Dogs; what to do? (Read 1446 times)

The last few weeks I have been attacked by dogs. Today I was attacked by two Pits; mixed breed of some sort. One of them lunged for my face and neck three times, each time I was able to pound him with my fist, when he decided to back off.

I'm glad to hear you're okay. I've dealt with my share of dogs recently - my !$!%ing redneck neighbors all have an aversion to obeying our leash laws - but the dogs haven't been pit bulls. What happened to you is not a joke. A local runner was actually mauled to death a couple years back, somewhere around here. FIRST thing you should be doing is calling the police and animal control. No joke. The authorities NEED to be informed, for a couple reasons. First, they might actually do something about it; second, a visit from the cops might give the dumb mother!@%@!%ers who own the dogs a clue; and three, if nothing else, reporting an attack creates legal notice of the threat - in other words, when a real attack happens, it will be on record that the owners knew perfectly well their dogs were vicious. It shouldn't matter - in most jurisdictions, pit bulls are treated in the same way pet cougars are, and the owners are strictly liable for any damages. But do it anyway. Sorry to go on, but this - along with crappy, dangerous, cell phone using rednecks behind the wheel - is my biggest pet peeve at the moment. And that's just with my local mutts - if it was a pit bull, I'd be visiting the owners personally. Make sure you notify the authorities. Because next time, it won't be an adult able-bodied runner, it'll be someone's pet, or someone's child. You don't want to have to live with the guilt if you don't report it and somebody's child dies. Modified to add: take care of yourself. Find a different route. Pepper spray is not going to help against a pack of pit bulls. A knife might not either. And if you take a knife, I'd rather you use it on the owners. It's not the dogs' fault their owners are wastes of oxygen. If I sound pissed, it's because I am. My fiancee only runs outside once or twice a week, and she's literally terrified of the local mutts. Every single time we run together at least once she's standing behind me shrieking while somebody's dog is charging at us. Please take of yourself. At the very least, do a little research on dog behavior. If you get attacked again, make sure you don't run. Stand your ground. And growl. Seriously. It works. And I'm sure you already know all this, but maybe the next person to read this won't. Running away when a dog attacks can get you killed. Stop. Face. Growl. Then go home and call the cops. And animal control. (And I won't even mention what I really think you should do next.) /sermon off Short version: people suck.

Ditto Jake Knight. When he's not being a goofball he really offers some great wisdom and logic. I see quite a few dogs on my run and have never encountered any agressive ones, though I do often avoid a home that has a loose Boxer. Boxers can be aggressive, but this one is not...at all. She is small, sweet, and way too friendly. She wants to follow me and I worry that she will and could end up getting hit by a car. I do carry pepper spray on my longer runs out away from town...both as protection from dogs, but also against humans with less than kind intentions. Fortunately I have yet to need it. *knock on wood*

Yesterday (around 6:00 pm) as my husband and I were running we ran by a house with a dog in the yard, it's a dog we don't see out often, an old shep mix. He was barking immediately and the owner HURRIED to get to him before we got closer and before the dog started running. She had to keep telling him no, all the while he was barking at us as we went by. I was annoyed when I caught her glance at me as if we were bothering them (most likely she was just annoyed with the dog). Then I was really annoyed when my back was to them and I had to keep listening to make sure that dog wasn't at my heels. Knowing her dog is like that she should have him leashed, or behind a fence. If she wasn't outside when we ran by who knows how far the dog would have gone to get to us. The other dogs we deal with are at homes with underground dog fences or real fences. I get a little nervous when this one dog rushes full speed to end of his property but then stops without fail, on a dime, when he gets to where the markers are (underground dog fence). At least he's doing his job, guarding his territory.

Yes, I have the Discovery Channel and Animal Planet in High Definition. Also, I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night. (Goofy enough, Zoom?)

I can't wait to upgrade to an HD TV just for that. Have you been watching that Planet Earth series? I'll bet that's awesome on HD. LOVED that footage of the Snow Leopard. Wouldn't that be a neat predator to see on a run (just so long as he wasn't hungry)? k

Also, throwing a stick or something in another direction might make him or her chase after it.

Kind of like when I was a kid and we owned two Siberian Huskies, the male one didn't escape often but when he did, and when I finally caught up to- him all I had to say to get him to come to me was "wanna go for a walk?" ...he'd come trotting over to me, tail wagging, all excited about getting to go for a walk (duh!), and then I'd grab him and drag his furry butt home. The female one we had to keep chained when we put her out, she would scale a fence in seconds and then it would take HOURS to get her back. My luck with throwing a stick is that I would be so nervous I'd throw it like a foot away from me!!

