Dog down ... what would you do.

[tundra]

I've never heard that dogs don't like a direct stare into their eyes. Instead I've heard and read from many, many people I always thought knew what they were talking about, that a direct stare into a dogs eyes was seen, by them, as a direct challenge. For now, I'm going to continue thinking that way.

As a side bar we have border collies who are fine with eye to eye contact...that's their stock in trade. We have a little brown collie mix who has learned to be ok with eye to eye contact but it was strange to her at first because most dogs don't run around doing that.

Any vet who made such a stupid statement about a breed of dog is a fool. I've been heavily involved for years in dog rescue and in agility, there's no breed that has a lock on being a problem child.

The owner of the dog is an irresponsible idiot...he let his dog down by not keeping it at home and not training or managing it. The dog is always the one that pays the biggest price for it's owners stupidity.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[livewire]

I've never heard that dogs don't like a direct stare into their eyes. Instead I've heard and read from many, many people I always thought knew what they were talking about, that a direct stare into a dogs eyes was seen, by them, as a direct challenge. For now, I'm going to continue thinking that way.

It's a dominance thing, just like most dog behaviors. If you stare at a dog, it will either submit (most of the time with humans) or challenge. If you continue to stare at it after that point you're asking for trouble, as that's an aggressive behavior in the dog world.

[livewire]

NOVA has a decent video on Youtube: Dogs Decoded (documentary). It talks about the origins of different species, the "domestication" genes, etc. Can't recall if the Chihuahua was mentioned.

I could only watch part of that since I'm at work, but I'll finish it tonight. What an interesting video...

[SCXDm9]

If you blew the smoke from the barrel it could be considered rubbing it in but if not, fine job!

[Eagleks]

I'm a very strong defender of dogs and that most problems are 'people' generated and not knowing and understanding dog behaviors, than it is the dogs. I will still stand by that.

HOWEVER, there are times ....it's just a bad dog. I had a vicious dog in the neighborhood (GS) who would attack without any hestitation. Police, etc. would do nothing (small town). He had gone after my kids, adults, etc. My kids literally could not play outside at all. Finally one day... he showed up and would not leave .... the dog had no fear of humans and was purely vicious. If he saw someone, he instantly went "for them". I called the Police Dept and told them either take care of the dog NOW .... or I'm shooting him. The only reason they came to my house was to tell me ..... that I could NOT shoot the dog .... blah blah blah blah.

Then, the dog rounded the corner of a house about 2 houses and took at a dead run for us......... covered the ground very fast and in full attack mode. I was quickly sitting on roof of the police car, and the officer had jumped into the car...... and the dog was still trying to get to him and get him. The dog finally lost interest and went running off. The officer got out of the car , with his hand on his gun and said "that dog has to go"......... then he told me that he was going to go try to catch up to him in his car..... and if I saw him again .... "shoot him... I'll vouch for you".

Sounds like you did what you needed to do and saved your kid from what could be serious injuries. Owner should have been keeping it well locked up and in control, and putting him down if necessary. Dogs are like people, every once in awhile there's a bad one that you can't do anything about except to protect yourself.

We've shot "wild" dogs (not dogs in the wild) and coyotes with .22 rifles, and they worked quite well.

[RevolvingMag]

You did just fine. I wouldnt have put up with the menacing dog that long. I have signs posted at the edge of my property and on the garage and the back door saying so, especially regarding pitbulls. Glad he was understanding. I wouldnt worry about the black lab, theyre so affable as a breed. I have one myself. Hes great, but unreliable as a guard dog.

When a dog (ill call it that, even if it is a pittbull, just to be diplomatic) turns on its owners friend (me) who used to take him for a weekend here and there and walked him all the time out of the blue and tries to tear a door apart and ends up getting shot, what do you say happened? My buddy has 3 other dogs that never had behavioral or mental deficiencies. Fact is, i took her to the vet and the vet said "this breed will do that. I reccomend that we put her down.". I do not allow pitbulls on my property. It is well known and i have shot one for strutting around my yard after i told it to leave. Youre entitled to your opinion, and i will pray that your dog never mauls you.

My pittbull behaves better than most people's kids. I've only seen him aggressive when another dog was in 'his' territory- my uncle's poodle that tried to mount him when he was laying down, and another dog that got into 'his' yard and started growling trying to run him off. That's it.

I have had one bad pittbull encounter, and that was because the poodle attacked the pittbull. See where this is going? Smaller dogs tend to be more vocal, and more aggressive (my guess is they try to make up for their smaller size by acting bigger). More poodles, chihuahuas, and various other miniature breeds attack than 'full sized' dogs do.

I have had bull-mastiffs, labs, basset hounds, dachshunds, and various terriers more loving than any poodle or chihuahua. Not to mention all the pittbulls that, upon 'meeting' (read smelling) me, have done nothing more 'violent' or 'aggressive' than forcibly crawling into my lap and rolling over insisting that I pet them.

The breed itself isn't typically the problem- it's the owner. Raise your dog like you raise your children- take them out, introduce them to the world, set their boundaries- and let them know where those boundaries are- and you won't have any trouble out of them. With friends, family, or strangers.

And, for the record, ANYONE who lays a hand on my pittbull meaning harm had better be ready for all hell to break loose- he is as much my family as he is my pet; and you don't hurt my family without some bad things in your immediate future.

[RKM]

Having trained dogs professionally for about fifteen years, your theory has a few holes in it. Dogs of all makes and models come in five-six distinctive personality types. An aggressive dog, which comprises about ten percent of the population, will become enraged and attack when you eyelock or otherwise challenge it. An untrained biter can clamp down with about 400 psi of bite pressure. A trained German Shepard, about 800+. A Rott, Pit, Neo or other mastiff type, 12-1400. Bones get crushed at well below the 800 psi range. Human body strength is no match for an aggressive dog's bite pressure. Combine that with the speed at which a dog can move, and one's chances against a charging dog aren't favorable.

