Preparing for dog attacks--pay attention!

[John from MD]

I have a confession. I think that to a certain extent, I am one of those bad dog owners at the dog park. At our local dog park, it’s fully fenced and divided into <35# or all others. My 77#, 6yr old rough collie (a rescue), gets turned off leash as soon as we clear the inner gate. I do that to avoid the issue of “dog on a leash syndrome”, their demeanor changes markedly when they are not tethered. He is a barking son of a gun, always a shrill “happy” bark, but piercing. And constant. And he is playful, he goes up to other dogs and wants to play after a little sniff. (Of course not a Biden sniff, the other end!)
I figure if the are roughly similar size, let them find ground, if they are playing and tumbling and both are mouthing each other and chasing each other mostly equally, they are just having dog fun.
But I believe that I may be viewing that wrongfully, as I get the idea that the other owners don’t share my view point. I think the boy is going to have to be happy to just be walked, he seems a little rambunctious for dog parks. It’s a shame, because with 4 or 5 of the “right” other dogs and owners, it’s pure joy watching them all tear across the park, raising hell with each other.. Being dogs…
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My experience with dog parks is that, the people who use them, self police them. They don't want aggressive dogs there anymore than anyone else. The Quiet Waters dog park in Annapolis is a good example.

However, at the Riva Area park in Davidsonville, people let their dogs off lead and it is not a dog park. My wife and I don't appreciate it as her service dog is trained to be docile and has been attacked before. When we are in those environments, I keep my hand on my pepper spray or gun while in my pocket. It does cut down my reaction time.

 

[OMCHamlin]

i thought the whole point of dog parks was to let them run around, unleashed... never been to one though.

Yeah, I think so too. But I also think it counts on guys with dogs like mine, "spirited", one might say, to realize that and admit it, and just say "while I love him to death, he's just not a good fit here." Maybe I can figure out a way to fix that, or maybe I just shelter my nut job from the other dogs, for their sake.

 

[44 Bulldog]

If any dog bites me or someone in my family its DEAD.

 

[normbal]

Monday my dog was attacked by another dog some jackass allowed off leash at our local park. My dog was leashed, his was not. The other dog was 50 feet away moving at full speed before I noticed it. By the time I reached down to shorten the lead line on my dog the other dog clamped onto my dog's head. Luckily where he bit my dog was the hardest part of her head so the bites were only superficial. I finally got my dog's leash shortened and tried kicking the other dog off of mine but it wasn't deterred--It was some kind of pitty mix. The other owner finally got their dog under control and separated. I got his name and number and he said he would pay for vet fees. Yesterday we took my dog to the vet and $330 later she is on the mend. I did get the money from him.

I'm thinking about this incident post-analysis. I wasn't paying attention so my reaction was slow. This could have easily also been an attack on me or a more serious attack on my dog. I had an ear bud in listening to a podcast and just enjoying the time in nature. I totally was not in an attentive reaction mindset. I was armed and also had pepper spray with me. The other dog was moving so fast I did not have enough time for me to grab either my gun or spray by the time I realized it was there. I'm going to start looking for a better way to carry my spray so I can get to it faster. Moral of the story for me is to pay attention, even when out enjoying nature. There's also coyotes out here. A friend we were talking with said they often walk in that same park with their dog and have seen coyotes recently. There was also a murder in this park in 2018. I need to do a better job of awareness when in public.

Please keep your dog on a leash and pay attention.

About 2 years back our daughter, home fresh from grad school/applying for jobs, took my 85 lb GSD service dog for a walk in a local park.

Someone’s fu-fu dog (schnitzel, squirrel, dorkie or somesuch) came whipping around a bunch of tree trunks/berm on about a 20 foot lead (one of those retractable things) right into the mouth of my dog.

Screams of terror and accusations followed along with nearly immediate posts on that damned neighborhood app and for whatever reasons that seemed like a good idea I wound up paying for $385 in emergency vet services for 4 puncture wounds and a week’s worth of antibiotics.

Never mind the little rat-thing wasn’t on a SHORT leash and was allowed to run WAY ahead of the owner (daughter says she didn’t see them until AFTER Hudson grabbed the thing and gave it a good shake), because he was “aggressive” we sucked it up.

Got a signed release from the owner and we KNOW her mom, but MAN those Karens on “Next Door” were SO rude, suggesting all kinds of lawsuits and police action.

