I was fostering feral kittens this summer when one of them bit me. It was totally my fault but drew blood so I went to the urgent care place to get a tetanus shot and some antibiotics. Next thing you know, the curtain opens and in walks the Harford County Sheriff! They said I needed to fill out a bite report form and have the kitten put in rabies quarantine. He didn’t have a form with him so said he would meet me at my house. When I got home there was another Sheriff sitting outside my house to make sure nobody took off with the kitten in the meantime! Moral of the story, they take this bite stuff very seriously in our neck of the woods. Report it if you haven’t already.
Vixen-cattle prods come in all sizes. You want one light enough to carry, and long enough to nail a dog (or mugger) from far enough to be safe. There a lots of different options at the farm supply store. Talk to the very knowledgeable people in that section, or some nice cattle farmer if one is wandering around the department. I’ve found people to
generally be very glad to share their knowledge, especially when you explain the problem and the size of the other dog.
And I would still make a report to AC, so you can confirm the dog’s rabies vaccination status, and the dog should be quarantined at home for a certain period also.
[QUOTE=vixen;6558849]
My mom actually advised me to carry a sort of pepper spray – is this legal? I do have pepper spray since I lived in Baltimore for a while (and did actually use it, ha), but have not carried it with me as I am worried about legal ramifications.[/QUOTE]
From what I understand, pepper spay/mace is much stronger than what’s sold as a dog-deterrent (Spray Shield, Direct Stop, it changed names at some point). Mace is often illegal - I know it’s illegal in NJ. The dog spray, however, is sold in Petco and Petsmart in NJ, so appears to be legal here.
Mace doesn’t work well on dogs…if you want to be kind, use pepper spray. If you want to be evil on a dog you know is going to seriously hurt you or your dog (and you can’t carry a pistol)…use Easy Off Oven Cleaner and get the dog in the face. I used to carry this when there were several pitbull crosses who were never under control and always roaming causing serious damage to anything they found.
Yeah, so what…yes, it hurts the dog, so what? If I’m forced to protect myself or my animal against an attacking dog…that dog is going to lose.
Wasp spray, because it shoots about 20 feet or so, and would discourage anything.
Update
My dog went to the vet Saturday; checked out totally fine. I told the vet about the attack and described the dog and she said that the dog had attacked ANOTHER of her clients’ dogs, and so had just been reported. I called the officer and added my information, so not a new report, but still something (including that I had kicked the dog, and the officer said, “well, good for you, young lady!” :lol:).
Have seen neither hide nor hair of the offender or her dog since.
I now have a small can of pepper spray which I carry with me.
Trakehner, it is relatively difficult to get a carry license where I live. But my mom’s advice was to find the nearest heavy object and hit the attacking dog over the head with it, which I’d imagine works as well as any gun :winkgrin:
My dog, for his part, seems to have recovered, psychologically speaking, very well. My neighbor has two large huskies and he spent several hours playing with them in the neighbor’s yard yesterday. Many bushes, sticks, and the occasional squirrel were harmed, but no dogs!
Laurierace, that’s true, and I hadn’t thought of it. I’m in Howard County, vet is in Columbia, and she was HORRIFIED when I said my dog had been attacked. Immediately interrupted the exam to give me the AC officer’s information.
Vacation1, I worry about that spray not being strong enough. My dog is ~80lbs and this dog was CONSIDERABLY larger, and was barely deterred from ripping my dog’s throat out by me kicking it and the owner intervening.
JanM, good idea about the wasp spray! That is pretty nasty stuff and I’m sure it would work well.
At this point, if I took everyone’s suggestions, I’ll look like Mad Max walking around geared up! I’ll try everything out (individually) though.
BuddyRoo, yeah, funnily enough, we will be moving soon as well. Generally, I like my neighborhood, but there are a few bad apples. It’s looking like my husband will be transferred to the Gulf Coast, so that’ll be a whole new adventure 
[QUOTE=vixen;6562669]
Trakehner, it is relatively difficult to get a carry license where I live.[/QUOTE]
Actually, you mean impossible. Maryland doesn’t trust it’s citizens at all.
