[nagdu] Dog Attack

Wed May 28 17:30:07 UTC 2014

Craig,

Scary! Glad Chase was not badly injured, though any injury is bad enough.

Sounds like he used his instincts well to keep hostilities from ramping 
up, so good on him. I think it's harder for dogs in harness to move to 
use body language at times like that, though I've heard some schools are 
starting to teach handlers to just let go of the dog so it can do what 
it needs to do according to its instincts. Your wife was awesome, too! 
Humans seem to fall to the temptation to reach their hands into the mess 
to get control, but the power kick is the way to go to get the 
combatants' attention. Also knees to the ribs, especially if you can 
manage to knock the dog off its trajectory. It might take a time or two, 
but the dog will start to think about things pretty quickly.

It also sounds like he came through with his confidence unmarred. It 
might still be a good idea to keep an eye on that and ensure that he 
keeps his confidence, say by using positive reinforcement and staying 
calm yourself when other dogs are around. Of course, the real trick 
there is keeping handler anxiety from affecting the dog. Long deep 
breaths, smile big... Well, that's what I do if I'm feeling anxious and 
don't want to pass it on to my dog. I also settle into my super 
confident posture, which is part of the Alpha B 'tude, so I'm ahead of 
the game there.

Letting go has been a part of my plan all along, though first I put 
Mitzi behind me to see if I can use my own Alpha B 'tude to head things 
off. The surprise attack like yours last night would defeat that 
strategy, which is not a thought that cheers me up. I don't like feeling 
powerless. But if Mitzi is free to do her thing, then I will have some 
options, depending on the ground and how centered I am in orientation... 
If I can hear the dog fight, I can kick and use my knees to break things 
up. Maybe... My folded cane in my back pocket could come in handy, 
too... Unless I'm carrying it in my purse. Then I guess the purse gets 
sacrificed? I like having a plan, and Mitzi and I have done some 
practice in playing at the dog park. I figured that since dog play is 
practice for real hunting and fighting, I can do that, too, and figure 
out how dogs of various types move and stuff. When Mitzi was young, I 
spent a lot of time at the dog park letting her blow off all that 
energy, so I had to keep myself entertained somehow. /lol/

I'm not surprised by the poodle's reaction. Mitzi did hard damage to my 
nerves the first couple of times fights broke out at the park. All the 
other dogs would run to watch, just like the people. Mitzi would run, 
leap over the audience, and bite the aggressor in the butt, then leap 
out of the circle before it could catch her. I was kinda impressed by my 
little heroine, but I made sure to teach her to come to me and come 
behind me instead. Still, I figure if by trying to divert an aggressor's 
attention onto myself, I get into trouble, I have an idea what Mitzi 
will do. So far, I've never had a test of whether my strategy is pure 
bunk or not, which is fine with me. I feel better *having* a strategy, 
so that helps me deal with small scares and near misses. Mitzi's pretty 
good at judging dogs ahead of time, so I can tell from her whether there 
is cause for concern in loose dogs or barking dogs. A couple of times 
she has taken firm action to avoid, and other times I've felt her using 
her "back off" look to quell a dog we were passing. So I listen to her, 
too. She can make an idiot of herself being distracted sometimes, but 
that means the dog is a friendly, so I can just deal with her without 
fear of being eaten... Although I do keep an ear out for the other dog 
just in case.

Hope Chase heals quickly and keeps his sunny disposition.

Tami

On 05/28/2014 09:07 AM, Craig Heaps via nagdu wrote:
> Well, we survived our first dog attack last night.  My wife and I were
> walking out dogs in our neighborhood.  She has a small standard poodle,
> Cody.  I, of course, have Chase, the black Lab.  I had Chase out of
> harness and on leash, while I walked with my white cane.  As we came
> around a curve, a pit bull mix came running out of his house and went
> straight for Chase, wtith the owner of the pit bull right behind.
>
> The dog lit into Chase and Chase went submissive.  (I think he thought
> the other dog was playing, the way Chase and Cody wrestle when Chase is
> out of harness).  The dog had Chase on the ground by the neck.  The
> owner was on top of the dog, trying to pull him off.  It wasn't until my
> wife kicked the pit in the hindquarters that he let go and his owner was
> able to get control of him.
>
> Chase had one through and through puncture wound on his right ear and a
> small insignficatn abrasion below his right eye.  We took him to the
> emergency vet, who put two surgical staples in his ear and wrapped his
> head like those guys you wee in old war movies.  He was able to avoid
> the cone of shame so I can put his harness on him if I need to.
>
> Chase didn't seem at all traumatized.  His tail was wagging right after
> the attack and he wanted to greet all the people who came ouf of their
> homes to help us.  Our poodle, on the other hand, was a mess.  He
> couldn't calm down. He was barking and baying so loudly I couldn't tell
> at first if Chase was crying.  He wasn't.
>
> The dog's owner indictated he will have the dog euthanized.  We have a
> lot of small children in our development, and it just wouldn't be
> responsible to keep a dog like that around, even though it's been around
> and aggressive for some time.
>
> In training, they told us it would happen eventually, and now it has.
> Do any of you take steps to protect your guide?  It's remakable how fast
> it happened.  I was beating on the pit bull with my graphite cane until
> the tip flew off, and I might just as well have been scratching him
> behind the ears. My wife's well-delivered kick to the rear end seemed to
> do the trick.  I don't know what we would have done if his owner had not
> been there.
>
> Craig and the mostly unfazed Chase
>
>
>
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