My dog was attacked on the street yesterday by a dog the owners insisted was ‘friendly’. Dog is ok

[Anonymous]

thanks to her scruffy fur. The other dog went for my dogs throat.

I’m freaked out because I absolutely froze. Dh and the other owners stepped in and pulled the dogs apart. This all happened in a flash.

Wwyd in that situation?

[Anonymous]

I might also freeze. You were weren’t expecting it. I have a feeling if other people weren’t there to intervene, your brain would have told you to do something.

I hope the other dog owner apologized profusely. I am so glad your dog is OK. That sounds very scary.

[Anonymous]

There is no way to predict how a dog attack will go, OP, so don't beat yourself up. Stepping in can be fatal, and the other adults took a risk.

I was in that position when my puppy attacked another dog. I rushed over and grabbed him and apologized profusely. As the owner of the perpetrator, I felt it my duty to take the most risk, you see. I did not want the other owner to take any risks, since neither him nor his dog was at fault. No one was hurt, I am not sure my dog really tried to bite, but he was definitely lunging with fangs in full display in attack mode.

Since then my now-senior dog has never attacked any other dog, but we doubled down on training and we are always on high alert when we see any dogs in our vicinity. Thankfully, my dog loves all humans.

[Anonymous]

Report to the police and animal control. The next dog may not have scruffy fur and be killed. The next animal attacked could be a person.

[Anonymous]

I jump in and break it up but that's not necessarily the way to go, just my instinct. I also have the "fight" responses when I have been (unfortunately) attacked by another human. Whenever I've had to break up a flight the majority of other people do totally freeze so that's not unusual. My dogs are trained to ignore and pass other dogs on leash and if I do let them say hi it is only to other dogs where I feel like I wouldn't be at significant risk of injury if it went south. It's just not worth it to me, my dogs have plenty of friends they don't need to meet every dog we see on walks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I jump in and break it up but that's not necessarily the way to go, just my instinct. I also have the "fight" responses when I have been (unfortunately) attacked by another human. Whenever I've had to break up a flight the majority of other people do totally freeze so that's not unusual. My dogs are trained to ignore and pass other dogs on leash and if I do let them say hi it is only to other dogs where I feel like I wouldn't be at significant risk of injury if it went south. It's just not worth it to me, my dogs have plenty of friends they don't need to meet every dog we see on walks.

This. It seems like fewer and fewer dog owners these days are properly training their dogs. Everybody says their dog is "friendly", but I've not found that to be the case. I keep my dogs away. I'll even lie and say they bite (they'd never) just to make sure there's distance. It's just not worth the risk.

[Anonymous]

I’m so sorry, OP. I’m glad your dog is okay. Does she seem shaken up? More reluctant to walk? I hope she’s not fearful around other dogs now.

This is one reason why I don’t think young children should walk dogs alone. You’re an adult and you froze; what is a 10 year old going to do, particularly if the other dog is loose and there’s no one around to help them? My kids are teens and I made them learn what to do if another dog should attack our dog before I’d let them walk him alone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Report to the police and animal control. The next dog may not have scruffy fur and be killed. The next animal attacked could be a person.

Yeah, I'd report to animal control. All bite incidents should be reported. Most places have a bit of leniency in their laws; it's the second or subsequent bite(s) that would be actionable. So it's important to report any incidents so they're on record if the dog ever bites again.

Glad everyone's okay. Dogs bite, it happens, and it's scary when it's you/yours involved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I jump in and break it up but that's not necessarily the way to go, just my instinct. I also have the "fight" responses when I have been (unfortunately) attacked by another human. Whenever I've had to break up a flight the majority of other people do totally freeze so that's not unusual. My dogs are trained to ignore and pass other dogs on leash and if I do let them say hi it is only to other dogs where I feel like I wouldn't be at significant risk of injury if it went south. It's just not worth it to me, my dogs have plenty of friends they don't need to meet every dog we see on walks.

Well we probably would have let the dog pass- in fact, dh was frustrated that I engaged- but the other dog was passing us and the owners stopped to ask us if they could say hi because their dog was ‘friendly’. My dog is friendly so I assumed all would be ok. They apologized which I appreciate. I am not mad at them, I actually feel bad they have to deal with a dog like this

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m so sorry, OP. I’m glad your dog is okay. Does she seem shaken up? More reluctant to walk? I hope she’s not fearful around other dogs now.

