Dog Owner Chat v4

[taurus ;]

So, we had an incident with Spade and another pitbull. A neighbor of mine has a female pitbull that is constantly roaming,
this dog is aggressive and has almost attacked me once. Animal control has seized the animal, is it is scheduled to be put down, I don't know when, I was just notified that it is.

I was walking Spade, our daily mile walk/run, and the dog comes from the owner's back porch and slowly walks over to us, slowly and stiff-legged, tail raised, just aggressive posture. I immediately put Spade in a 'sit, stay, and look here(focus, eye contact). I call out to the dog's owner, who is sitting on her porch, wrapped in a blanket, reading a book. By then, the other pitbull is a small distance away and is standing there barking and I'm afraid to move, not wanting to trigger any kind of attack. The owner yells the dogs name, Bella, but of course the dog doesn't listen and continues barking at us. I know its hard for Spade to ignore the other dog, and to an extent she isn't, she is developing animal aggression and already does not like dominant female dogs.

I should have predicted it, but Spade suddenly goes stiff and both of the dogs lunge at the same time, Spade lunges with so much force that the leash actually snapped. I don't know how, the other dog is bigger than Spade(not by much, still small and slim APBT size), but Spade gets a hold on the other dog's neck and Bella is on the ground, but still fighting and scratching and biting at Spade and catches her ear, which starts to bleed. I was in shock for around 5-10 seconds, but then rushed over to them and Bella's owner has reached us by then.

I didn't have any trouble getting Spade to release Bella, just a loud 'let go', but she did try to go back and get to the other dog. I did get bit by the other dog, on my thumb and there was lots of blood. Both of the dogs(and me) are fine though, Spade does have a small gash in her ear, but its healing up fine. I'm really just frustrated, this other dog, Bella has been on the loose for at least two weeks, owner had been notified and aware that her dog was aggressive and still did nothing about it.

[Jewel Melody]

So, we had an incident with Spade and another pitbull. A neighbor of mine has a female pitbull that is constantly roaming,
this dog is aggressive and has almost attacked me once. Animal control has seized the animal, is it is scheduled to be put down, I don't know when, I was just notified that it is.

I was walking Spade, our daily mile walk/run, and the dog comes from the owner's back porch and slowly walks over to us, slowly and stiff-legged, tail raised, just aggressive posture. I immediately put Spade in a 'sit, stay, and look here(focus, eye contact). I call out to the dog's owner, who is sitting on her porch, wrapped in a blanket, reading a book. By then, the other pitbull is a small distance away and is standing there barking and I'm afraid to move, not wanting to trigger any kind of attack. The owner yells the dogs name, Bella, but of course the dog doesn't listen and continues barking at us. I know its hard for Spade to ignore the other dog, and to an extent she isn't, she is developing animal aggression and already does not like dominant female dogs.

I should have predicted it, but Spade suddenly goes stiff and both of the dogs lunge at the same time, Spade lunges with so much force that the leash actually snapped. I don't know how, the other dog is bigger than Spade(not by much, still small and slim APBT size), but Spade gets a hold on the other dog's neck and Bella is on the ground, but still fighting and scratching and biting at Spade and catches her ear, which starts to bleed. I was in shock for around 5-10 seconds, but then rushed over to them and Bella's owner has reached us by then.

I didn't have any trouble getting Spade to release Bella, just a loud 'let go', but she did try to go back and get to the other dog. I did get bit by the other dog, on my thumb and there was lots of blood. Both of the dogs(and me) are fine though, Spade does have a small gash in her ear, but its healing up fine. I'm really just frustrated, this other dog, Bella has been on the loose for at least two weeks, owner had been notified and aware that her dog was aggressive and still did nothing about it.

Oh my gosh! I would have freaked out so much, I wouldn't know what to do. I'm glad you and Spade are okay.

[Imzadi83]

So, we had an incident with Spade and another pitbull. A neighbor of mine has a female pitbull that is constantly roaming,
this dog is aggressive and has almost attacked me once. Animal control has seized the animal, is it is scheduled to be put down, I don't know when, I was just notified that it is.

