Got Bit By A Dog.... Lost It.

[OKRADLAK]

Thank you, Kim! You are so right. They left that poor dog to be ruined. I never thought about the fact that she was not even spayed. No shots, no spayed, nothing. They just thought, "How cute" and never thought further than that!! And there were two.

I think about the dog every day. Every day when I clean the wound, I think of her with tears because it was not her fault that she was turned into a biter. I would like to see those people in prison for ten days, and maybe forced to train their dog properly. At their own expense. It's wrong what they did!!

 

[Kim]

As hard as it may be for you to see, you probably did the dog a favor by calling Animal Control. Leaving a dog out to fend for itself while it's owner is out is neglect pure and simple in my eyes. Even though our yard is fenced we don't leave them out when we aren't home.

We currently have a dog that we rescued from a neglectful situation right next door to us. From the time she was a puppy until we took her the people would put her outside as soon as they got up in the morning until just before they went to bed at night. They did nothing with her. Needless to say she was on the verge of beginning to bite. After she charged 3 or 4 people and a cop when she got out of the yard we ended up with her. Shepherds are a very sensitive breed. When we first took her in we couldn't even touch her without her getting a guarded look on her face. She's been with us for almost 2 years now and she's come a long way. She's now a happy dog although requires meds for anxiety. She's really turned out to be an awesome dog. If that dog has experienced anything like what Nikki did you did her a huge favor by getting her out of there!!!!

 

[Kintsugi]

OKRAD, buddy, friend, sister,

You did the right thing. I cannot STAND owners, particularly of small dogs, who allow aggression to go unchecked! I say especially small dogs because it's like it's okay as long as they're under thirty pounds, but it isn't. I made the mistake of taking my dog's food dish away from my sister's yorkshire terrier and the little sh*t tried to attack my hand. Before I could throw it at a wall Annie attacked her and pinned her down for me. I went on to have an infuriated lecture with my sister (14 years older than I!) about how her dog's behavior was totally unacceptable and I couldn't believe she wants a baby when her yorkie is such a vicious brat. After spending several days with her and she saw my dog's behavior and how her yorkie's behavior was totally reformed toward me thanks to little Annie's no BS policy, she agreed that it was CRITICAL to get her dog trained. NO dog should be allowed to bite others, and if it had been a kid out there and I saw that shit happen, I would have probably beat the hell out of it myself.

But nevermind other dogs, when my dog is in the other room I have complete control over her an awareness of her actions. If she is even slightly out of line, my housemates barely get out the A in her name before I snap my fingers and she comes running in with her head down. If I ever saw her bite someone, she would be in such a WORLD of hurt. Thankfully, the way she's trained now she would have gone after a little mongrel like the dog who attacked you and taught it a lesson herself.

Dogs are supposed to be pets that are loyal to humans. They have no other purpose. They were bred to serve us and that is their place. You did the right thing, and I hope that that dog is taken home by someone who cares enough about its LIFE to train it properly. As it stands now, its behavior could have gotten it put down. You may have saved that dog's life by having her taken away from irresponsible owners.

I could go on for pages about how that dog could have suffered so much worse a fate if it had attacked someone or something else, but I won't. All I can say is that I love dogs, but I saw a German shepherd lock onto my SO's arm like an attack dog once, and he had about two seconds before I was about to slit that beast's throat. Owner pulled him off. A*sholes.

 

[OKRADLAK]

That is scary about your SO's arm!! I do carry spray now that my cop friend told me about. It's really strong, but still legal. You can buy it at gun stores, etc.

It makes me very angry, too, because this is a small town and the dog may not be adopted, espcially as a biter. In ten days I am going to enquire as to if they paid the fine and picked her up. They are horrible people to do this to the dog and anyone who may have been walking by. I highly doubt it is her first bite, either!!!

 

[KP the nut]

I made the mistake of taking my dog's food dish away from my sister's yorkshire terrier and the little sh*t tried to attack my hand. .

We have always trained our dogs to give up whatever they are eating to a human. We felt this was an important lesson both for our children who were small and for the safety of others.

Training and respect, unfortunately bad owners make insecure and bad dogs.

 

[Jet]

You did the right thing. Even if the poor dog ends up being put down she is still better off then she was with her nitwit owners. Frankly I think that animal control should have taken her pups too. My guess is that if she was not spayed or given shots she was simply a way for her owners to make a few bucks. She wasn't a pet or companion...just an ill treated money maker.

Dog owners who do not take responsibility for their animals make me sick. And owners of small dogs who allow them to act all crazy just because they are small and (supposedly) harmless are the worst of the bunch. A couple months ago I was in downtown Seattle waiting on the trolly and this guy came by with two Cairn Terriers. The dogs were clear out at the end of their leashes and going nuts barking and snapping at everyone. The idiot owner just smiled at everyone and said they were just trying to play (no, really they weren't). Eventually they got up by me and I told dude straight to his face that if my American Bulldog ever acted like that Animal Control would be on my doorstep in a heartbeat. I also told him that if one of his little beasts bit me I was going to sue his a**. He just scowled at me and tried to tell me they were just trying to play.

