Attack At Del Mar Dog Beach [Journal]
A black laborador attacked one of my dogs at the beach yesterday. I was a few feet away, so didn't manage to grab my dog in time. He bit him and wouldn't let go. The owner kept yanking his dog around on the leash, which just made him clamp down and thrash my dog around. Luckily my dog was wearing his harness, and the other dog mostly grabbed onto that. I kneed the dog several times in the chest, and punched him in the face. I found myself screaming at him to let him go - but he was huge, and wouldn't let up. Finally he let go and I grabbed my dog and lay in the sand, trying to keep myself from crying as I checked him for bite marks.
He had a few marks, but they were shallow. A few ladies ran up to me and asked if he was okay, fed him water. They told me that dog wouldn't be coming back there again. I was shaking with the adrenaline that'd been dumped through me. I thought about going home, but we'd driven over an hour to Del Mar that day, and he seemed okay, so I stayed for a little bit so they could at least have some fun that day.
When we got home I put hydrogen peroxide on my dog's wounds, and fed all of them rawhides. Robert came home and showed me what to do the next time a dog attacked like that - get behind him, squeeze his throat so he'd let go, and stand up. I started to cry when, as if I'd finally felt like I could let it all go. He hugged me and told me that everything was okay, Kid was safe, and next time I'd know what to do to protect him.
I had a few scratches as well - including a scratch down my nose (You can see it in the picture above), but ultimately we all came out relatively unscathed.
This isn't the first fight my dog has been involved in, and I'm sure it won't be the last. The Kid was born feral, he generally loves playing with other dogs but if a dog displays aggressive behavior, he sees a threat. That's one of the dangerous things about being around other dogs and people - - opening yourself up to the possibility of danger.
The four of us (me and the three dogs) went to Oceanside beach this afternoon. I was apprehensive about going, but I know that the possibility of anger is ever present. I need to be prepared, not avoid it. It's impossible to avoid it. I just need to be as prepared as possible, and ever vigilant. I want to protect my dogs and make sure they have a good life - and I can't do that if I shut myself away from the world.
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Poor baby. :(
I've had my share of those types of attacks as well as the owner of the attacking dog lecturing me about my dog not being friendly/willing to put up with his dog "playing" AKA attacking my dog. I try to stay away from off-leash dog parks and beaches now because it's too stressful since I have 3 to look after.
I've also been in the other scenario where my dog was on a leash in a regular park and was minding his own business when an attacking dog ran up to him without a leash. In that scenario, I also got lectured by those people saying that my dog was aggressive and that I was harassing her because I responded to her in an annoyed way. She was literally going to call the police on me because I told her to put her dog on a leash and be responsible. Basically, her dog should be allowed to do whatever it wants and that it's okay for her to ignore leash laws in a regular park.
Can't win with these people.
My solution is to go live in a cave. :D
Or away from LA at least...
Ugh. Since I travel too much to own a dog, I'm a dog walker for others and know that someday I'll have to deal with a fight. I've walked dogs who've been attacked before and are now soooo skittish, so it's great that you guys are getting back out there instead of letting fear win.
That's awful. We have a Chihuahua and an Italian Greyhound and we always have to walk them on leashes so we can yank them out of harm's way when other people let their dangerous dogs run free. And just two weeks ago an Australian Cattle dog bit a big hole in the back of my leg while I was running. Few things make me madder than people who feel entitled to take their dogs out without a leash.
I'm glad you and the pooch are okay. You're right, you absolutely can't let fear keep you from living life and doing what's right for your and your family - dogs included.
Thanks @winstonalden. This was actually a dog beach which was off-leash (The dog was actually on a leash but I've found that can make them more aggressive sometimes in off-leash parks.) The guy was yanking the dog around after he'd clamped down on my dog, but he obviously didn't know how to control him. I still bought harnesses for my dogs that have handles on them so I can pull them back if I need to and they wear those at all times if we're outside the house.
That's awful about the cattle dog. People should definitely not let their dogs off-leash if they know they're aggressive. I hope your leg is okay - dog bites are no joke.
Leg's fine, thanks. Bled for a couple of days (which is good from an infection perspective) but fortunately nothing that required an expensive doctor visit.
Hopefully that guy will wise up before his dogs do any real damage. It is nice to have a dedicated beach to let them run free but clearly common sense has to be a part of the picture.
You're lucky it wasn't a pit bull. I've had to break up two pit bull fights and each time ended up having to choke the aggressor out. Sorry your day at the beach went bad. Since it seems you are willing to fight for your buddy if it happens again you can try putting yourself between your dog and an aggressor and shouting/growling. Walking on country roads where all dogs seem to be aggressive and off leash meant we had to stand up for our well behaved dogs against aggressive half wild dogs almost every day.
That would be awful. Luckily no pitbull fights. It's always the huskies and German Shepherds that seem to be aggressive.
Walking anywhere where dogs feel the need to defend their "Territory" is always a bit dangerous. Sorry you have to deal with that.
mis-copied the wrong message in here - but you still got the upvote.
Take the spam somewhere else, please.
weird, glad I spotted it, must have accidentally pasted it. will be removed. apologies.
Thanks man.
Dog fights are so scary. When I was a pet-sitter, the pit bull and giant schnauzer I was caring for got into a fight. They weren't even my dogs, but I was so terrified I couldn't even think clearly. I just kept yelling and trying to kick them apart with my feet, all the while imagining one of them laying dead when it was over. I couldn't stop shaking afterward. Fortunately, only one dog was injured, and I was able to care for her wounds at home. But man, as bad as that was with someone else's dogs, I can't imagine the panic you must have felt when it was your own.