How to approach neighbor about his kids walking big dog?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:God why are dog owners such assholes? OP, you need to get your dog into obedience school and get his shit under control and your neighbor needs to do the same. You people with dogs that you can't handle are the WORST. you have a responsibility to have a well trained, docile animal. If you can't make that happen, get rid of the dog.

Did it ever dawn on you that some of the "reactive" dogs that you see are dogs that started off calm but wound up traumatized by a scary experience with an off leash dog?

People can be so darned clueless.

Um, so fix it? When people are attacked by dogs they get cognitive behavioral therapy to overcome their fears. Take your damn dog back to obedience school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:God why are dog owners such assholes? OP, you need to get your dog into obedience school and get his shit under control and your neighbor needs to do the same. You people with dogs that you can't handle are the WORST. you have a responsibility to have a well trained, docile animal. If you can't make that happen, get rid of the dog.

Did it ever dawn on you that some of the "reactive" dogs that you see are dogs that started off calm but wound up traumatized by a scary experience with an off leash dog?

People can be so darned clueless.

Um, so fix it? When people are attacked by dogs they get cognitive behavioral therapy to overcome their fears. Take your damn dog back to obedience school.

Well...you "fix it" in large part through habituation. That simply means getting the dog used to the stimulus in a calm, patient way.

[Anonymous]

Let me start off by saying that I love dogs. All dogs.

But OP, if you have not actually seen the kids having a problem, you have no right to butt in, stir the pot, and start something based off your own speculation.

Second, if your dog is the dog that has issues around other animals, the onus is on YOU to adjust your walking schedule and whatnot so that you can avoid other dogs. They have no obligation to adjust to your dog's behavioral problems. It is YOU that has to do what it takes to prevent your dog from getting in a scuffle with another dog.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let me start off by saying that I love dogs. All dogs.

But OP, if you have not actually seen the kids having a problem, you have no right to butt in, stir the pot, and start something based off your own speculation.

Second, if your dog is the dog that has issues around other animals, the onus is on YOU to adjust your walking schedule and whatnot so that you can avoid other dogs. They have no obligation to adjust to your dog's behavioral problems. It is YOU that has to do what it takes to prevent your dog from getting in a scuffle with another dog.

If their dog is pulling on the leash so hard that it is literally dragging the kids and adults towards other strange dogs and people - the lack of control over that dog IS an issue and is absolutely the responsibility of the owner of that dog.

I do agree that if I saw a situation like this I would NOT want to walk my dog any where near those people and that animal. And my dogs are in no way aggressive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That is completely irresponsible of your neighbor, especially if they just adopted the dog and have no real knowledge of how he will react.

i would talk to the neighbor. Tell them your concerns without mentioning the words "pit bull." Just say he's a large dog and the boy doesn't seem able to control him, and you're concerned. If they are not responsive, take other action -- i.e., call animal control. I would take this very seriously.

P.S. -- I'm a dog lover who has loved pit bulls but would never in a million years get one. Why in the world people continue to adopt them when they are such button-pushers is beyond me.....

Well, speaking as someone who does adopt pit bulls - we adopt them because we like them. They're the dog we connect with, we want to give an underdog a chance, they are what's there when we go to the shelter looking for a dog, we are hoping that by us walking around with a pit people will start to see that pits are just normal dogs and they won't be such button-pushers, etc. Does that help explain it?

What exactly are you hoping will happen now, OP? You want the kids not to walk the dog alone? You want...what, exactly?

Not OP, but that would be ideal. No kid should be walking a dog they can't control no matter what the breed.

[Anonymous]

PP here, I have a reactive dog. I would adjust my schedule or at the very least stay across the street. If he comments again tell him that YOUR dog reacts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:God why are dog owners such assholes? OP, you need to get your dog into obedience school and get his shit under control and your neighbor needs to do the same. You people with dogs that you can't handle are the WORST. you have a responsibility to have a well trained, docile animal. If you can't make that happen, get rid of the dog.

Did it ever dawn on you that some of the "reactive" dogs that you see are dogs that started off calm but wound up traumatized by a scary experience with an off leash dog?