I have three dogs: my Chi weighs in at 6lbs, my Bulldog is about 75 and my Border Collie/GSD X is about 55. They are all treated equally and the same behaviors are expected of everyone. None of them are perfect but not one of them would act like that either.

 

[njray]

Interesting posts! How often do we here the dog is just like it's owner? Is that a true statement? How can that be? If it is true and you have a significant other (Human) what and who's personality does the dog take on........

 

[KP the nut]

If it is true and you have a significant other (Human) what and who's personality does the dog take on........

The most likeable qualities from both owners :D. They take and pass on qualities we give them, play, love, boundaries and hugs. Their loyalty knows no bounds.

 

[njray]

Interesting and possiitve KP,

What about our negative or inapropriate behaviors? If persons are not healthy might those qualiities be picked up by the dog as well? We often (not all the time) see documentation when a pet is vicious or attacks indiscriminately there are issues in the pet owners household that are unhealthy. My next question is if i run across a dog that is lets say overly subserviant to the point it cowers as it approaches the owner I often wonder why, Do any others here? Then again is there a real definitive line between loyal and subservient? Pets rely on humans to feed and care for them. They really are forced into servency IMHO. So if a pet returns to its deep genetic roots of a hunting carnivor can I really blame the dog if it attacks? Is it not easier to blame a dog that cannot speak nor navigate the complex legal system then it is to admit just because certain persons "want something to be a certain way" humans should be privy to all of them...

 

[Kim]

Ok, I think I can use Nikki for this example. lol

Dogs are generally a very social animal. They need interaction with other dogs and/or humans in order to develop normally (just like us). They need socialization. They're pack animals in that they need other dogs and/or humans to compose that pack. They also require boundaries just like we do. If the pack is strictly made up of other dogs the alpha male and female will set the boundaries for the other dogs to follow. If it's a human/dog relationship the humans are looked to to set the boundaries.

If a dog does not have a social structure to follow it becomes insecure, aggressive, fearful and anxiety ridden. By nature dogs are meant to please. That is why they are so willing to follow us. They want to do what makes us happy. That's why obedience training is so important in any human/dog relationship. It teaches us humans how to communicate with our dogs -- it also teaches the dog that there are rules to be followed and what is expected of them. It also helps to build confidence in the dog as well.

The times that there are problems with dogs -- aggression, fear biting, anxiety, etc is when the dog has not had a social structure with either other dogs or humans. Some breeds are more sensitive than others to this. Shepherds are a breed that requires this and if they don't get it they get all messed up. Granted some problems are also caused by humans demanding too much of the dog or too harsh in their punishment when training.

Nikki since the time she was a puppy until she was a year and a half old was put outside in a fenced in yard and left there to fend for herself for the day until her owners took her in at night just before they went to bed. For the most part she spent 14 to 16 hours a day outside with little to no human contact. Her owners did nothing with her. Because of this she became very aggressive and was well on her way to starting to bite. She never learned how to behave and had nobody there to teach her. She didn't develop normally. By the time we got her she was a real mess.

She had to learn to trust humans. She didn't want to be touched. We had to socialize her and set boundaries for her. It took about a year of working with her but she eventually came around. Setting boundaries for her made her feel more secure and built confidence in her. She needed someone to step up and take charge (most dogs do) and when we were willing to do that for her she became more secure and confident. Today she's a completely different dog. She's happy and confident although she still has a problem with severe anxiety and is on meds because of that. So I guess you can say that she's a PTSD dog.

Spike a chi/terrier cross is also another example of this. He spent the first year of his life in a cage with little to no human contact. He too was aggressive when we first brought him home. He was so fearful that he didn't want to be in the same room with us never mind in the same house. For months he followed my husband around barking at him. Today he is the sweetest little dog but is still lacking in some of the social graces. He is now about 9 years old and he's still making progress every day.

Basically dogs need us to step up and take charge and when an owner either won't or is unwilling to do so that is when the problems start. Bad breeding can also be to blame in some cases but for the most part if a dog has a problem there's usually a human to blame for it. If there were no humans dogs would not survive -- they can not survive without us because they've been domesticated for too long. If it weren't for humans dogs would not exist -- humans created dogs.

 

[njray]

Wow great post KIM.

I might not agree with all u have said but I agree with some of it. I am curious but I think you do agree that dogs can be socialized in different behaviors by humans. These socialization's can be both negative and positive do you agree with that? .

I wonder if dogs were placed on and island with natural food sources and shelters if they would not survive. ie like wolves or other pack hunters no!. I have seen a different animals survive under conditions humans would not. I am sure you are talking about very domesticated genetically modified dogs that may not survive in the wild, but then again I know of some that probably would do well

 

[KP the nut]

I am curious but i think you do agree that dogs can be socialized in different behaviors by humans... These socialization's can be both negative and positive do you agree with that?

I agree with that. Any animal, humans included can be socialised/trained in negative and positive behaviours. Any animal can be trained to kill, some do it for sadistic pleasure, I use the example of dog and cock fighting.

The vast majority of pets do not bite and are trained/socialised and kept under control which is more than can be said of people. Give me a room full of pet dogs to a room full of people anyday.