I never said it wouldn't suck ;)

I'm nowhere near experienced as you. Training dogs for 15 years, you clearly have more knowledge than I. And please, read what I just typed literally. That was not meant to be sarcastic at all. I have no dog training experience. But I have been around a lot of dogs, and I only typed what I did due to what I'm experienced with. We had a GSD. But for a GSD he was the most timid GSD I've ever seen in my life. Nowhere near as aggressive that you'd think they would be. We sadly put him down nearing his 11th birthday in March due to Cancer and severe arthritis. We have another... essentially "wild" dog from Iraq. Long story. He bit me once. It sucked. I showed him that he was not to bite me and that I'm bigger and stronger and his boss. 9 years later, he's a better friend than most of my human friends. I would love to be able to take them time and for the most part, have the patience and knowledge to train dogs.

My only problem, and again, not referring to the OP, is people shooting dogs simply because they bark at them. Mainly the stories I read of Police and SWAT teams raiding homes and killing dogs because the dogs bark at them. This annoys me. Half the time, they raid the wrong house and kill an innocent dog

[velo99]

My Chihuahua is my alarm system / doorbell. She is a great little dog. A little yappy sometimes but she isn't aggressive. We rescued her and my wife thought she was going to be "her" dog. An hour after we got her home she jumped up into my lap and made her preference known. What's funny is she likes to play rough. She is pretty rowdy for a seven pound dog.

[ccw9mm]

My Chihuahua is my alarm system / doorbell. She is a great little dog.

What's funny is she likes to play rough. She is pretty rowdy for a seven pound dog.

Sometimes, the best things do come in small packages.

Had a little rototiller of a terrier, years ago. Puny little thing, wiry as could be. Had more energy than Edison. Loved to play rough. Tore up more old blankets than I care to remember. Found myself picking up more shreds of old blankets from all over the house than I care to remember, too. Dug under every fence we ever built. But he was a sweetie that would do anything for a full-body rub (shoulders, legs, back, neck), followed by a belly scrub. Wouldn't have traded those days for anything.

[JerryMac]

No attacks on any humans i know of, but as i said he has bristled n growled at me, would you be willing to take the chance with him coming at your three year old son? This is a dog that never came around for any petting or interaction, and the times he bowed up on me, was when he was on my land and i know he cannot read but that is private property. Sorry to say,but would not hesistate to do it again tomorrow if I felt my son was in danger of being mauled, I have some friends with Pits, n seem to be good dogs, but if i do not personally know the dog, n he is barking and on my property coming at my son, he is propably gonna get the same 10 shots i sent to the brown dog.

I live in a rural area. My "next door" neighbor insists on feeding all the wild cats from the woods. There is seriously 20 cats of all different ages and flavors in her yard at any given time.

I have two pit bulls. One of the many times these wild cats had kittens, my dogs killed the whole litter when they were born on our property . Does that make them monsters? They've been around my son since he was a baby. Same with my niece. Not once did they harm either one, even though both kids would pull their tail and ears and poke them in the eyes and all the other stuff small children do to animals til they know better.

When the kids play in the yard, the dogs run full speed at them and.... lick them in hopes of being petted and loved on.

So I guess what I'm wondering is: does the dog have a history of attacking people? Just because he had attacked another animal doesn't mean he was charging at you guys to chomp on you.

Of course, I wasn't there so...
Sent from my palm device

[JerryMac]

Just a note, this took place in a very short time span, the only weapon was a fold up knife, or the buckmark, if it would have been a chiuaha, ankle biter, a punt would have worked, but it was not, the only two things i took notice of was the agressive sound ofthe bark, and the sight of my son. Maybe he was just going to chase the little fella around because he was on his little green gator in the fron yard, i do not honestly know....... I do know that my little sister was biten in the face when we were kids, and after several surgeries, she looks ok, but she has a fear of large dogs to this day, I do not always carry pepper spray or other self defense items when i am outside piddling, and maybe i could have stared the god down as some have suggested.....but it was not a lot of staring time there, and if i did run him off, what would have happened next time and it was the wife outside with the boy, or i would have had the bike running and did not hear the dog....i dunno, i did not like and do not like killing animals, unless i am going to eat them, I am not trying to justify what I did, I justified that before i pulled the trigger. Boy- Dog.....

[framedcraig1]

Problem solved.

[livewire]

No attacks on any humans i know of, but as i said he has bristled n growled at me, would you be willing to take the chance with him coming at your three year old son? This is a dog that never came around for any petting or interaction, and the times he bowed up on me, was when he was on my land and i know he cannot read but that is private property. Sorry to say,but would not hesistate to do it again tomorrow if I felt my son was in danger of being mauled, I have some friends with Pits, n seem to be good dogs, but if i do not personally know the dog, n he is barking and on my property coming at my son, he is propably gonna get the same 10 shots i sent to the brown dog.

Don't take any of these posts as criticism of your actions. I think everyone agrees you acted as we all would have. I just took issue with another post judging based strictly on breed. You put down an animal that displayed aggressive behavior toward a family member...and a child at that.

What started the debate is a post that brought breed into it. Your actions were completely justified based on your account of the situation. I don't even recall your posts mentioning breed.

Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk 2

[wolverine181]

Haven't read the thread. I'm a dog lover, but it's good that you dealt with the problem now instead of the dog going out and getting some other kid who's father wasn't around or prepared to deal with it.

[mlr1m]

The OP seems more concerned about what happened to the dog than the owner was. Maybe we should be discussing the actions of the owner instead of the OP.

Michael