Attacked by Stray Dogs

Was walking tonight with SWMBO and our two small breed dogs, and two larger un-collared dogs approach. One immediately goes for one of our dogs, who fights back. We separate them and eventually each of us picks up one of our dogs. One stray goes away after some yelling. The remaining stray circles and wants to either pick up where he left off or go for SWMBO. I kick the dog, shove it away a few times, yell, kick at it, all while it circles, barks and snarls and starts to drool. We are slowly making our way home (5 houses away), and making all kinds of noise, and my spouse even yells out for help. I'm thinking to myself, am I going to have to tackle and choke this dog to death? It looks like a Pit/Spitz mix and is quite large.

We take shelter in a neighbors garage that was open and she starts yelling at the dog, too. It goes away and we make a break for it. Dog comes back, same deal until we get home. We get inside and call the police, who have already been called by neighbors. They show up, dog lays down in my front yard (WTF?). I give it water and some treats, but it won't let anyone catch it, even with the police and the catch-stick thing. A neighbor ends up lassoing it with a tow strap (awesome move) and they take it away.

Dogs are from a different neighborhood, I've seen them 2x in two years. Friendly enough to people but not to other dogs. No collar or tags. Maybe chipped, who knows, but well taken care of if totally untrained. Hopefully they won't be back and maybe even put down. I googled what to do and it looks like we did OK but could have had a stick or pepper spray. Standing still and being calm doesn't work when you have little dogs on leashes running and screaming to worry about and the stray is this aggressive. Apparently two joggers (one in CA and one in MI) have been killed in the last year or so by strays, ran across these stories in my search. Quite an experience for the evening.

The owners should be neutered...

wow. Glad you and yours are ok after that.

I've had a few strays follow me while walking our pups, but never one attack. I usually have a pocket knife with me (more utility than weapon, but better than nothing I guess) but damn. That had to be intense!

I've been attacked by large breed dogs and it's pretty intense.

Good to know you are ok.

I remember as a kid one time the strays and dumped dogs got so bad in our county that they packed up and started going after my neighbor's sheep. The county called in every "officer" with a gun (sheriff, highway patrol, local pd, campus cops) as well as every neighbor and they waited on either side of our creek until the pack ran down the middle. There were over a hundred dogs in the pack, from bigger than lab to terrier-sized.

Spay and neuter your pets folks, and don't drop off pets you don't want on gravel roads in the country.

next time call cops while being attacked so they can come shoot it.

oldopelguy wrote: There were over a hundred dogs in the pack, from bigger than lab to terrier-sized.

You didn't follow Ricky and Cal's helpful tips.

What to do if you see a stray dog.

My first job was on a ranch 30 miles outside Portland. We had a problem with strays forming packs. One such pack went after some cattle and got me run over. The leader of the pack was a big German Shepherd. They were back several weeks later and he was dropped by my bosses 30-30.

Then a few years ago I was walking two of my dogs and had a nearly identical experiance as you had. However I had a walking stick with me and that made a world of difference. Sounds like you guys did good. Glad everone is ok.

oldopelguy wrote: I remember as a kid one time the strays and dumped dogs got so bad in our county that they packed up and started going after my neighbor's sheep. The county called in every "officer" with a gun (sheriff, highway patrol, local pd, campus cops) as well as every neighbor and they waited on either side of our creek until the pack ran down the middle. There were over a hundred dogs in the pack, from bigger than lab to terrier-sized. Spay and neuter your pets folks, and don't drop off pets you don't want on gravel roads in the country.

so, people with guns on BOTH sides of a creek? sounds more like a hatfield 'n McCoy scene...

-J0N

Appleseed wrote: You didn't follow Ricky and Cal's helpful tips. What to do if you see a stray dog.

Came to post this, glad you and the family made it out ok

Ive been mauled before. Last stray that corner my daughter and wife got two .38 rounds. I may not like dogs, but ones that are aggressive towards humans need to be put down.

Im amazed by the size of the op balls for even thinking about choking an agressive dog to death.

Dusterbd13 wrote: Im amazed by the size of the op balls for even thinking about choking an agressive dog to death.

Dogs understand fear. If you don't have any... they understand that too. Projecting yourself as a large, calm, confident animal is probably the best way to not get attacked. The second is to actually kill the berkeleyers. As a guy who does a lot of running and cycling... I'm always aiming for the first and prepared for the nuclear option (because there are a lot of retards who let dogs roam around in my neck of the woods). So far... only been nipped by a little E36 M3 dog and have had to kill zero.

