Dog Attack

[Deanimator]

A dog's intents can't all be explained over a forum, most of these are judgement calls made on a case-by-case basis. My dogs growl when there are strangers around, but they will not attack.

As long as they stay on your property or under your control, it doesn't matter if they growl, bark or sing the lead to "Turandot".

A growling, barking or yodeling dog behind a fence or on a leash isn't a threat. An unsupervised dog running free can be a threat regardless of whether or how it vocalizes.

Of course around here, given the calls I've heard lately and the profusion of coyote tracks I've seen in my parking lot, if your dog runs loose, he may end up running right down the digestive tract of a pack of REAL wild animals.

 

[RonSC]

Ive been following this thread off and on and one thing strikes me as strange. ...All the folks that are apologists for certain breeds and this "mule squeeze" about there being no 'bad dogs' just bad 'dog owners'. Sure that can be a factor but certain breeds are bred for specific jobs. There is a 'reason' why the local car lots and junk yards use Pit Bulls, Staffordshire Terriers, Presa Canarios, Rotweilers, Dobermans and Shepherds.
These breeds share a disposition that has NOTHING to do with the owner but EVERYTHING to do with the breed! Admittedly there are 'exceptions' but when is the last time you heard of Beagles or Labs being used for Fighting/Security. The agressive/ fighting instinct is just not there. I don't buy into this theory and never will. There is NO way I'd ever own any of the aforementioned breeds around children. IMO anyone who does so is simply irresponible. Rant over!

 

[txhoghunter]

+1 to what Ron said

as many "good" pit bulls that are in this world, their track record just has too many problems for me to trust them. Not their fault, just a natural instinct that can't always be overcome

 

[jiphillips]

In regards to what RonSC posted, many of those dogs you mentioned have a high prey drive. In other words if you are running away they want to chase and play tag with their teeth. Ball drive is different, more like just playing. We have a GSD with a high prey drive and decent ball drive. He gets gets along just fine with our two small children. Emily (almost 5 now) has been the "victim" when we do a protection dog demonstration, you should hear the crowd when Orion "saves" Emily and then she grabs the leash and laughs. Is Orion well trained? Yes. Is Emily well trained? About normal for a five year old.

Additionally many of the breeds have been so inbred that they have lost many of the traits that make them valuable. That skill may be prey or ball drive, herding instinct or may even be the sense of smell that can be so usefull to so many people. Ask someone with a seizure dog or a peanut detection dog or anyone that the search and rescue dogs have saved.

 

[9mmforMe]

a growl from some dogs is a definite precursor to an attack.

Actually growling is good, as is barking. This behavior indicates that the animal is alerting "the pack" that danger may be present. A quiet dog is a resolute dog and will attack much more often than one that barks.

 

[Ben86]

A quiet dog is a resolute dog and will attack much more often than one that barks.

Very true, when a dog really means to do harm and goes into "predator mode" they are fast, silent and vicious. Loud, barking dogs are usually just being stand offish, but they can change their mind in a split second.

As for what to use against a charging dog, I think my chances might be better with pepper spray. Unless it's a resident evil zombie dog, spray should get it to change it's plans. I also don't have much faith in my ability to shoot a relatively small target moving that fast with a pistol, from the draw.

 

[cassandrasdaddy]

and dogs can be tricky there is one at a junkyard near here on a 25 foot chain. he will lie in such a way as to hide how long the chain is then when you get in range he goes from feigned sleep to fast

 

[altitude_19]

I also don't have much faith in my ability to shoot a relatively small target moving that fast with a pistol, from the draw.

Over confidence in one's ability to make that shot might prompt me to question a man's practicality/ego ratio. It's the sort of shot where everything has to go right, and plans that require everything to go right will always have something go wrong.

 

[ColdDeadHand]

Screw the Pooch

Treat it like they tell you about lion: Drop to your knee and unload. Do not move except to shoot and reload. This does 2 things: 1) It commits you to standing your ground, because it's useless to run in this scenario. 2) It puts you straight-on with the dog/lion, so the angles to not change as he charges you.

They say (no first-hand knowledge here) that if you shoot a charging lion from standing, you will miss because the angle is constantly changing, and changing at high speed. Drop to the knee and you are straight-on with him for the whole charge.

 

[cassandrasdaddy]

hmmm

any experience with that technique on dogs?

 

[Deanimator]

They say (no first-hand knowledge here) that if you shoot a charging lion from standing, you will miss because the angle is constantly changing, and changing at high speed. Drop to the knee and you are straight-on with him for the whole charge.

I've never considered this but it makes complete sense to me.

I've got a friend who's been on safari. I'll have to ask him what if anything his professional hunter said to him about the matter.

 

[Sheldon J]

As long as they stay on your property or under your control, it doesn't matter if they growl, bark or sing the lead to "Turandot".

A growling, barking or yodeling dog behind a fence or on a leash isn't a threat. An unsupervised dog running free can be a threat regardless of whether or how it vocalizes.

In MI it is the law that you must have your dog under your direct or indirect control at all times, fenced yards, chain, something.... Unfortunately far too many people simply let their dogs our for a run, and hence all the problems....

 

[Ben86]

There is a 'reason' why the local car lots and junk yards use Pit Bulls, Staffordshire Terriers, Presa Canarios, Rotweilers, Dobermans and Shepherds. There is NO way I'd ever own any of the aforementioned breeds around children. IMO anyone who does so is simply irresponible. Rant over!

I have to disagree about shepherds. I grew up around one and it was the sweetest dog ever, and not just to me. They have a large amount of discretion when it comes to aggression, which most likely comes from their considerable intelligence.

 

[Kleanbore]

With 114 answers on 5 pages, this one has been adequately covered.