Up front and personal with Pit Bull

sole_foot

Guest
So my daughter comes to visit with her boyfriend’s Pit Bull he adopted from a rescue. I am a dog lover and have been around various breeds as far back as I can remember but I am a little apprehensive due to the breeds reputation but tell myself I am going to keep an open mind. I have two standard poodles and everyone seemed to be getting along fine all day. Then low and behold two of them were tugging on a Frisbee when all of a sudden the Pit Bull lets go of the Frisbee and goes for my dog’s throat giving it the death shake. My daughter and I jump in I have both hands in this dogs mouth trying to get him to let go of my dogs throat and let me tell you those jaws were not budging. Not sure how long this went on for or what exactly made him let go but my dog got away at one point and left me with both hands still in this dog’s mouth holding it off the ground except its two back feet. Told my daughter to get my dogs in the house and I was not sure what to do next. Was not sure if I let this thing go at this point if it would come after me but I knew I could not hold on much longer. Thought about throwing it over the second story porch but ended up letting go without any further aggression. End result 5 staples in my dogs neck and antibiotics for 14 days, my daughter had her hand punctured in the process and required x-rays and antibiotics, and I am not sure how but other than a small cut on the inside of my thumb and scratches from his claws trying to get away from me and bleeding pretty good from the scratches I came out unscathed. I called animal control to report and figure the proper way to handle this but because the animal was a guest and did not attack an individually they said there is nothing really that can be done to make sure this does not happen again. I am not sure what her boyfriend is going to do at this point but if it was my dog love it or not I think I would have to put it down so there is no possibility something like this happens again but not my call. If there was not human intervention I am pretty sure things would have ended much differently. It is amazing how you just react to these situations without thought but afterwards reflect back and say to yourself that was one crazy situation I never want to go through again! I know this happens with many different breeds on occasion but what I think is different is how powerful this things jaws were and how quickly serious damage can be done. Pretty scary! Just venting!
 
Oh my gosh. I'm so sorry, for

Oh my gosh. I'm so sorry, for everyone (human and animal) involved. I am glad you and your daughter didn't end up being more severly injured and am glad your dog is going to be alright. I can't even imagine how scary that must have been!
 
I had a run in with a pit

I had a run in with a pit bull last summer on one of my long runs. The dog began to chase me, and I had to decide whether to keep running or turn and face him. I stopped and met him face to face. I figured a well timed front kick when he lunged would be my best bet. Luckily the dog stopped just out of reach, bared his teeth, growling like mad, then turned and wanderred back up his driveway. Now, whenever I run past that house, I pick up a large stick that I keep stashed in the ditch near that house.

Usually you can break up a dog fight by throwing something at the dogs, but my experience with pit bulls has been that when they decide to go, nothing will stop them. Usually its a bad idea to get between fighting dogs, but with a pitbull its about the only way.

Hope everyone heals up well.
 
oh my gosh!  How scary!!  My

oh my gosh! How scary!! My furbaby is also a standard poodle and they are so slender and fragile looking compared to a pit bull. I'm so glad it turned out as well as it did. I know we aren't supposed to interfere when dogs fight/attack, but I would have done the same for my baby.


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I think this is a case for

I think this is a case for Cesar Millan, The Dog Whisperer, and I'm not kidding.

Whatever you do, never look an unfamiliar dog in the face. It tells them that you challenge them as the lead dog of the pack, and they will take your face off to defend their title.
 
Just wondering...was her

Just wondering...was her boyfriend present when all of this was going down, and if so, what did he do to stop it?
 
Thanks Cali.   DD77 I know

Thanks Cali.



DD77 I know what you mean. I have a route out in the middle of nowhere that has a Sheppard who always comes out to greet me snarling and a couple other smaller dogs on other routes which come across the road nipping at me. I do not know what gets into owners minds because to me this is not acceptable behavior and would not be tolerated with my dogs.



Wendy my first thought was to let them go at it and work it out but I could tell this was way out of control and I had to do something when he was shaking him like a rag doll from his neck. I am a bigger active guy in pretty good shape for an old man and I could not get those jaws to move. I would post a picture of my two Standards but haven't figured out how to insert a picture. Where are you at in Virginia? I get to Providence Forge periodically. It is in between Richmond and Williamsburg.



TJ I agree there is some issues that need to be addressed with this dog but like I said this is not my call. As I have indicated I have been around dogs and trained dogs my whole life. Between my wife and I and 4 children who are grown up and out of the house we have 6 dogs between us. We all get together on a regular basis and have never had a lead dog issue and actually it is pretty fun to watch them all play. I have never witnessed anything so violent up front and personal like that between two dogs in my entire life! How could anyone find dog fighting entertaining? I explained to my daughter I do not want to see or hear about that dog or have it anywhere near any of my family members or our pets ever again. No ifs, ands, or buts. Sorry. There was too much damage done in a short amount of time to ever trust that dog again. Her boyfriend was not here at the time.



Thanks Adam like I said I had my apprehensions for the same reasons. I do not want to pick on the breed because I am sure there are incident all over with other breeds. I will never be comfortable around another Pit Bull ever again. I will tell you I now know why they became the breed of choice for dog fighting and I wonder if there is not some aggressive genetics involved here.



Have a good day!
 
I am a pit bull owner.  I've

I am a pit bull owner.


I've had to break up dog fights before (not my pit) and I am VERY glad to hear that your dog survived an no one was seriously injured. Those are very scary situations.


My pit is a beautiful and loveable creature that I'm confident would completely ignore any burglar breaking into our house. Other than barking, she's completely passive toward humans. The only way I believe she would bite a person would be if she perceived a danger to me or my wife.


