Attacked at Dog Park

[Rural mystic]

This pisses me off to no end. I have owned an Amstaff and an APBT and any owner of these breeds who are worth a damn should KNOW that although these breeds are intelligent, loving and very devoted to their owners they are instinctively dog aggressive. They were original breed for dog fighting and its in their genetic makeup. I love those breeds but NO ONE should have one unless they are very responsible pet owners. Shame on those so called men that stood by and watched it unfold, especially if the owner of this dog was a man. But either way the owner of that dog is responsible for the actions of their dog. And after taking care of my dog like you did I would have been back up to the park to try and find out whose dog it was. I don't suggest you do this but I would. Apologies are okay as far as it goes but its not enough, as the responsible owner for not having control of their dog they should make financial amends. The main thing though is that your dog is ok. I'm thankful for that. A really game Amstaff or APBT is very difficult almost impossible to deter once it starts fighting and especially if the dog has a lock on the other dog like this one did on yours. You are fortunate that it wasn't worse. Very irresponsible owner of the pitbull to say the least.

 

[Redsmom]

So sorry to hear that this happened to both of you. This is exactly why I am scared to death of bringing Shakespeare to a dog park. I don't have enough experience with dogs myself to be able to handle that kind of situation. I hope you are both doing well.

Do you live in Tracy, CA? We live in Pleasanton, and I am looking for some other bulldog families to meet up with. . The only bulldog meet ups that I've seen are in Alameda and SF which are both a little too far for us. Let me know if you'd like to meet up sometime!

 

[Vikinggirl]

Hi Sue, I'm so sorry you and Daisy had such a bad experience at the dog park. Poor Daisy, I'm so glad she didn't get seriously hurt, and hopefully she will forget her experience and continue to be social and friendly. She may be a little shy or skittish for a little while. I also stopped going to leash free parks, because of a few unpleasant and frustrating situations that happened to my guys, although they weren't as serious as your attack. We've had other people's dogs constantly hump and growl at our female Blosssom, this is so frustrating and I end up having to leash my dogs and leave. If your dog isn't fixed and is constantly humping other dogs, then you shouldn't bring them to a leash free park, the same if they are aggressive to other dogs. Another time a lady came to the park with two young Husky dogs, they weren't puppies but were still young. She asked me if my dogs were friendly, and I told her yes, and asked her if hers were, she said yes. My dogs had on new sweaters as it was Fall, and a little chilly, her dogs ran over to Blossom and pulled her sweater off over her head, and then had a tug of war with it, and ripped it. She couldn't catch her dogs, or control them. She gave me the sweater back, and I told her it was a brand new sweater, and now it was ripped. She quickly left the park with her dogs and got in her car and drove away. I guess she thought I was going to ask her to pay for it. Lol. The last time I was at the park nothing bad happened, there were about 8 dogs and my two, and they were all playing great. There was a lady standing beside me, and we were talking, she had a really cute French Bulldog mixed with an EB, and I was commenting on how cute he was, and she was loving on my guys. There was a really friendly Black Lab, that was its a young guy, he was playing with Blossom, and I noticed his fur was full of Dandruff, and his coat was really oily. The guy he was with, didn't look like he had seen many showers either. Everytime the dog ran by us, we could smell a really pungent odor coming from the dog, we both commented on it, and how bad he smelled, and we were outside, so you shouldn't have been able to smell him. After we left, and were back in the car, I was so grossed out because of the smell on Blossom from this dog, she smelled so bad. When we got back home, we had to bath her right away. Although nothing bad happened, and no harm came to her, it got me thinking about the dog parks in general, and the potential diseases that can be contracted. We don't know which owners haven't kept their dogs vaccinations up to date, or if all owners have dewormed their dogs, so other dogs could potentially contract diseases, worms or other parasites from the feces. That's another thing that peeves me, when dog owners don't clean up after their dogs in the parks. Here in Canada, at the leash free parks, the city provides poop bags and receptacles at the leash frees, so there is no excuse not to pick up after your dog. Our dogs go there and either step or roll in the grass, and get covered with other dogs feces, or you step in it with your shoes. I've decided not to go to these parks anymore for these reasons. I have two EB's, and they are siblings and litter mates so they generally will always play with each other. I will continue to go to the EB Meetups once a month, as we enjoy those, and like you said, the Bulldogs all seem to get along.