The other dogs we deal with are at homes with underground dog fences or real fences. I get a little nervous when this one dog rushes full speed to end of his property but then stops without fail, on a dime, when he gets to where the markers are (underground dog fence).

The only real scare I've had was with a dog I run by almost every day, who's kept in his yard with an electric fence. This dog is truly vicious - so vicious that I've jokingly called him "Cujo" for a year now. Every day I run by. Very nice neighborhood. Every day he runs right to the edge of the yard, slavering and slobbering and desperate to get to my throat. I thought it was pretty funny. Or used to, anyway. One day, without warning, he doesn't stop. Doesn't even slow down. Before I know it we're nose to nose, and he's baring his fangs, fire in his eyes. And for the record, this was no pit bull. Just some hound mix mutt. With some serious psychosis issues. If it was a pit bull, I'd have been in real trouble. I did just what I'm supposed to do. Froze and turned and bared my own teeth right back. He stopped a foot in front of me knees, with his lip curled and both big fangs dripping. I growl louder, and he won't back down. I take a step back. He takes a step forward. I know perfectly well that if I take one more step away, he's jumping. I lower my hands to protect my nuts. Funny now, but it wasn't then. Because I'm pretty sure that was the target he had in mind. I can hear his owner approaching now, screaming at him. I don't look up. My eyes don't move, because I'm pretty certain that if I even look up, he'll leap. It was really that close. I'm studying him, picking which eyeball I'm going to jam my thumb into to skewer his brain, which leg I'll grab and break. Again, funny now ... but that's what I was thinking. The moment drags on for what seems like an hour. Meanwhile, the owner arrives. With my eyes still on Cujo, I'm screaming obscenities at her. Giving her an impromptu lecture on what exactly her legal liability is going to be in about 10 seconds. I tell her that she has a lovely home - it really is nice - and I'm going to own it, if Cujo pounces. She's bleating and blathering her apologies ... and then it gets really scary. Know why he attacked? Because he's so damn vicious that the electric collar had burned holes in his neck. Bleeding, puss-oozing holes, that I'm now seeing up close and personal. That shouldn't be possible. Most dogs, they get zapped once or twice and never go near the boundary again. Not Cujo. He burned holes in his flesh, he wanted to get at his prey so badly. So what did the owners do? Of course - they just took his collar off. What blithering idiots. Admittedly, with most dogs, it would have been okay. With most dogs, once they get zapped, they don't really need the collar. They stay away from the boundary, collar or no. Not Cujo. Evil little bastard knew he was free and clear as soon as they took it off him. The owner is at my side now. I'm still screaming, and now she's yelling back. Like it's my fault. I seriously consider hitting her, woman or no. But Cujo might not have liked that. The absolute worst part, the only moment I really wondered if I'd be bleeding soon, was when she reached down for him. Because as she bent down, it became very clear that SHE was scared of the dog. Her dog, and she's scared. Jesus, lady, I'm thinking, you're scared to even grab your own dog, and yet I get to deal with him? She moves her hand down way, way slowly, obviously more frightened than I am, and when she finally touches Cerberus the Hell-Hound, he jerks a little and looks up her, still doing that deep-chest growl thing ... and I wonder if I'll end up rescuing this dumb, dumb, dumb woman from her own ugly beast. She finally leads him away, returning my curses. Like I did something wrong, running in a public street. The saddest part is that now Cujo spends his days in a tiny kennel in the backyard. Great big house, and the idiots are too cheap to just put in a decent fence. No wonder the poor thing is vicious. The moral of the story: you're smart not to trust electric fences. Oh - and people really, really suck. -----------------------------

If a dog is coming at you and it looks like you can't stop him or her - put your knee up. That way if the dog jumps on you, he or she cant get to your face, arms, hands, or torso. For a lot of dogs, just getting the knee is enough that they wont jump on you!

I can attest to this method personally. I have been bit a few times (I deserved it one time) but I either instigated it or it was an accident by the dog. The two times I was actually attacked I raised my knee (I learned this from a military dog trainer) and the dog on both occasions hit square on my knee. These weren't small dogs (Rot and a German Shepard) and they were dazed and confused. I could tell it knocked the breath out of the Rot because he started "coughing" and sounding like a cat with a hairball. He took off. The Shepard was a little dazed and started to come back again but I yelled as loud as I could and stomped toward him. Ended the situation... I see dogs all the time when I run but rarely do the seems aggressive. Whenever I run in a new area I never wear my iShuffle so I can listen for the dogs... they usually let you know where they are.