Squaregrouper
Kragaphile
Maybe that's all they'll get, but their lawyer will prolly try to convince them mental anguish is on the menu.
See post #22
Maybe that's all they'll get, but their lawyer will prolly try to convince them mental anguish is on the menu.
Hey guys i had a question regarding my dog attacking my neighbors dog. Yesterday evening my dog nolan which is a pitt mix was on his walk. As we were walking up the driveway our neighbor was walking down. For whatever reason nolan started freaking out and some how got out of his harness and bites our neighbors dog. The neighbors dog was hurt and needed stiches but is still alive. I know i am on the hook for the vet bill at the very least, and i know i will have to register nolan on a dangerous dog list. My question is what can i expect next, can my neighbor sue me for everything im worth and can they put my dog down for this?
Be VERY careful while using an e-collar with this sort of behavior in mind. You have to think about it from the dog's point of view. He sees the enemy dog, starts to get his hackles up ... and then The Angry Gods inflict pain on him. What does he associate? I experience pain when I see that dumb neighbor dog. That can make the problem far worse, not better. Further: when a dog goes on high alert, the adrenaline starts flowing, and the gentle poke of a lower-setting e-collar suddenly becomes utterly sense-invisible to the dog. I've watched bird-crazy dogs run right through maximum shock output and never even twitch, once something gets them in K-9 missile mode. And that's prey drive. That pales compared to Must Kick That Other Dog's Ass drive, which is far more powerful. Don't use an e-collar unless you are 100% abso-freakin'-lutely positive you understand the pros, cons, and proper use of that tool. Those tools will NOT NOT NOT stop your dog from attacking another dog, and may actually inspire more of it. E-collars are for working with your dog when it's off lead, beyond your reach - and well after you've already spent months working on long check cords, etc.
If your dog is lapsing in to a fit of seemingly out of blue attack mode, it's because that dog thinks IT'S IN CHARGE and is on duty, defending you and/or its territory. The main solution to this problem is to make the long, tedious investment in all of the relationship training you need to make the dog think you're the alpha and that he's on vacation. May be too late with your dog, but that's where it all begins and ends.
For what it's worth, I've had more than one pit-style dog get loose from its handler and run fifty yards at me at full throttle to attack my dog. Still can't straighten out one of my fingers (thankfully, not my trigger finger!) because a pit bull that tore out of its owner's control attacked me, and crunched two knuckles on my left hand. The owner was screaming "Just kick him! Just kick him!" followed by, "He's never done anything like this before ..." Yeah. Great. I had to eat $4000 in medical bills because he took the dog to a friend's house in Virginia and told MoCo animal control the dog died the same day it attacked me, and the guy refused to pony up.
Sorry, don't mean to rant on - but this is a painful (literally) topic for me. I'm so careful that my bird dog(s) never, ever get the opportunity to hurt another dog or person that I get a little wound up when I hear about this happening with fighting breeds. Ultra care is required, and too many wrong steps are casually taken by people who try to modify the weight of that baked-in programming. Please be careful, and consider getting a pro trainer involved to try to save your future time with that dog. Best of luck ... but you make your own luck, when it comes to dogs on leads.
I owned an aggressive chessie for 6 years, before I finally put him down. He was an awesome dog, but had to always be leashed. You'll have to do the same now, or this will happen again. It will probably happen again anyway.
You won't want to hear this, but I think you need to accept that the dog is aggressive. And I think you need to consider putting him down.
Armed with that mindset, and that some time has passed, go and talk to your neighbors. Have an open conversation and see how they feel. You probably can't move, so ask how they feel about your dog continuing to live next door. Do they want you to put the dog down? Are they OK with you containing him and keeping him leashed?
Apologize, explain that you are willing to work with them in whatever way they are comfortable with, and cut a check for $500 as a down on whatever vet bills are coming your way. Tell them you will do what they feel is necessary.
If they say they can deal with the dog living there, you have to be 24/7 vigilent, to opening the door, kids running by or up to the dog, etc. Anything.
If they say they don't want the dog there, that they are afraid of it and afraid that you will not be able to control it, then you need to either move or put the dog down.
The one thing you CANNOT do is give the dog away. The dog is a problem. You're aware of the problem and may want to take the risk, but it is irresponsible to give the dog away to a rescue, shelter, friend, etc.
Sucks, I've been there. Safest route, honestly, in this day and age, is to put the dog down. I know you don't want to hear that and it took me five years to come to terms with it with my Chessie. Our society has moved to a point where animals like this (that in the past would have been valued) are unacceptable.
That sucks bud but at least you have the right attitude about it.
I'm with Mr. Grouper.........Dogs, although they don't feel like it, are property. Your property damaged his property and your willing to make that whole again. I don't see what other case they have.
I disagree with the bolded. Giving the dog to a competent rescue after advising them that the dog has acted aggressively and bitten another dog without provocation is not irresponsible (if they agree to take them in). People who rescue dogs are very good at handling the dogs that they rescue and dealing with the actions of those dogs. Rescue's also will not place a dog that had previously been aggressive without going through measures to ensure that the dog is as safe as possible (to himself and others), and that the new owners are made well aware of the previous history and are prepared to handle the animal in the future.
Understood that you disagree, but I'll respectfully disagree with you also. People that rescue dogs do so because they want to save dogs and give dogs good homes. It an honorable avocation and I salute those that do so.
That said, a person doing that is probably less than objective, and they can only presume they can handle that dog until something happens.
I'll throw some light on my particular situation. My Chessie was also a fear biter. Would love anyone or any dog to death if he were introduced to them, but barring that was extremely unpredictable. With time, i became very good at seeing when he was stressed and when i needed to remove him from that stressing situation.
The last time he bit, he was under the care of my then girlfriend. She also happened to be a professional dog trainer. Not just any bozo 'trainer' that happened to love dogs, but worked for Guide Dogs for the Blind. She swore she could recognize when he was getting rattled. Until she didn't and he lit into her older brother. She learned a lot about how much she'll never know about any given dog that day. Her brother was fine, but it was time for me to accept the fact that what made him an awesome gun/duck dog also made him incompatible with modern society. I miss him to this day.
And in the case you cite (I am sorry for the loss of your pet) I agree. a fear biter that attacks humans repeatedly would be a case that Quality Rescues will not (and should not) accept. The case above where a dog is not a fear biter, nor has any (shown) interest in attacking humans, might well be placed in a home that has an acre yard with a 6' privacy fence where it will never see another dog. Working closely with a rescue for quite a while (and with rescue dogs), I can tell you that there are definitely rescues out there that are very objective, and that they take the welfare of the public very seriously.