People can be so darned clueless.

Um, so fix it? When people are attacked by dogs they get cognitive behavioral therapy to overcome their fears. Take your damn dog back to obedience school.

I have a 5 year old reactive dog. I've been told by her vet and by a trainer that we will not be able to train this out of her. Partially because she's a rescue and we have no idea what started it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That is completely irresponsible of your neighbor, especially if they just adopted the dog and have no real knowledge of how he will react.

i would talk to the neighbor. Tell them your concerns without mentioning the words "pit bull." Just say he's a large dog and the boy doesn't seem able to control him, and you're concerned. If they are not responsive, take other action -- i.e., call animal control. I would take this very seriously.

P.S. -- I'm a dog lover who has loved pit bulls but would never in a million years get one. Why in the world people continue to adopt them when they are such button-pushers is beyond me.....

Well, speaking as someone who does adopt pit bulls - we adopt them because we like them. They're the dog we connect with, we want to give an underdog a chance, they are what's there when we go to the shelter looking for a dog, we are hoping that by us walking around with a pit people will start to see that pits are just normal dogs and they won't be such button-pushers, etc. Does that help explain it?

What exactly are you hoping will happen now, OP? You want the kids not to walk the dog alone? You want...what, exactly?

Not OP, but that would be ideal. No kid should be walking a dog they can't control no matter what the breed.

+1

Our dog trainer said no child under 12 should be walking a dog, which I think might be a bit much. I do think no child should be walking a dog that outweighs them unless that dog is absolutely perfect, so it will be a long time before my kids walk our 95 lb mostly-but-not-always well-behaved lab. Pits are strong dogs and can pull an adult over; a child shouldn't be walking a dog like that.

[Anonymous]

You should send him a calmly worded email which can also serve as a paper trail .

[Anonymous]

I had no particular feeling one way or another about pit bulls until I was at a Delaware beach last Thanksgiving and saw a pit bull on a leash approach a small dog (with permission from the owner) and in a flash, grab its neck in its jaws and shake it til it was mortally wounded, which took less than five seconds. The police were called while the small dog died, bleeding and peeing on its hysterical owner.

I talked to the owner of the pitbull, who was also traumatized, and said she had owned the dog for years and it had never done anything like that. She still didn't know why he would have done it. She was very upset over what had happened, but also by the knowledge that the police were surely going to now take the dog she loved and put it to sleep.

So I had no particular feeling about pit bulls before this incident, but after watching the little dog's owner cry hysterically as her bloody dog died in her arms for no good reason due to a dog that (so says the owner) had never acted violently before, I feel differently now. I would talk to the owner.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had no particular feeling one way or another about pit bulls until I was at a Delaware beach last Thanksgiving and saw a pit bull on a leash approach a small dog (with permission from the owner) and in a flash, grab its neck in its jaws and shake it til it was mortally wounded, which took less than five seconds. The police were called while the small dog died, bleeding and peeing on its hysterical owner.

I talked to the owner of the pitbull, who was also traumatized, and said she had owned the dog for years and it had never done anything like that. She still didn't know why he would have done it. She was very upset over what had happened, but also by the knowledge that the police were surely going to now take the dog she loved and put it to sleep.

So I had no particular feeling about pit bulls before this incident, but after watching the little dog's owner cry hysterically as her bloody dog died in her arms for no good reason due to a dog that (so says the owner) had never acted violently before, I feel differently now. I would talk to the owner.

Imagine if that had been a child...

[Anonymous]

Neighbor is very sensitive about breed-related slights -- for example, I walked my dog into the street to avoid his dog (which I do when encountering any dog, because my dog is a jerk) and he immediately went to the "You're wrong about pit bulls" lecture while trying to force an approach.

Normally, you could approach a neighbor. However, this could get really tense. Your neighbor actually approached and lectured you with his dog after you moved onto the street as a courtesy. SMDH.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had no particular feeling one way or another about pit bulls until I was at a Delaware beach last Thanksgiving and saw a pit bull on a leash approach a small dog (with permission from the owner) and in a flash, grab its neck in its jaws and shake it til it was mortally wounded, which took less than five seconds. The police were called while the small dog died, bleeding and peeing on its hysterical owner.

