An attack



Elsa was attacked two days ago.  My husband had taken her for a run and on that run an out of control Bulldog attacked her.  They were running along a path when my husband saw a woman with two Bulldogs that she was not able to control.  He yelled at her before she approached, telling her to rein them in.  She apparently attempted to do so but was unable to control them.  He pulled Elsa over to the side seeing that the dogs were out of control.  As the woman attempted to pass, one of the dogs dove behind my husband and grabbed Elsa on the loin.  The dog knocked her to the ground and was clamped on immediately. 

My husband immediately tried to get it off of her.  Elsa was screaming and still on the ground while the dog hung on.  The woman pulled on the leash to no avail; the prong collar that the dog was wearing did nothing but deliver the pinch it is meant to do.  As the dog hung on to Elsa, it was receiving a neck attack from the collar; adding fuel to the fire no doubt.  The dog finally let go after being hit in the head; you cannot pry a bulldogs mouth open, it just doesn't happen.  They like other bully breeds to not have a magical locking jaw.  What they do have is an extreme muscled jaw that has much more power in it than a normal breed or mix.

Once the dog was off of Elsa, the facts began to emerge.  The dog had just been rescued; the woman walking it did not own the dog.  It was a neighbors dog who she was walking along with her Bulldog which had done nothing but stand there during the attack.  She was completely incapable of controlling the dog.  She also informed my husband that she had taken the dog to a school the day before; simply mind boggling. 

I will now be dealing with the fallout behaviors that I always talk about.  There may very well be aggression towards dogs from Elsa.  Socializing after an attack can be challenging.  You must be absolutely sure that the other dog is friendly before you attempt.  We will be playing with all of her dog friends before meeting anyone new.  We will also walk where the attack happened so as to undo what has been done.  Many times it will be put in the past; sometimes not, some dogs will hang onto the experience forever. 

Some people have said "dogs will be dogs" about this attack.  A dog defending itself, having a minor dispute, fight or even leash aggression is a completely different thing than just attacking and latching onto a passing dog.  This is inexcusable.  If you have no background on a dog then you make sure you have complete control.  If you know your dog will do something like this, you don't let it happen.  If you cannot control a dog then you don't take it out. 

We have the number of the woman walking the dog and we have been in contact.  I will be finding out who owns the dog, where the dog came from and many more details.  There will be much following up done.  I had to do the same thing several years back after a newly rescued pitbull puppy latched onto Jessie's neck and shook her like a ragdoll.  A 4.5 month old puppy, shocking.  I contacted the rescue who never got back to me; nor did they seem to care that one of their rescues did this.  We shall see where this dog came from and what sort of screening it had.

Sadly, there are so many shelters and rescues now that no screening is done.  People are given dogs without knowing anything about the dog or the owners ability to handle it.  I carry a pepper spray on me; my husband will now also be carrying one.   



11 comments:

  1. Mom Kim here - my first thought of course was about Elsa - I do hope shecan come through this with positive results. Like you said, you just don't know how something like this will affect a dog. What about the physical damage - I'm sure there were stitches, x-rays maybe - I would hope the owner of the bulldog will cover that cost.

    I was also wondering - have you found the pepper spray to be effective? I was also wondering about using mace or would that lead to damage of the eyes?
    Poor ELSA - I pray she will come through this with no ill affects.

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  2. sadly an only too common occurrence these days (I'm in the UK)my thoughts are with your lovely girl and I hope she comes out the other side unscathed.

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  3. It hurts me so much what happen.... for Elsa and any dog that ever experience this. Is such a violation of the self... But please do not use the pepper spray. If there is wind accidentally can get in Elsa's eyes or yours. And please let the crazy world of idiots correct or not itself. Elsa needs her confident, calm and happy mommy more than anything else in the world. Best of luck in rehabilitation. Big healing hugs to Elsa !!!

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  4. I have heard of so many of these attacks. I of heard that many owners wont even walk their dogs anymore because they fear attack. I have heard mixed results about pepper spray and mace. It depends on how determined the attacking dog is would be my guess. Please take this as far as you can. Contact animal control or the police. Your dog could have been killed and so could someone's child. A dog that is that unpredictable should not be in public spaces. The rescue, the owners, and the women walking the dog are all responsible. HOWEVER, if the dog did come from a rescue he should have been temperament tested and the owners should have had a good idea what they were getting and taken appropriate action.

    I am so sorry about your dog. I hope she heals well physically and mentally.

    Michelle

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  5. Oh no, poor Elsa! I'm so sorry this happened! Sending love and hugs to you guys!

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  6. I admit that I am a coward. I don't walk my dogs outside my big fenced yard, I don't go to dog parks. We have some criminal element in our neighborhood who walk their dangerous dogs and just HOPE their dog will attack another dog or person. I am near retirement age and have two 10 pound terrier mixes who think that they are big dogs, and a standard poodle who just loves anyone. I cannot risk an attack on my dogs or myself. Every day it seems, one of my online friends relates a surprise attack while walking, running or at the park. My dogs are socialized with my friends and family, but I cannot think of taking them outside our safety. I'm not being critical of anyone who is braver than I. I just admit I cannot cope with our society. Out of control people and out of control dogs, I can do without.

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  7. My standard poodle has been attacked twice in our neighborhood by dogs off leash, while mine was on leash.
    Since then, CoCo is verbally agressive towards those dogs when she sees them and will even walk backwards so that she can keep an eye on them. She is the sweetest of dogs and we foster all the time and she never has a problem except with these dogs and dogs that look like them.

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  8. I am so very sorry! Reading this just made me cry again. I pray Elsa comes through both physically and emotionally unscathed. Luckily she has a wonderful mom to take care of her and to help her through so she has a great chance. My thoughts and prayers are with Elsa and your whole family at this time. God Bless.

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  9. I'd recently read that the best way to stop dogs from fighting (and I am hoping to stop a bulldog from clinching his jaws) is to grab their hind legs and pull up. What did you husband do to get that dog off of Elsa? I am so upset over this attack. Hugs and prayers to Elsa, and your entire family, as well as your husband. I'm sure he feels just awful.

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  10. I used to carry a Cops Bully stick. my thoughts were if it attacks my dog to such an extreme I have full rights to kill it my self... Id say take this to your local News station, make that rescue answer for this. And tho it was a 'new dog' to this woman, it doesn't excuse her senseless actions. Shes trying to skate free by pulling the I'm the innocent blond card. Dont be fooled.

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  11. I am sorry to hear about your dog it is scary. I must drive my dogs somewhere to walk them. there are so many irresponsible. Most are pit or pit crosses. People walk them off lead and the dogs are running up in your yard and if you say to the owners that the dogs should be on a leash, they will say "Oh he listens to me." When he obviously does not

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