Unfortunately, he was a rescue, abandoned, wasn’t neutered until 18 months old (estimated) so he has an intense prey-drive and does his best to run down squirrels and deer that get in our yard.

Makes me want to invent a dog collar cam (like a dash cam) for incidents with other dogs.

 

[gamer_jim]

Makes me want to invent a dog collar cam (like a dash cam) for incidents with other dogs.

I had this same thought after the incident on Monday. If something more serious had happened or if this guy didn't pay up then it would have been his word against mine.

 

[normbal]

i thought the whole point of dog parks was to let them run around, unleashed... never been to one though.

our current golden retriever, #4, we cannot break of his chasing deer habit, so he is almost always on leash, vs our first three that were almost never on leash while we did our walks and hikes. current guy has way more pent up energy which is a shame.

we were walking #3 on a local trail a few years back and a kid/teen had two pit's on leashes, and they really wanted to kill our dog and were literally dragging her towards us. fortunately the kid held on and we were able to get around but that was one of the few days i didn't have a knife on me. could have turned out really bad. i'm not really sure how well a gun would work out in this situation with dogs moving around rapidly, other people in close vicinity, and you're aiming down so some ricochets.

Just a reminder, from the safety/medical side of things.

If your dog (or any dog) is in a fight, KEEP YOUR HANDS AND FACE AWAY.

I lost count of the number of mangled hand/faces I’ve repaired in Urgent Care/ER over the decades.

When dogs lose their sh!t they’re working on par with any other wild/untamed beast.

I wish everyone knew this.

 

[4g64loser]

About 2 years back our daughter, home fresh from grad school/applying for jobs, took my 85 lb GSD service dog for a walk in a local park.

Someone’s fu-fu dog (schnitzel, squirrel, dorkie or somesuch) came whipping around a bunch of tree trunks/berm on about a 20 foot lead (one of those retractable things) right into the mouth of my dog.

Screams of terror and accusations followed along with nearly immediate posts on that damned neighborhood app and for whatever reasons that seemed like a good idea I wound up paying for $385 in emergency vet services for 4 puncture wounds and a week’s worth of antibiotics.

Never mind the little rat-thing wasn’t on a SHORT leash and was allowed to run WAY ahead of the owner (daughter says she didn’t see them until AFTER Hudson grabbed the thing and gave it a good shake), because he was “aggressive” we sucked it up.

Got a signed release from the owner and we KNOW her mom, but MAN those Karens on “Next Door” were SO rude, suggesting all kinds of lawsuits and police action.

Unfortunately, he was a rescue, abandoned, wasn’t neutered until 18 months old (estimated) so he has an intense prey-drive and does his best to run down squirrels and deer that get in our yard.

Makes me want to invent a dog collar cam (like a dash cam) for incidents with other dogs.

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Normbal,

There are dog cams, mostly for LE k9s, that are usually incorporated as part of protective eyewear that covers a good part of the head.

A friend of mine has two GSD and a Belgian. Not pets. They all have fitted eye protection as well as their body protective vests. I don't know if any are set up for the camera mount or not.

You are correct about staying out of reach of fighting dogs. Shoot them. I've worn the cuff a few times and a suit one or two. They bite with incredible force. In a full suit, there are ways to pin (and kill if you want to) the dog but the jaws aren't letting go. Without protection, it's going to be a HUGE mess. Worse if the dog still has traction and can yank and shake whatever it has a hold of.

Best thing I've found for a pissed off mutt you don't want to kill is a CO2 fire extinguisher but that's hard to carry around a dog park.

 

[gamer_jim]

Active Self Protection on YT released a video today about a kangaroo attacking a dog and the owner fighting the 'roo.

He says you cannot use deadly force to protect your dog but you can if the dog turns to you.

Any legal eagles on that can summarize the law for this?

 

[TexDefender]

"4g64loser" is right there are cameras you can buy. The cameras I'm familiar with are like the GoPro cameras for dogs mounted on their protective vest. There are others, however you must bear in mind regardless of which camera is used it will be shaky. But it is better than nothing. RexSpec make some nice products for medium to large breeds.​

 

[Parry]

The dog park near me has a stand that also sells alcoholic beverages to adults. It is popular because dog owners can enjoy their adult beverage and lay around on adirondack chairs while their pet can socialize unleashed. But, recently, I've seen more than the majority of owners drunk and so I don't think at that point they care what their dog does. Because of that, I stay away from that place.

