Mina
Diamond Member
As many of you know, my PTSD was brought on by a severe dogbite, and I recently got a Doberman about a month ago (different thread on that).
This morning Kia (my dog) and I were out for a walk in our neighborhood. I know the route well, including where there are dogs in fenced yards and where we might encounter loose dogs. She is always on a leash, regardless.
We were in an area where there are usually no dogs when suddenly an adult pit bull mix and a St. Bernard mix puppy ran out from several houses down. We were on the opposite side of the street. The pit mix ran up to us, barking furiously, and began attacking Kia while she was standing almost directly in front of me. Not the doggie, "Hey, who are you, gotta smell you," but just full-on attacking her out of nowhere. She was defending herself, but of course I didn't want her (or me) hurt - especially because she's only just finished recovering from some serious damage inflicted by the two pit bulls she used to live with (we got her a month ago, a rescue).
On another forum, I recently read a thread about defending yourself and your dog against other dogs. So instead of standing there horrified, I decided to fight back with what I'd read. First I kicked the dog, and while that gave us a split-second break, I backed up the hill behind me and grabbed a large piece of branch laying on the ground. I hit the dog with the stick while he was attacking Kia again...not swinging, but jabbing...then held it out to keep him at bay, and kept shouting at him to go and get away.
I saw an open window in the house and started shouting to the owner to get outside, and finally a lady opened the door. First she tried to tell me it wasn't her dog...but apparently the dog belongs to her granddaughter :rolleyes:, and wasn't supposed to be outside. No excuse. I yelled to her what had happened, that their dog had run up and started attacking mine, unproked. She was apologetic, but my husband (cop) will be having a little chat with them later today. That is NOT okay.
Kia and I are uninjured, although I got majorly triggered. We did walk home briskly and then I went to the gym to try and work some of it off. That seemed to help (I have Dylan to thank for that suggestion from another thread!).
The success part of all this is that I took action and fought back. I didn't stand there horrified or freeze or freak out When I got home, I was also able to cry about it very quickly, because it was scary...also progress. My husband is being really supportive and said all the right things, which shows he is learning too - progress for him as well.
This morning Kia (my dog) and I were out for a walk in our neighborhood. I know the route well, including where there are dogs in fenced yards and where we might encounter loose dogs. She is always on a leash, regardless.
We were in an area where there are usually no dogs when suddenly an adult pit bull mix and a St. Bernard mix puppy ran out from several houses down. We were on the opposite side of the street. The pit mix ran up to us, barking furiously, and began attacking Kia while she was standing almost directly in front of me. Not the doggie, "Hey, who are you, gotta smell you," but just full-on attacking her out of nowhere. She was defending herself, but of course I didn't want her (or me) hurt - especially because she's only just finished recovering from some serious damage inflicted by the two pit bulls she used to live with (we got her a month ago, a rescue).
On another forum, I recently read a thread about defending yourself and your dog against other dogs. So instead of standing there horrified, I decided to fight back with what I'd read. First I kicked the dog, and while that gave us a split-second break, I backed up the hill behind me and grabbed a large piece of branch laying on the ground. I hit the dog with the stick while he was attacking Kia again...not swinging, but jabbing...then held it out to keep him at bay, and kept shouting at him to go and get away.
I saw an open window in the house and started shouting to the owner to get outside, and finally a lady opened the door. First she tried to tell me it wasn't her dog...but apparently the dog belongs to her granddaughter :rolleyes:, and wasn't supposed to be outside. No excuse. I yelled to her what had happened, that their dog had run up and started attacking mine, unproked. She was apologetic, but my husband (cop) will be having a little chat with them later today. That is NOT okay.
Kia and I are uninjured, although I got majorly triggered. We did walk home briskly and then I went to the gym to try and work some of it off. That seemed to help (I have Dylan to thank for that suggestion from another thread!).
The success part of all this is that I took action and fought back. I didn't stand there horrified or freeze or freak out When I got home, I was also able to cry about it very quickly, because it was scary...also progress. My husband is being really supportive and said all the right things, which shows he is learning too - progress for him as well.