That Dog Whisperer dude might be annoying to listen to but he knows what he is talking about

There are lots of wild dogs around the area I work in. I've never had a problem. I've been tempted to bring a few home. On the other hand, while I walk my 90 lb dog, I see how aggressive some other dogs are towards us. It has made the thought go through my head. I would hate to have to shoot a dog.

I sell pepper spray to people and dogs are one reason why. We have bear spray. That E36 M3 shoots 30'! Get some bear spray!

Glad you're ok.

Dusterbd13 wrote: Im amazed by the size of the op balls for even thinking about choking an agressive dog to death.

They tend not to bite down with a hand in their throat. If you're built for such activities, they also tend to hit the floor and rethink their options if you punch it in the forehead hard enough.

There was a little girl (8yo IIRC) in Cincinnati this past spring who had her jaw removed by a pitt...as in TAKEN OFF. The owner is a drug dealer who used a pair of well fed and super aggressive pitts as his stash security system.

He got some misdemeanor crap for the attack, but between that and his priors and such, it was probable enough cause to get his stash raided and get awarded a few at club fed. If I had my way, Id let the dogs remove something of his...

Stories like this are why (like Bill) I always carry my little swiss army wannabe knife...mostly because it has a flat and philips head, scissors, and most importantly, a bottle opener - very useful. The knife is almost never used - which means it stays sharp...perfect for reorganizing the soft underbits of a dog lunging for my throat

I know this is a touchy subject, but...

I live in a relatively neighborhoody area. Not quite suburbs, not quite country. One day this summer, I was in the side yard talking with the neighbor while our kids (his 7 year old girl and my three boys 6, 4 and 3) played in my driveway. All of the sudden I heard awful screaming from two of mine, and I rounded the corner to find two 70-90 lb dogs cornering a couple of kids and barking.

I had my hand on my pistol immediately. I did not draw it, nor would I want to shoot a dog in front of the children for many reasons, but it showed me that I was not being paranoid for carrying around the house. I ended up being able to intimidate the dogs out of the yard.

My cousin and I used to go hunting in the hills outside Indiana, PA. One time as we were unloading to head into the woods the local game warden pulled up. He told us "If you see any dogs shoot them and let me know".

Evidently they were having quite a problem with feral dogs in the area. We would check with him each time we went for the next 3 years and the instructions were always the same.

It's weird to think with coyotes, mtn lions, bears and other large wild animals, that you're more likely to be attacked by feral dogs than you are by one of the wild animals.

Are your dogs are roaming loose around the neighborhood and harassing other people and/or their dogs?

Datsun1500 wrote: You say the dogs are from a few streets over and they're ok around people, they just don't like other dogs. You've just described at least 50% of the dogs out there. You want them put down? If your dog doesn't like my dog, can I request it be put down? I love how every stray dog is "pit mix" and no, I don't have Pits, it just gets old hearing it. Every stray was "part Doberman" when I was a kid.

Seriously, the guy was cornered by two strays and chased around and you think he's overreacting? Don't be an apologist for bad dogs and bad dog owners.

I love dogs but a dog that randomly attacks other dogs and chases people down needs to be put down. You have to see some difference between a dog that just doesn't like other dogs and one that chases people down right?

tuna55 wrote: it showed me that I was not being paranoid for carrying around the house.

You should never be paranoid when you have a gun.

I love dogs, we have one. But you were much more humane to those stays than I would have been. If one threatens my family, it's lights out for the dog...no gun needed.

Klayfish wrote: I love dogs, we have one. But you were much more humane to those stays than I would have been. If one threatens my family, it's lights out for the dog...no gun needed.

I don't think you'd have as easy of a time taking out two aggressive dogs as you think you'd have with your bare hands.

As a pit/mix owner, I am always worried about other people's reaction to my dog. I know he is a big friendly dope and is afraid of his own shadow, but to strangers, he is a 75 pound ball of muscle and energy who likes to smile and show off his teeth. (Like Elvis...a sneer to the side. It is hilarious.) If he strayed from the yard to go say hi to someone who was really afraid of dogs and he got shot or stabbed, I would feel awful but that would be my fault. If the dog is not trained well enough to stay on my grass, then it needs to be on a leash or fenced or indoors. I can claim that he is harmless and would not have hurt anyone, but that means little to the person who felt they were facing imminent attack.

If they dogs were aggressive and uncollared, I would assume they were feral and a danger and I would not have considered anything but my safety. How do deal with an actual attack is a tough question. The rights of the dog and the owner kinda go out the window, without a weapon what do you do? Sounds like you did good and hd some luck on your side.