Can't even walk

I'm afraid of strange dogs, so I feel you. I wonder if all these people would have made such a big deal if you said a poodle looked like it was going to attack you? The sad fact is, a lot of people get pit bulls and don't train them well. Or they train them to be aggressive (to fight and/or protect). They can be wonderful animals, but it's hard to separate the sweet ones from the one who would bite your hand off at their first opportunity, especially when they're in an aggressive stance. Good luck finding a safe place from all the unleashed dogs out there!

very well put everyone got all worked up on the breed (i was one of them)

I'm not going to read 6 pages of replies..

Learn to protect yourself. Harm is lurking no matter where you live, whether it's a drunk driver, a loose dog, a serial killer, a robber, a rapist, etc. No matter if you live in a small quiet town or a sprawling city.

As far as loose dogs go, i'll never understand people who straight up flip out and run fleeing when they see a loose dog. I've encountered many many loose dogs in my life and several of them weren't in the least bit friendly but I reacted calmly and collectively and defused the situation.


and for those of you who are all OMG A LOOSE PIT BULL. I promise you most of the dogs that assume are a pit bull probably aren't even one.

http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petbull/findpit.html

U mad bro?

how is it that what you have to say is any more important than anyone else. How can you go and call us all illiterate when you talk like that? Let me correct that statement for you.

Are you mad? (lose the Bro 1. your not a "thug" 2. she is a she... thus not your brother)

I'm pretty sure I did not say "everyone". It's all about tone of voice hun. Sorry my sarcasm offends you Learn to thread, plz-thx.

its all about tone? did you honestly just say that? how is it that you can pull tone out of writing? Can you please advise me of this because i am sure it would save countless text issues amongst thousands of people.

U mad bro?

how is it that what you have to say is any more important than anyone else. How can you go and call us all illiterate when you talk like that? Let me correct that statement for you.

Are you mad? (lose the Bro 1. your not a "thug" 2. she is a she... thus not your brother)

I'm pretty sure I did not say "everyone". It's all about tone of voice hun. Sorry my sarcasm offends you Learn to thread, plz-thx.

its all about tone? did you honestly just say that? how is it that you can pull tone out of writing? Can you please advise me of this because i am sure it would save countless text issues amongst thousands of people.

Yes, hun. There is a tone when texting or writing in threads. Sarcasm does not translate into text for people who do not understand it. I can dedicate a thread on "Thread Ethics" if you'd like. This is not the right place for me to enlighten you, love.

To the OP... I am so very sorry you feel unsafe in your own neighbourhood. That is unfair. A person has a right to feel safe when they go outside their home. Encountering a dog of any breed or size that is not accompanied by an owner or safely within its own yard can be terrifying, especially when it takes the stance you described. Kudos to you for calmly picking up your dog and walking away, no matter how scared you felt inside. You had a RIGHT to your feelings, and it makes me sad that some posters have forgotten that in this thread.
My dog, Charlie, is a rescue. The previous owners tried for the first 7 months of his life to train him to be a guard dog. They dumped him at the pound when he didn't live up to their expectations. He is a golden lab/retriever cross, and 98 lbs of love. His favorite sleeping buddies are his two cat brothers. Having said that....because of his large size, small children and adults who don't know him can be intimidated. He is NEVER out of the yard without being on a leash and with either hubby or myself.
Last week we were out for a walk, and encountered another dog and it's owner coming towards us. The other dog slipped off its leash and attacked my dog for no reason whatsoever. That dog was half of Charlie's size, and not provoked in any way. My dog was scared, I was terrified, but even in my fear, you can bet I kicked the attacker as many times as I could and screamed my head off until the owner arrived and quickly grabbed his dog and took off. Leaving me with a scared, bleeding pet. He required a good deal of stitches.
Again, I say, we have the RIGHT to walk our dog on a leash down our own street and feel safe from other animals. It isn't fair that you had to go through that experience, and I understand you needed to vent to get it out. Our dogs are family and they have the right to be safe too. I hope you are feeling better, OP. Be safe.