I talked to the owner of the pitbull, who was also traumatized, and said she had owned the dog for years and it had never done anything like that. She still didn't know why he would have done it. She was very upset over what had happened, but also by the knowledge that the police were surely going to now take the dog she loved and put it to sleep.

So I had no particular feeling about pit bulls before this incident, but after watching the little dog's owner cry hysterically as her bloody dog died in her arms for no good reason due to a dog that (so says the owner) had never acted violently before, I feel differently now. I would talk to the owner.

That is horrifying. I'm sorry that you had to witness that - how awful. I can't imagine having one of my precious pups mauled by an out of control dog.

How on earth did both of those owners not see that the dog was approaching to attack? That's the thing that I don't get. Was the dog at all angry/aggressive approaching the little dog? I'm assuming that the little dog's owner was also allowing her dog to approach the pit?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had no particular feeling one way or another about pit bulls until I was at a Delaware beach last Thanksgiving and saw a pit bull on a leash approach a small dog (with permission from the owner) and in a flash, grab its neck in its jaws and shake it til it was mortally wounded, which took less than five seconds. The police were called while the small dog died, bleeding and peeing on its hysterical owner.

I talked to the owner of the pitbull, who was also traumatized, and said she had owned the dog for years and it had never done anything like that. She still didn't know why he would have done it. She was very upset over what had happened, but also by the knowledge that the police were surely going to now take the dog she loved and put it to sleep.

So I had no particular feeling about pit bulls before this incident, but after watching the little dog's owner cry hysterically as her bloody dog died in her arms for no good reason due to a dog that (so says the owner) had never acted violently before, I feel differently now. I would talk to the owner.

That is horrifying. I'm sorry that you had to witness that - how awful. I can't imagine having one of my precious pups mauled by an out of control dog.

How on earth did both of those owners not see that the dog was approaching to attack? That's the thing that I don't get. Was the dog at all angry/aggressive approaching the little dog? I'm assuming that the little dog's owner was also allowing her dog to approach the pit?

Last month a pit (beloved pet) suddenly attacked and killed a newborn while the family (mom, dad and baby) were relaxing in bed. Thebpit was supposedly relaxing too.

Mom sneezed and the "gentle family pet" went from calm to killing the baby in seconds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had no particular feeling one way or another about pit bulls until I was at a Delaware beach last Thanksgiving and saw a pit bull on a leash approach a small dog (with permission from the owner) and in a flash, grab its neck in its jaws and shake it til it was mortally wounded, which took less than five seconds. The police were called while the small dog died, bleeding and peeing on its hysterical owner.

I talked to the owner of the pitbull, who was also traumatized, and said she had owned the dog for years and it had never done anything like that. She still didn't know why he would have done it. She was very upset over what had happened, but also by the knowledge that the police were surely going to now take the dog she loved and put it to sleep.

So I had no particular feeling about pit bulls before this incident, but after watching the little dog's owner cry hysterically as her bloody dog died in her arms for no good reason due to a dog that (so says the owner) had never acted violently before, I feel differently now. I would talk to the owner.

That is horrifying. I'm sorry that you had to witness that - how awful. I can't imagine having one of my precious pups mauled by an out of control dog.

How on earth did both of those owners not see that the dog was approaching to attack? That's the thing that I don't get. Was the dog at all angry/aggressive approaching the little dog? I'm assuming that the little dog's owner was also allowing her dog to approach the pit?

Last month a pit (beloved pet) suddenly attacked and killed a newborn while the family (mom, dad and baby) were relaxing in bed. Thebpit was supposedly relaxing too.

Mom sneezed and the "gentle family pet" went from calm to killing the baby in seconds.

That sounds like "cocker rage" which is a neurological problem that causes an animal to go berserk from a calm or sleepy state, often from some sudden stimulus. It sometimes occurs in other breeds as well. I don't know the incident you're referring to, but I wonder if the dog was a mix or purebred (Am Staffy, etc.).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rage_syndrome