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Old August 20th, 2011, 04:41 PM
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shibamom shibamom is offline
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How do I deal with a dog attack?

This happened tonight. I was walking down the road with my baby and my husband had our dog on the leash. Our neighbours dog ran across the road and attacked our dog (bit him). He tried it again but my husband started to fight with it. Their front door was left open. This dog is usually on a tie outside and snarls/snaps as we walk by. He is a very large dog (I think an Irish Wolfhound) I am beyond pissed but that's being dealt with.

My question is, what do I do when I am alone with the dog and baby and a dog attacks us? I'm not sure how to manage a dog attack when I am with my son (he is in a sling or stroller). I don't want my baby to get hurt but I also don't want to let a dog hurt mine.

Suggestions? Reads?
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Old August 20th, 2011, 05:04 PM
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Umm call canine control and the police.
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Old August 20th, 2011, 05:15 PM
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Sorry, I mean how do I physically deal with the attack as it is happening??
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Old August 20th, 2011, 06:09 PM
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You could try dog spray and carrying a walking stick in your stroller. Unfortunately it sounds like the dog is quiet frustrated and is getting the short end of the stick by their owners.
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Old August 21st, 2011, 08:20 AM
Longblades Longblades is offline
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I'm sorry, you won't like my answer. If you are alone with your baby in a sling and that dog attacks yours you sacrifice your dog. Let him go. Your dog can defend himself better not restrained by the leash or he can run away. Providing the leash doesn't get tangled all up. Please God you do NOT attach the leash to yourself or the stroller.

If your baby is in the stroller you have to keep the dogs away from the stroller so, still, you cannot save your dog and the baby both.

An Irish Wolfhound? That dog could be over 6 feet tall when it stands up on its hind feet and weigh more than many women. I am assuming when you say "attack" that's what it really is. You cannot fight a dog that big. A dog that size is a serious threat. I hope you have filed complaints with every authority you can think of. Call the police, that dog could hurt your and your child.

Obviously the best course of action is to not go by that house. If it's unavoidable I'd make several passes without the baby to make sure the dog is now contained. After I called the police. In my experience the police are more likely to be concerned about your safety than any dog authority is. They actually told me to carry a gun and kill one dog we had trouble with.

I may be coming across pretty strongly but when a Bernese Mountain Dog attacked my Lab the Berner's owner had a baby in a sling. My dog was getting the worst of it but he could stand up to it better than a baby could. My God, what if the dogs had involved the baby when she tried to pull her dog off? My God, My God.
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Old August 21st, 2011, 09:11 AM
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mastifflover mastifflover is offline
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Sorry but most Canadians do not own guns. Thank dog. But you need to speak to the police and animal control. The dog is the victim here tied outside is certainly not get him any socialization or exercise. I imagine the dog will be the big loser. Have you spoken to the owners in a non-confrontational way, maybe they need a little education in a very nice way you maybe able to suggest some exercise and work to socialize the dog.
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Old August 21st, 2011, 09:41 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mastifflover View Post
Sorry but most Canadians do not own guns. Thank dog. But you need to speak to the police and animal control. The dog is the victim here tied outside is certainly not get him any socialization or exercise. I imagine the dog will be the big loser. Have you spoken to the owners in a non-confrontational way, maybe they need a little education in a very nice way you maybe able to suggest some exercise and work to socialize the dog.
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Old August 21st, 2011, 09:53 AM
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shibamom shibamom is offline
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Thanks for all the advice. My husband will be speaking to them again later and animal control/police. I will look into the idea of a spray. We do have firearms but I don't wish to carry one and it's restricted I can't carry it anyways. I'm a bad shot too, would rather take on the dog myself than try and fire a handgun near a baby. I like the idea of a spray. Yes, I would let my dog deal with it himself if I had to, he is a Shiba Inu so he is not a very helpless dog but still it hurts me.... they are both my babies. I can't avoid the house, it's right next door unfortunately.

Thanks everyone for the ideas. I don't normally use the stroller, I tend only to when my husband is with me. I use a sling (on my back, literally like a backpack) when alone. My boy is a toddler.
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Old August 21st, 2011, 10:18 AM
Longblades Longblades is offline
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Originally Posted by shibamom View Post
Thanks for all the advice. My husband will be speaking to them again later and animal control/police. I will look into the idea of a spray. We do have firearms but I don't wish to carry one and it's restricted I can't carry it anyways. I'm a bad shot too, would rather take on the dog myself than try and fire a handgun near a baby. I like the idea of a spray. Yes, I would let my dog deal with it himself if I had to, he is a Shiba Inu so he is not a very helpless dog but still it hurts me.... they are both my babies. I can't avoid the house, it's right next door unfortunately.