The foaming wasp spray works well and sticks. If you get pepper spray, get the really strong stuff with the dye…it’s bright red and it fluoresces so the owner can’t claim, “Nope, not my dog” while standing next to his odd-day-glow coloured dog. This is a good strong spray: http://www.guardian-self-defense.com/wildfire-18-pepper-gel-4-oz-flip-top
A nice long Hot-Shot cattle prod can do wonders too! You may look like you’e going into battle, but better to be forearmed and prepared than PC and unprotected. An ASP is another good item…it’s holder attaches to your belt and you instantly, with a flick of the wrist, have a metal club. The police carry these. http://www.guardian-self-defense.com/smith-wesson-26-expandable-baton
I never tried it but…
I never tried it but my neighbor told me that the mail person used to carry the wasp spray in his car to use on their wolf/dog hybrid if he came running down the hill when the mail carrier was stopped at their mailbox. This same dog/wolf came onto my property three times and came after my dogs, twice alone and once with a friend. Fortunately, he was afraid of my “she who must be obeyed” voice and would break it off when I yelled at him. I’m also pretty sure he’s the one who chased my horses one night. I yelled and the dog took off and then barked at me from the neighbors. After multiple complaints, the neighbors finally rehomed him and things have been a lot more peaceful.
[QUOTE=vixen;6562669]
Vacation1, I worry about that spray not being strong enough. My dog is ~80lbs and this dog was CONSIDERABLY larger, and was barely deterred from ripping my dog’s throat out by me kicking it and the owner intervening.[/QUOTE]
I wouldn’t bet on dog spray stopping a serious attack either. Some people carry guns, or heavy sticks or knives. It all seems crazy until you’ve had that attack happen, and then it seems crazy not to.
I’ve heard horror stories about the various sprays backfiring- wind blowing it back on you or your dog, or just making the dog more enraged and vigorous in its attack.
People can get really badly mauled when trying to break up a dog fight too so be really careful- it’s bad your dog is getting hurt, but people are more important than dogs. You could end up with a hand that is permanently crippled from dog teeth ripping up the tendons or something equally horrific.
here’s a good description of safe things to do: http://leerburg.com/dogfight.htm?set=1
I would also caution you against using lethal/injurious force against a dog just because the dog ran towards you/up to you or your dog. Many dogs will do this with no aggressive intent whatsoever- just curious, or friendly- and barking does not mean the dog is aggressive; in fact, dogs who bark are very unlikely to actually attack. Big doofus bouncing towards you barking is just a nuisance, not a danger. It’s the silent ones that come in fast you need to watch out for. And if you attack the approaching dog when the dog has no aggressive intent, it’s you who is being aggressive and out of line. There’s a big difference between using reasonable force to defend yourself, and using unreasonable force for no real reason.
I give you as an example the dog we went looking for last week- jumped out of the owner’s car and took off. Whilst we were out looking for the dog, we encountered several people the dog had run up to- big dog, charging up to people, apparently trying to see if they were his owner or not, or something along those lines. Very alarming for the people, and possibly their dogs. But the dog had no aggressive intent, and the owner wasn’t truly irresponsible, just a bit slow that morning. It would have been very sad if someone had over-reacted and blinded the dog with Easy Off Oven spray. In fact, especially sad for the spray-wielder who would probably have been arrested for animal abuse and sued for damages by the dog owner.
Wow, this thread sure has made me think. A couple months ago I was walking my dog down our very quiet suburban street. Just as we were passing a neoghbor’s house, the back door opened and he let out his two Dobermans. We are not allowed to have physical fences here, just electric. It all happened in a matter of seconds. They spotted my Springer and just came at her. I don’t think poor Sunny even saw them - absolutely no instigation on her part! She was focused on getting to the lake. The owner was screaming at the Dobes, and one did stop on the edge of the lawn - Sunny and I were on the side of the road - but the other one went straight for her. Did not pass go, did not slow down, just STRAIGHT to the attack. He tried to grab Sunny by the throat but she spun around and he went for her back. I don’t even know what I did, other than yell, “NO!” but I remember I was thinking, no way am I going to try and get between them… I love my dog beyond belief but I also love full use of my hands! Sunny was obviously shocked but started snarling and snapping right back - she wasn’t going to be mangled without a fight, even though that dog is easily twice her weight and a lot taller.
Sunny was wearing her harness and I think maybe the straps kept the Dobe from getting a grip on her. He broke off the attack and returned to his owner an interminable five or six seconds after it started, thank God, and I started patting down Sunny frantically looking for wounds. I could actually see where the dog’s teeth had raked through her fur but she was unscathed. The owner was shouting apologies as he hauled the Dobes back towards the house and asking if she was okay, so no denial that it was his/their fault.
