Bad Pet Owners

charlotte989875

Ok so I just need to vent for a minute. I just took my dog (adorable black lab/border collie named Charlie) for a walk in the park near my house and some guy didn't have a hold of his pitbull's leash and he came and attacked my dog. Seriously it went right for his throat and ribs. The guy ran and grabbed him after I screamed at them, but if your dog is going to act like that he should not be a park where there are children and small pets around, or he should be muzzled. It was ridiculous. 

Charlie has a small scrape, but is otherwise all right. Why do people think it's ok not to train your dog properly if they're going to be in public?

debbeau

I am sorry that happened to you and your pup. People need to be more responsible. It is probably not the first time. My dog was attacked a few years ago. I was screaming and so was my dog and the woman who owned the dog came to get it and then the woman who owned it "accidentally" let it go again and laughed. My dog and I both spent hours in the hospital that night. 

CMGragain

debbeau said:

I am sorry that happened to you and your pup. People need to be more responsible. It is probably not the first time. My dog was attacked a few years ago. I was screaming and so was my dog and the woman who owned the dog came to get it and then the woman who owned it "accidentally" let it go again and laughed. My dog and I both spent hours in the hospital that night. 

So sorry to hear this.  I hope you pressed charges.

tigerlily6

I'm so sorry to hear this and hope your dog is okay. Sometimes the scars aren't just physical! A dog attacked mine at the dog park in the winter, and ever since, now my dog, who was pretty good with other dogs, is now a bit paranoid at the dog park and himself becomes aggressive easily when other dogs get too hyper and in his "personal bubble" as it were. It's really distressing me -- he's still super sweet and good with people, but so anxious around other dogs now. Hoping that we can schedule some one-on-one doggy dates with known, friendly, and chill dogs to help him get over the bad experience. 

levioosa

Fuck that guy. 

I'm sorry that happened to you and pup. 

CMGragain

A few days ago, police spotted a mountain lion wandering on the Grand Junction High School grounds.  Yes, right in the middle of town.  They anesthetized it and relocated it in the countryside.  Hmm....some people are missing their small pets?
We have coyotes that come down from the National Monument near our yard.  Eagles and owls, too.  Same problem.  Our kitty is strictly an indoor cat!
It isn't just other dogs that can be a problem.  Letting a dog run loose off their leash can cost them their lives.

OurWildKingdom

I'm so sorry that happened! I hope your baby will be OK!

OurWildKingdom

CMGragain said:

A few days ago, police spotted a mountain lion wandering on the Grand Junction High School grounds.  Yes, right in the middle of town.  They anesthetized it and relocated it in the countryside.  Hmm....some people are missing their small pets?
We have coyotes that come down from the National Monument near our yard.  Eagles and owls, too.  Same problem.  Our kitty is strictly an indoor cat!
It isn't just other dogs that can be a problem.  Letting a dog run loose off their leash can cost them their lives.

Moose, our shepherd/Rottie/pit bull mix, is a champion escape artist. We keep a firm hand on the leash and *never* let him off it except at the fenced-in dog park.

Last summer, shortly after we moved in to our house, Sam, our "middle child" cat, got out and was wandering the neighborhood for a couple of days. Fortunately, one of the neighbors got a pic of him and posted it on the neighborhood association Facebook page. He made
his way home the next day. He was one lucky kitty!

cupcait927

I'm so sorry that happened! My in-laws' dog attacked my dog Fred a little over a year ago and almost killed him. Before that, Fred was a little leary of dogs but this put him over the edge. Our new nextdoor neighbors have a very sweet pitbull/boxer mix that desperately wants to play with Fred but she gets all up in his personal space too quickly and he freaks out. She's always getting out of the house and comes running up to Fred so now I have to be hyper aware when I take him outside to be sure she's not out there, running loose (no fence between our houses). She did it last night and he started snarling and trying to bite her face- luckily he's a little dog so I just scooped him up and brought him inside. I shudder to think what would happen to my buddy if the dog next door wasn't as submissmive as this one is. 

lnixon8

I've had too many friends' pets traumatized by idiots at the dog park to ever set foot/paw in one. Luckily my yard is fenced in so friends can come to us.

charlotte989875

Thanks everyone. He's doing all right now, we have a vet appointment this afternoon but he's been up playing and running a ton last night and this morning. 

That is  exactly what I'm worried about  @cupcait927. Charlie is such a happy dog, he gets so excited to see pets and kids so I worry he's going to be more afraid now. 

Theres a dog park a few blocks away that is members only and by application that I think we're going to get him in to. At least that way the dogs are screened and licensed and have a signed vet record in order to get approved. We have a fenced in yard, too but he just loves playing with other dogs. 

thisismynickname2

Uggghhh. I have a big rant against irresponsible owners. TL/DR: DH was recently bit by a dog not controlled by the caretaker.

