My Dog Was Attacked By Another Dog Now He’s Scared

193 Comments

1. Thank you for your article. My dog was attacked today completely unexpectedly and no warning whatsoever. But i found comfort in rescuing this because I too was not able to get their information.

2. My 5 month corgi pup was attacked today, on Christmas Day, by an Alsatian (German Shepard) I’m now so worried about his future with other dogs 😭😭😭

3. My chiwawa lab was attacked yestetday by a huge husky ,luckliy there was no damage to my dog but he was tossed around like a rag doll so im very surprised hes not more hurt but hes so scared to even put his head out the window in the car 🙁 what can i do to make him feel safe again. He also hasnt ate

4. Hows ruby doing? my almost five month old puppy now is almost fully recovered from his attack that happened late april he was attacked by a much bigger dog he ended up with wounds on his belly and a broken leg in two spots its been a long recovery wanting to start resocialize soon. just looking to get some insight or ideas ive never had to deal with this with any dog ive had so anything helps he is a little anxious now around new people it seems.

5. My 1 yr old pug, Ruby was sitting in a baby stroller as we walked a dog friendly dining and shopping district near our home. A huge boxer mix jumped and lunged at her, grabbing her by her shoulder and neck. He ripped her out of her stroller by his mouth and was shaking her! It happened while we were waiting on a corner to cross the street. The aggressive dog was on a lead and had been sitting as we approached. No growls or barks from my dog or the attacking dog occurred. It happened out of nowhere in a second! I fought off the attacking dog and took my baby into my arms only to realize the immense damage caused in just a few seconds of contact. My baby has had her shots. The attacking dog and owner are believed to be a homeless pair that are known by shop owners as both being aggressive. I did demand the owners name and contact information and I did file a report with animal control. The man gave me a bad phone number and name but he’s known in that area by a first name and is very familiar to other locals. Hopefully they will be held accountable. I had to get my dog to the vet and treated immediately. She has many wounds and may need surgery if some don’t heal properly and drain effectively. My great concerns other than my dogs safety and healing is fear for small children, babies in strollers and other dogs. Obviously. My sweet pug will not give kisses, sleep in bed with me or even desire to be held now! She hides under the bed and in my closet. Her attack was 2 days ago. I know she’s hurting and traumatized. I want to comfort, console and be with her but I don’t want to force it. I’m sure some of this is the instinctual nature of dogs. But she’s my baby. Should her personality return when she feels better? Is this shock? What should I do? Any advice is much appreciated.

6. Hi, my 7 month old pup was attacked by 2 dogs this morning whilst we were on our morning walk.
   They had escaped a garden, as I found out after the attack.
   I’m afraid I did not remain calm at all, they were coming at my poor dog Tia from both sides and I was just screaming for help whilst trying to get to safety in a nearby garden.
   Thankfully there was no major damage to Tia but I’ll be keeping a close eye on her today as she seemed, understandably, a little in shock when we got home.
   I could see one of the dogs ahead of me, it was walking beside 2 people and I assumed it was with them. As I got closer the dog tailed off from the 2 people which is when it turned, saw Tia and just flew at her. The 2nd dog came out of nowhere and joined in the attack.
   I feel so guilty as I just wish that as soon as I could see that dog was not on a leash, whether it was with an owner or not, I should have turned and walked the other way. I will certainly be doing that from now on.

7. Nitieka, sorry to hear about your Rotti. Unfortunately my 13 mo. old male Rott was just attacked by a bull terrier. So this means that I am going to proceed with extreme caution going forward with his training. In my experience with Rottweilers it happens quite a bit. Other dogs just don’t seem to like rottweilers, and you can never really trust strange dogs. I will not get my dog fixed at this point. He is still too young. I’ve had this happen before with another Rottweiler, and for the most part that dog did recover and was good and playful with other dogs. He never did regain his distrust of yellow labs though. I just had to be extra careful with him. My next call will be with my trainer. Good luck and thank you for sharing.

8. I’m sorry to hear about your Labradoodle. We didn’t contact animal services when Stetson was attacked, but if we had to do it again we would report an incident to animal services just in case the dog has a history attacking other dogs. When we were re-socializing Stetson we started with slow introductions with dogs he knew really well. However, if you’re having issues you might look into getting a local professional dog trainer or animal behaviorist to work with you and your dog.

9. Our year old Labradoodle,Lisa, was attacked today by an off leash bull dog type dog. The dogs owner jumped on top of her dog, but he wouldn’t stop. I finally pulled Lisa out from under him. We got the owners name, phone and car license, she said she’d pay for g Amy expenses. We took Lisa to Dog Urgent Care. She seems to be alright, the vet gave us antibiotics in case of puncture wounds, pain pills and probiotics. I sent the owner a picture of the invoice, but I haven’t heard back from her. Should I contact Animal Services?
   Then we went to another park where I’ve taken Lisa before. There was an 8 year old Chow that wanted to visit. But Lisa, who has always loved other dogs, barked and barked and then shied away when the Chow stepped toward her. How do we resocialize her?

10. Thank you for the post. My 7-month old LabX, Rhea, was attacked yesterday by a neighbors large dog as my husband was leaving my parents driveway. My dog is so very submissive that she crouches to tiny dogs and will show her belly upon initial greeting. Not sure if this Rottweiler was truly “coming to play” as owner claims but their other two dogs in that house were put down for having bitten people. I am going to purchase the spray suggested. Rhea was unscathed and my husband instinctually did the actions you recommended. She had wet herself and was pretty scared when we got her inside. I am concerned with resulting anxiety with a dog that is already so submissive. Yes, she has been clingy but I am pleased to report after cleaning her up and relaxing, she shifted right back into her allotted “pack assignment” within my parents group of three tiny dogs with minimal change. She is showing extra sensitivity for acceptance to the one she deems alpha. I worry that as owner I should be doing things to improve her confidence. (Side note: Rhea could be Stetsons twin sister, the resemblance is very strong). Thanks again.

11. Yep, it sounds almost exactly like our situation. Are vet recommended no stitches since the cut was in Stetson’s tail. He said the stitches would likely break since the skin is so tight around the tail.

12. Hi Amanda, I’m sorry to hear about Buddy. Hopefully he’s doing better now that it’s been a few days. I didn’t notice Stetson being clingy and I think it probably had a lot to do with his own personality. He was always very independent and never acted clingy since he was a puppy. Stetson had a very easy going personality and we did get him to hang out with our friend’s dog who he had known for many years just to have him readjust to being around other dogs. Fortunately for us Stetson never seemed to hold any resentment towards other dogs even German Shepherds like the one that attacked him. Again, hopefully Buddy is doing better today.

13. OH! Edited to add *** Buddy had to go to the animal hospital and get stitches and the situation was very similar to yours in that we had no idea he was really hurt until we got home and he was bleeding everywhere. We never got the other lady’s information.

14. Hi Colby! This literally just happened to Buddy – our yellow lab – a few hours ago. The other dog WAS on a leash and it was a small dog, but it was one we never saw in the neighborhood before. This has never happened to us before and it was quite traumatizing. We don’t know the lady or the pup – I have a feeling she might have just got this pup because we know almost every dog in the neighborhood and they ALL know Buddy (they wait on our front lawn for Buddy to come out to play – they really do all get along except for maybe one or two).

    ANYWAY – I have noticed Buddy is EXTREMELY clingy after this incident. I don’t know how he is going to react to other dogs for the next few days, but I am already seeing the clingyness even though he is super happy, has his toy squeaking in his mouth, eating, etc.

    Did you find that Stetson was extra “clingy” after the incident and if so would love to know some ways to alleviate which might be his fear? I don’t even know because he seems happy as ever except for not leaving our sides.

    Thanks !

15. My 6yr old female golden retriever was attacked today by a boxer male. I was walking with my 3 kids and wife, our dog was off lead in the woods but when i seen the boxer coming i put mine on lead. The owner of the boxer said hes not aggressive but within seconds he jumped her back and grabbed her neck. My dog went into submissive pose on her belly but the boxer kepts attacking. I screamed at the boxers owner to lease her dog which eventually did. She also had a small collie mix who was also barking and nipping at ours. My dog didnt bark at theirs just passed by but hers went straight on attack. It shook my kids and myself as we were a couple of kilometers from car and public.

16. About two weeks ago I was going through my normal morning routine with my German Shepherd mix Oliver. I take him out and let him run a few moments and he’ll come back and let me clip his chain to his collar then I’ll feed and give him water and of food to work I go. There’s never been an issue since i moved to this neighborhood however I’ve noticed a lot of the people don’t keep their dogs inside or on chains they just let them roam. I never second guessed it til that day because none of the dogs we’re aggressive. My dog is two and has never even so much as growled or nipped at another dog even during play time, he’s always loved other dogs. That morning was normal I let him out to run and he circled the yard and was coming back to me when another dog came into the yard, I’ve seen it around a time or two it’s always seemed friendly and has even let me pet it, I don’t know the dogs name or owner. Oliver walked over to greet the other dog and when he did he was wagging his tail and prepared to sniff the other dog who rounded on him and started to attack. It’s early morning with limited visibility and I can’t tell which dog is mine so I’m calmly as I can in that situation trying to call Oliver back to me. He turned to come back and began running to which the other dog began to chase him. I had to pick up a stick in case the other dog got ahold of him again. Once oliver was back at my side the other dog turned and took off. I checked oliver over and found no injuries so I put him on his chain fed and watered him and text my neighbor to keep an eye out in case the other dog came back. Since then I haven’t let oliver out without a leash unless he’s on his chain. He’s begun to get extremely paranoid and barks aggressively at other dogs who even walk past the yard. He’s even begun barking at night if a car goes down the road. He’s become extremely paranoid about even the slightest of sounds so much so that I’m scared if i don’t get him training and socialization classes that I may have to get him put on anxiety medication or possibly even the one option no dog owner wants to consider. I knew dogs could become traumatized after being attacked but this took me by surprise. I haven’t even seen the other dog since that day.

17. My service dog and I were attacked today while my son, my service dog and I were out for a walk. I heard the clicking on the pavement behind us and knew it was the aggressive barking dog charging at us. The same one we’d just passed in a yard with a fence that had boards missing. I even said, as we passed, “God, I hope that dog isn’t anywhere that he can get out of that fence.” I honestly thought he couldn’t possibly be able to get out, given his aggressive bark. I really thought, given the disrepair of the fence that he was likely in a dog run somewhere or some other contained area and not just roaming around that yard. I couldn’t see anything as we passed and it was a wooden fence. In the gapping sections, I didn’t see a dog which led me to think he must be contained somewhere out of sight. His bark was menacing and I didn’t want anything to happen to my service dog. We passed the house and I thought all was well. Then, I heard the clicking behind us. I may never be able to get that sound out of my head. I grabbed my dog without thinking (I have lifting restrictions due to an auto accident and he is a 60+ lb dog). I started weaving and spinning while my dog clung to me as the dog lunged at me and my dog and started ripping at his backside. I looked to see mouthfuls of my dog’s hair in this beast’s mouth. This dog was dead-set on killing my dog. I screamed, “Help us! Someone help us!” My son tried to keep the dog away. The dog kept circling my legs and biting my dog. He even tried to get at the neck. I kept holding my service dog as high as I could and swinging him around to avoid the teeth. A van drove up and said for us to get my dog in the back. At some point, someone working on the farm came to leash the dog. I was terrified the entire time. My dog isn’t just my family, he and I are a team. I need him for my disability. We work as a team. Today, I gave it zero thought to risk my own life to save his. I now have injuries from having to lift my dog that need medical attention. I don’t know at this stage what my long-term injuries will be. People need to understand how important service dogs are to their people. My dog is everything to me. We’ve worked together for over 7 years including over the 2 years we trained together. I spent thousands to train him. We are invested in each other. The “owner” of this vicious dog owns an organic farm with a self help station for the general public to come on the farm and buy produce (we weren’t doing that, we were walking on the other side of the road). There is no way this farm should be in business with a vicious dog on the property and a fence with gapping holes where boards have been missing. Public safety is at issue here given what happened to us today. I took my dog to the vet and contacted animal control. I am pressing charges and pursuing every legal avenue available to stop this from happening again and to hold this idiot owner accountable. This “owner” will never truly know the damage they’ve done by their negligence (including putting their own dog at risk because it is now considered a dangerous dog). At the vet’s, my happy, well-adjusted service dog saw another dog the same type as the one who attacked us and he cowered in fear. He is now extremely tired and fairly unresponsive. He seems depressed and lethargic. I hope it doesn’t last. He is an incredible golden retriever and didn’t deserve this violent act perpetrated against him by a stupid, idiot, careless owner of a vicious dog. I am fearful of the emotional toll this attack will have as it will likely impact his ability to do the job he was trained to do. I have no idea what the long-term affects will be as it just happened this afternoon. I am terrified to go outside. I don’t know if I can go out for walks anymore. I did also order multiple cans of the citronella spray today. I know I can’t walk outside until the package arrives of the spray. But, even then, I’m not sure I can go outside. We did nothing wrong. We were walking along the road minding our own business and this psycho dog starts attacking. Are we safe anywhere?

18. My dogs were just attacked today and I’m still shaking. We have a large, grassy shared space where kids play and people walk their dogs (dogs required to be leashed). I was walking by an area of the park where there are tables and chairs and my small dog made one bark sound. All of a sudden a large German Shepherd that was sitting underneath the table (we didn’t see him/her there) started barking aggressively and charged at us and tried to attack my two small dogs. There was a leash on the dog but the two owners were not holding onto the leash or it wasn’t secured properly. When the dog charged, I had about 1-2 seconds to figure out what to do. I pulled up and held my 5-pound dogs’ leash up high to the point where she was dangling in the air (she has a harness) until I was able to grab her and hold her in my arms. At the same time, I pulled my 15-pound dogs’ leash away from the German Shepherd dragging her around me in a circle. The German Shepherd’s snout was about 2 inches away from biting the back of her. The German Shepherd did not listen to his/her owners and kept trying to bite my dog. Finally the owner was able to grab his dog. I said to him, “You need to secure your dog!” And he said, “Your dog was the aggressive one. Your dog barked.” I said, “Yes, my dog barked, but your dog charged at us barking and biting. That’s aggressive! You need to hold onto your dog.” He said, “Well, he’s really strong.” I said, “So hold him tighter.” I was shaking, terrified, upset, etc. I quickly checked my dogs to make sure there were no wounds and we walked back home across the street. Luckily, no wounds. Just shaken up.

