Dog fights and dog attacks

[DogsAndTheMob]

I found yesterday’s “dog attack” report in the media very distressing. I can only imagine the terror of the person floundering in mud, holding their small dog in their arms and trying to protect it from two wolfhounds.

 

But I wish the media wouldn’t immediately label events like this as “dog attacks”. I don’t know what happened and (as was pointed out in another thread) a small dog can look like prey to large hunting dogs, but I doubt if the media knew which dog(s) were the instigator(s).

 

Immediately labelling such events as “dog attacks” builds public fear about aggressive dogs but does nothing to educate dog owners. Owners of large dogs believe that their dogs would never attack a smaller dog and owners of small dogs see their dogs as potential victims. So nobody is prompted to consider whether they should manage their own dog more carefully.

 

The reality is that any fight between two dogs of different size could end very badly. Both small dogs and large dogs can instigate fights out of fear, “feistiness “ or predatory instinct, and once a fight starts, the fight/flight response prevents both dogs from calming down. It is our job to manage our dogs to minimise the risks and our responsibility to try to choose dogs that we can manage safely. If the media talked about “fatal dog fights” unless or until they had evidence that it was an unprovoked attack, that might help to educate the public.

Edited July 10, 2023 by DogsAndTheMob

[Amazetl]

The story is not fully known yet it seems. There were reports that the dogs jumped a fence and that it was a friend minding the dogs while the owner was away but the latest report was that they have yet to locate the owner or where the dogs have come from. Sounds like they aren’t registered or microchipped.

 

The little dog was attacked. The woman was attacked. Didn’t the owner need surgery? If the latest is that the little dog has sadly passed, I’m devastated for them. We don’t know the full circumstance but it sounds like woman and her dog were walking and the big dogs ran up to them, she managed to get her little dog up and at some point in the process the little dog must have got away and gotten itself into the mud to escape. Someone saw what was happening and called police, police had to use spray to get the big dogs away. 

 

It sounds very serious. It is terrifying that any dog could be on the loose and escalate to that extent. It doesn’t sound like the little dog caused anything except to look like prey to the large dogs. I doubt it would have tried something with two large dogs, and the fact that it ran off into the mud to escape. 

 

 

[DogsAndTheMob]

8 minutes ago, Amazetl said:

The story is not fully known yet it seems. There were reports that the dogs jumped a fence and that it was a friend minding the dogs while the owner was away but the latest report was that they have yet to locate the owner or where the dogs have come from. Sounds like they aren’t registered or microchipped.

 

The little dog was attacked. The woman was attacked. Didn’t the owner need surgery? If the latest is that the little dog has sadly passed, I’m devastated for them. We don’t know the full circumstance but it sounds like woman and her dog were walking and the big dogs ran up to them, she managed to get her little dog up and at some point in the process the little dog must have got away and gotten itself into the mud to escape. Someone saw what was happening and called police, police had to use spray to get the big dogs away. 

 

It sounds very serious. It is terrifying that any dog could be on the loose and escalate to that extent. It doesn’t sound like the little dog caused anything except to look like prey to the large dogs. I doubt it would have tried something with two large dogs, and the fact that it ran off into the mud to escape. 

 

 

I’m not in any way downplaying the horror of what happened to that dog and owner and I absolutely agree that it should not have happened.

However, labelling every event as a dog attack means that the owners of large dogs say “my dogs are sweet natured”, think their dogs would never attack another dog and do not realise the damage their dogs could do.

[Rebanne]

it might have started as a dog fight but it ended as an attack.

[Amazetl]

I think I get what you’re trying to say. People do need to understand that any dog is capable of doing at least some damage and especially large dogs, even if they normally are friendly. 

 

I don’t think we know for sure yet but if it’s true that these dogs weren’t registered or microchipped and that the owner hasn’t owned up to it or indeed if the story is correct that there was a man with the dogs and when they began to attack he ran off, it seems that these dogs weren’t being kept appropriately and I would hope that the majority of owners who do have dogs capable of doing significant damage do contain their dogs properly. 

[coneye]

I have not seen many irish wolfhounds , and the very few i have seen have been really nice goofy gentle giants , very very  people freindly ,, However   my mate had two  when out with his wife , a small dog OFF LEASH  came up to them barking and they  pulled his wife , she could'nt control them and killed the dog , now this , makes me wonder if its something in the breed says do not trust with small dogs  or animals ,, I know it can happen with any dogs but are they more disposed to attack  smaller animals has prey

[Amazetl]

Yes, they are normally regarded as gentle giants and even a friend to all, unless they are in hunt mode I suppose. There are a lot of mixed hounds around that are used for hunting that look similar to Wolfhounds and Deerhounds, they are much more common. 