We have leash laws and it infuriates me when people violate them. Once I was rollerblading in a park and some guy's tiny yappy dog came running up to me. I almost tripped over it and smushed it. And had I smushed it, guess who would have been blamed- me, innocent rollerblader, or guy who doesn't leash his dog?

The worse story is the night before we moved out of our old place just a couple months ago. DH was waiting for the elevator and when it opened, a younger woman walked out with a medium sized dog that had a choke collar on it. It started growling at DH so he didn't move... and the woman didn't move, just stood there. So DH took a step to try to get around and into the elevator, and the dog lunged and bit him! So he had a quarter-sized red mark/bruise, very slightly bloody, and ripped pants. Apparently they were both so shocked that she was all, "OMG I'm so sorry" and he was all, "It's ok." It was not fucking ok. I called the association that night and left a heated message. DH refused to go to the hospital or report it (we had to move the next morning, which isn't an excuse in my book but he was exhausted and just wanted to leave). 

So then in the morning as we were moving out, we ran into the association president who was furious. She'd seen the security camera footage, let us know that the dog didn't even belong to the woman- it was her boyfriend's, who was away on business. The dog was no longer allowed to be in the woman's possession. The president provided us with the shots record for the dog (a rule of having a pet in the building) and assured us if we needed anything we could come to her. 

I was still furious with DH that he refused to have it reported. The dog should have been quarantined. But, it was up to date on its shots and DH's wound healed just fine. UGH.

And I hate dog owners who are all, "but my dog is just so friendly!" Who cares?? If a dog is running up to you and trying to paw at you, a stranger has no idea if it's "friendly and just wants to play!" or if it's dangerous!  Control. Your fucking. Animals.  

VarunaTT

I know I've probably talked about this before, but it's still a rant of mine too.  Zelda is pack aggressive.  She's perfectly sweet once a proper introduction of people and dogs has happened; until then she's going to protect her pack.  The number of people who just let their dogs run up to us with no one sitting down, no leash control, no nothing, just 'Oh look, her tail's wagging, she's happy, it's fine."  NO, it's not.  She's 65 pounds of muscle and while I have the training to keep her under control, I shouldn't have to get into negative reinforcement b/c you don't know WTF you're doing with your damn dog.

GBCK

VarunaTT said:

I know I've probably talked about this before, but it's still a rant of mine too.  Zelda is pack aggressive.  She's perfectly sweet once a proper introduction of people and dogs has happened; until then she's going to protect her pack.  The number of people who just let their dogs run up to us with no one sitting down, no leash control, no nothing, just 'Oh look, her tail's wagging, she's happy, it's fine."  NO, it's not.  She's 65 pounds of muscle and while I have the training to keep her under control, I shouldn't have to get into negative reinforcement b/c you don't know WTF you're doing with your damn dog.

Substitute 'leash aggressive' (only w/ other dogs--never with people)and you've got why I can't walk Dawg in public.
(She's never hurt anyone, and I don't think she will, but, FFS, it's not good for any of the dogs for this to escalate.

lnixon8

We rescued our dog Case in January under the impression that he was graet with other dogs. Problem is hes not great with other dogs while he is on a leash...he gets MAD that he cant play right away. Once we figured this out we quickly hired a trainer, blah blah blah... it was getting better but we had to have very slow, rehearsed (and to us silly complicated) introductions to new dogs. Then one day the neighbors dog hops our fence and Case was Mr. Congeniality! I was terrified of this little corgi getting eaten by our enormous lab (who had to got his tail amputated so people assume hes part rottweiler). Nope! Butt up, tail wagging letting the other dog sniff all over. I sent the video to the trainer and he was thrilled. After that we've had lots of dogs over to play.

2 weeks ago we were still working with the trainer and practice close to a dog park (not in the dog park). This woman has a mastiff unleashed, and conversation goes:

Trainer:"We're training a leash aggressive dog over here, can you call yours over to you"
Woman: Oh my dogs old, he'll be fine. Your dogs gorgeous though!
Trainer: Can you call your dog?
Case: *trying to be good/ stay in "down" but crying because he wants to play*
Mastiff sniffs Cases's butt, Case growls, I say "I'm losing him" before Case snaps at the Mastiff's face.
Woman: OH MY GOD! IS HE A ROTTIE? SOMETHING TERRIBLE MUST HAVE HAPPENED TO THAT DOG! MY DOG NEVER GETS REACTIONS LIKE THAT HE WAS JUST SAYING HI!

bleve0821

Toothless is the friendliest dog, and does fine with other dogs at the dog park, but he is leash agressive, and with him it's because he feels trapped and like he can't get away. He's a rescue, and his psychological issues run deep, and no amount of training has really helped him completely overcome, but he has come a long way.

I can't tell you the number of times an unleashed dog has run up to us "just wanting to play" and Toothless has gone after the other dog. Guess whose fault it is every time?

"Well, you own an aggressive breed and he should be put down and anyway you said he was friendly."