19. Tonight my 2 year old bull mastiff was attacked by a friend’s bull dog. No fingers to point just a situation that occurred due to lack of communication between the 2 of us. No skin broken just some swelling where he clamped on a few seconds.
    My concern is my girl is a snowflake. Very gentle never bite or growl. Even during this I didn’t hear her make a sound. What do we do to make sure this isn’t a lasting impression on her? She’s super social(part time therapy dog even) – she even greeted the other dogs as we walked back to our car. How long for swelling to go down? Is there anything to do to keep her social? I just don’t want this to ruin her whole life. Is one attack enough to leave a lasting impression? Thanks!

20. Whilst walking my old English bulldog and my new puppy a woman entered the field with a staffy I called across and asked if her dog was friendly which I do with all dogs as Albert is old the woman said yes which at that point it ran at Albert and attacked him my new puppy was screeching it was horrible the woman had no control over her dog and his jaw had locked down on Albert thankfully a man rushed out and helped, I’m now having to walk them separately as I felt unable to protect Albert effectively, it’s been three weeks now and whilst Dotty doesn’t screech she will still whimper at other dogs approaching us should I be concerned or just keep with safe limited exposure?

21. My senior dog was attacked by a huge Rottweiler puppy mix in my own neighborhood. The owner gave me a sorry excuse why they didn’t feel responsible & to be honest anyone who doesn’t act concerned isn’t good energy…so my lesson is this with all the right resources even to go to small claims court, to call animal control;it’s not the worst the danger that you never know what that person might be like. If you can walk away with a vet bill consider yourself lucky

22. Our pit bull was just attacked for the 5th time today. All the attacking dogs were off leash and not controlled by their owners. My dog is afraid of any dog approaching him now, especially from behind. It’s unfortunate because he’s always looking for a play buddy. We have to constantly be careful introducing him to new dogs, and any dog that barks at him makes him tuck tail and run. He only likes small, non-aggressive dogs now.

23. I just got back from a walk with my 7 month old Staffordshire bull terrier bitch,She’s a calm and loving dog and well socialized, A boxer attacked her for no reason and I stepped in before she got hurt,I was so full of rage that my dog had a negative experience and now I’m scared that it will change her personality, I told the owner that I would have killed his dog if it continued, I felt I let my pup down because I couldn’t stop the attack, I feel I should take her out for a walk tonight with dogs she knows in order to boost her confidence that it was a one off,what do you think

24. We were at the dog park with our 7 month old pup and a guy brought his German Shepherd in the park and without provocation he attacked my girl. He went after her face but my husband grabbed her in time and he got her back leg. When I saw the blood I flipped out and picked her up and took off running. She needed surgery and it’s been a month and she is healed for the most part. Yesterday was the first day she has been out since the attack and I was so panicked when another dog came up to her. She is a social butterfly and I hope she doesn’t have a fear of other dogs now as that would be devastating. I have major guilt for not getting the owners info, not because it cost a good penny for her surgery and after care, but mostly because I wanted to report the owner and the dog to animal control. I am so thankful he didn’t do more damage to her and when I let my mind wander it upsets me more because he could have very easily killed her and seriously injured myself or anyone else in there. Hope your baby is healed up and thanks for the article and tips.

25. I’m sorry to hear about your dog. It sounds very similar to when Stetson got attacked. I feel fairly lucky it wasn’t worse. our reaction was the same and we really just wanted to get out of there and to safety. Hopefully your dog is doing better now.

26. Similar scenario for me last week. German shepherd off the lead came round a blind corner. The owner wasn’t calling him back though.

    It happened so quickly. No warning sign, nothing. The German shepherd saw my small dog and instantly went for him from behind.

    I pulled the dog off him and it bit me on the hand. My dog was hurt and bleeding.

    The owner saw the attack, turned around and carried on walking after. I wanted to get out of there as quick as possible so I didn’t confront the owner.

    Due to the nature of the attack, I don’t trust any dog at all now. It was just how sudden it was with no warning signs. I don’t want dog around my dog ever again after what happened.

27. I’m sorry to hear about your service dog. You should consult with a dog trainer/behaviorist to work with you and your dog to work with him on his fear of pitbulls. Again I’m sorry to hear this and I hope your service dog can overcome his fears and start working in public again.

28. I was fortunate that the bite on Stetson’s tail was fine and he didn’t have issue taking his antibiotic. If this were my dog I’d probably try doing something to distract him when cleaning and applying antibiotic maybe with a treat or his favorite toy? Every dog is going to be different so it’s difficult to tell what will work best. Hopefully by now your dog is doing better with you after his recent attack.

29. Hi my Service dog got attacked 4 different times by 4 different pitbulls… now he’s scared and becomes overly protective whenever he sees another dog that has pitbull in it or fully pitbull… I hate to take him out of the public cause he’s my life line. What can you suggest please help ty…

30. My dog was aattacked by another dog while i was holding him now he acts like hes scared of me he was bitten on his tail and im doing the nessasary steps to keep it clean and put antobiotic. Cream on it but he acts like im the one who hurt him what can i do?

31. If this were my puppy I’d take him to the vet immediately.

32. My 8 week old puppy was just attacked by our 5 year old Aussie. The puppy has been on my lap ever since it happened. His respiration’s are rapid he is sleepy. No obvious signs of trauma except scratch on 1 ear. I don’t know if I should take him to the vets or just keep holding him. The one time he got down he walked sideways. When he gets in a derp sleep he will wake up quick crying like he just had a nightmare. I have felt him all over please advise.

33. My little Pomeranian was attacked by a boxer x Staffy. My dog lassie was on her lead waiting to get in the car and the boxer x staffy came out of nowhere (off lead) and grabbed hold of her neck and started shaking her! It took 7 of us to get the dog off her. We were punching it kicking it and eventually I’m not sure why but it let go. Lassie has 5 puncture wounds round her neck bloodshot eyes and sprained ankle. I rushed her straight to the vets. The vet said if she wasn’t so fluffy she would have sided! It was the worse day ever and I’m still petrified of letting her near big dogs 🙁

34. My dog was attacked earlier. My dog is a rednose pitbull and gets stereotyped for being one. But he is a lover and not a fighter. This dog was 3 times his size and had Chico’s head in his mouth. He even had Chico upside down. When it finally broke up we brought Chico in. He was bloody and had wounds. The end of his ear was dangling and bloody, he had a deep bite mark on his neck and small wounds all over. I immediately called the vet and told them what happened. We took him in. They stitched up his ear, neck and shoulder. Gave us antiobiotics and pain meds for him. It was so traumatic and scary! We pray he heals fast and remains our loving Chico. Despite being a pitbull Chico wasn’t the aggressor. He was in our front yard, the other dog came at Chico. And Chico was trying to defend himself. We got the information of the owner of the dog. We are hesitant to call animal control but we will. What if that dog gets loose and attacks someone else’s dog? It was so scary and now poor Chico has wounds on him and I am sure is reliving that traumatic event. It all happened so fast!

35. I’m sorry to hear about your dog. I hope she’s doing better and makes a full recovery. Our thoughts are with you.

36. Day after Thanksgiving my husband was walking our dachshunds when the same dog that attacked our dog 2 months ago came after 1 of them this dog came charging out of this backyard so fast my husband was only able to pick up the senior Doxie the younger 1 got the whole side of her skin ripped it was just hanging down like someone had just skinned a dog alive it was the most horrible thing I’ve ever seen. So far she’s going to live but where not out of danger yet Vet said she might need more surgery 😢 I called animal control today since it was the day after Thanksgiving and they weren’t open until Monday I’m hoping I did the right thing I hate to see any dog be put down but since this is the second time this dog has attacked my dog I would hate for any other dog to get killed was a sad Thanksgiving weekend.

37. This has just happened to my dog same breed of dog the other dog has taken a chunk out of my dogs ears and Is scared and still bleeding I took to vets and will cost me an estimate of over £900 my partner will as walking our dog I got the phone Call and when I arrived 20 mins after the call the dog owner was standing there laughing and pointing and my dog with her three children I was more concerned about my dog then her and when I got out my car to approach her as my partner was emotional and trying to sort my injured dog she laughed loudly and walked off. so didn’t get details.

38. I do feel for all the dogs. I myself have a Maltese who was socialised from a puppies I could take her Any were she never barked at others or if she hears a dog barking but she was sat on my lap when the owner of a York is sat next to me hypo the dog suddenly attacked mine at the kneck since then she goes for most dogs on our walk not to bite.

39. I live in an apartment, with my Keeshound/Border Collie named Buddy. He has been attacked 5 times in 5 months, by the same dog. For some reason, this other dog, a large Poodle, has it in for Buddy. Buddy used to be such a sweet dog. He has become a bully to other dogs now, lunging, growling and sniping at them. I am heart broken.

40. My dog wasn’t attacked, I don’t think. Everything happened so fast…But my brother and sister were taking my dog for a walk. It was normal until two big German shepherds came from across the street and chased my dog. My brother and sister were trying to help while I sat there frozen like an idiot. Now my dog holds up her leg all the time. It hurts me to see my dog like this. She’s 5 years old and is a black mouth cur. The worst part is I was recording everything, But it was yesterday night so you can’t see anything, All you can hear is me and my sister talking, Then you hear my dogs cries.

41. My dog was attacked on Sunday the 16th September 2018 I have a staffie and have had him since he was a puppy he is now 5 I have never shouted or smacked him even when he does something he shouldn’t a dog ran up the street we were on and ran between two cars which caught us by surprise I managed to get my dog on the bonnet of a car but the aggressive dog had bit him on his back leg the owner of the dog ran and got his dog said so sorry and ran off my dog is on antibiotics off the vet which cost me £76 altogether with a 2 minute check but my dog is so scared now and I am nervous about taking him out can someone please suggest some ideas to help me and my best mate (patch) out thanks

42. So sad to read all of these stories. I just rescued a stray dog 3 days ago (a Whoodle) and he was attacked by a pit bull 5x his size during our walk. Now he pees and poops all over the house. We are both traumatized. I had never witnessed anything like that before. I thought my poor sweet little pup was dead. The pit bull was escaped from his house and just attacked my dog. It took 5 of us to get that Pitt off my whoodle. Luckily his hair was still so thick and matted from being homeless that he only got one puncture wound. Myself and my neighbor was bit during the whole ordeal. Now both myself and my pup have anxiety about going outside for walks. He has horrible bruising all the way down his back and the front of his neck down to his front legs. The vet prescribed something for pain and anxiety and also gave him antibiotics. I’m supposed to put warm compresses 3x daily but he won’t let me near his wound. He’s a little nippy now because he’s in pain. This poor little guy has been through so much. He survived the streets and almost got killed by a pit. I didn’t report the incident because in Florida they would have killed my neighbors dog and I don’t have the heart to see that happen either. I don’t know what to do now or how to get my little guy to go back outside without fear. Any advise would be much appreciated.

43. So sad to hear that your dog was being attacked. Attacks like this will really give trauma to our dogs.

44. My dog was attacked by another dog a few months ago as we were leaving the dog park. The owner automatically assumed that my dog had attacked his dog. I assume this is because my dog is a Staffordshire tierrer. The owner pulled out his gun in front of my 2 young children and threatened to kill my dog. I begged him to allow me to get my children out of there and ran with my children to the car and locked them in there. During this time the owner was beating my dog on his head with his gun. When I got back from locking my children in the car I grabbed my dogs collar trying to break up the fight and fell on the ground right by the dogs mouths. This is when I realized that his dog was attacking my dog. When his dog finally let go my dog ran to the exit of the dog park. My dog was bitten several times on his head while this other dog was found to have no bites. I called the police to file a report and they came to the scene but they never did anything about the situation. They never even sent me the paperwork they told me they would to get paid back for my dogs vet bills. It was really sad and defeating. My dog now seems to be scared of other dogs. I just recently realized that I am too, so hopefully he feels scared because he realizes I do. I’m going to try your advice of being calm in the presence of other dogs. Thank you.

45. My dog was recently attacked by a dog in my neighborhood who had jumped her fence for the fence again. This dog is aggressive, she came charging down the street at me and my puppy and grabbed my dog by the neck. I screamed so loud and high pitched she dropped her and then my neighbors came out and the dog ran back to his house. I was terrified when it happened. I did call the police and they recommend calling animal control which I did. They issued the owner a citation and we now have a court date. This problem I am having now is that she does not want to go for walks in my neighborhood and reverted to going out on my deck in the back. I had trained her as a puppy to use the grass mat and I had broken her of that all together and now she has reverted back. No problem with other dogs, just walking in my neighborhood.

46. It could have been worse if they got off their leash and just run off to somewhere. There would be a great possibility of losing your pet.

47. Not all pitties are aggressive. I had two cat s and knew nothing about pitties when there was a sweet one year old about to be killed bc she was out of time., despite having a perfect grade on her temperament test and she is like a mother to my cats and plays gently with the neighbor’s chihuahua….( I was of course extremely cautious on very sow and cautious introduction in steps over 6 weeks time) .the blame belongs to the owners who do not properly socialize their dogs or those who do not ensure their dogs who may have prey drive or behavioral issues are always on lead…it’s not as if dogs let themselve soff of leads , it’s the negligent owners. Sorry about your dog. My pittie was bitten in her hind foot by a jack russell who got out of control at play and she did not react, and a cat whose yard we were visiting on lead tried to attack her face (not the cat’s fault, she was being territorial of her space) and my girl did not harm the cat. So each dog is an individual, please do not blame an entire group for the negligence of their owners, many sweet pitties who would never harm are killed in shelters bc of the actions of other dogs. I later adopted a large male pittie four years later who was also out of time at a shelter for having alopecia but a gentle temperament and he is now a service dog who visits nursing homes, It’s not the breed it’s how they are socialized and whether they have responsible owners. There is an FB page showing their bond, ‘Boo and Mollie, A Cat and Pitbull Love Story’

48. My dog was attacked yesterday morning. He is an 8 month old Cavapoo (Cavalier/poodle). It was terrifying. He was going #2 in the grass and this girl walking a huge dog was about a half a block away. My puppy was doing his business and the dog pulled from the owner and she dropped the leash and lunges and picked him up in his mouth. I pulled my pups leash all the way in the air above my head literally choking him by the collar but it was just a reflex to be able to get him away. Finally I pulled him into my arms and the dog but my hand while I was holding mine. I just wanted to make sure his organs were protected. She finally grabbed her dog. Mine was screaming in pain and trauma and he came home from the vet yesterday evening. He had a puncture wound and the vet is shocked it wasn’t worse. I suppose my reflexes were on point. I feel bad reporting it but when I think about how even one mor second and he would have been dead. Or, during the attack that the dog didn’t do more damage yet then I don’t feel bad. Found out they just adopted him recently.

