This was a very unfriendly dog that Elsa ran into at the beach in CT.
I never have to stray very far from home for a blog topic. Yesterday, right before I headed out with my two for a walk I was shutting my office door which is a patio door facing the street. Elsa started barking seriously which I knew meant that either a cat or dog was on our yard. I stepped out onto the very small balcony to see. It was the pit mix from up the street and she was eating something on my lawn. Perhaps she was here after the cat, who knows. I yelled to get out of here; she is not a friendly dog and should not be out of her own yard, ever. The dog barked back at me and continue to scarf down whatever it was she was eating. Then I saw a woman coming down the street with her doodle; someone I see walk past my house everyday.
I yelled several more times at the dog on my yard and considered a bucket of water when the owner called it. It sort of headed home when it saw the doodle and changed her mind. Her head dropped and hair went up on her back; from the tip of her tail all the way her head, it stood straight up. Not good. I hadn't actually seen this dog with other dogs so as much as it looked like a very bad situation, I wasn't positive what was going to happen. Then she started towards the doodle, head down, eyes locked but tail at half mast. All this while walking down the middle of the street with the owner following, calling to her dog. The dog wasn't listening at all, she had no control over her dog.
The woman with the doodle saw the black pit mix heading towards her looking very menacing. I now knew what the outcome would be; the black dog was not stopping, she was going all the way. The doodle owner told her dog to "leave it" as she brought him in close to her. As the black dog got closer and closer she grabbed her doodles head and turned him into her. By the time the black dog reached the doodle her tail was held high, she obviously had seriously bad intentions. She circled the two waiting for the right moment.
The owner of the black dog finally came into the picture and was moving far too slowly calling out to her dog to be nice. Honestly. As she got to the dogs she asked her dog what she was doing. She stood for a moment watching before reaching out to her dog. I knew what was going to happen the moment she grabbed the dog's collar and it did. The black dog exploded the moment her collar was grabbed and luckily the doodle and his owner stepped back to avoid the worst of it. The black dog and her owner headed for home.
I realized that had this not unfolded right then; it would have been me and my dogs dealing with this black dog. We were heading out moments after this. This is what is wrong in the world of dogs. The woman with her very cute and friendly doodle who walks down the street everyday should not have to deal with this. The black dog is obviously not friendly, I've dealt with her myself in the past. It's not right, it's not fair and it needs to end. If you live with a dog like this, who is not friendly then it NEVER be out of your yard.
I had a situation like this many years ago when I was on a beach with no one else around. It was just me, and the dog was after me. There was no getting out of the situation. If I was aggressive it moved into attack; if I lowered my posture to submit and turn my back it came after me. After several moments of adrenaline raising interaction the owner came and called her dog off of me. I have a pepper spray now and as of yet I have not used it but I will if I need to. It is kept in my dog walking pouch. There is also a new spray out by Premier which is like a pepper spray but uses citronella. I will be purchasing one of these as well, maybe a couple.
My Standard Poodles were constantly stalked at dog park so I stopped going. Two of my friend's herding dogs seem to attack when my dogs refuse to be herded. They also seem possessive of me and I am not theirs to own!
ReplyDeleteAt one point, two Aussies had my 70 lb. Standard by the throat and she was literally screaming in pain and fear. I had to pry their jaws loose. These were neighborhood dogs and I knew them and their owner.
Owners are not establishing their role as pack leader over their dogs. Some seem oblivious to the basic postures of dog behavior. I won't expose my beautiful girls to certain situations and I think they are the better for it. They are calm, loving and attentive to our pack.
I keep my gaggle of Poodles well protected in their own fenced yard now. They only socialize with other poodles and dogs carefully screened by me. I never trust another dog owner's expertise until I see their dogs interact with children and pets.
It is unfortunate that many people that own these types of dogs know how dangerous a pit in the wrong or untrained hands can be. We rarely ever take our Standard out in public without pepper foam with the highest OC content we can find. Foam is better as it will stick to the face and eyes with less chance of the wind blowing it back. Some people may feel this is cruel, but its a dog eat dog world out there. When it comes to my best friend I would like to ensure his safety comes first.
ReplyDeleteHere is a photo of my Apricot Standard Poodle