My Dog Was Attacked

[oldgrappler]

I know it is tempting to let your dog off its leash in a public place to give it the freedom to explore. Your dog does deserve it. However, your dog probably isn't as friendly as you think it is. There will be that situation where it acts, well... like a dog, and gets more aggressive than usual.

 

Wednesday afternoon two of my kids, who are in their early 20's, took our dog on a hike at Devou Park on the Full Monty trail. They had the dog on its leash, as we always do. I have often been tempted to let him loose but know there is always that chance where he may behave badly so I keep him on the leash. My kids did the same.

 

Any way, they were hiking on a slope when all of a sudden two dogs, a Great Dane and a Rottweiler, both full-grown, came running around a bend and came full-speed towards my 40 lbs. rescue Mutt. The Rottweiler growled so my son stepped between it and our pet. This made the Rottweiler stop but the Great Dane ran up to our dog. My dog stood there, like he does when meeting another dog waiting to sniff and be sniffed. The Great Dane stood over him and almost immediately bit him on the shoulder. At which point my son tried to separate the animals but its not easy moving a full-grown Great Dane. When he heard my dog yelp he started to kick the Great Dane to get it away and tried pushing the GD away with his body.

 

Finally, a woman comes running up, it had been a good 20 seconds or more, and she got the Great Dane's attention enough that my dog took off down the trail to get away, because by now my son had dropped the leash as he was using two hands to get the larger dog away. My daughter ran after our dog and finally got to him but he was slightly bleeding and shaking.

 

The woman asked what happened because her dogs are "very friendly." So my son explained how they charged our dog and attacked him. The Rottweiler didn't participate in the skirmish but stood back. She couldn't understand why they did that and wanted to know what our dog had done. Uh, he stood there on his leash.

 

She never did produce a leash. She did ask if everyone was alright. My son, very angry at this point, just told her to take her dogs and go on ahead. They jogged off and he and my daughter waited and then headed in the same direction back to the car.

 

My dog has a puncture wound on his shoulder and another tooth mark on his muzzle. He is fortunate that it didn't escalate with both dogs attacking him.

 

My purpose for telling the story is to remind people to keep their pets on a leash when in public. Any place you may meet another person or another animal has the potential for an incident such as this. The woods seems like a good place to let your pet off its leash, but there are leash laws for a reason. Someone else in the past learned the hard way that they are needed.

[theguru]

Very sad, I hate to hear it og.

 

I know this is probably going to be unpopular but I may have put the Great Dane down.

[TheDeuce]

I don’t even have dogs and I find it incredibly selfish and irresponsible when people don’t have their dog on a leash in public.

[oldgrappler]

Very sad, I hate to hear it og.

 

I know this is probably going to be unpopular but I may have put the Great Dane down.

 

Not unpopular with me.

[UKMustangFan]

As with 99.9% of dog attacks, the issue is with the owner, not the animals itself.

 

Sorry your little one had to endure this. No excuse for a dog to not be properly leashed/restrained when in public.

[theguru]

I don’t even have dogs and I find it incredibly selfish and irresponsible when people don’t have their dog on a leash in public.

 

I have been on a couple of plane rides that had me wondering if I was at the dog park.

 

I agree as a society people force their pets on us in a bunch of incredibly selfish ways.

[TheDeuce]

I have been on a couple of plane rides that had me wondering if I was at the dog park.

I agree as a society people force their pets on us in a bunch of incredibly selfish ways.

 

This reminds me of the "service dog" debacle that has been trending up in recent years.

 

I was actually walking into PBS for the Steelers game last season, and a lady had a Yorkie under her arm. The guy working the gate obviously said pets aren't allowed... She said "Umm, this is a service dog." He just rolled his eyes and let her in, as I'm sure he didn't want to deal with the headache she would have caused.

[True blue (and gold)]

I’m so sorry that this happened to your dog, old grappler! You are absolutely right. Use a leash at all times. You really can’t predict which dogs will be friendly and which won’t simply based on breed or looks. My rescue is a golden retriever mix and is very fearful of people and other dogs. She is also very protective of me. I know that it is MY responsibility to never put her in a situation where she may harm someone or another dog. She is always on a leash when she is outside (except in my dad’s fenced in back yard.)

 

A couple of years ago we were hiking in the woods in a state park (she was of course on her leash) and came upon a young girl (12-14?) with a big dog on a leash. The girl could barely hold her dog back, as he/she was trying to attack my girl. My Whimsy was being very protective and simply putting her body between the other dog and me, but she didn’t pull on the leash and we got out of there quickly. I always carry pepper spray when I hike, but who knows if that would have done any good.

 

I hope that your pup is both mentally and physically okay.

[True blue (and gold)]

Also, thank you for adopting a rescue, old grappler!

[theguru]

This reminds me of the "service dog" debacle that has been trending up in recent years.

 

I was actually walking into PBS for the Steelers game last season, and a lady had a Yorkie under her arm. The guy working the gate obviously said pets aren't allowed... She said "Umm, this is a service dog." He just rolled his eyes and let her in, as I'm sure he didn't want to deal with the headache she would have caused.

 

I hear you.

 

I would guess in at least 95% of cases the "Service/Emotional Support Dog Designation" is some type of fraud.

 

And what about the rest of us that go out and spend our hard earned dollars doing something nice only to have to tolerate all the pets that have no business at most of these places.

[TheDeuce]

I hear you.

 

I would guess in at least 95% of cases the "Service/Emotional Support Dog Designation" is some type of fraud.

 

And what about the rest of us that go out and spend our hard earned dollars doing something nice only to have to tolerate all the pets that have no business at most of these places.

 

The general obsession with pets is pretty annoying to me, tbh. A lot of people go overboard, IMO.

[True blue (and gold)]

I hear you.

 

I would guess in at least 95% of cases the "Service/Emotional Support Dog Designation" is some type of fraud.

 

And what about the rest of us that go out and spend our hard earned dollars doing something nice only to have to tolerate all the pets that have no business at most of these places.

 

I feel that way about people in public. :lol2:

[nees1212]

The no leash is a pet peeve of mine, and I see it all the time.

 

The Great Dane attacking your dog is surprising knowing their demeanor. However, they can be protective of their owners, plus how they're raised can alter their demeanor. I know mine hates it when I wrestle with the kids. Plus, having one, I would never let him off leash. They're just too big to let walk freely, plus when they decide to run, you're not catching them.

[oldgrappler]

The general obsession with pets is pretty annoying to me, tbh. A lot of people go overboard, IMO.

 

I am with you 100%. I try very hard to never make a person have to adjust to my pet's presence. I always defer to humans, whether on the trail or anywhere else. And I carry a bag and pick up my pet's waste and dispose of it properly.

 

It is my opinion that the further we get from the family farm being commonplace, the more the distinction between animals/pets is blurred. I think you should treat pets kindly, but they are not human beings.

 

Keep pets on a leash when in public.

[oldgrappler]

The no leash is a pet peeve of mine, and I see it all the time.

 

The Great Dane attacking your dog is surprising knowing their demeanor. However, they can be protective of their owners, plus how they're raised can alter their demeanor. I know mine hates it when I wrestle with the kids. Plus, having one, I would never let him off leash. They're just too big to let walk freely, plus when they decide to run, you're not catching them.

 

I suspect the Great Dane and Rottweiler were enjoying some freedom on the trail and were in "pack" mode. They were roaming free and any animal/person not in the pack will be treated differently than one of its pack mates.