I was walking Spade, our daily mile walk/run, and the dog comes from the owner's back porch and slowly walks over to us, slowly and stiff-legged, tail raised, just aggressive posture. I immediately put Spade in a 'sit, stay, and look here(focus, eye contact). I call out to the dog's owner, who is sitting on her porch, wrapped in a blanket, reading a book. By then, the other pitbull is a small distance away and is standing there barking and I'm afraid to move, not wanting to trigger any kind of attack. The owner yells the dogs name, Bella, but of course the dog doesn't listen and continues barking at us. I know its hard for Spade to ignore the other dog, and to an extent she isn't, she is developing animal aggression and already does not like dominant female dogs.

I should have predicted it, but Spade suddenly goes stiff and both of the dogs lunge at the same time, Spade lunges with so much force that the leash actually snapped. I don't know how, the other dog is bigger than Spade(not by much, still small and slim APBT size), but Spade gets a hold on the other dog's neck and Bella is on the ground, but still fighting and scratching and biting at Spade and catches her ear, which starts to bleed. I was in shock for around 5-10 seconds, but then rushed over to them and Bella's owner has reached us by then.

I didn't have any trouble getting Spade to release Bella, just a loud 'let go', but she did try to go back and get to the other dog. I did get bit by the other dog, on my thumb and there was lots of blood. Both of the dogs(and me) are fine though, Spade does have a small gash in her ear, but its healing up fine. I'm really just frustrated, this other dog, Bella has been on the loose for at least two weeks, owner had been notified and aware that her dog was aggressive and still did nothing about it.

I'm so sorry this happened to you and Spade! What a horrible owner.


@Cardinal - Aw, Sentry is adorable. He's so healthy and handsome looking now. Good to know he's a happy healthy crazy puppy now.

[Tipsy]

Pfft, Kes is a mega B with most dogs and only lets people who earn her trust pet her. Faaaar from perfect lol

Swizzy is adorable, she has the second most squishable face that I need to squish!

okay she does have a squishy face but she still is a major jerk compared to Kestrel

[.Middy.]

EEEEP! I need to squish her! She's so pretty! (Also great photo lol)






The Chewbacca went on his very first hike today! I am so incredibly proud of him! Loose leash the entire time! (Minus when he was being reactive but I don't count those lol)

He even walked past two people without reacting! Did react to one guy, and the 3 bike riders we saw, but still I'm super proud of him! He was not muzzled most of the time actually and did really well! He wore it a bit when I heard a large group (luckily they didn't come into sight) and for some practice wearing it in new situations like that!

He was so happy to be out exploring and having fun! I can't wait to take him again when it cools down!

[taurus ;]

I'm so sorry this happened to you and Spade! What a horrible owner.

Yeah, I know, as a responsible APBT owner seeing those who aren't just get to me really badly. APBT is a great dog breed, my favorite, only second to pekingese (shshhh don't tell Spade hehe), but it takes the right owner/training to have one, imo. Irresponsible owners are why so many pits are in shelters/being put down. Even at my local shelter that I volunteer at, 15/20 of those dogs in the pens are some type of pitbull, I hate seeing it.

Anyways, Spade is just fine, jumping around like normal, eating, drinking, etc.
She's going to have a notch in her ear now, but the bleeding was stopped, hasn't started back again and vet has her on antibiotics, to prevent infection. I know she was provoked and was actually protecting me, but maybe time to get Spade a muzzle, what do you guys think ???

[Imzadi83]

I'm so sorry this happened to you and Spade! What a horrible owner.

Yeah, I know, as a responsible APBT owner seeing those who aren't just get to me really badly. APBT is a great dog breed, my favorite, only second to pekingese (shshhh don't tell Spade hehe), but it takes the right owner/training to have one, imo. Irresponsible owners are why so many pits are in shelters/being put down. Even at my local shelter that I volunteer at, 15/20 of those dogs in the pens are some type of pitbull, I hate seeing it.

Anyways, Spade is just fine, jumping around like normal, eating, drinking, etc.
She's going to have a notch in her ear now, but the bleeding was stopped, hasn't started back again and vet has her on antibiotics, to prevent infection. I know she was provoked and was actually protecting me, but maybe time to get Spade a muzzle, what do you guys think ???

I don't think APBTs needs the "right" owner. A responsible dog owner is a responsible dog owner imo. Every breed has it's unique needs as does every individual dog. And this owner seems to me that they aren't responsible enough for any dog.