49. Yesterday my son was walking our 3 year old Husky, Diesel. Two boxers escaped from their backyard and attacked Diesel. My son got between Diesel and the two dogs. At that point Diesel started to bark at them because he was trying to protect my son. The owner ran across the street to get her two boxers. At that point my son turned to come home, trying to get distance between the other dogs and Diesel. When he got home and told me what happened, I started to check Diesel and found bleeding wounds. We then went to the neighbor’s house. She said the dogs had their shots but when I asked for the rabies tag numbers she didn’t know where they were. When I asked who their vet was to make sure they were up to date on their shots she told me that her husband handles those things. So, I told her that her husband had to come with proof of their shots being up to date and that they would have to pay for for Diesel’s vet bills. I took Diesel to the vet and she found 4 places where he had been bitten and they broke the skin. She gave us antibiotics and pain medication and told us to watch those areas for swelling. The husband did come over and apologize and said he would go to their vet to get proof of their shots. He did say they had problems with the male boxer before. My son told him it was both of them that ran across the street and attacked. I told him that they needed to hire a trainer come to the house and work with them and the dogs. Diesel seems to be ok but we haven’t walked him in that direction. We actually use a shopping bag with doggie bags, shovel and water when we walk Diesel. I probably would have tried to put that between them as well as myself. I would have yelled at them to stop and go home. Don’t know if that would have worked.

50. Well it has been over a year and half now since we lost Jada. You never forget the event but time does help overall. My wife on occasion still cries. I wake up once a month or so from nightmares envisioning what my wife and dog went thru, guilt for not being there to help, and what I would have / could have done. We have not been able to walk past the house where the attack occurred. I often wish we had another dog but we have not been able to do so yet.

    We have been able to walk my daughters dog now when she comes home for visits but walks are made with much more caution.

51. I have been through a very similar situation. My dog survived. Which obviously is great but I am now scared to walk her. I am about to start some CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) and I am trying to build things up slowly. Currently I am walking down the street on my own. I am hoping in the future I can walk my dog in peace and enjoy the walk. I hope with all hope that the CBT works for me. Your wife should try and seek mental health support in my opinion, I have done a bit of research and I believe I have PTSD from my incident, your wife may also.

52. I am so sorry to hear these stories. My 12 pound Havanese was attacked yesterday without provocation on my own property. My dog was leashed and out of nowhere a large huskey mix came charging at him. My friendly little dog did not expect this aggresive behavior and was caught off guard. The husky immediately started biting Ollie and rolling him on the ground. I dived in and screamed at the top of my lungs. The owner arrived and pulled his dog off. It turns out that the dog was a rescue dog and he had only had it for 2 days. He did not explain why the dog was loose. Ollie received puncture wounds and went into shock. We took him to the vet who treated him and gave us antibiotics and pain medicine. He was paralyzed with fear. It was heartbreaking to see. Took him back to the vet today because he was having episodes of collapsing with tremor. We were afraid how he would react to the other dogs in the waiting room but he showed interest in them and wagged his tail a bit. He is now eating and and much more active so I am optimistic about his recovery.
    It is truly terrifying to go thru this experience. I had to be treated in the ER for puncture wounds and a fractured hand. We made a police report and dog control and dept. of health are being contacted. The owner was very apologetic and offered to pay all medical bills. I told him I wanted the dog GONE!

53. My yorkie was attacked by a husky and now that he’s home my baby only wants to sleep and barely eat and drink. Have things gotten better with you guys? I miss my happy baby 🙁

54. Same situation happened to me my dog was shook and luckily my bills were half of that and had to stay in the hospital for 2 days. How is your dogs behavior now? Does he act sad and doesn’t want to eat? That seems to be my issue now and hate seeing my baby like this -thanks

55. Hi. Just now reading this old post, and all the comments, but need a place to share what happened to me this afternoon.

    I was walking my 13lb dachshund mix in our neighborhood, when a white SUV pulled into a driveway in front of us. I saw through the opened window that there were two large dogs (from afar they looked like pit mixes) in the back seat. I got a really bad feeling in my stomach and tried to cross the street with my dog, but saw a car speeding towards us. When I stepped back onto the sidewalk and turned my head, I saw the two dogs charging at us full speed.

    My dog tried to run into the street, where the car was still approaching, but luckily I was holding the leash tight enough. In literally a heartbeat, I picked her up and held her OVER MY HEAD, while the dogs snarled and nipped at her legs and jumped on me to try to get her.

    This all happened in a split second! Yet I had so many thoughts- “should I yank this dog’s eye out? Should I kick it?” I didn’t know what to do. Finally the owners (a young man and a young woman who looked like stereotypical tough guys) came over and I screamed “GET CONTROL OF YOUR EFFING DOG!” And he was like “all right all right… it’s fine. No big deal.” Meanwhile, my dog is above my head shaking and yelping. Seriously, such horrible, irresponsible dog ownership. I’m still shaken from it and my adrenaline is still pumping… I’m buying a few precautionary tools to defend myself and my dog, knowing that there are dogs and dog owners like that in my neighborhood.

    Right now I’m thanking GOD that I had the wherewithal to do what I did. My sweet girl could’ve been smashed by a car or torn to shreds by 2 dogs at least 5 times her size. Awful.

    Glad to hear your baby turned out fine! Next time I will be more prepared, just like you will be.

56. Hi. I read your post about your dog. 🙁 i have also experienced the dog attack. just this morning for me, i went to the dog park with my golden retriever. The park looked empty, so i let ourselves in and settled in. I sat down on a bench near a tree and few seconds later I hear a scream from a guy and see a pitbull running towards us and he went straight for my golden and bit him. The owner ran to us as fast as he could and tried to get his dog off my dog by hitting the pitbull on the head.the pitbull held on to my dog for a good few 30 seconds or less but if felt like an eternity. I could only watch and scream, horrified cause my dog was on his back and screaming bloody murder. He had two punctures on his neck and a puncture on his left ear. Thankfully the wounds were not fatal and we had him shaved and sutured. The owner of the pitbull did follow me to the vet and played for the bill. I also got his number in case further medications, etc. are needed. The incident really terrified me. I thought my dog was going to die right there cause the pitbull wasn’t letting go. The owner explained that his pitbull was in behavioral training and he didn’t see that I was in the park,( i guess the tree was blocking me from his sights) otherwise he wouldn’t have let loose his dog. I’ve learned my lesson and im never going back to a dog park and going to take a walking stick with me on my future walks.

57. My 6month old female morkie was attacked yesterday by an older dog that was eating a treat and felt the need to guard his food. Now she is extremely depressed, lethargic, and acts afraid. A through checkup has revealed no injuries. …what should I do?

58. Hi!
    I just found your page looking around for advice…we own a poodle who is very passive and around 12 years old. I brought him for a walk today and as I waited for him sniffing at a tree, two women – who I know – came jogging around the bend towards us, with a Belgian Shepard dog running free between them. As they saw us, they loudly said to their dog “Now Charlie, be a good boy!”. Charlie literally simply changed direction and continued running and pouncing on our dog without warning, who was now lying flat on his stomach, with the Belgian Shepard pulling at the skin on his back. Our dog screeched and clawed away from under him, but as soon as he got free the Shepard jumped on him again. This time he showed his teeth and barked in a very high pitch to get away, so the Belgian Shepard let go and our dog ran towards me. At this stage his back legs gave way and he was lying on the ground between my legs. The two women had stood beside this scene not doing anything to stop their dog, and as soon as our dog ran towards me they turned, laughed, shouted “sorry about that!” and continued to run. I called after them to hang on, but they never turned around.
    When our dog had calmed down, we returned home and I realised that he had 2 small bite wounds on his back, and we are going to have to bring him to the vet. We live in Ireland, and there is no proper procedure in place to report an attack like this, but I am going to phone the dog pound and report the dog to the police. Even after this happened they did not put their dog on a lead, leave alone muzzle him. I strongly believe that these people have to be reported – their dog is like a weapon and I am certain that this will not be his last attack.

59. I used to work in a dog kennel that was a doggy day care that had large pack of 20-50 dogs out at one time. We had a lot of techniques to prevent fights, but they still broke out from time to time.

    One of the things I thought it might be helpful to add to this conversation is how to safely (well, less risk anyway) split dogs up if they are fighting. It is important to keep calm, as Colby already pointed out. That is hard to do, but adding tension usually can only make things worse.

    Rather than mess around with the front end of the dogs, take a leash and run it around the dog’s belly, then run the connection end through the handle and tighten down so you have some leverage. This will catch around the rear hips and you can pull the dogs apart in this way. Another option is to grab the back feet to pull them apart.

    Of course, pulling dogs apart is always dangerous under any circumstances, but this is the most effective and safe way. What the author posted is a great first move. Try to prevent the fight by getting between the dogs, but that is only going to work for a stall tactic usually. But if it is too late, try to get some help to use the rear method to get them apart without getting bitten.

60. I was lucky I was out walking Stetson because once he realized the other dog wasn’t friendly he just wanted to go home. Linus on the other hand would have fought back and Linus is quite a bit smaller than the Shepherd was. Your smart to bring all of those things to protect your dogs. I actually need to start doing the same because not only do we come across the occasional stray dog we sometime see coyotes anytime between dusk and dawn.

61. Sorry to hear about Remy. Hopefully he’s doing okay today. Linus can be a bully in our house so we always keep an eye on him when he’s around the puppies. He doesn’t hurt the puppies, but he can sometimes scare them. Archer figured out that Linus was all bark no bite and would cower when Linus growled then jump right back at him as soon as he turned his back.

62. I am so, so sorry for your loss. How terrible. I just commented a little further below – you’re exactly right, you need to have something on you in order to be able to defend yourself and your dog on a walk. For me that’s a storm whistle and a clip-on pepper spray.

63. OMG, I’m so sorry this happened to you and Stetson. I’m sure your calm energy helped him get over that experience so quickly. I’ve written about similar scenarios before as well – ever since moving to rural NC, I’ve encountered countless off leash dogs, some more friendly than others.

    I never go on a dog walk without my storm whistle and at least my clip-on pepper spray (I also equipped my new dog walking IC Kelsey with a whistle and a pepper spray, you just never know). I’ve used the storm whistle many, many times to successfully distract an approaching dog and stop them in their tracks.

    I haven’t yet had to use the pepper spray, but I have no doubt that a dog who’s ready to attack wouldn’t be stopped by a whistle, and in that case I’d pepper spray the crap out of them. I also purchased a flash light/taser combo – it’s legal to carry it with you here in NC as long as it’s not concealed. I don’t always carry it around with me although I probably should. I do have it on me at nighttime, but of course a dog attack can happen whenever.

64. Remy was attacked about 2 weeks ago by a relative’s dog. We were backpacking with the two dogs and the other is known to be a bit of a bully so I should’ve been more proactive. I thought he was more talk than bite. They were both off leash at our remote camping sight and it was dark. I’m not really sure what the trigger was but all the sudden they were tumbling and Remy was squealing and trying to get away. He ended up with a nasty bite on the ear but other than that OK, just scared. He still liked the other dog the next day but acted more timid, understandably. We watched them closer after that and they were OK. It thankfully didn’t seem to faze Remy too much.

65. When such things happen, usually the parents will be to blame. I figured perhaps we should not generalize too much. Some dogs can be really unpredictable.

66. I’m glad Remy hasn’t had any dog attack incidents. It’s scary when a large dog charges you from a distance. Since Stetson’s attack I’m glad he’s remained the same ole loveable guy. By the way, one interesting thing that came to mind after this incident is Stetson’s behavior anytime something is wrong. He either gets very mopey or very antsy when he’s not feeling right.

67. Thanks Victoria. Luckily Stetson is doing well and it hasn’t really phased him. I’m just lucky I wasn’t out with Linus as he is a much more sensitive dog and I have a feeling it would have made him much more weary of other dogs. Hopefully Oscar is doing better today.

68. Thankfully even though Remy has been lunged at and jumped on by a few dogs who have gotten away from their owners, he has not been hurt and doesn’t seem fazed. Unfortunately because he is so high energy, sometimes other dogs do not appreciate him in passing. Thankfully, he has not been truly attacked. The other dogs seemed to be showing their disapproval of him in an extreme way. Had they wanted to harm him, I think they would’ve.

69. It is so sad,
    my son’s dog Oscar was bitten by the aggressive dog and his personality changed.
    I hope your pooch is better today?

70. I’m so sorry to hear about your dog. Unfortunately I don’t have too much advice on how to treat your dog. When Stetson was bitten we were lucky it was only on the tail and he was prescribed an ointment as well. When we’ve been concerned about health related issues with our dogs we often call our regular vet, our emergency vet, or both for advice. They are usually very good about letting us know what we can do to help our dogs. I hope your Boxer is feeling better today.

71. Today was my first encounter with dog attacked. Never in my 20 years have I ever experienced such horrible altercation. I have a sweet playful 8 month old Boxer who I try to take to the dog park as much as I can but after what happened today I’m afraid he might be traumatized. Having my boxer leash-less is a norm for me being a dog park. I’ve had several encounters where a dog doesn’t seem to get along with my 8 month old but it’s never been that serious. It breaks my heart remembering the bulldog terrier have his teeth sunk in to my dogs skin. My initial reaction was “oh my god that dog has his teeth all over my dogs eye”..as helpless as I felt I was trying to get that dog off my boxer but for those few minutes felt like an internity. Hearing my poor boy crying and screaming for his life was the WORST thing in my life. Even during the altercation seeing blood coming out my dogs face made everything so much worse! I honestly thought that the other dog wasn’t going to let go into he seriously injured my dog. Even during everything I was holding on to my boy trying to stay calm as I could and some what sooth him(even though not really possible when he’s being under attack).After the other dog let my dog go a slight of relief came to me when I seen my boxers eye was okay but on the side of it I could see the puncture. After taking my dog to the vet, I wasn’t quite satisfied with what the doctor perscribed my boxer. Because this was my first time I didn’t know what to ask while at the emergency room. So after reading multiple articles I wish I would of asked more questions. But if anyone had this altercation before any tips or suggestions would be great. My boxer currently is a bit swollen from the puncture the other dog gave him but I’m wondering if there’s anything else I can do besides the ointment?