The complete opposite is true with other dogs. Any responsible pit owner should have done their research and understand the tendencies that have been bred into pits. Humans created the breed. The breed was created to fight - other dogs and even bulls and such. Pure pits have a latent aggressive tendency toward other dogs, and an ingrained submissiveness to humans.


Most of the attacks on humans you hear about by "pit bulls" are mixed breeds (often rottweilers) and/or the media playing on the notoriety pits have gained over the years. There's rarely confirmation of the dog's breed or a picture, just the reporter's statement that it was a pit bull. "Pit Bull Attacks!" is a more compelling headline than "Dog Attacks!”


With that said - I would not trust my pit around any strange dogs. I absolutely would not take her to a friend or relative's home that had dogs. A strange dog entering into our yard would mostly likely be in danger. The very slightest provocation from another dog can trigger a pit - like a little growl while tugging on a frizbee.


This was human error, unfortunately. Your dogs and the pit bull were put into a potentially violate situation by humans.
 
 I have nothing agains pits

I have nothing agains pits in general. I've bred great danes and mastiffs for years, and have had dog on dog attacks from both breeds. It can happen with any dog. I've also had bad experiences with golden retrevers and labs while out running, as well as mutts.

Its always great to hear about responsible pit bull owners. If all dog owners new the powre and limitations of their pets, there would be far fewer attacks on people or other dogs.
 
Aw, that's so precious!

Aw, that's so precious!
 
Wendy,  Lucy looks just like

Wendy, Lucy looks just like my oldest dog Ferris's mother and Ferris is black. Thank your husband for his service for our country! My nephew is in search and rescue in Afghanistan. Korea should be a little different than Virginia I would imagine. I hope your move goes smoothly! Good luck.
 
Good Job!  I have to say this

Good Job! I have to say this is the first/only thread I've ever read that didn't turn into a free for all Pitbull bash-fest. I know I'm digging up an old thread, but I ran accross it while looking for another thread.



I too am a pit owner and believe, wholeheartedly, that it is all in the way the dog has been raised and cared for. That said, I would NEVER put my dogs around any other unfamiliar animals. They are the biggest players, but they are also the roughest players I've ever seen and I have no doubt that they could inflict pain if the situation turned bad.



As for running and being chased by dogs....so far the only ones that I've had any problem with are the Chihuahas down the street. It never fails that whenever I run/walk by this lady's house, she always has them out and off-leash. The term "Ankle-Biter" takes on a whole new meaning when you're barefoot! Though, her last comment to me was, "don't worry, they're just trying to tell you that you shouldn't run barefoot". My response to her was, "doesn't seem to bother them!". :)
 
I watched the tail end of a

I watched the tail end of a fascinating documentary about domesticating animals on Animal Planet the other night. They were able to prove through science that with each new generation of domesticated dogs produced more docile and loving pets in the next generation of domesticated dogs.

With the wolf, they followed the same practices they used for domesticating dogs, but were unsuccessful in domesticating pure bred wolves. The wolves never looked the people in the eyes, they climbed on the dining room tables, they acted distant from the families raising them. They were very undog-like. This is interesting considering the wolf is 98% dog.

Then over a period of 50 years, they studied the foxes' behavior when it came to domestication, and what they found was quite shocking and horrific: They placed wild foxes in an enormous kennel, with each fox in its own cage, lined up on both sides. The scientist would walk by each cage and place the back of her hand against each cage. If the fox showed aggression, she moved on. She did this until she found one that was not aggressive. They took that one and mated it with a "normal" fox, meaning not docile, not aggressive. Then they placed the offspring in separate cages and repeated the experiment. Although they have been doing this for 50 years, this particular experiment, if i remember correctly, went on for three years. The foxes they ended up with were more loveable than most dogs. They would sit on the people's shoulders, rubbed against them, greeted them most anxiously, and on and on, almost too lovingly.

Then they reversed the experiment, and this is where the horrific part comes in: They took the most aggressive fox and mated it with a "normal" fox. They then placed the offspring into separate cages and selected the most aggressive of the lot, mated it with a "normal" fox, and on and on. By the end of three years, they produced satan himself. I have never seen such venom and hate coming from animals. They kept one fox per cage. As the scientist walked through the center, each one of them tried to get through the cages at her to tear her to shreds. It was the most demonic I have ever seen an animal behave.

I think love will take an animal a long way, but genetics also play an important role. I just thought it was fascinating and wanted to share.
 
 I'm going to stay out of the

I'm going to stay out of the breed discussion and add that one time while I was researching dog parks, I read that to break up a dog fight it's safest and easiest to grab the bad dog by the back feet and spin them around (like an ice skating pair), and it makes them let go. At the time I had a 90 lb dog and couldn't imagine how my 125 lb frame could do that. It's interesting to imagine though...



From watching Animal Planet, I've seen that dog fighting rings use "pry sticks" or something like that, a strong stick to make the biting dog open its jaw. If the THUGS who arrange dog fights have to use sticks, I'm sure regular people have no chance with just bare hands.



Glad to hear you, your daughter, and your dog are ok.
 
 Those poor poor foxes . I'm

Those poor poor foxes :-(. I'm all for needed animal testing but that just seems cruel. Can you imagine hating life SOOO much that you attacked everything that came near your cage. The scientist in me is fascinated by the story, but the bleeding heart animal lover has the urge to go yell at the people who ran that experiment. Thanks for sharing though it is interesting.



edited to add- however I totally want one of the lovable ones. That would be the most awesome pet ever if all the wild really were bred out of them. :)
 
I know, it is both sad and

I know, it is both sad and fascinating. The lovable ones were sooooooo loveable, almost too lovable, kinda needy-like. Super sweet though.
 
Peggy, I hope I never need a

Peggy, I hope I never need a stick to pry anything apart. How terrible for those poor dogs.