This is one reason why I don’t think young children should walk dogs alone. You’re an adult and you froze; what is a 10 year old going to do, particularly if the other dog is loose and there’s no one around to help them? My kids are teens and I made them learn what to do if another dog should attack our dog before I’d let them walk him alone.

What did you teach your kids to do in a situation like this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I might also freeze. You were weren’t expecting it. I have a feeling if other people weren’t there to intervene, your brain would have told you to do something.

I hope the other dog owner apologized profusely. I am so glad your dog is OK. That sounds very scary.

Yes, they did. And yes, dog is fine. Rattled but fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I jump in and break it up but that's not necessarily the way to go, just my instinct. I also have the "fight" responses when I have been (unfortunately) attacked by another human. Whenever I've had to break up a flight the majority of other people do totally freeze so that's not unusual. My dogs are trained to ignore and pass other dogs on leash and if I do let them say hi it is only to other dogs where I feel like I wouldn't be at significant risk of injury if it went south. It's just not worth it to me, my dogs have plenty of friends they don't need to meet every dog we see on walks.

Well we probably would have let the dog pass- in fact, dh was frustrated that I engaged- but the other dog was passing us and the owners stopped to ask us if they could say hi because their dog was ‘friendly’. My dog is friendly so I assumed all would be ok. They apologized which I appreciate. I am not mad at them, I actually feel bad they have to deal with a dog like this

A lot of dogs might be "like this". Leashed introductions aren't great, even under good circumstances. It's actually one of the worst dynamics for introducing new dogs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Report to the police and animal control. The next dog may not have scruffy fur and be killed. The next animal attacked could be a person.

Yeah, I'd report to animal control. All bite incidents should be reported. Most places have a bit of leniency in their laws; it's the second or subsequent bite(s) that would be actionable. So it's important to report any incidents so they're on record if the dog ever bites again.

Glad everyone's okay. Dogs bite, it happens, and it's scary when it's you/yours involved.

Op here. I’m not even quite sure what the dog looks like other than it was slightly smaller than my dog, brown (I think) and looked like a pit bull mix (but on the small side). It happened in a flash. And I don’t know the owners. What would I report?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I jump in and break it up but that's not necessarily the way to go, just my instinct. I also have the "fight" responses when I have been (unfortunately) attacked by another human. Whenever I've had to break up a flight the majority of other people do totally freeze so that's not unusual. My dogs are trained to ignore and pass other dogs on leash and if I do let them say hi it is only to other dogs where I feel like I wouldn't be at significant risk of injury if it went south. It's just not worth it to me, my dogs have plenty of friends they don't need to meet every dog we see on walks.

Well we probably would have let the dog pass- in fact, dh was frustrated that I engaged- but the other dog was passing us and the owners stopped to ask us if they could say hi because their dog was ‘friendly’. My dog is friendly so I assumed all would be ok. They apologized which I appreciate. I am not mad at them, I actually feel bad they have to deal with a dog like this

A lot of dogs might be "like this". Leashed introductions aren't great, even under good circumstances. It's actually one of the worst dynamics for introducing new dogs.

My dog has never had an issue meeting another dog on a leash, and we’ve done it many times as we live in a neighborhood with tons of dogs. The worst that’s ever happened is the other dog barks or looks skittish.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m so sorry, OP. I’m glad your dog is okay. Does she seem shaken up? More reluctant to walk? I hope she’s not fearful around other dogs now.

This is one reason why I don’t think young children should walk dogs alone. You’re an adult and you froze; what is a 10 year old going to do, particularly if the other dog is loose and there’s no one around to help them? My kids are teens and I made them learn what to do if another dog should attack our dog before I’d let them walk him alone.

What did you teach your kids to do in a situation like this?

Number one, not to feel like they had to break up the fight themselves. Summon help.

Number two (they can ask an adult for help), you’re supposed to grasp the attacking dog’s hind legs and lift them up. This is so disconcerting to the dog they’ll release the dog they’re biting. Then you kind of walk them around, wheelbarrow style, in a curved pattern (not straight lines) so they’re off balance and unable to bite you and you wear them out a bit. Being off kilter takes the fight out of them.