72. My ten-year-old 18# loving MinPin was viscously attacked by a neighbor’s live-in caretaker’s Pit Bull two days ago. The dog has stitches on her neck and a drain & more stitches on her leg. The dog, as well as our family, are traumatized by this attack. The physical wounds may heal in time if there are no complications but the fear may take some time. The dog is on meds and only sleeps. Very little food or water is consumed and only by licking it off my fingers. I live in a senior mobile home park where large, aggressive dogs are not permitted. Specifically Pit Bulls. The owner of the dog now has moved in with the dog to temporarily live with the 100-year-old care receiver. I am concerned for anyone or anything near the dog. I am so sorry for anyone dealing with this type of experience.

73. I am so sorry on your loss. It is now over two months and we still on occasion cry. Coming into our home with no more Jada was a real hard one for us. We sought out a therapist to help us get thru this. I have to agree with the need to protect small dogs though. They can’t protect themselves from these attacks.

74. We are going thru this same tragic unleashed dog, attacks small 11 lb dog from behind. Small dog was totally chewed on her back, and a broken leg and punctured lung. The emergency vet clinic said they could put her together again, but she would live in pain,, if she even survived surgery. We had not choice but to end her life. Such a sad thing to have to go thru. This happened last Sunday pm on her evening walk coming home. Its been almost 4 total days and am still crying my eyes out. I say anyone who walks there dogs need to carry a defense item with them…..ie:golf club, baseball bat etc.

75. I’m sorry to hear about your loss. I can’t begin too imagine what you have gone through. Hopefully time helps to heal you and your wife’s trauma from this terrible incident. You are in my thoughts and prayers.

76. My wife was walking my 11 pound schnoodle who is the sweetest animal we have ever owned. She was attacked by an Akita and had seven broken ribs, contusions on her lungs and bad bleeding. After two days in the hospital, infection took her life. This dog came charging and my dog just sat down at first to say I am a good girl and mean no harm. The emotional scares will last a long time, especially for my wife who felt completely helpless. My wife now never wants to own a dog ever again as the emotional trauma this caused is beyond words. And the entire family absolutely adored this dog, as did everyone who she came in contact with. Any advice on how to deal with this trauma would be greatly appreciated.

77. You should look into bringing in an animal behaviorist and/or a certified professional dog trainer to get a better assessment of the situation and so he/she can see the interaction between the dogs first hand. You should also take your dog to see the vet to make sure she is okay physically.

78. Having your dog attacked is terrifying. I have a different situation and need advice. My sons dog, a red nose pit bull about 90 pounds stays at my house couple times a week for doggie care. I have a peek a poo about 14 1/2 pounds.these two play together, travel together through house and sleep together. Real chums.
    Neighbor dog barks constantly which GG (red nose)can usually ignore but then one bark sends GG charging to fence wanting to tear it down to get to offender( the barker). Situation is diffused and life goes on.
    Until today,dog barking, GG on deck, peek a poo in yard. My son lets GZg on to yard comes down stairs and goes right to peek a poo growling. This usually settles down when I tell them kisses only. But today GG attacks .
    Rolling and grabbing and has peek apologize in mouth. Got them separated. peek is not bleeding.but she did pee herself during attack. Post attack he is listless barely walking and sad looking.
    I don’t know what happened. These two have been friends for two years. What happened? And how do I help peek get over attack, by friend?
    Thanks

79. I’m sorry to hear about your dog. We did the same thing you did and brought Stetson to socialize with our friend’s dogs that we knew were not aggressive. I feel lucky that Stetson was able to rebound quickly after his attack. You might consider getting a certified professional dog trainer to help with your dog.

80. Hi,
    It’s a devastating thing to happen. Hope your dog recovered well. My dog was recently attacked by a Rottweiler on leash and partly muzzled. My dog was on leash as well.
    I have analysed the situation as well to try to work out how it happened and feel partly responsible as I was not paying attention to the approaching dog which must have been showing signs of aggresion. Now my usually happy friendly dog is showing some signs of interdog fear and has been causing aggression of other dogs towards her! Can anyone explain this and how I can help her? We did take her out straight away and reintroduced her to a few big dogs! Any advice most appreciated. Helen

81. Thanks for the advice. Yes, it is very important to evaluate the dog and owner as they approach. Unfortunately, for Stetson and I the charging German Shepherd didn’t really give us much choice.

82. My five months old Dogue de Bordeaux was attacked yesterday by a Labrador mix in such an unexpected way it was too late to avoid. My advice, looking back, is to evaluate the dog owner, as well as the dog approaching. All signs were there that she was not entirely in command (her two dogs were) and that the situation, apparently calm, was risky. Also, unfortunately, many adopted mixed dogs have some issues which are often not dealt properly after adoption, increasing the risk of trouble. While we may lack the ability to correctly evaluate a dog’s body language, it’s a lot easier for us human to know when we’re in front of a prick. As they say: like owner, like dog.

83. I know it’s an old post but a vet should look at any puncture wound as there are lots of things that can go wrong. I’d try calling the humane society or other rescue organization. I’m sure they would provide some level of service or referral to get the dog some medical attention. Animal control may be another resource. Even your regular vet may be willing to work something out if notified in advance. I hope your pet came through the ordeal OK.

84. While taking a walk in a public park my little 7 lb poodle was viscously attacked by a Belgian Shepherd. I started a conversation with a woman who was in a wheel chair and asked her if it was safe to approach her. She said sure and then all of a sudden her dog raced around her chair, knocking her to the ground. This lady had no legs and was hurled down the knoll she was sitting on and rolled about six feet. Her dog raced over to my dog and picked her up in it’s mouth and started shaking her. Of course my dog was screaming, I kicked her dog to try to get it to drop my dog and it did. Everything happened so fast, I was also concerned for the lady’s condition who said her dog had never acted in that way before. My husband and I rushed to the emergency vet and the dog is still in ICU and will probably be in there for a total of a week. In the stress and excitement of the incident I forgot to ask the lady for her phone number. The vet bill will be a conservative $2000. At least my dog will make it and I have learned a hard lesson to never really trust any strange dog ever again.

85. My dog was just attacked by a pitbull and we don’t have money to take her to the vet. She now seems in pain and is shaking. She has one puncture on her neck, which we cleaned with hydrogen peroxide. I’m not sure what to do now. I wonder if I should just take her to the vet and put it on my credit card.

86. Thanks for sharing your story. In my situation I saw the dog coming from probably about 30 yards out. I would have been able to use the pepper spray, but I wonder if it would have helped. I hope I never have to find out. I hope everything is okay with your dog mentally and physically.

87. Note: Sorry for the spelling error. I used my search engine and obviously picked the wrong spelling for Chihuahua.

88. I always thought I was prepared to fend off a dog attack. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but the pepper spray is not a good solution and, in my case, provided false confidence. I bought pepper spray in response to a dog attack in my neighborhood that killed a Chautauqua that lived next door to a untrained pit bull with six animal control complaints already on file. That dog was destroyed but six weeks later the neighbor right next door accidentally left the door unlatched and their full grown 40 lb “puppy” attacked my 14 lb terrier without notice or provocation. It shot out of the house, crossed the street, and attacked immediately on target. No chance to do any defensive actions as the dog hit like a targeted missile. It is a rescue dog which leads me to believe it had prior aggression training toward other dogs. I had the pepper spray in hand and ready but had no chance to even attempt to use it without risking my own dog. I confronted the owners who were very apologetic and nice people. After getting my rage out they aided me in checking over my dog which was frightened and bruised but had no visible bites. (I assume the dog hadn’t learned how to injure a victim yet, thank God.) I made them aware of their responsibility to control their animal regardless of circumstances. They said they are looking for a trainer but I have my doubts. Dog on dog attacks are considered property damage under the law so nothing will be done if I report it. A dog has to bite a human before any legal or punitive action will take place. Best to avoid areas known to have aggressive animals regardless of your own preparedness.

89. I’m doing fine – apparently, I had a tetanus shot in 2009, which was my doctor’s primary concern. I wish I would have stayed around to ask questions but all I could think about was getting my dog out of the situation, especially since their dog still was unleashed. Max seems to be doing a little better every day. He has managed to chew out his drain tube but the vet said that was okay. We follow up in 2 days. He’s “funny” about going outside now and actually pulled out of his harness (he can’t wear his collar yet because of the injury) to run back to the front door…but eventually, he is desperate enough to go potty outside…I hope and assume this will get better…thanks for your concern!

90. Thanks Colby…every day he seems to act more like himself!

91. Kristine:
    Sorry to here about what happened. I hope your dog and you are doing okay. This same thing happened to me just this year. My dog had drain tubes and stitches as well. My neighbors dog was attacked by the same dog that attacked my dog and I just seen him the other day and he is doing well after the attack. He is back to himself and plays well with other dogs. My dog is also back to his normal self after the attack. After the attack on my dog he was not himself for awhile. When you go back to your vet mention some of the concerns you have to them. I wish you the best of luck with you and your dog.

92. I’m so sorry to hear about your border collie/lab mix. Hopefully he makes a full recovery both physically and mentally. Lucky for us Stetson didn’t have any lingering effects from his attack. Hopefully the same will be true for your dog.

93. My border collie/lab mix was viciously attacked yesterday on our daily walk. One of the bite wounds on his neck was so deep, they weren’t able to stitch it yet. Instead, they had to insert a drainage tube. Now that the anesthesia has worn off, I can see that he is definitely not “himself” yet and understandably so. He is often afraid of unusual things like garbage cans and anything that moves. He has taken to pacing in circles and hiding when something startles him. Eventually, the wounds will heal but I’m worried about long-term emotional damage…

94. I’m so very sorry to hear what happened to your dog and you. I hope your dog and you are doing okay. Just like Donna mentioned, you are not alone in worrying if your dog will be attacked again. This is normal to feel this way. Just yesterday I took my dog for a walk and he too was attacked by an unleashed dog. I can tell you I feel the same way you do right now. Donna is really giving you some good advice. Also you might want to talk to your parents or another trusted adult and let them know your concerns and how you feel. Just keep your chin up and stay strong for yourself and your dog. Best of luck to you.

95. I’m so sorry to hear what happened to you. You aren’t alone in being worried about your dog getting attacked again, I am too. But I know that my guys still have to go out to do their business and get some exercise. I avoid any area where I know people aren’t responsible and let their dogs off the leash. I also carry a special whistle (I got it at LLBean) that is supposed to deter animals. I don’t know if it works but it is very loud so I figure at the very least it would attract the attention of other people who could help. Since you are only ten – is there someone who can come with you when you walk the dog? One person could hold the leash and the other could carry a stick. It isn’t convenient but I’m willing to bet it would make you feel better. Good Luck !

96. my dog was attacked by a pitbull and i am 10 and now i scard that another dog is going to attacked by another dog what should i do?

97. Thank you for sharing your story. I’m glad Dakota wasn’t severely hurt and is doing well.

98. Our 5 month old Havanese puppy was just attacked by an unleashed dog when my son and I were out walking him two days ago. We have only had him three weeks and he is just getting comfortable with a harness and leash. We were on a walking path with our puppy on his leash. A man was walking towards us on the path and as we got closer we realized he was holding a leash, but his dog was not connected to it. The man was watching the wooded area next to our side of the path. That’s when I realized he had a dog nearby. We stopped on the path and I was watching hard to see his dog, but it was well camouflaged. I couldn’t see his dog until it was about 10 feet away from us. It was the size of a German Shepard and looked like a German Shepard crossed with a boxer or something like that. It saw our dog and started walking towards us. From 4 feet away it ran at our puppy, grabbed him around the middle, picked him up off the ground and shook him. Our dog was yowling something fierce!!! It was horrible! Instantly, I yelled at the other dog and ran to rescue our puppy. The other dog let go when I got there and the owner called the dog to him and THEN he put the leash on his dog. I picked up our puppy who was whimpering, but I was able to calm him down. He wasn’t bleeding, but my son was screaming and crying. The man said he was sorry and that his dog is a nice dog. I told him that may be so, but that his dog should have been leashed. I was dumbfounded, but I did manage to think about demanding his name and number. He did write it down for me along with his address, and he said he would pay for the vet bill. When we got home, I examined Dakota (our puppy) and he appeared to be okay. His hair was everywhere, but I couldn’t tell if he was bruised or what. We called the ER vet since it was after hours, and they recommended taking him in to be examined for internal injuries. Dakota has a bruise on his back where the attack originated near the harness. We think the other dog got ahold of a ton of hair and the harness because being off the ground and shaken like that Dakot would have been badly injured had the dog really grabbed his back. It is truly a miracle he wasn’t severely injured!! Once home from the ER, I did report it to the police. After reading all these posts, I am in awe at how often things like this occur. Thank you for the postings and support!!! We just took Dakota on another walk down the same path yesterday and he was okay, but we carry a golf club with us now. We haven’t had him around other dogs yet, but I’ve been told it would be good to get him socialized again to small and large dogs so size of a dog doesn’t become an issue to Dakota. My heart aches for all of the victims in this blog!!

99. I hope your dog is feeling better. This sounds very similar to my experience with Stetson. I was so caught up and getting Stetson away and to safety I never had a chance to get information from the owner. Our vet bill was not quite as high since the Vet recommended no stitches because she said stitches in the tail would most likely not hold since the skin is so tight. Stetson had antibiotics and luckily recovered both mentally and physically after a few days.

    I hope your dog makes a full recovery as well.

100. My dog was attacked today. She was walking to heel and a large Alsation came running at high speed, ignoring his owner, bowled my dog over and then started attacking her. My husband kicked the dog away but he was intent on attacking. He went for my husband and he kicked out again and still he was intent on attacking our dog. My husband picked up our dog and held her in his arms. She was completely shaking. The owner ran up with his other dog on a lead and started apologising. His attacking dog had run off. He said the dog knew what he had done as he had run off. My husband carried our dog back to the car and wasn’t until he got her home that he realised that the attacking dog her ripped her front let. He took her straight to the vets where she was anesthatised and had to be stitched – at a cost of £643.00. We have vet insurance but it’s not the point. The vet said our dog was lucky to only have the injuries she had. The owner should pay but we were so intent on getting her away from anymore harm and at that point didn’t know she was physically injured. She is in her basket, very drowsy and frightened.