First off, let me start by saying I LOVE pitbulls. I foster them whenever I have the oppurtunity and I also rescue them from death row at the shelter.
However, some of these dogs are bred and raised to be aggressive, it's not the dogs fault, it's the iresponsible owners. It's heartbreaking. About 5 years ago, I was attacked by my neighbors pit bull. It was pretty bad. Shredded clothes and skin, I had to fight this dog with everything I had. I was punching this dog as hard as I could in the face and he didn't budge. I refused to let him knock me off my feet, because we all know how that would have ended. Luckily, my neighbors (not the owners of the dog) came running out so it took his attention away from me, he was about to charge my neighbor ( Someone had called the cops as well), but then the cop pulled up. As soon as the officer stepped out of his car, the dog attacked. The officer pepper sprayed the dog and the dog ran home. BUT, pepper spray can also make dogs more aggressive and make them attack even more. So that's not always a sure bet of safety. It totally sucks that you are in this situation, I know how scary it can be. Not all of them are mean, but it really is hard to tell which ones you can trust without spending time around them. FYI, when my neighbors dog attacked me, as he was running up, his tail was wagging like he was happy to see me. A common trait amongst bullies.

That is a horrifying story. I am glad you are okay......

So you assumed the animal was vicious because he was a pitbull? I know pleanty that are off leash that would never hurt another soul... now unless this dog has attacked you or you know for a fact its vicious then thats antoher thing... hating an animal because of their breed isnt fair...

She never said she 'hated' the animal and whose going to wait around to take the chance of being attacked you said she shouldn't fear the dog unless she specifically knows it has a history of attacking.. but I say she shouldn't trust it until she knows otherwise!

I have a pit, shyza, she's 5 years old, never bit a human in her life, none of my pits have. I love pits, I'm very pro pit. With that said, I had to shoot a pit. We used to stud my pit with the condition that we kept mom and the puppies until they were sold, that way I was the one screening the buyers to ensure that they would be treated well and were being purchased for family pets/guard dogs. We had a female that came to breed, she would have been a beautiful, thick, tall, all muscle, perfect, with papers. But she had no fur at all on her neck, none, because they kept her on a chain, no collar all the time. She was a great dog, did fine with me, my kids, my male. Well, she had her puppies and they all sold and the owners moved, never gave us any notice all. She was a good dog though, so we kept her. Both dogs were out front with me (hooked to a zip line so they couldn't leave the yard) and a man with a collie came by and the collie wasn't on a leash. Well she came into my yard and the female attacked and killed her. Then the owner came into my yard to break the fight up and she attacked the owner. She got him pretty bad. And we put her down. Had it only been the dog she attacked, she would have lived.

I also had a blue healer shot. She attacked my 1 year old daughter. I kicked her off of my kid into a sliding glass door, apparently broke some ribs because she wasn't getting back up, called the owner (I was dog sitting) and he came over, took her out to the country and shot her. My baby had to get 8 stitches in her little face because some dog food had gotten knocked out to the dish and she went to go clean it up.

Does that sound cold? I'm sure it does, I'm not a real warm happy person when my kids face is covered in blood.

I also have a shih-tzu, she is a mean little cuss. She bites my pit every chance she gets, and my pit ignored her until she got her real good on the nose one day and broke the skin, and my pit bit back. That was a very expensive vet bill, but everyone is ok. And I didn't get mad at the pit because it was the shih-tzu's fault.

All that said, if I'm walking my dog, on a leash, and someone with a little yappy dog walks by, I will move to the other side of the street, because if your dog barks or nips at me or my dog, she will go into protection mode and she will win. If you try to get into my back yard and I'm not there, she will go into protection mode and she will win.

So do I blame you for getting scared of a hunched pit, no. I'm sure it was scary, I love pits and I would be scared, just like I would be with any large mutt. Would she have attacked if you had kept walking? Maybe, she didn't want you there, you did the right thing. Pepper spray is a good idea if this happens often. Simple. No real reason to attack the breed of dog or the original poster.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/6286517/Road-workers-saved-bitten-boys-life

From th above article: "The dog, believed to be a 5-year-old male doberman-staffordshire bull terrier cross, belonged to members of the boy's family. "

thank god you posted that, it's so incredibly relevant to this thread...oh wait..