Thanks everyone for the ideas. I don't normally use the stroller, I tend only to when my husband is with me. I use a sling (on my back, literally like a backpack) when alone. My boy is a toddler.
Good Luck. I hope the police intervene for you. The dog in my case, not the Berner, was also next door and weighed about 120 lbs, almost as much as my 130. And it was threatening me, not my dog. The Ontario Provincial Police put the fear of God into the owner but I still had to call the OPP twice. Chicken wire is too flimsy to keep 120 lbs of dog contained.

Yeah, we have guns too, including handguns, but I'd need a permit to carry. I think the OPP first thought the dog was coming into our yard but it was out on our village streets, not even our own street, where I was encountering it. Neighbours were shooting at this dog when it came in their yards, it did bite a 4 year old, but when the OH and I took a pellet gun out to practise with I couldn't even open the darn thing to load it.

Bear spray is illegal to carry you know. It is here in Ontario if you intend to use it on anything other than bears. We looked into that. The guy at the outfitting store wouldn't sell it to us. We didn't think regular pepper spray would be strong enough and if there is a wind you can get the drift yourself.

I will tell you a big mistake I made. I tried to talk to the owners of this dog. Three times. I can't belive how stupid I was not to call the police right away. I found idiots with huge dogs who let them run loose and threaten and bite the neighbours just don't respond to normal requests for safety. The second time I had to call the OPP I was armed with a list of names and phone numbers of all the other neighbours who had also had trouble with the same dog to back me up. None of them called the police either and some had pretty scary stories to tell. We are, most of us, here in this village, too nice and trusting for our own good.

Am I over-reacting? Maybe. I had recently seen what a dog attack did to a lady in my fitness class. And heard about the sister-in-law of a co-worker. And still I tried to talk to the owners. No, I don't think I'm over-reacting.
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Old August 21st, 2011, 10:39 AM
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Goldfields Goldfields is offline
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Longblades, you aren't over reacting. Here in Oz recently a Pitbull cross followed a woman and her child into her own house to attack them and the child was killed, a 4 year old I believe. It could have been any sort of dog with an irresponsible owner and again, it was a neighbor's dog. The dog was put down the same day. Very sad and tragic business.
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Old August 21st, 2011, 10:23 PM
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tenderfoot tenderfoot is offline
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OMG that is horrible!

This is why it is so important for people to understand the responsibility of having a dog that is well socialized and trained.

Much as we love dogs, people just don't take their potential for serious injury and, G-d forbid death, seriously. What a horribly tragic story. I have heard similar horror stories and they serve as a serious reminder of what dogs are capable of.
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Old August 21st, 2011, 10:35 PM
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I carry mace on my belt. Good for dogs and weirdo people!
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Old August 22nd, 2011, 06:21 AM
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Melinda Melinda is offline
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even lysol spray, room deoderizer....any of those will sting when sprayed in a dogs face etc, you could carry one of those. (recommended to me by an spca officer)
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Old August 22nd, 2011, 01:27 PM
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In your particular situation, for sure get the cops involved. A deerhound is a very large dog and could easily kill yours, not that the cops will be really concerned about that, but if you tell them you're worried about the dog attacking you they should take this matter seriously.

I wouldn't recommend any harmful sprays if you have the baby with you as the wind could easily carry the spray to him. I do like the idea of some sort of a stick, but make sure it is sturdy and solid and you are prepared to use it. Quite frankly I would prefer a baseball bat, at least that would have some slugging power to it. Maybe take the stroller with you for now so you can at least put your "weapon" in it and be free of the baby in case some thing happens.

If you're faced with the situation again and see this dog coming at you (not sure just how much time you had to realize your dog was about to get attacked), but you can certainly try to scare the dog off before it even grabs your dog. Yell at it like you mean it, and try to scare it off with your stick/bat. I would try to hit the dog before it gets near yours by what ever means possible. If you're enough of a threat yourself, there is a chance you will change that dog's mind about attacking.

I much rather hang on to the leash and help my dog in the fight then let go of the leash and watch my dog run away in panic and be shredded a few hundred feet away. I would let go of the leash if I trusted that my dog will not panic and would stay by me. That would at least free up your hands to whack the other dog, being careful not to hit yours.

Another deterrent you could consider are those loud horns people use at sporting events.
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Old August 25th, 2011, 05:55 PM
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erykah1310 erykah1310 is offline
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Get a cattle prod, they have long handles and deliver one heck of a golt.
I wouldn't use any sort of sprays either, at work we are supplied with spray for dogs, I carried it in my pocket once as there was a known "bad dog" as work calls them and the little safety lever slid over and it sprayed in my pocket and really irritated my skin. This was just a little spray too, so I wouldn't use it in the presence of children and it is pretty useless if there is any wind at all.
so, look for a prod, is my best advice besides calling AC and the police about this situation before someone gets hurt
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Old April 28th, 2015, 09:47 AM
petty254 petty254 is offline
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I understand your predicament I feel that your dog and the little one are exposed to a dangerous situation. The best solution is to try talk to the owners of the dog so that they can find a way of restraining their dog from crossing over to your place. I would however recommend equipping yourself with capsicum spray just incase things get out of hand.
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