101. I’d take your dog to the vet because he may have internal injuries, brain, spinal cord, that are affecting his odd behavior. Best of luck to you Gizzy.

102. My Gizzy was recently attacked by a crazy pit bull when we were walking by. Although he is okay physically he is not acting well mentally. He seems depresed and doesn’t want to move much. He sits in the yard and stares and when I call him back inside he doesn’t want to come in. I don’t know what to do with my baby. I feel so sad for him. Do I take him walking again? I am clueless. He was such a happy sweet silly animal. He doesn’t even want to play with his sister dog. Please help…..

103. Dear Rick

     I had a similar experience when my American Bulldog was attacked by a Rottwieler. Everything was rosy in the garden then out of the blue, WHAMMO.

     My dog was behaving in a similar way to yours and i was really worried about him. Like you, i noticed he was very shy all of a sudden and very distant. I am pleased to say he is back to his normal self now and i would like to share how i achieved that with you.

     First of all i just hugged him endlessly. I spoilt him to death. I coupled this with walks in secluded woodland areas where i could let him off the leash and he could concentrate on just having a good sniff.

     When i got him home i would take him into a room, set out some treats and then sit, facing into the corner of the room so i had my back to him. Once he had finished off his treats he would walk over slowly and i would sit motionless until he became comfortable with me being there. As his confidence started to grow he would come and be playful as soon as the treats were finished. This is when i started taking him out to more socialable surroundings with other dogs.

     He was tentative at first but with plenty of reassurance he got his confidence back. I then took him into the city for a few hours and walked him in a very busy environment, he was quite jumpy to start with but he soon got used to all the people, since doing that he became much more calm in quiter surroundings. Doing this got me my dog back. It didn’t happen over night, it took about 4 months all in all.

     Hopefully some of these tips help your dog.

     Best of luck.

     Chris.

104. Hi Rick,

     I’m so sorry to hear about your dog getting attacked. When Stetson was attacked he did the exact same thing. He was eagerly awaiting to play with the Shepherd that was charging at him. However, as soon as the German Shepherd bit him he ran the other way. Lucky for me Stetson is a 70 pound Labrador Retriever and was able to fully recover physically and mentally. You might try having a professional dog trainer or pet behaviorist come to the house to work with you and your dog. I don’t know too much about pets and trauma, but hopefully your little Maltese can snap out of it and go back to his regular behavior. I’m glad to hear that your Lab is doing fine.

     Take care,
     Colby

105. My maltese and chocolate lab were attacked by a pit bull. The pit bull came out of nowhere and my dogs greeted him like any other dog would but my Maltese was picked up and shock violently by the pit. I tried verbal commands but nothing happened I grabbed the pit bull by his collar but wouldn’t let go until my lab bit the pit bull and then he let go and attacked my lab. I still had the pit bull by the collar and was able to pick him up. The owner finally made it over and apologized and said he got away from him. My lab had a tear in his ear it was very bloody. The owner ran his dog home and grabbed a few bandages for my dogs. I got the bleeding under control but my Maltese doesn’t seem right anymore. We took him to the vet and he gave him some pain medication and antibiotics. When we got him home he hides from everyone and doesn’t seem to want do anything. He doesn’t come when we call just walks away. He stands up in one place for the longest time and doesn’t move it’s like he is in a trance. I know people get traumitized but how do you take care of a dog? Btw my lab seems to be doing fine just seems to have a torn ear.

106. I’m so sorry to hear about your dog. I’m glad he’s doing okay now. We bring our older guide dogs to the Pet Expo to help run our booth, but many of the pet dogs and adoptable dogs that we see are not well behaved and the owners do not keep an eye on their dogs. We tell all of our handlers to keep a close eye on their dogs, the other dogs, and the surroundings.

107. Hi Elizabeth,

     I think it would be a good idea to bring a deterrent spray when your out on your walks if you’re coming across dogs off leash. You really don’t want to experience your dog getting attacked.

     Take care,
     Colby

108. I don’t like to resort to violence ;if it can be avoided at all costs ill take the higher road. BUT….. if an uncontrollable dog attacks my dog I will shoot it. I’m tired of irresponsible people that don’t take he time to give a shit. I don’t own a gun bit in the future I do plan on becoming licensed to carry one. For now I carry a knife and a wooden stick. I have been there and done that W my dogs getting attacked! EFF THAT! ITS horrific and damaging to the Psyche.

109. We took our two dogs to a Pet Expo. My husband had our chocolate lab and I our lab mix puppy. We both filled out extensive paperwork which stated our dogs were not aggressive. I had just crossed the threshold into the event when a pit bull charged our sweet, big chicken lab. The pittie was vicious. David did his best to get between the dogs and was able to pull the very muscular pit bull off. The dumb blond woman who had already been asked to leave with her menacing dog, just stood there like the idiot that she was. We are both fortunate that my attention was on my dog, who was hemorrhaging copiously from his nose, where he was bit, otherwise, I’d be in jail for attacking the dumb blond (fake blond at that, can you tell I have no respect and contempt for her, really wear heals and try to control a muscular dog, I’ve met rocks with higher IQ’s) bimbette, I see it as her fault. Like idiots, we didn’t file a report, we were too concerned about our dog. There is also so much media about the poor maligned pitties, that I didn’t want to add to the stigma. I cupped both of my hands under my dogs chin and they were both dripping with Duke’s blood. Fortunately, he healed fine. In hind site, we should have filed a report and stuck the dumb blond with a vet bill. Maybe having to forgo the next bleach job or set of high heeled shoes would have taught even her idiot self something. That was 3-4 months ago. Last week I was walking my dogs in the park and we saw, about a 1/2 a block away, a young man with a hyper-excited pittie. I had my 2 sit and he tried and couldn’t. I asked him to walk the other way to avoid a repeat biting. Fortunately he did. He had to pick his dog up by the chest and carry him for 2 -3 blocks. I am now not so sure I buy that pitties don’t have an aggressive streak. I am sure that if you have to have one, you should know how to manage them and should go through training with them. The only reason there was not a second biting incident was my knowledge and insistence that the other owner remove his aggressive dog. Dogs off leash should never be tolerated unless in offleash areas as it’s just inviting trouble. I don’t know what the answer is and I do not wish to malign a breed. I do, however, wish to malign idiots who can not control their dogs as my dogs have paid the price. p.s. If I knew the dumb blonds name, I would malign her publically, as she was so negligent and so stupid, yet she didn’t have to pay for her poor judgment, our dog did.

110. We took our two dogs to a Pet Expo. My husband had our chocolate lab and I our lab mix puppy. We both filled out extensive paperwork which stated our dogs were not aggressive. I had just crossed the threshold into the event when a pit bull charged our sweet, big chicken lab. The pittie was vicious. David did his best to get between the dogs and was able to pull the very muscular pit bull off. The dumb blond woman who had already been asked to leave with her menacing dog, just stood there like the idiot that she was. We are both fortunate that my attention was on my dog, who was hemorrhaging copiously from his nose, where he was bit, otherwise, I’d be in jail for attacking the dumb blond (fake blond at that, can you tell I have no respect and contempt for her, really wear heals and try to control a muscular dog, I’ve met rocks with higher IQ’s) bimbette, I see it as her fault. Like idiots, we didn’t file a report, we were too concerned about our dog. There is also so much media about the poor maligned pitties, that I didn’t want to add to the stigma. I cupped both of my hands under my dogs chin and they were both dripping with Duke’s blood. Fortunately, he healed fine. In hind site, we should have filed a report and stuck the dumb blond with a vet bill. Maybe having to forgo the next bleach job or set of high heeled shoes would have taught even her idiot self something. That was 3-4 months ago. Last week I was walking my dogs in the park and we saw, about a 1/2 a block away, a young man with a hyper-excited pittie. I had my 2 sit and he tried and couldn’t. I asked him to walk the other way to avoid a repeat biting. Fortunately he did. He had to pick his dog up by the chest and carry him for 2 -3 blocks. I am now not so sure I buy that pitties don’t have an aggressive streak. I am sure that if you have to have one, you should know how to manage them and should go through training with them. The only reason there was not a second biting incident was my knowledge and insistence that the other owner remove his aggressive dog. Dogs off leash should never be tolerated unless in offleash areas as it’s just inviting trouble. I don’t know what the answer is and I do not wish to malign a breed. I do, however, wish to malign idiots who can not control their dogs as my dogs have paid the price.

111. I have often thought of taking some kind of spray with me as i am always coming across dogs off leash on my walks. Glad neither of you were severely hurt.

112. Thanks Kathy! I’m glad everything is okay with your boy. I was worried for Stetson, but he has made a full recovery physically and psychologically as well.

113. Yes, my boy has fully recovered and thankfully there’s no psychological damage, except maybe to me. I don’t normally read posts or comment but I found your story to be so similar to mine. Thank you for sharing it.

114. I’m so sorry to hear about your dog. I agree that their are many irresponsible dog owners out there. We haven’t taken our dogs to the dog park for years just for that reason. I hope your pup is fully recovered from his injuries.

115. Your episode sounds all too familiar, sadly. After my sweet puppy was attached he ended up with a 2″ facial laceration that nearly caught his eye and we had to pay the bill because the other dog owner refused to pay $425.00 (despite witnesses) . Now, I assume ALL dogs are unfriendly (especially off leash dogs) and I don’t permit casual contact with dogs we don’t know. There are just too many irresponsible owners. We don’t do dog parks! I love my baby dearly and will do everything in my power to never have him experience such trauma again. It’s my job. Now he has safe play dates with his buddy and we’re both happy. (Note: although my pup is totally playful at the time he was NOT neutered. I believe his high level of testosterone was sensed by the other dogs and provoked them to attack.)

116. Yes he is much better thankyou. Back to his regular self and seems to like dogs again :).
     Thanks for the suggestion I will look into some dog spray.

117. Hi Lorna,

     I’m sorry to hear about your border collie. I purchased a dog deterrent spray from Amazon. I have not tried it yet, but I’m hoping it will do the trick if I ever run into the same situation. I hope Kenny is doing better now.

     Take care,
     Colby

118. Wow thanks for this article I did’nt know you could report it as we called the police and no-one came, and I am glad to hear you and stestson are ok.
     A similar thing happened to my border collie, when 2 st bernards appeared from nowhere and attacked him. I have to admit I freaked out when I saw my dog disappear underneath the dogs and I started hitting and kicking them in an attempt to free my dog. That didn’t work and I spent some agonising moments screaming for help and trying to get the dogs of my dog. I found a gap and shoved the bernards off Kenny for a moment and blocked the dogs from attacking again. Thankfully a man came running and started shouting at the dogs. one ran away and the other backed off, I got Kenny to flee but the bernard tried to attack again, my dog stopped, but we caught up and i pinned the bernard against a wall while I called my grandparents for help. The man got us behind a gate whilst he held the bernard. The owner appeared and said they are not normally like this!! Kenny put up a brave fight and he came out with a few bite marks and was subdued for a few days never leaving us. This happened in August and I am now too fearful to walk him again, what could I use to try and fend dogs off?

119. to whom it may concern you should not judge that person who killed his dog it isn’t your right. Because if it happened to you you would do the same i hate american bulldogs they killed my dog and he was on a chain you are selfrightous. i thank all killer inbreed dogs should be put down.

120. Last night my husband’s setter was laying by his dog pen in our yard and was attacked by my neighbor’s rott and another dog. They literally tore him up. When we heard the yelping we went out our dog was almost unconscious from loss of blood and being in shock and the other two dogs were tearing at him like a lion eating a gazelle. It was awful. I have been eerie of the Rott for the past couple of years but haven’t had any serious problems with him before last night. The vet seems to think that our bird dog will survive, but probably won’t be able to hunt this season. My question is this. Are the odds of a future attack even greater now that the dogs know that they can defeat our dog. I am an animal lover and I realize that the Rott is their family pet, but I feel it isn’t right that I have to worry about my dogs, or my grand kids, or anyone may be attacked by the dog. I cannot get the image out of my head of them tearing at him while he lay there near death. He is full of sutures and puncture wounds that the vet can’t do anything for. Any suggestions on dealing with the neighbors and with the dog situation?

121. Hi Walter,

     Sorry about your predicament. I’m not sure about aspirin but once a vet suggested 250mg Paracetamol twice daily for one of my dogs who was in pain. But you really should get your dog to a vet as soon as possible to prevent any infections that can arise from the saliva of the other dog which carries infection causing viruses and bacteria. Hope this helps.

     Thanks
     Devon Naidoo

122. Hi Walter,

     I’m sorry to hear about your dog and your situation with hurricane Sandy. You should try contacting your vet to find out what you can give your dog. If it’s after hours try contacting an emergency vet in your area. I hope your dog is feeling better.

     Take care,
     Colby

123. We got a deterrent spray for when we’re out on walks, but luckily we haven’t had to use it.

124. My Yellow Lab (Bale) was bitten by another dog, there was little bleeding after that, but he looked fine, but today (One day later) he is in pain, looks very scared, can’t get him to the vet because Huriccane Sandy took both of my cars, car service does not work in my area cause there is no gas… What should I do? Can I give him aspirin to take the pain away? Please help…

125. My Tara was attacked again this morning during our walk by the same dog. Tara’s 11 years old Irish terrier. She’s my baby. Some dog owners are irresponsible. That’s a fact and I have to do the necessary to protect my dog. To this end I’ve purchased an electric shock stick powerful enough to stun a dog into submission. I know it’s drastc but am not willing to subject my dog to any more fear and pain.

126. Hi Jenn,

     Thank you for telling us about your experience. I’m glad you were able to work with your dog and slowly rehab him. I hope he’s doing better since his second attack.

     Take care,
     Colby

127. Hi Suzy,

     I’m sorry to hear about your dogs horrific attack. I was afraid that Stetson would have issues after he was attacked, but fortunately he had no ill affects. He was trained as a guide dog and had many great experiences with other dogs. I think that really helped in him knowing that most dogs are good. I hope yours makes a fully mental recovery.