 

A well socialised and well trained and well bred Wolfhound should be able to control itself if a little dog comes up yapping. They are so much bigger and it shouldn’t bother them too much (of course unless it starts to attack) but nonetheless, it doesn’t appear that’s what happened here. If you can’t control your huge dog due to size and strength then you shouldn’t be having them out and about. Most dogs aren’t properly able to be simply controlled through strength but they are trained not to pull and lose the leash where something could happen. 

 

I understand sometimes people are naive or it hasn’t happened before but people have to know the strength of their dog and act accordingly. It’s not an excuse. Also, in the case of your friends, the other person shouldn’t have had their little dog off leash if it was going to run up barking at much larger dogs (or any at all). Unless it’s your first time walking them then you should know a bit about how they act in those situations, and if it is your first time out with them then precaution should be taken and definitely not off leash. 

[coneye]

20 hours ago, Amazetl said:

Yes, they are normally regarded as gentle giants and even a friend to all, unless they are in hunt mode I suppose. There are a lot of mixed hounds around that are used for hunting that look similar to Wolfhounds and Deerhounds, they are much more common. 

 

A well socialised and well trained and well bred Wolfhound should be able to control itself if a little dog comes up yapping. They are so much bigger and it shouldn’t bother them too much (of course unless it starts to attack) but nonetheless, it doesn’t appear that’s what happened here. If you can’t control your huge dog due to size and strength then you shouldn’t be having them out and about. Most dogs aren’t properly able to be simply controlled through strength but they are trained not to pull and lose the leash where something could happen. 

 

I understand sometimes people are naive or it hasn’t happened before but people have to know the strength of their dog and act accordingly. It’s not an excuse. Also, in the case of your friends, the other person shouldn’t have had their little dog off leash if it was going to run up barking at much larger dogs (or any at all). Unless it’s your first time walking them then you should know a bit about how they act in those situations, and if it is your first time out with them then precaution should be taken and definitely not off leash. 

Your Correct , i said it in another post , every other day i see  on my local dog beach , people  who do not haave the physical strenght to control there dog  which usually are not trained  , ,  i see one lady every day with a german shepard thats dog reactive , and it pulls her all over the place , one day something will happen . Regards my freinds dogs , it was a shock to them , the dogs were normally good with other dogs , in fact i had took my little dog around many times , and once he got over being scared of them and there size they played with him very gently , but on this occasion the other dog ran up within feet of them , barking   ect and they gave no warning just pulled her and ripped it to bits , like a rag doll ,  , council got involved and deemed it was no fault of hers , the other dog was off leash hers were on leash

[Amazetl]

Yes, most dogs are capable of causing serious damage to other dogs, even the ones who have never had problems before or are so friendly. There are so many variables that happen with each dog meeting and triggers that happen too fast for us to react. That’s why it’s so important that everyone have control of their dog and don’t have them off leash in areas where they’re not supposed to be or if your dog runs up to others. 

 

So common to hear ‘don’t worry he/she‘ s friendly’ but what if the other dog isn’t? I have a dog who although has never been in a fight or done anything, gets very scared and unsure of strange dogs coming up to her, I quickly get in front of her before she gets to a state where she would feel like she needs to defend herself or myself. But the other person way aways yells out not to worry because their dog is friendly. Yet their dog is right in my dogs face, after having run up with no warning to try to sniff my dog’s face. That’s not how dogs are meant to greet even. 

[Mairead]

I had that problem with boisterous dogs rudely invading my dog's personal space. She much preferred other civilised sighthounds or dogs who liked chasing or stalking games, not wrestling games.

I took a golf size umbrella and opened it when I needed to.

[Dumdum]

Umbrella is a great tip. No dog is prepared to be umbrellered

[asal]

friend visiting another friend , her dog was on leash but the second it saw the chooks it took off so fast the owner was flat on her face in a split second. lucky the chooks were safe behind the fence. as for the dogs owner gee it was a hard fall.

 

tried to say she tripped.  nup her dog yanked her clean off her feet. lucky the chooks were locked up or it would have been a massacre

it wasn't a big dog, only medium sized . so does not need to be big to pull someone over if they take off fast enough

Edited August 1, 2023 by asal