Having your dog attacked by a pair of other dogs is one of the most traumatic events that can befall you when you’re out for a nice walk – you feel terrified and homicidal at the same time. This email from Bambi in Sagaponack describes such a situation.
This week an acquaintance had her older and somewhat fragile Shiba Inu mix attacked on the trails by 2 Pit Bulls being “walked” by someone who wasn’t their owner and had no control over them (who apparently wasn’t even close by). The person with the dog who was attacked never leashes her dogs either. I don’t know all the details — only that when i asked her boyfriend how she saved the little Shiba Inu mix– his response was exactly what i imagined “I don’t know – the same way a mother lifts a car off her baby i guess.”
Has this subject ever come up with you, your listeners or trainers? I know what i would do if Bean was in danger — whatever it takes. That means using the knife in my pocket or gouging the other dogs eyes out if necessary. Not a pretty solution. Have you ever heard of any helpful tips or methods that maximize effectiveness while minimizing danger to dogs and humans involved?
Love,
Bambi and BeanP.S. I mention the attackers being Pit Bulls not to prejudice anyone’s opinion but because they were doing what instinct told them — lock the jaws down on the throat and shake to kill.
Hi Bambi – I’m so sorry your friend had to through this –- and even sorrier for her little dog. But there are several incorrect assumptions in this saga so let me answer your various questions. Yes, I have been in this very situation myself. On the hiking trail right in front of my house on Bull Path in East Hampton, my 105 lb. Grey Weimeraner Billy Blue was “taken down” by a pair of male Golden Retrievers whose person walked them in the woods on that hiking trail every single day. Why they decided to nail Billy Blue I’ll never know, but two-on-one is a horrible sight to see, as the double-adrenaline and attack-drive kicks in. (Note that these were Goldens, accustomed to being off-leash in that familiar area, so the Pit Bull issue is not the point.) However, the owner handled the situation the way I would tell anyone else to: grab the tail of the aggressor (or the most aggressive of the pair of attackers) and pull with all your might. It did, in fact, take all the woman’s strength to grab that Golden’s tail and pull backward like she was hauling in a fishing net. Once the dog released Billy Blue I screamed at both dogs and ran them off waving my arms and thinking destructive thoughts. So that is the answer — and I do think it’s in The Dog Bible.
Secondly, I hope you are kidding about the knife in your pocket or gouging a dog’s eyes – under NO circumstances should people come between two fighting dogs, and especially not with their hands. You will not succeed in altering the course of the fight and you may lose your hand in the bargain.
Lastly, if a Pit Bull wants to kill something there is no stopping him -– the jaw locks and the death grip is unbreakable. This is why Pit Bulls were and are used for dog fighting -– the owners have a heavy bar called a “bite stick,” I believe, which they insert in the Pit Bull’s mouth to pry open the locked jaw when the fight is called. This means that the Pits in the woods did not intend to kill the little Shiba Inu. If that was their intention they would have succeeded. Your words, “lock the jaws on the throat and shake to kill” is an apt description of how Pit Bulls can behave. This pair in the woods stopped short of that, thank goodness. The real villains here are the owners of the Pit Bulls, who sent their friend off with two loaded guns and no instructions on how to handle safety.
Tracie