     Take care,
     Colby

128. My small dog got attacked when he was only 1 1/2 years old. He had loved dogs and had great social skills. He became reactive after that. It was so very difficult to find help from people who knew what they were talking about. I got some harmful advice not knowing where to turn. Finally I found Emma Parson’s book on reactive dogs and slowly worked to rehab my dog with clicker training. For many years now he’s enjoyed play groups. He’s 10 years old and still loves playing with other dogs. Unfortunately this play group – which is run by magseydog.com – had an agressive big dog – attacked my dog. Luckily he’s alive. No more play groups for him. This playgroup apparently had a previous incident and a small dog was killed. I thought this aggressive dog was removed from the playgroup, but I sadly found out not. It’s very difficult to find others with small dogs for regular walks and keep my dog’s social skills up. Anyways – if you have a dog that got attacked and is stressed out, if there is a reactive dog class near you area this can help. Positive clicker training can help give positive associations with the outside world.

129. to all owners who have surviving dogs of vicious attacks:
     how has the attack affected your dog? My dog survived a horrific attack she is fully recovered now but it seems like dogs can sense fear in her now and all dogs, even small dogs seem to want to attack her!

130. I’m glad to hear your dog is doing well. We have coyotes in our area too and you can tell they aren’t really fearful of us. Hopefully you’ll never have to use your horn and I will never have to use my deterrent spray.

131. My guy is well on his way to a full recovery. The neighbor who’s dog attacked mine (and has taken full responsibility for what happened) stopped in to see my dog today and give me a special horn that is supposed to work on attacking animals. May I never need it but in my area we also have to contend with the wildlife like coyotes (my neighbor saw one in the middle of the street a few days ago).

132. Ramon,

     I’m sooooo happy to hear your dog is on the mend. My little guy is doing well also and I’m amazed at how resilient they can be.
     The post office has a variety of proof of delivery methods that don’t require a signature – I would definitely send the letter again. I’m willing to bet that, as long as you make a reasonable effort to get the letter to them, no judge will hold it against you.
     I’m blessed that the neighbor who’s dog attacked mine has taken full responsibility for what happened. She even stopped by this morning to see how he was doing and to give me a special horn that can be used to deter attacking animals (it’s capable of 120db and can be heard for a mile). I wear it like a whistle on a string around my neck. May I never need to use it.

     Best of luck to you,
     Donna

133. Hello Donna!

     Thnak you for your concern and support. my dog is doing good, it is amazing how fast animals can heal; mon and I have taken very good care of her. We are also a lot more careful when we take her for walks around the neighborhood, if we see a dog approching even if the dog is leashed we just switch paths to avoid any problems since she is stealing healing.
     I also made contact with the attacking dog owner and she was rude and nasty and demanded that I would send her copies of vets bills and pictures; I did send her copies and put all the pictures on a cd plus the case number and contact information for animal contro. Even though I sent it by registered mail, I have not yet received confirmation that she got the envelope. I did made sure and looked her up on the white pages to make sure I had the right address, but I guess she is probably going to denied ever receiving anything since she did not sign to receive the documents.
     So still in the batte, I will send her another package via express mail, and I do have proof of sending the documents, which I can show in court, and I am afraid judging for her reaction and lack of responsability will have to be my next step. I did do a bit of research and found out that she is a nurse and the hospital and department where she works, I just dont know if legally I am allow to send her the documents at her work place, that could be seen as harrassment; but all I really care for is that she takes responsability for her irresponsability.
     Thank you very much for your support.

     Ramon.

134. Hi Donna,

     I’m so sorry to hear about your dog. Ever since Stetson was attacked I carry around a dog spray deterrent called Spray Shield. I’m not sure if it works since I haven’t tried it yet, but I remember one of our trainers recommending it years ago.

     I hope your dog is doing better.

     Take care,
     Colby

135. Hi Ramon,
     It’s now a few weeks after your incident and I don’t know if you little dog survived. I pray for you.
     My situation was so similar (except my neighbor is taking responsibility for her dog’s actions). How do we protect the little ones? I’m just happy I was walking the dogs at the time of the attack and not one of my children. Right now it is 12:30am and I’m waiting to hear from the vet regarding my dog’s surgery.
     Donna

136. I have a pair of 3 year old Chihuahuas that have been attacked by large dogs on more occasions than I care to count. The first couple of times there were no injuries. I put myself between the aggressor and my dogs and yelled loudly. This was effective with a couple of dogs. One dog was stopped because the owner had put a shock collar on the dog and zapped it five times which stopped the dog. I had been backing up toward a house with a fence where I was planning to toss the dogs over.
     My vet warned me that many large dogs would consider my dogs prey – I just never realized how dangerous it would be.
     The most recent incident was tonight.
     My neighbor (who is a wonderful person) rescued a dog a number of years ago. This dog is friendly toward people but aggressive toward other dogs. My neighbor once warned me that if I ever saw her dog running loose – to get inside with my dogs asap. It was dark and I had just stepped from my driveway to the sidewalk when I sensed something. I turned and there was my neighbor’s dog running full speed toward me – there was no where to go. I yelled at her (this dog knows me well) but there was no deterring her. She caught my male and started shaking him. Luckily, I was able to grab her collar and when I did that, she dropped my dog. My female was busy barking and trying to protect her brother. At this point my neighbor came running and dragged her dog home to secure her. The dog had gotten loose as she was being removed from the back of the car – it was an accident. I knew my guy was hurt from his screams – you can imagine how shaken I was. My neighbor came over as soon as she locked up her dog and rushed me to an emergency vet. At this point, my little guy is in surgery to repair a puncture to his abdomen and I’m waiting to hear from the vet.
     I keep going over it in my head and I know there was nothing anyone could have done to change the outcome. I am now terrified at the prospect of ever walking them again. What do I do? I’m now so scared. 🙁

137. No breed of dog is an ugly vicious dog. It’s the dog itself and how it is raised you moron.

138. Hi Tanna,

     I’m sorry to hear about your Shepherd. Your concern was the same as mine and that is how will my dog react to other dogs after the incident. Lucky for me Stetson had been trained as a guide dog and had many good experiences with other dogs. I think it’s important to try and get as many good experiences for your dog with other dogs especially dogs of the same breed as the one that attacked yours

     Hopefully your dog recovers in a short time too. By the way, I stopped taking my dogs to the dog park because I hear about these types of incidents so frequently.

     Take care,
     Colby

139. Thanks for posting this, I read your post. I just had an incident that involved my five month old German Shepherd getting attacked by a male pit bull. After getting him home and calmed down I realized that there were only a few bumps and bruises but no gashes luckily. I would say that this time my puppy was very lucky but am skeptical of taking him back to the dog park. I wasn’t the one to get the attacking dog off but after about 30 or 45 his owner got him off of him. It was very scary! I did get her contact information and am trying to decide if I should report her to animal control.
     What I am more concerned about is the aftermath of this incident. I am hopeful that my dog will be able to forgive and forget and that this will not negatively affect him. I guess only time will tell! Any advice would be helpful. I have decided to take him back to the same dog park in hopes that he will not become afraid.

140. Hi Ramon,

     Our thoughts and prayers are with your mom’s little dog. I hope she makes a full recovery. You did pretty much the same thing I did when Stetson was bit. We took him straight to the vet and had him fixed up. Fortunately, Stetson is a larger dog (Labrador Retriever) and he only ended up with a decent sized gash on his tail that was cleaned up and bandaged. Our Vet decided not to stitch it up because she said the skin is so tight on the tail the stitches would probably end up ripping.

     After the incident we reported to animal control. You might follow up with animal control and see if they can recommend any further actions.

     Hoping your pup is doing better today.

     Take care,
     Colby

141. Hello Colby!

     Our dog, mom’s and I, got attacked while my mom was walking her on friday; our dog is a short hair chiuhua and was leashed. She had just finished doing her business and my sister who was with mom, was picking up after her and her own dog, another chihuahua… A neighbor came out with a basket out of her apartment and her big dog was unleashed and running heading acrros the street, as soon at it notice our little dogs he changed paths and went up to our little female chihuahua. My mom watced in horror as her dog got bitten, picked up, shaken and thrown on the ground. As my sister and mom were screaming in horror, the big dog owner did nothing, not even call off her dog. After the big dog threw ours on the ground, my siter was able to pull the leash and retrieve our little one.
     The big dog owner put the dog inside her apartment and said it there was naything she could do for them, (Mom and sister), as my mom continue to scream and cry as she look at our dog, my sister was asking the lady why would she let a dog out unleashed…..
     The lady did not say much, simply got in her car and drove off and mom and my siter were trying to take care of the wounds…. It took a chunk out of about 4″ by 2.5″ off our little dog.
     We took our dog to our vet, adn she had surgery. Today we took her back for check up since she has drain tube under her skin; we did not get good news, the sking around the tube and stitches ripped open, the vet said the skin had died. The vet was also concern of our dog not eating and drinking enough water, and the fact that she had a fever, and raised our concern with the knowledge that as a small dog is picked up and shaken by a large dog, there could be some internal and or intestinal damage. I can not tell you how upset my mom ad I got, looking at the possibility of having to put down our adored pet. She is undergoing surgery as I type this letter now.
     I did go to animal control and I truly hope they are doing their best to do something about it….
     The cost so far is up to almost $1,700.00… I just pray we do not have to keep torturing our little one…
     I feel that people who let their unleashed animals out should be punished severely!
     Mom is 80, and that pet means more than a pet! Its a child, a family member; I can not tell you how upset she is.
     Any pointers on what to do now?

     I appreciate any guidance!

     Ramon.

142. Until something threatens or scares or upsets them dogs, like people, want to be friendly! But dogs interpret events as NEGATIVE sometimes. At those times, some dogs have tempers. A high-strung dog may feel threatened or insecure. Often the defense for those feelings is to BITE. Usually there is some surprise for the dog. He was on his leash behaving well but the owner noticed a cute puppy (or cute owner) and reached down to pet. That was the “last straw” and “Buddy” decided to get tough. To “Buddy” that’s not a cute puppy, that’s a dog my owner likes better than me! So Buddy flies off the handle and may do damage.

143. Hi Suzy,

     I hope your little girl is doing better. I was lucky because Stetson was only bit on the tail so it didn’t really effect him too much physically. I was more worried about him healing mentally. If you think she is still in some physical pain you might want to have the vet check her out again. When I worked with Stetson after his attack I immediately tried to get him as many good interactions with other dogs as soon as possible to help build his confidence back up.

     Sending good vibes to you and your pup.

     Take care,
     Colby

144. colby, i found this extremely helpful. about one month ago my father was walking my 2 year old jack russell… there was a lose pit bull that came out of no where and attacked my dog. this pit bull was out for a kill. we tried separating the two by lifting the pit bull off the ground … but along came my dog and they were both in the air. finally the owner came out and the dog let go of mine. Luckily the owner was very cooperative and is giving me payments for the vet bills. My sweet little jack russell has changed SO much since the attack. shes not the sweet little girl i used to have. she is so scared and think that everyone is out to get her. i know this will go away with time. my question is how long did it take for your little ones to physically heal? its been over a month and im noticing that my dog doesnt want to jump on beds or sofas… she doesnt like to run as much anymore… i think she is still in pain.. its only been a month…maybe im just worrying too much

145. thanks colby i will look into professionals thanks for the help

146. Hi Debbie,

     I’m sorry to hear about your dogs. I hope they are doing better. I feel very lucky that even though Stetson was bit and we had to go to the vet he had enough good experiences with other dogs that he still trusts strange dogs when we are out on our walks.

     The best thing to do is look into getting a good professional dog trainer to work with you and your dogs. I think this will be a multiple step process to get your dog re-trained to trust other dogs and will require the help of a profesional dog trainer.

     I’m sorry, but I don’t have much advice for you.

     Take care,
     Colby

147. Hi ive just read stetsons story i hope he is doing ok, unfortunately i have a story of my own, my jack russell, my springer spaniel and i were walking home from visiting my sisters and as my springer spaniel was only six weeks old at the time i was carrying him as he hadnt had his second vaccination just yet and my jack russell was only one year old when we walked past this ladies house and her rottweiller jumped over the gate of her house and tried to attack me and my puppy but my jack russell buster jumped in the way and was bitten on the side and was really hurt, the girl came out took her rottweiller in and didnt even offer to help at that point a neighbour came out and told me to come in to her house, she phoned my vet and took me and my dogs to the vet which was very nice of her, buster had to get three staples at a top wound and one at the bottom wound, by this time i was very distressed, the vet told me that i should phone the police on the lady as it was inappropriate that she didnt have a high enough fence for her dog, now three months down the line i havent heard anytning from the police and although my dogs are physically ok they are now fighting with each other and my springer spaniel usually starts these fights, buster is neutered and has been for a long time but since that incident he is now terrified of any strange dogs and even if he hears a dog bark he is up at my window barking this really upsets me as before he was a really loving wee dog but now he has changed so much and even though he doesnt attack the other dogs he gets reallu frightened his hackles go up he barks and starts yelping, my spriger spaniel however is ok with other dogs if they are not too big, personally i do not blame the animals for when a dog attacks another one i blame the owners as they should have a high enough fence keep their dogs safely in the garden, they should alo make sure when they pick a dog they pick an appropriate one that they can train, keep their pet on the leash whilst walking and if they know their dog is agressive it should be muzzled, since this incident i have been informed by that neighbour that took us so kindly to the vet that the dog has attacked other dogs, if this is the case why hasnt the owner put the dog on a muzzle and kept it safely in her garden when it is out? I was alo informed by a relative that she bought the rottweiller for her ten year old son but they both lost interest in him when he got older i think people like this should not be allowed pets if they are not willing to train them properly, i hope everyones dogs whos been attacked by other dogs are all ok and if anyone has any advice on how to help my jack russell trust other dogs again and how i will stop them fighting? I really do not want to rehome any of them as they are my life as i dont have kids and become too attached to them ans as i have tried about everything i know but i am limited in experience as these are my first ever dogsi would be really gratefully for any advice yous might have thank you again.