 

[4g64loser]

"4g64loser" is right there are cameras you can buy. The cameras I'm familiar with are like the GoPro cameras for dogs mounted on their protective vest. There are others, however you must bear in mind regardless of which camera is used it will be shaky. But it is better than nothing. RexSpec make some nice products for medium to large breeds.​

I've seen them mounted on the headgear/ballistic goggle harness before. If you know of some that mount to chest strap of ballistic vest, that's probably going to be a lot easier for OP to get his dog to wear.

 

[Blacksmith101]

At my local (kinder park/Severna park) park we have fenced ball fields galore... even fenced in cows, pigs, chickens. No dice for your pets. Oh and you can ride a horse on the trail and the horse is not leashed. No love for the dogs in this area. There are dog parks near but not close especially with traffic congestion. Easily 30min each way.

You see people riding horses without reins?

 

[Makanik]

My wife used to take our dogs to dog parks, until an incident occurred. My wife keeps one dog on a leash and the other in a dog carriage sorta like a baby carriage. The one day a dog off a leash (German Shepherd) ran by and our little dog (Long Hair Chihuahua) peaked out over the carriage. The Chihuahua looking like a little teddy bear attracted the German Shepherd. The German Shepherd charge towards my wife and chihuahua and my American Bully being extremely protective of my wife, sitting right next to her, saw the Shepard charging and that was all she wrote. By time the Shepherd got within range our Bully T-boned the other dog and from there it was all over for the Shepherd. My wife realized what was happening and called our Bully off. The Bully stopped immediately but the owner of Shepherd started giving my wife a hard time because our American Bully tore his Shepherd up within 10-15 seconds. The guy was yelling at my wife and threating to sue her and with him yelling it set our Bully off again.

Now my wife refuses to take our dogs to dog parks, because she feels that though she has full control of our dogs it is the other owners with the issues.

 

[TexDefender]

I've seen them mounted on the headgear/ballistic goggle harness before. If you know of some that mount to chest strap of ballistic vest, that's probably going to be a lot easier for OP to get his dog to wear.

Something like this https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1117124-REG/revo_ac_woofer_dog_harness_mount_for.html or this https://www.caliberdog.com/products/k9-molle-vest-gopro-camera-back-mount/? I suggest a vest as well personally. Many people see them and move away.

 

[4g64loser]

Something like this https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1117124-REG/revo_ac_woofer_dog_harness_mount_for.html

Wow. Yeah that looks like something that most people could get a dog to wear. My friends who have working dogs say that getting a dog to wear any headgear is something you have to start with early.

Full disclosure, I'm not a handler or even a dog owner. I just have fun wearing a bite cuff now and then.

 

[TexDefender]

I fully understand, catching them is fun. I assumed you were taught to "fed" the wrap to them? Have you worn the full suit? Forgive me, it brings back memories.

 

[4g64loser]

I fully understand, catching them is fun. I assumed you were taught to "fed" the wrap to them? Have you worn the full suit? Forgive me, it brings back memories.

Yeah. I don't play a good victim. I try to keep the dog in motion, usually rotational, until it is "downswing" of me so that I can get it on its back or side and pin it with my legs. Huts more but it's the only way a midget like me can gain any advantage that I know of. Pulling the bitten arm downward towards the dog's chest weakens the bite and lessens the dogs ability to twist or shake. Seen a few videos of guys killing the dogs that grab them. Mostly filmed overseas, based on the languages and scenery. A guy I know killed a dobie that bit and held him (not a working dog) and.then gunfaced the owner. I wasn't present but it was apparently pretty messy. His arm is heavily scarred to this day.

Worn the suit. Getting hit rather than bitten sucks because in the suit you have shit for movement and dexterity. Cool for a try I guess. I wouldn't want to get bit on the leg without the suit, that's for sure.

 

[TwinTurbskis]

I have a toddler so I am always hyper-aware of the dogs around me. I love dogs but a split second is all it takes to have a tragedy on your hands.

 

[Doctor_M]

Wife and I were on an evening walk and one of the new dogs in the neighborhood (first time I had seen him) was aggressively charging us from about 50 yards away. My wife was behind me and I just stood my ground between her and the dog (with my hand in my pocket just in case). By the time it had closed the distance, it had clearly recalculated my lack of fear and backed off barking and blustering. Like human predators some dogs can just be looking for an easy mark, and if they sense you are a threat to fight back, they loose their nerve.

 

[mpollan1]

Wrote it in a previous response and will likely fall as very unpopular, but muzzles render a dog rather inert. I would like to see them used more.