Dealing with an aggressive dog attack, best way?

[NC001]

To many people think it’s all about how you raise a dog. So they will never believe their cute little pittie may change to become a killer around age 2. Because in the US, society does not believe in genetics or something and they only way a dog can become aggressive is if its abused.
Somehow we breed dogs for certain characteristics yet aggression isn’t considered part of that by many morons?!?!? And the but they were abused/rescued excuse. Apparently that makes it okay for the dog to attack other living creatures?
I feel dogs with aggressive tendencies should be put down. Too many good ones available that get put down because there arent enough homes why risk passing long dangerous ones.

I have come across loose dogs when Im out hiking on my own and I worked with dogs long enough to be a decent judge of whether they are bluffing or serious when they run up to me. Oftentimes I can point and yell ‘go away’ and with ‘nice’ dogs this works fairly well.

I had 2 dogs that were visiting my barn run up to my horse as I was leading it and they were barking a growling at him and nipping at his kegs but he ignored them and just grazed. I think that was the best thing in that situation as reacting may have elevated the dogs aggression. The owners finally came to get them. Those dogs never returned to the barn needless to say.

[Maythehorsebewithme]

DH and I encountered a big aggressive dog while hiking. He was off leash, and we got the “It’s OK, he’s friendly” nonsense. Did not look friendly, but I could see asking him to be leashed was not going to work. So I said, “It’s ok if he bites us, we will sue and we need the money.” Unlikely scenario, but the owner did leash him.

[Djones]

When I get “he’s friendly” coupled with zero effort to reel the dog in AND I think he’s going to be rude, jump on me, or bother my leashed dog or my horse I have been known to bark back that I am NOT friendly and I don’t trust strange dogs.

[Jenerationx]

LOL. Awesome response! I hate that “It’s OK, he’s friendly” crap. It is not ok, ever, to let your unleashed dog run up to anyone. If your recall is not strong enough to keep the dog from reaching anyone and they don’t immediately recall to heel even with distractions of humans, other animals, etc… then they should not be off leash. I don’t understand people that think that’s ok.

[skydy]

I had a lady whose Boxer came into my pasture tell me, “don’t worry my dog won’t hurt your horse” (as I was running away from her to get between the dog and the horse.) My gelding was up on his hind legs with his mouth slightly open, ready to savage the dog. I yelled to her “that’s not what I’m worried about, my horse will kill your dog, get it out of the pasture.”

She had to come in and get the dog while I stayed between dog and horse.
It was frightening. I’ve seen dogs kicked but I’ve never seen a horse savage a dog (and I really didn’t want to) and I’m sure that’s what would have happened.

My own dogs never entered the horses territory. They found out quickly that they weren’t safe.
He was absolutely fine with dogs, as long as they weren’t in his space.

[George_T_Mule]

Years ago, my brother came to visit. I told him not to let his dog out until I got the critters out of the front yard. But “Murphy” (a medium-sized Aussie) jumped out anyway, and immediately ducked under the fence to run out and visit the horses. Not aggressive, or barking, stubby tail goin’ 100MPH.
George came at a trot, put his nose down, and stomped the ground inches from the dog. Murphy made a bee-line for the fence, with George right on his tail, stomping at the ground and urging him on with his nose. “Out, out, out, dam*ed dog!”
I once found the flattened remains of a Fox in the pasture, and I have no doubt George was responsible, so he will kill a K9. However, he can certainly distinguish friend from foe, he just wanted to establish who was boss. No harm done. I was laughing at the antics, but Bro wasn’t amused. Murphy never came to visit again.

[Montanas_Girl]

I used to own a horse who had been nipped one too many times by aggressive dogs. He was 100% fine with friendly dogs - he had a JRT buddy who he’d lower his head towards to accommodate face licking and went fox hunting with no problem - but had a zero tolerance policy towards dogs he believed to have ill intentions. He killed two dogs in the 17 years I owned him, both loose in his pasture. One snapped at his nose and received a lighting strike from a front leg. One grabbed at his heel and was kicked in the side of the head in retaliation. I did not fault or blame my horse at all for those actions.

Currently, I raise ranch/cow horses. Strange canines enter their pasture at their own risk! All are fine with friendly dogs and even dogs trying to “play” by running alongside while I’m riding, because they are listening to me and my commands in those moments.

[skydy]

I don’t know why my gelding was so territorial. If he had a halter and lead, or a bridle on, he was just fine with dogs. He was a rather studish gelding so I think he was just protective of the mare and of his space.

[RMJacobs]

@skydy

He was a rather studish gelding so I think he was just protective of the mare and of his space.

My Hackney pony was gelded at age 10, and I believe he was used for breeding prior to that. When I got him at age 22, he was still very studish. He managed to do the deed with my Paint mare, who was three hands taller than him. He would pick fights with any other gelding that came near him. They just looked down their noses at him and said “Get real!”

Rebecca

[skydy]

I had mine from a weaning until he died at 18. He was gelded as a yearling. I don’t know why he was so aggressive towards dogs or other small animals in his space, but he really was.

[Willesdon]

I had a young spaniel come running up behind me in a public park, barking loudly. I’m not a small child or nervous around dogs. I stopped, turned, growled at him and told him to “get back”, like a misbehaving foxhound. He ran back to his owners legs and barked at me again from safety so I berated him again and growled that he was a “horrible dog” and he shut up with very surprised look on his face. The owner was equally surprised and said “Oh, but I thought you really meant it!” I did, but I smiled nicely. It is a very bad habit of mine to automatically and immediately correct bad behaviour in dogs and horses - even when they belong to other people. I suspect the dog learnt more than it’s owner did.

@Mondo British police do not habitually carry guns. More interesting, it is difficult to recruit police officers into the few armed units.

[Bebe_Falcon1]

@Jenerationx

Awesome response! I hate that “It’s OK, he’s friendly” crap. It is not ok, ever, to let your unleashed dog run up to anyone.

There are no words for how much this retort from off-leash dog owners infuriates me, as my children recoil in fear as their strange dog invades our personal space. Eff you, entitled dog owners. Leash it.

[Curly_Feather]

I just say really loudly that my horse is definitely not friendly and will actively try to hurt the dog.

[endlessclimb]

It’s not just studdish geldings or stallions that will go after dogs, my late mare would go after anything small. She almost got a couple of the barn cats before they could leap up and out of the way. She 100% meant it.

She even sized up a small child once, which I saw her doing and asking the parents to remove the child while I put myself physically in between the two. It was weird - once the child was picked up, she was absolutely enamored by it. But on the ground? Laser eyes.

[Curly_Feather]

I had a big TB gelding like this. We were at a yard with chickens, and would go out of his way to try and kill them.

[Rackonteur]

Who is/was the COTHer who had a poem like this in their signature line?

[RMJacobs]

Are you thinking of something along the lines of:

Roses are red,
Violets are blue
I’m sorry my horse
Stomped your roo

I can’t remember who it was.

Rebecca

[Rackonteur]

That’s it! Thank you.

[RMJacobs]

I don’t have it quite right. Instead of roses and violets, it was chicken breeds. Not being familiar with them, I don’t remember what they were.

Rebecca

[Rackonteur]

I think it may have been

Rhode Islands are red …

And ended

Sorry my TB stomped on your roo’

Maybe. A bit of it sort of stuck in my mind at the time because i was at a barn that got in some Rhode Island Reds. But that was a long time ago, as was the poem in the signature line.