As for a muzzle, I dunno. In this particular situation it could've put Spade in danger since the other dog lunged as well. If Spade had been wearing a muzzle she wouldn't have been able to fight back, possibly been more injured, and her dog aggression could become worse as a result.

I know you had her in a sit in the hopes of the other owner recalling her dog, but what about walking away? Or perhaps carrying some dog repellent, or an umbrella to distract another dog if needed? Don't know if any of that would've helped in that situation or a future one, but I just thought I'd suggest it.

[warmblood]

@halogen Unless Spade is actually aggressive towards others and is the one starting fights she doesn't need a muzzle, since if a dog attacked again she should be able to defend herself or she could get seriously hurt. Honestly hate irresponsible pet owners. They're not just annoying they're also so immature & idiots a lot of the time.

[taurus ;]

@Imzadi

Yeah, no I didn't have any kind of umbrella/dog repellent of any kind, I'll consider that.
In this situation there was no walking away, when the dog first came up to us I tried walking away, calmly and slowly and that just made the dog even more reactive. So, I really had to choice but to hope that the other owner would get control of their dog, which they failed to do.

I mentioned APBTs needing the right owner, but to me, it includes bully breeds as a whole, because they are all grouped together and discriminated against. Bully breed owners do have to be more careful, a small playful nip can easily be taken as an attack and the media and the public will be all over it, whereas if the dog was a popular breed, such as a lab or a collie, it won't be taken the same way. When you buy/adopt a bully breed, you are also buying/adopting a dog that has the potential to kill someone/something. Sure, other breeds have the potential, but bully breeds, definitely more so. Most people don't realize this, especially when adopting, that their dog may be sweet looking, but if that dog really, truly wanted to hurt someone/something, it could. Another reason why I stay away from pitbull advocates and rescues, they want everybody to see the good in pitbulls, but never the bad, which can be seriously harmful to new owners. The fact that bully breeds have the potential to kill, and therefore are more dangerous, doesn't exactly help the discrimination either, but also can't be ignored.

[Imzadi83]

@Imzadi

Yeah, no I didn't have any kind of umbrella/dog repellent of any kind, I'll consider that.
In this situation there was no walking away, when the dog first came up to us I tried walking away, calmly and slowly and that just made the dog even more reactive. So, I really had to choice but to hope that the other owner would get control of their dog, which they failed to do.

I mentioned APBTs needing the right owner, but to me, it includes bully breeds as a whole, because they are all grouped together and discriminated against. Bully breed owners do have to be more careful, a small playful nip can easily be taken as an attack and the media and the public will be all over it, whereas if the dog was a popular breed, such as a lab or a collie, it won't be taken the same way. When you buy/adopt a bully breed, you are also buying/adopting a dog that has the potential to kill someone/something. Sure, other breeds have the potential, but bully breeds, definitely more so. Most people don't realize this, especially when adopting, that their dog may be sweet looking, but if that dog really, truly wanted to hurt someone/something, it could. Another reason why I stay away from pitbull advocates and rescues, they want everybody to see the good in pitbulls, but never the bad, which can be seriously harmful to new owners. The fact that bully breeds have the potential to kill, and therefore are more dangerous, doesn't exactly help the discrimination either, but also can't be ignored.

All breeds have the potential to kill. I've encountered so many owners of other non-bully breeds who do not take that seriously. They do not educate themselves on dog behavior or bother to control their dog because that breed doesn't have a reputation. Even when their dog attacks another dog they act like it's no big deal. When you buy/adopt any dog you're getting an animal that that has the potential to kill something and need to take that responsibility seriously.

I understand what you are saying but I don't think it's some special responsibility that applies to bully breed owners. It's part of what makes a responsible dog owner and should be a responsibility of all dog owners.

Although I see what you're saying about some Pit bull advocates and rescues, again I have seen that with advocates/rescues of all dog breeds. Responsible ownership should be taught/encouraged by all before buying/adopting. Many advocates/rescues are able to show both the good and bad in potential dogs/breeds. As long as you teach/encourage responsible ownership I don't see how showing the good side of Pit bulls and dispelling the myths surrounding them is a bad thing.