It's unfortunate that the irresponsible dog owners ruin the parks and fun for other dog owners. These parks are supposed to be for everyone's enjoyment, and if you know your dog is not sociable, not fixed, not vaccinated, aggressive, or you're not willing to clean up after your dog, then you shouldn't be coming to these types of parks with your dog. Here in Canada, there are actually fines for not having your dog licensed, vaccinated, and for not scooping up poop after your dog.

 

[sunkissedpr1ncs]

Oh my gosh I'm so sorry to hear this happened to your baby but I'm glad nothing too serious happened!!

I'm always worried about this with Barkley too. He loves going to the dog park and is just like Daisy in that he loves every person and dog he meets. He is the friendliest, nicest dog and would never hurt a fly. When we do take him to the park, there are some dogs that just don't seem to like him for whatever reason (he can be kind of annoying I think, with wanting to sniff and check out every dog). He's had a few dogs growl at him and usually he will go submissive and that's that.

This past weekend we took him to the dog park and this was the first time taking him after having him neutered a month ago, so I was curious if the other dogs would be friendlier now. For the most part it was fine except there were 2 dogs around Barkley's age, one was a pit/boxer mix who just wanted to keep causing trouble. Barkley would just walk by them and the one dog would just run up to him and start barking and then the other dog would join in. Every time they did this, Barkley would just go submissive and cower and look so afraid, I felt so bad for him but even after he did this, the other dogs wouldn't stop barking at him and the owners had to take them to other side of the park.

A little while later, another bulldog came and the dogs did the same thing to him, except this bulldog stood his ground instead of cowering, but was good and didn't try and bark back or anything. Finally after that the owners took the dogs and left and everything was good after that.

I love taking him to the park and I know he loves going but I hate now just being so worried about him the whole time and feeling like I have to watch him like a hawk in case anything happens! Like everyone else has said, I wish people wouldn't bring their dogs who they know can be even a little aggressive to the dog parks!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Baxter Tiberius]