148. Hi,

     Earlier today my dog got bit. Hes a crossbreed lab and cocker spaniel 2.5yrs old. I see the man who ive spoken to a few times, over the park with his 9 dogs, most of which are long haired collies. Never been a problem before now and usually my dog just takes no notice of the lot of them. But today, he had a new addition, a young lab around 5 months old. I was weary that my dog might give it a nip if its over the top and too playful, and that he would put the pup in its place, as was done to mine at a young age, but then the opposite happened, my dog runs in large circles with the pup chasing him, so all was well, but all of a sudden 1 or 2 of the collies, cant remember now as my brain must have froze, bit my dog and he yelped then just sat down, the collie left it at that. Man didnt apologize or anything! said hes just taking care of the rest of them. I guess dogs look out for their own and that they know what they’re doing of in a dogs world. It wasnt til we went our own ways that i decided to look at my dog closely. He had a scratch on his throat, quite long and fur had come away. Was quite annoyed afterwards, and the man didnt even tell his dog no or anything. Maybe its just one of those things that u dont see coming and its not like the dog ripped into him badly and kept on or anything. Blood wasnt pouring out, just a scratch. I really cant remember if one of the other collies went for him as well, time just stands still for me when stuff happens!

     Glad yr dog is ok now, it is a nightmare when this happnes as u dont know if u will get bit yourself. Maybe take a photo of the dog at least, if the owner isnt around, be something at least to have and show people. When put on the spot like that, faced with that, anything that you set yourself up to do beforehand could possibly all go out the window with sheer worry for you and yr dog. Pups love to play but I guess they dont understand that not all adult dogs want to

     All the best
     Sam

149. Hi Leticia,

     I’m sorry to hear about your predicament. If he’s a stray dog will Animal Control come pick him up and take him to the animal shelter? You also might try contacting an animal rescue that deals with aggressive dogs. Hopefully you can find a solution. Sorry I’m not much help.

     Good luck!
     Colby

150. Hi Colby,

     I have grown up around aggressive dogs and have been able tone down their aggression too. I have also been able to walk my dogs around aggressive dogs. Can’t seem to do it anymore:(

     We recently moved to another location and now all my years with aggressive dogs seem in vain. There is a dog who lives in our society. He doesn’t belong to anybody..no owners. He constantly growls and tries to attack my dogs. I have tried to calm him down, to scare him with a stick, give him a choostix to reward him when he backs off, which is very rare.

     It has been almost a month and I am afraid that one of these days, my dogs are going to be attacked. I have spoken to a couple of animal rescue officers and some dog trainers, but they think that I should just ignore him. I have tried that as well. He doesn’t bother the other dogs in the neighbourhood, but seems fixated on my dogs. He is very calm around humans and all other dogs and cats in our society.

     I can no longer stay calm. I am upset throughout the day. I am scared to take my dogs out for a walk. I have lost confidence because I used to help dog owners deal with animal aggression. I have sleepless nights thinking that my dogs are going to get hurt because I cannot protect them.

     I now have a four feet stick just to keep him at bay. He sits by the stairs and growls. Somebody has to come and take him away everyday. He has also started to mark his territory and passes urine near our house. He has been neutered. I know that I need to stay calm, but I am worried that I might jeopardise the lives of my dogs.

     It is sad to know that I can help another but not myself. I am too close to the situation.

151. I think it’s up to you and how much you want to fight her to pay for the bill. If she’s already been rude, defensive, and even lied about being a vet tech I’m not so sure how willing she will be to pay the bill. Good luck and I hope your dog is feeling better.

152. My dog was just attacked yesterday at the dog park completely out of nowhere (as soon as he got in the dog ran up to him and bit him). I was able to get the other dog off mine pretty quickly by grabbing onto his harness and jerking him off my dog. It turned out the lady there with the dog was an employee of a dog sitting company so she called her boss down who falsely claimed she was a vet tech and stated it would be too costly for me to take him to the vet. I asked her for a business card to which she refused but when she took out her phone to get my # her card fell out. I grabbed it off the ground and took my dog to the vet. His vet bills were under $100 but he was very shaken up and half his body is bruised and swollen (he’s a small dog). Luckily there was only a small part that actually drew blood. He’s still obviously very sore and can’t even handle a harness to go potty outside.
     Am I wrong to expect her to pay for his bill? I know it’s not a lot, and thankfully my dog is okay, but she was very rude and defensive about the whole incident.

153. Hi Christy,

     I’m sorry to hear about that. I hope your dogs are doing okay. Hopefully your neighbor has called by now to apologize.

     Take care,
     Colby

154. I know how terrifying this can be. My two labs were attacked in our yard by the neighbors mastiff last night. The neighbors daughter , her friend and two other neighbors helped me break up the fight. Both are at the vets right now. The owner never came over or called when she got home from work last night.

155. Hi Alyssa,

     I think it varies for every dog. Stetson had no real issues after he was attacked, but I think Linus my rescue pup has some lingering effects from his attacks.

     I hope your dog is doing okay.

     Take care,
     Colby

156. Also, I was wondering- do you have any information about the psychological effects that my lab will endure? She has seemed to be ok for now- but we are only 4 days after the attack.

157. Hi!
     My dog was recently attacked at an off-leash dog park. My first instincts were to protect my 2 year old yellow lab, I rescued her from the attacking dog, and drove her straight to the emergency vet. Unfortunately, my lab wasn’t as lucky as Stetson. She had to have surgery to repair a deep wound on her neck- which had to have a drain installed for 3 days. She also has 6 stiches in her wrist, and several lacerations on her ear. I didn’t get the other owner’s information- because I was most considered for my dog’s life. However, I wish I would have- the surgery cost $1100 and I have NO information about whether the other dog was current on the shots, etc. I posted flyers around the dog park hoping that the other dog’s owner would realize the severity of the bite wounds and in the least never go back to the off leash dog park- ever again. It broke my heart to have my little baby hurting, and having to deal with surgery, the cone, recovery- when she did nothing at all.
     -Alyssa
     in Georgia.

158. I just read the article on Stetson. Its the most frightening thing to have happen. Yesterday, I took my black kelpie Jay out for a walk. We were nearly home and I had Jay on his halter. A lady was up ahead and her dog, which looked like a Bulldog, but could have been crossed with another breed, was going crazy. It spotted Jay and wanted a piece of him. I held Jay tightly on his lead and asked the lady to pass me, thinking I would keep myself inbetween my dog and hers. She refused, and said her dog wouldn’t hurt mine, and she wanted me to pass. I should have listened to my own gut instinct. I went to pass and she was having trouble controlling this dog on the lead. It was trying to attack Jay, and Jay didn’t want to pass. Next minute, it broke off the lead and started biting Jays body. I let go of the lead, hoping Jay could outrun him. The dog was biting his hind quarters then bought Jay to the ground. He then got hold of Jay by the side of the head and locked his jaws. My dog was howling in pain, and I screamed at the lady to get her dog off. The sound my dog was making, was making me hysterical and I was on the ground with him and felt I couldn’t do anything to help. Eventually, the lady put her hands in the mouth of her dog to try and unlock his bite. We got free, and Jay lay there for what seemed an eternity. All I could think of was to get far away from this dog and get mine to the Vet. I fumbled for her name and number but being so upset, I didnt save it into my phone properly. Jay was lucky. He has bruising around his back legs, tail, head and neck with bites, but luckily no puncture marks. The blood. which I thought was from Jay must have been from the lady’s hands when she tried to get her dog off. It was the most terrifying thing and I felt helpless. The vet believes Jay survived because he was submissive. If he tried to fight back, it would have given the other dog reason to really hurt him, perhaps even kill him.
     My husband and I will find this lady again around the river in time. We reported the incident to council, but unfortunately without a name and phone number there is nothing more they can do.

159. Oh wow:( that sucks. When a dog comes at u, stand your ground, if u observe the situation and see that the dog is not responsive be ready to kick the dog or if u have a stick hit it hard. Hey its cruel but its either u or your dog. Pepper spray doesn’t always work on dogs. Worst comes to worst and the dog bites down shove your fist down the throat and gag it. My boyfriend was at petsmart and some guys large dog attacked a little dog, to break the bite he shoved his fist down the dogs throat and then hurled it on the grountrd. Some dogs u can shoo away other dogs u have to become violent with. Personally I see a loose dog I walk the other way or if I see it w its owner I ask the owner to leash it and if he or she refuses I remind them its against the law. I have witnessed my dogs in two fights and it sucks. Always be prepared and alert. Observe your surroundings. If all else fails make sure to take a stick and knife on your walk. I really hate that there r so many irresponsible owners out there. A few weeks ago my cousin took her pooch for a walk; next thing she knows a Pitt being walked on the other side of the street breaks free from the Guy walking it and kills her dog. Wtf? The dog was put down but the stupid college kid knew it was a problem dog let some other moron watch it while he was on vacation! Obviously the kid was too weak. Why wasn’t the dog on a prong and why didn’t it have a muzzle? He shouldn’t have walked the dog if he was too weak. What an idiot. Grrr.

160. Im finally ready to get back to a walking regimen with my Brittany after we were attacked almost 3 years ago by a Pit Shepard mix. Buster and I used to walk a few times daily but after a vicious attack which required my dog to have 10 staples in his neck we have both been rather shy. The attack seemed to last forever because after my dog broke free the attacking dog chased him out of sight. When the other owner and I caught up with his dog it went after me and it’s owner had to tackle the dog to the ground. Fortunately in time Buster is shy but not aggressive with other dogs. The worst thing has been our fear to walk our own neighborhood. I recently bought him a halter type collar which seems to reassure him when we do go out. He is almost 7 now and I can see that his hind quarters are weakened from lack of use. I am determined to get us both out walking again for both our sakes. Any suggestions for how to be safe? Carry a stick? Pepper spray? We live in a good neighborhood but as we all know there are bad dogs and bad dog owners every where. This bad dog charged out of its house to get at my beautiful, gentle Brittany. Still makes me sad. And yes, I did go back and have the owner pay the vet bill.

161. hello there… well i am afraid i have another bad experience to share… literally 3 hours ago i was walking my dog along the harbour… he is an american bulldog and the biggest soft loving creature you could ever imagine… i am in scotland so this was just after midnight… i keep him on the lead as he is only 1 1/2 years old and likes to bounce around and i am always paranoid he will fall in the water… a rottie approached us out of the blue… i have seen the rottie out with the owner before and offered to introduce ally to her rottie…. she said not to because her rottie was funny with other dogs… anyway everything seemed fine… they were having the usual little sniff… out of the blue this thing just turned and clamped its jaws round my big guys head then all hell broke loose…. i managed to seperate them after what seemed like an age and took a nasty bite to my left hand which required an ambulance to come to the scee to give me some medical attention… i insisted on a name and address.. i went straight to the police station which is directly adjasent to my house… as i was bitten trying to seperate the dogs it is not a criminal matter and must proceed through the civil courts… the police report this to the dog warden who then issue a notice to the rotties owner… i was given a reference number to show it has been reported to claim back any vet fees that may be incufred. his head is a mess and i can see a differencd in his behaviour already i just hope he will get over it… so in my very recent experience… as in a car accident… make sure you get details and report it to the police straight away. hope all your other babies made or are making a good recovery… chris.x.

162. Hi Niteka,

     Sorry to hear about your Rotti. I hope he’s doing better. I wrote about Stetson’s attack in this article and fortunately he was not really traumatized by the experience and is still friendly with other dogs. However, Linus was charged twice by off leash dogs as a puppy and he’s always been hesitant around other dogs. We’ve worked on his behavior for years and while he does better I think he’ll always have that little bit of fear and hesitation when meeting new dogs.

     Take care,
     Colby

163. Well he is now neutered, my poor boy 🙁 The vet said it’ll be 2-3 weeks before we see where we’re at for aggression, so I’m still looking at spending alot of money on obedience training to get him over the attack. I’ve become much more vocal when I see anyone walking with a dog off its leash and I really wish Animal Control was around more and nailing these irresponsible owners to the wall for it. I had really hoped to breed my gorgeous boy 🙁

164. I totally agree w u. Keep your dog on a leash. Anytime I see someone w a dot and no leash while I’m w my dog I will ask them to put a leash on their dog. Same thing Hppened w my pup. I got him neutered and he still has some issues but don’t give up on him. Just be patient. Before he was neutered I would wake up to him fighting w my bullmastiff. Like I said now it is a rare. If I leave the house I just put my bullmastiff in a room. He responds to me when I sayin no in a formlow rumbling type voice. It has been a journey. Stressful. Don’t hesitate to yell at another dog if they r lose and or kick it to keep it away from your dog.

165. Unfortunately I know firsthand how scary it is. My 1 1/2 year old male rotti was attacked by another dog off its leash and is now so traumatized by it he’s become very aggressive with other dogs. I have no idea who the owner was/is and I haven’t seen either him or his dog around since it happened. I called his vet desperate for advice and ended up having him neutered yesterday morning because the vet told me it would help. I’m devastated my sweet boy had to go through all of this just because of someone else’s irresponsibility. The vet also told me that if he hasn’t calmed down in 2-3 weeks that I’ll have to take him to behavior classes to help him try to get over the attack. So far this has cost us our walks we used to enjoy so much, over $400 in vet bills and I will probably have to spend hundreds more to fix the emotional damage. People always say the same thing, “Oh it’s ok, my dog is friendly”. I don’t care how friendly you think your dog is, having it off the leash is just irresponsible, dangerous and against the law where I live. How many times I wonder have other rottweilers and the likes been the victims of an attack but you only ever hear about ones that have been the aggressor?

166. How cruel and inconsiderate to put an animal down because of your lack of education. You take the animal for training. Little did that precious animal that loved you dearly know that YOU would end up killing him. I hope when you lie in bed that your act of selfishness eats at you alive and if not you are nothing more than an inconsiderate moron!

167. Laura, I just posted about my experience with pits. Totally the owners fault. My aussie mix was attacked as well, however I elected to not give him antibiotics. Peroxide keeps the wound clean, warm water and soap bath also works well. Like humans, a dogs body has the ability to self heal. Licking their wounds also helps the healing process… due to the growth hormone in their saliva. At any rate, glad your pup is fine.