Those are not even close to the words that came out of my mouth. I told you to leash your dog, I told you how he would react. We even turned around and walked away from you and your dog after you ignored me. So instead of screaming at ME, the responsible dog owner here, why don't you leash your dog so shit like this doesn't happen?

On the flip side, Hiccup is the one that gets attacked by unleashed dogs. She's much better on the leash, but she's been attacked one too many times. Now she won't meet other dogs unless Toothless is there.

Leash laws exist for a reason. 

MissKittyDanger

@AtomicBlonde I'm giggling at your 'how to train your dragon' names it's cute

As for the issues of dogs, I think it depends on the dog. Definitely feeling awful for those who have been attacked by dogs {people and animals alike}

My mum is afraid of dogs she doesn't know due to being attacked by a poodle {the larger sized ones, that unfortunately have a bad temper}

kylexo

Henry is leash aggressive and a dog park social butterfly. At our old apartment building there was an elderly lady with a standard poodle that she refused to leash (in downtown SEATTLE!) and this dog would always run up to and get in the personal space of Henry (inevitably when he was shitting) which would piss him off, then building management would give US a talking to.
like, would you want a stranger in your face when you're shitting?no.

missJeanLouise

My dog is leash aggressive in a "if she wasn't holding me back...." sort of way. But also, he is just kind of a dick. He doesn't like most other dogs. If they leave him alone, he leaves them alone but if one tries to play with him he growls and snaps. He is also protective of me so even dogs he has met and general gets along with are at risk if they try to love on me. Luckily, he is smaller so most dogs are just like "awww are you cute" and ignore him.

ShesSoCold

Ugh, Charlotte, I'm sorry. Bad dog people are the worst.

I have a big, mean looking dog. And honestly, the older she gets, the pissier she gets. When we used to go to the dog park, a lot of other dog owners were scared of her because she barks when she plays. And when she plays with little dogs, she looks really big. Once, two smaller dogs were not playing anymore and getting ugly. That upset Edna and she got involved, barking and growling but not snapping and both owners freaked out. We stopped taking her.

We used to live in an apartment and a neighbor had these two tiny-ass little white things that were never leashed. We'd come out, these two shittin' little dogs would come barking and screaming and running right up to Edna, snapping at her, then yipping and running away. The owner would get all pissed off at us. Bitch, just because my dog's shit is bigger than your dog, doesn't mean you don't have to manage them.

monkeysip

Ugh, people at our old apartments used to just let their dogs walk around without a leash. A) sometimes the dogs would come up to my dog while I was walking her, and not always in a friendly way, and B ) Cars aren't always very careful in the parking lot, so someone could easily run over your dog.  This isn't a fenced dog park or your private backyard... leash your dog!

kvruns

This is no where near the same thing as being attacked but I hate that so many of our neighbors have electric fences and let the dogs roam in the front yard. What happened to dogs in the backyard? Some of these people have normal fences too! While I know your dog is being an electric fence I still don't want it running up 6 inches from the sidewalk barking bloody murder at me and/or my dog. I've never lived in a place with so many animals or kids playing constantly in front yards, it just makes no sense to me use your backyard.

Jen4948

I'm very sorry. I hope your dog will be ok.

lembaslover

I hope your dog is OK and that this bad experience doesn't end up making him anxious around other dogs!

It sucks how many people here have experienced bad dog owners. It's so sad. I also hate people's reactions to certain breads or the size of dogs. Some of the nicest dogs I've met have been 80+lbs and breads like rotties or pitts. Some of the worst have been the smaller "lap dog" that the owners just don't control. I feel so bad for the badly behaved dogs because i know it's not their fault it's their owners.

charlotte989875

So when it rains it pours, although I guess I'm the bad pet owner now. In all the craziness with the dog, we didn't realize the cat chewed the end of her collar off and swallowed it. She had emergency stomach surgery last night to remove the string. Apparently strings are terrible for cats and can cause massive organ damage. She's awake but groggy. Hopefully they let me see her soon!

missJeanLouise

Oh no! @charlotte989875 hope your kitty has a swift recovery!

MissKittyDanger

@charlotte989875  oh no! you're not a bad pet owner, that's just terrible situations glad she's okay!

lembaslover

Oh no I'm so sorry, I hope she feels better soon! I agree that doesn't make you a bad pet owner, sometimes those kinds of accidents just happen. 

bleve0821

@charlotte989875, you probably couldn't have stopped her from eating her collar, and that doesn't make you a bad pet owner. The fact that you got her the help and care she needed makes you a responsible pet owner.

charlotte989875

Thanks everyone! I just got to see her. She's still pretty doped up and they want to monitor to make sure the drugs wear off (they're not wearing off as quickly as they would like). But she's up and moving and knew who I was. 

PrettyGirlLost

Aw I'm so sorry your dog was attacked and hurt and I'm so sorry for your kitty!  I hope they both are doing better now.