The really bad thing is, and I’m embarrassed to admit this, is that it’s the second time these dogs have gone after mine. The first incident was a couple years ago and not as bad. In fact, I usually remember to watch their back door but in this case I was in a hurry. I’m further embarrassed to admit I’ve reported neither one, since in both instances the neighbor did apologize and Sunny wasn’t actually hurt. Hadn’t thought about establishing a precedent in case next time we aren’t so lucky.
I do have one thing in my favor: these people live across the street from the Chief of Police, and he is well aware of their dogs! If I ever do file a report you can bet it WILL be taken seriously. For now, we’re settling for giving that house a wide berth.
“I’m further embarrassed to admit I’ve reported neither one, since in both instances the neighbor did apologize and Sunny wasn’t actually hurt.”
What about if a child was walking his dog and they didn’t know not to try and protect their dog from these dobies? They might like the use of their hands too!
You need to report these dogs, they’re dangerous and you are just as guilty as the dogs owner if you do nothing about this knowing just how dangerous they are. The owner apologized…so what? Did his dogs have their innoculations? Rabies shots? I shot a dog who was going after my sister when we were kids (well, me 13 and her 3). Turns out the dog had a “history” and people liked the old lady who owned the dog and didn’t want to hurt her feelings by reporting on her dog’s behaviour. “Oh, he’s just cranky and she’s such a nice neighbor…and she’s old too!” is not a valid excuse…and yes, I caught hell for shooting that poor cranky dog.
Time to pull up the big girl panties and not be a wimp…these dogs are dangerous.
My elderly parents have neighbors with a pair of pits that went after another neighbors dog while all three of them were being walked. My father saw it from a front window, but wouldn’t make a statement because he knew the offending neighbor (lives directly across the street :O) and didn’t want him to loose his dogs. It scares me since these 2 tanks could potentially do a lot of damage to a frail 82 yro & his 12 yro dog without even trying. If they knocked him down he could break a hip without even getting into teeth damage. He was more worried about how bad the owners would feel if they lost their dogs. Dumb.
[QUOTE=Holly Jeanne;6562856]
Fortunately, he was afraid of my “she who must be obeyed” voice .[/QUOTE]
:lol:
Wendy, thank you in particular for the information and the link. I would of course not shoot or injure a dog merely because it ran up to mine – but in my situation, it was CLEAR that the dog was acting aggressively, as he was growling ferociously and trying to rip my dog’s throat out, with my poor dog hopping away frantically.
Sometimes, as you caution, it can be difficult to tell, but I would prefer to be prepared.
Trakehner, thank you for the links and information. I would have actually been able to get a carry license when we lived in the city, as I was not in a great area and had a case for my life being in danger (one of the reasons why BCPD will grant you a carry permit), but it would be harder now as we moved out of the city (mainly because my life was in danger). I do actually shoot .22s pretty regularly but the guns are kept at the range and at my grandfather-in-law’s house in Silver Spring.
I have four (separate) (!) neighbors who are policemen/women (two Howard County, 1 Laurel, 1 statie – I live about two minutes from Waterloo Barracks), so I will speak with them about appropriate and legal methods of, ah, dissuasion.
PS having never gotten a shelter dog before (I have had dogs, but all have been from breeders), I really lucked out with this one. He is a gem.
Glad to hear that your pooch checked out AOK. And glad you could add your notes to the original claim.
I understand that sometimes dogs get loose. But it shouldn’t be a regular thing and it sounds like these folks just don’t get it! Especially given that there had been a previous attack! If it was a one time, run out and greet a passing dog thing, fine…not great, but understandable as accidents do happen.
Shoot, when I was first dating my now husband, I was spending the weekend out at his place and had my dog with. I had turned him out to potty and he was normally good about sticking around.
But after about 15 min, no dog and I was freaking. Just about then, the phone rang. Neighbor and his wife had been walking their golden, my dog “joined” them, went home with them, bounded up the stairs in their house to the kids’ room, hopped up on one of the beds and made himself at home while the kids were watching a movie. LOL (he loves kids) Obviously not a “mean dog” situation, but I totally screwed up and took action to avoid it happening again.
ANyway…glad things are okay!