168. Eliza, In my opinion neutering is a case by case basis. I had to neuter my aussie mix because he would not leave my bullmastiff alone.. I would be jolted out of bed because he would start a dog fight with my bull mastiff… HORRIBLE. Last resort was to neuter him. I did and he is far better now. My Bull Mastiff is intact and happy. He does not have those spraying territorial issues. No two dogs are created equally. Neutering tends to cause problems on the endocrine system and it does cause depression on some level. I took great care with Cheveyo when he got neutered… Yeah dogs have hormones and feelings…

169. Great article! however, i am not sure if there’s anything out there that will actually deter an aggressive dog besides taking action yourself. My aussie mix was attacked by a pit bull while i was out (my neighbor had some friends staying there with their pits) at any rate the pit jumped the fence and attacked my boy. He called me and I got home and found my aussie in the back yard bloodied up. Well I know that wounds must heal open (for the most part) I grabbed my peroxide cleaned his puncture wounds out and gave him a warm bath. He healed beautifully. However the psychological aspect sucks because of that dog fight, Cheveyo (my aussie mix) is not always kind to strange dogs. I myself would not want to harm an animal, if I can avoid it, I will.. BUT… if the dog is intent on attacking my dog, I will go that extra mile. My cousins dog just got killed by pit bull. Her dog was 12 pounds! Irresponsible owner could not control the dog on the leash and it got loose and attacked and killed her pup. Soo sad. The guy walking the dog, got a log and beat the dog and that did not break the grip of the dog. What do you do then? It’s crazy. My ex boyfriend has had encounters like that at petsmart, large dog attacked a small dog and he punched it on the side of the head and slammed it to the ground, because the owner of the large dog would not take action. It broke the grip the dog had on the puppy. How sad. Dog fights are terrible. Do what you have to do to protect your four legged. Don’t hesitate.

170. Hi Erika,

     I’m sorry to hear that. I hope you’re puppy makes a full recovery.

     Take care,
     Colby

171. Your story was very helpful. Thank you. I’m hopping my puppy may survive , cause my neighbor’s dogs(pitbulls) attacked him. But unfortunately I cannot press any charges case my doggie went to their backyard. He is been bleeding badly, the vet game me some antibiotic and pain killer, I really hope he can stay with us. Every time I touched him or move him two or three drops of blood. dear God please protect my Shorty, he is a Chiwini dog.

172. To both Anaïs and Laura, I’m so sorry this happened to your puppies. I’m the previous poster with the rottie who was attacked by a neighbor’s dog.

     To Anaïs, I’m sorry you couldn’t find the owner. Can you try not to take that route on your walks, or is that not possible. I hope your sweet Husky wasn’t too traumatized. If you’ve worked with a trainer, please ask him or her what to do if this happens again. I would also suggest taking pepper spray on a walk if you think this dog could be a problem in the future. And think about how you’d use it and how to keep it away from your dog if you have to.

     To Laura: I hope you’re in a puppy socializing group so Ziva can learn that not all dogs are bad. Find a good trainer with a puppy group, and I bet Ziva will be just fine. I’m disgusted by the owner’s attitude as well. And I seriously doubt her dog is “always such a nice dog.”

     Hang in there, ladies. My rottie is 2 years old now. He’s a show dog, so is still intact (you can’t neuter when showing). Everyone thinks intact dogs are the problem, but they aren’t. Neutered males smell the intact dog and feel they need to be on guard. Thankfully, it’s rare that it’s an issue. I now have an 11 week old English bulldog, and he and my Rottie do so well together. He’ll be fixed thankfully, and I hope to be able to neuter my Rottie soon too (he’s almost done showing–agreement with breeder).

     In any case, good trainers are the best way to learn what we should do as owners and also to learn how to socialize our dogs so they are comfortable with others. Ask your vets for the name of a good trainer if you don’t have one.

     I’m glad both of your babies are OK.

     Eliza

173. I took my 14 week old yellow lab, Ziva, to an outdoor school event today to socialize her a little bit. She was under control with a leash and training collar on when a dachshund came flying out of nowhere and attacked her. The Dachshund latched onto Ziva’s forehead and wouldn’t let go, growling and shaking her head back and forth. I was in total shock and didn’t know what to do – it broke my heart to hear Ziva yelping. Thankfully the owner grabbed her dog and pulled her off of my puppy, who was traumatized and shook in my arms for about 5 minutes afterward.
     Thankfully there wasn’t any bleeding, but I was a little bit annoyed with the owner as she stood next to me telling me how nice her dog normally is and that she just got away. I get the feeling that she was just as shocked as I was, and in a way I felt sorry for her. I still want to cry when I see the big lump on Ziva’s forehead. The bites will probably heal since she is on antibiotics, but now I’m a little worried about how she will respond to dogs in the future.

174. I came across this page while looking for information on what to do during a dig attack. I was walking my Husky puppy earlier down my street (we’ve done this many times with no issues) ad out of nowhere a pitbull comes racing towards us and jumps on my dog, biting his neck. I shouted, stamped, threw a rock and screamed for help but the dog just kept running back and attacking my puppy. Poe is six months old and already a good size, but this other dog was just so aggressive. Then it just turned and ran off and I rushed Poe to the vet. He had a few bite marks but none that required stitches, thank God. I think it was his thick fur. But he seems to be mildly traumatized. I went back to find the pitbull’s owner but no trace. It just made me so mad. I don’t think I handled the situation very well and I want to know what to do if something like this happens again. I don’t like the thought of dropping the leash and staying out of it, I feel it’s my job to protect my dog.

175. @Nisa27, I’m sorry to hear about your dog getting attacked. I’ve hard the same thing…people yelling that their dog is friendly. My poor dog Linus was charged 3 times by other dogs when he was just a puppy and one of them attacked him. I think that’s one of the reasons why he’s not a big fan of greeting other dogs when we’re out on our walks.

176. my dog (mini Schnauzer) only 1 year old was attacked about a month ago by two golden retrievers. We went to a near by dog park. As soon as we get there the two dogs charge! There owners said they are “friendly”.At first they sniffed him and immediately starting growling and biting my dog. He yelped and cried out loud trying to get away he ran away from us and the dogs followed him and kept attacking. I did all I could to get them off him and I kept grabbing them from their foreskin and throwing them out of the way I tried to kick them. My girlfriend punched one but still they kept going. One bit me on my thigh and ripped my pants. I was so scared and those stupid ladies didn’t do anything and kept saying “I don’t know why they are being that way they are friendly” NO APOLOGY! just tried to argue that their dogs don’t bite. I was so mad and my heart was racing, I finally got a hold of my dog and went to my car. My dog had minor injuries (bleeding from the mouth and face). We didn’t get their information, I could not think we were just relieved to be on the other side of the gate.

     Today 3/23/2012 around 830pm my dog and I were walking (he was on a leash) and out of no where was walking this couple with their two big dogs with no leash on. They charged at me ans my little dog and they yelled out “come here!!, oh ah they are friendly!” I said are you sure? and they did not respond…they were sniffing my dog and one of them started to growl So I pulled up my dog in my arms and started to walk away and then the dogs followed their owners when they started to call them after a few times. I DON’T UNDERSTAND my dog is so playful and warm and likes to cuddle. (He doesn’t bite anyone, woman, man, child or other dogs) Why do they keep attacking him?

     THESE PEOPLE NEED TO STOP SAYING THEY’RE DOGS ARE FRIENDLY IF THEY ARE NOT SURE AND THEY SHOULD HAVE THEIR DOGS ON A LEASH AT ALL TIMES!

177. gsd are ugly viscous dogs i was mauled by on on my arm some time ago never liked them since anyways hope he is okay he’s a pretty dog.

178. @Terri, I’m so sorry to hear about your dog. I feel very lucky that things weren’t any worse for me and my dog Stetson. Hopefully everything works out with the vet bill and the insurance company. Once again I’m so sorry to hear about your loss.

179. In June, almost 5 months ago, my dog Jake was attacked by the rescue pit bull that lived next door. I rescued Jake in 2003 from a shelter in Jersey City NJ and eventually I moved to the suburbs so that he could have a backyard. Well the people next door adopted a pit bull in November 2010 and she attacked their dog in early June and then attacked mine late June. The difference was that their other dog is a pit bull, and mine was a yorkie. Jake survived the attack (he was attacked from underneath the fence that separates the backyards) which is apparently common in dogs that are trained to kill. We had to hire a lawyer to go after this low life’s home insurance company because they would have paid zero or half of the $6300.00 vet bill. Since pets in NJ are considered property, I cannot collect for punitive damages, but it does not matter, that would have only momentarily made me feel better. I miss my dog. He was part of my family. I had just gone back to work after maternity leave and the babysitter let Jake out in the backyard. We thought he was safe in his own backyard; he wasn’t. He held on for 2 days and then I had to out him down because he aspirated fluid into his lungs, the only consolation being that I got to hold him as he passed. Five months later, I still am still blaming everyone, including myself. To say I am heartbroken only touches on what the past 5 months have been like. Legislation NEEDS to be changed regarding potentially dangerous dogs, and owners need to be screened seriously.

180. My dog was attacked by a pit bull this afternoon. I was walking him three doors down from my house on leash when I saw two pits running at us full speed from their yard (about 30 yards from us). I know about not running but nothing was going to stop this pair. I started up the drive in front of the neighbors thinking I could maybe get to his house and get some help. This probably saved my dogs life as his butt was exposed to them instead of his neck. The female chomped on and would not let go. I was screaming for help hoping someone would come out of their house and help me break it up. I think after about 15 or 20 seconds she finally let go and they both took off. I’m not sure what stopped her. My dog has deep puncture wounds from all 4 canine teeth (only one of the dogs bit him). I took him to the vet and he is on antibiotics and pain meds.

     The dogs belong to one of my neighbor’s adult son. They have seriously attacked another dog before. (I knew about this incident). My neighbor came over and apologized and said they are trying to convince the son to get rid of the dogs. They said he will pay my vet bill. I will file a report on Monday when Animal Control office opens. I am worried about my dog recovering from this.

181. I had a chiuaua (Snickers) that was attacked and killed by an large dog that lives at the house down the hill from me. This dog has killed 4 kittens and is always in my yard. I have a 4 yr old son and I am afraid that one day he could be attacked by this dog. I have filed a police report and have called animal control but have been getting the run around from both. Snickers had no chance against this dog and it was really hard to deal with his death b/c is was part of my family. I am doing a lot of things to make sure that the owners take responsibility for what happened but I an having a really hard time. There is one good thing that has come of this situation. Upon talking to a neighbor I found out that Snickers fathered 3 puppies with her female weenie dog and we where given one of the puppies, so in a way we still have a part of Snickers with us. Im posting this b/c things can go bad very fast. It took maybe 3 min. for this dog to fatally injure Snickers . Dog owners need to be responsible and watch their animals regardless if you believe they can be aggressive or not. If you can not keep track of your animal then don’t get one in the first place.

182. @sue, I’m so sorry to hear about your mom and her dog. When Stetson was attacked we took him to the emergency vet for a nice size gash in his tail. We opted not to get stitches as they said there was a good chance the stitches would break free because the skin in the tail is so tight. Lucky for us after a couple days Stetson was doing just fine (mentally and physically) and he was not too rattled by the attack. He now just has a little bald spot on his tail that’s barely noticeable. Hopefully your mom and her dog get better over the next few days and weeks.

183. moms dog got visviously attacked why in front of her house on a leash. mom had to let go, then both dogs ended up in her yard, .the police came, the other dog had to update its shots, mom went through a lot of trama herself….and now her dog is scared to death of everything. there were three punctures, no stiches, not fair

184. @eliza thank you for sharing your story. I’ve had several friends who owned wonderful rottweilers. After Stetson got attack we ordered animal deterrent spray to take out on our walks. Fortunately we haven’t had to use it.

185. I have a Rottie who is a year and a half old, and he’s been attacked twice by the same dog, a neighbor, in the last month. The owner considers herself a professional dog trainer and has a doggy day care company. My main reason to post this is to say you can’t ever assume one breed is bad. This dog attacked my previous Rottie when he had cancer, and now my young guy. Under two years old, and on a leash, he just didn’t know what to do.
     I’m going to try to deal with this nicely, because we are neighbors, but I’m writing mostly to say, (1) don’t assume a dog is bad because of its breed–my rotties have been incredibly good boys. (2) Anyone with an aggressive dog, get a clue, keep it on leash. It’s NOT OK. And you don’t have voice command. (3) For those of us who have our dogs attacked, maybe we carry a stick or the stuff another poster recommended. I’m hugely frustrated. I raise my very big “scary” breed to be a sweet boy. If you have any question whether your dog has bad tendencies, keep him or her on a leash and do your job.

186. @Martin Stetson is doing great. He just has a little bald patch on his tail. More importantly mentally he seems to be okay with the incident. We were at the vets office the other day and another long haired german shepherd started barking at him and he just sat by my side wagging his tail.

187. It must have been so frightening. Good for you for keeping calm.
     I’m in the UK and there is a lot of ‘designer’ dog breeds around. Some are used for thier aggressiveness.
     I have a new puppy and do fear for him when out and about.
     He is still so naive – we have cats too. He wants to play but all they do is hiss at him and run away. – He doesn’t understand.

     I have had a GSD in the past and have found that they are ‘one man dogs’ – too loyal – he would nip other people who came close to me. I had to give him away when baby came along. I couldn’t risk him nipping the baby. In the end, I couldn’t rehome him. He was far too loyal to me. I had to have him PTS. It was the saddest time.

     I knew I couldn’t ‘control’ him once he had something in his head… that would be it. He was ‘blinkered’. Unfortuately there are dogs (and people) like that. Nothing nor no-one can divert it from its goal.

     I am hoping that 20 years on from that time, a new puppy, a different breed and lots of love and training (no babies!!) will give this little man a good, safe and enjoyable life.

     I hope all is well with Stetson now.

188. Educate the offending dogs owner – make them pay the vets bill – its about the best you can do.
     Martin

189. I think that dog attacks are becoming more and more prevalent. Im a dog trainer and I get more aggressive dogs in for training now that ever before.
     Mostly the issues can be fixed with solid obedience and a good schedule.
     Hope stetson has made a swift and full recovery.
     Martin

190. @Pamela, Thank you! Stetson is doing well. A few days ago he decided to lick his tail so I had to put the cone back on his head. I agree, I hope there isn’t a “next time”

191. Wow, what a scary thing. I’m glad to hear you and Stetson are both safe. And I think you did the best thing any one could have expected. After all, you got out of the situation with only one small wound.

     Let’s hope you never get a chance to use the lessons you learned a “next time.”

192. @emi Stetson is doing okay now. He chewed on his tail a little bit almost immediately after we took off his cone so we’re going to leave the cone on for a few more days.

193. I liked your article…it was very informative but I feel bad for Stetson. I’m glad he’s not having problems with other dogs you’ve introduced to him since the Shepard attack. I’d be so curious to know why that Shepard attacked Stetson. I will definitely be more alert when I walk our dog and another dog is approaching….I will probably order the deterrent spray after your review.

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