up and the pimp demanded his cigarettes. He said, nope get cher own, you can afford them. The pimp took this as an affront and said if you don't give me your cigs I'm turning the attack dog loose on you. My buddy thought he was kidding about the dog. Again he denied the pimps request for the cig pack. The pimp just said KILL and the fight was on.

My bud kept backing up kicking and gained purchase on the collar he took the dog down and choked it to death. All the time he was afraid he was going to get shot in the back.

The pimp screamed that is a $3000 dollar dog. My bud said he isn't worth 2 cents now.

The pimp never called our office to complain and distinctly did not call the law.


The very important Colonel, the junk yard farm dog and the phone guy.


An Air Force Colonel retired and bought a farm 20 miles out in the country. Farm country, 10 party lines and most felt lucky to have this.

The colonel was an abrasive bullying braggart feller. In the local coffee shop he would brag how much his retirement check was and how much his civil service double dipping job paid. Told them thanks for paying taxes so he could have all this money. In the land of bib overalls and john Deere caps he did not endear himself to the locals.

He demanded a private line and was denied, he told everyone he was very important and had to have one. Nope he was a part time farmer with a couple of cows and a job.

He developed a plan to leave his phone off hook when he left for work and call in trouble reports. With enough reports the sate would step in.

The colonel had a large German Shepard that had one and only one personality trait, VICIOUS!

2 of us worked this town. Daily we'd get a trouble report and take turns going out. Never got out of the truck. The dog would bite the painted bumpers, you could hear his teeth making ungodly noise as he bite through the paint to the metal.

He would bite the truck tires and shake so hard the truck would move.

When you pulled up the dog would fly in with fangs barred, drooling barking like a junk yard dog.

Went on for months. The reports did not count because he failed to put up the biting dog as asked each time.

I sort of had a melt down, snapped if you will, enough.

I stopped up the road from the house and retrieved my 2 pound lineman's hammer from my tool bin. For those who have not seen one, it looks like a small sledge hammer with a 15 to 18" handle. It is for driving heavy bolts into poles or driving ground rods.

Ole fido closed on my truck in his normal teeth first fashion. Only this time I stepped out with said hammer on my shoulder. It is said one is not supposed to stare into a alpha dogs eyes, it may aggravate them.

I stared him in the eyes, calmly said dog today you either go play somewhere else or die. He kept staring at my eyes.

Something he saw clicked, he quit snarling and barking. He walked off into a pasture and did not look back.

I am a dog lover, but there are some that might be better off in the state of demise.

I went to the house, yep receiver off hook. The colonel's work number was on the report. I called it and said hi, I'm at your house and your receiver is off hook preventing 9 other folks from using their phone. I'm leaving you unhooked until you call back in. He pulled out his Colonels voice and told me BS I can't be calling him from his house. I said yes I am. He was adamant I wasn't. Then he yelled what did you do to my dog? Dog what dog? Oh you mean the one they've told you to lock up 50 times? That dog? Well in the future when you're told to lock up your new dog, do it.

His voice went squeeky and had some high pitch panic kinda vibes.

He called in on me, I got a pat on the back and coffee by my boss.

He never called in another trouble report. I'll bet he left work early and drove like mad to see if ole killer was dead.

And if ole killer had attacked he would have crossed over.


A jerk who views dog training as cruel and the older phone guy.


As I said I love dogs, trained and well mannered dogs. I don't have much truck with those who let dogs run and the only training given was to let them use your yard as their privy.

In St. Louis I was leash training a chocolate lab. He was about 6 months old when we got him and had zero training.

When we 1st went to St. Louis we lived in a nice apartment complex until we bought a home. The recommended method is to use a 15' leash and walk. If they go around a tree or fire hydrant keep walking pretty soon they get the idea that go snooping around that tree will get you neck stretched a little.

So I'm working the pup day one. A jogger came by, he was giving me some serious looks. I could tell he did not approve. He said something like cruel aren't you. I said no, training the dog to leash and I'll bet in 5 minutes I can have your sorry self leash trained, he jogged off at double speed.