I know this is long and I apologize for that but I wanted to get this out so I can hopefully get past it myself. I'm not even sure if this is the right forum to include it. Daisy was attacked by a pitbull at the dog park Thursday night after work. Thankfully she will recover physically.
She is such a friendly dog with people and animals. I swear she thinks every living thing is put on this earth to love her. I have had dogs all my life but honestly never one like Daisy. Maybe it’s partly because I’m grown up (haha not going to say I’m old!) and have the time to devote to her, or just that her personality is so endearing, but she is the best dog ever.
I take her all over and even got rid of my Camaro so I could get a car that would be easier to take her along. We go to Petmart at least once a week & Bulldog meetups (at dog park or beach) at least monthly so she can socialize with people and dogs. It’s odd to watch the bulldogs at the meetups because they all hang out together. Other dogs come & go into the group but the bulldogs all seem to prefer each other. Because she enjoys the meetups so much I decided to take her to our own local dog park.
We’ve been several times and she loves it. She runs much more than she should, gets exhausted, drinks way too much water, runs some more, pukes up the water, runs some more, visits all the humans and some of the dogs. She is always very submissive to the dogs (as a result of a dog that scared her in Petsmart when she was a puppy). Regardless of size of dog, she crouches when she gets near them and then rolls over if they get close. Once the other dog is satisfied she’s not a threat she gets up and everybody plays together fine. Her main goal though is visiting the humans. She’ll run to the far side of the park to jump up on a bench to visit a new human. Not one person has tried to resist her charms.
Fast forward to last Thursday. Instead of going on our usual walk around the neighborhood or in the park, we went to the dog park. Daisy is so excited to be there. I unhook her from her leash as soon as we’re inside. She runs around a bit then heads straight towards a group of 4-5 people and maybe 3 dogs. The humans are all raving about her as I’m walking towards them. When Daisy sees the dogs she cowers. One of the dogs (yes a pitbull) comes towards her she rolls over on her back. The dog then stands right over her and she gets scared. She starts flailing her legs (she’s a turtle on her back) and apparently the dog interprets that at aggression. I imagine him thinking “oooh she wants to fight—well I am going to win”. The pitbull grabs her by the neck and Daisy starts screaming. This is a sound I never want to hear again. She is trying to get away and the pitbull is on her and won’t let go. The owner is trying to get him off of her but he’s not letting go. I then jump in and hold Daisy still so she won’t struggle and further aggravate him and make it worse. The owner is trying to pry his mouth off of her. I am just about to reach my hand in his mouth too when miraculously he lets go. It is all a blur and I am only concerned with Daisy. She jumps up on me & throws up. She has blood all over her neck & back. I’m checking her to see how bad it is & I can’t find any ripped flesh through her fur. I hear the owner behind me saying “something’s wrong with his mouth”. I look back and see his mouth full of blood. He is trying to get away from her and back to Daisy. I scoop Daisy up (haha like a mom lifting a car off her kid) and run for the exit. I can hear the owner apologizing to me as we’re running away. Once outside I put her down and examine her again before heading to the vet. We’re both covered in blood but at least it’s not getting worse. I put her in the car and call the vet on the way there.
By the time we get there I realize that she’s not really bleeding. It must have been the pitbull’s blood all over her. He must have bitten his tongue (yay he deserves that and more!). The vet takes her in immediately. They know her and love her there. Turns out she was very lucky. You can see the 4 canine teeth marks but only 1 really did any damage. She has 1 puncture wound ¾ inches deep (exactly the length of his tooth I suspect). No ripped flesh. They shave the area and clean everything up. They bring her out to me and she jumps into my arms for comfort. I’m not sure who was comforting who at that point. We go home with antibiotics and pain medication.
After we are home and the adrenaline subsides, I start to think about what could have happened and how much worse it could have been. Both to her and me. It’s all such a blur and I know nobody wants to jump in to a dog fight but all those people around and nobody helped us? Two women trying to break it up? What about those men? Give that dog a big kick.
It did cross my mind for an instant to get the owner’s information so I could force her to pay vet bill, but all I was concerned about was getting Daisy away from there and getting her to the vet. Money didn’t matter at that point. It didn’t occur to me until after that I should have gotten information so I could report that pitbull in case it has attacked before (or when it attacks again).
I don’t really blame the dog for what happened, although I believe the breed instincts played a part in it, I blame the owner. She should have known her dog was aggressive towards other dogs. An aggressive dog should never be brought to an off leash dog park. I know I am stereotyping but, unfortunately it seems lots of pit bull owners are not as diligent at training that instinct out of their dogs. Many seem to think it is “cool” to have a tough dog. Many are young thugs who don’t care about the consequences of their dog’s actions. I know… that is a generalization and not true of all pitbull owners, but it seems quite common in Tracy.
We are home recovering. Physically Daisy is doing much better. I hope the emotional scars aren’t too deep for her. My guilt of what happened and fear for next time are going to be hard to get past. Obviously we won’t be going back to the dog park. I’m hoping we don’t have to give up our bulldog events since we have made so many new friends. I’m confident that if something like that happened at a bulldog event I would not have been left alone to break it up.

View attachment 68481View attachment 68482

f***ng pitbulls.

I have many friends who hate the reputation they have, and post all kinds of stuff on Facebook about how misunderstood they are. But without fail, it is always the pitbulls who are volatile and ready to attack, at the dog park. Whether its the one everybody says is "sweet" who suddenly starts lunging at Baxter for no reason, or the ones dripping phlegm off their fangs as they viciously bark and pull on their owners leash, ready to kill anything that gets near it ... its always the pitbulls. I used to be afraid to offend people on this topic but Im not anymore. Unless every one of those owners is beating their dogs silly every night, the fault is not with the owners. Sorry.

EDIT: I take it back. The owners are at fault for one thing. And it astounds me that they can be so insanely clueless. Don't bring your dog to a friggen dog park. You idiots. (sorry im mad). If you know how your dog is, why the heck are they there in the first place? People are so clueless. Anyone who has a dog who has EVER attacked another dog, knows its possible to happen again. There's one dog at our dog park that has attacked several times. Yet the owners keep bringing him back. Why? I am still new to the Dog park so I am still in that stage where I keep my opinions to myself. But I can feel it coming on where my mouth is going to let loose. Baxter has been attacked almost every single time we've gone to the park. Its wearing me down.

-B-

 

[SirJoseph]

I'm so sorry for little Daisy but glad she is OK. Being attacked is a scary thing but lucky it wasn't you and your girl is alright. Dog parks suck and so do many of the owners that go to them. VikingGirl nailed it with her description.

Begin RANT

People aren't clueless...They just don't give rip - Me first you last. That's the way it goes these days - There is a severe lack of respect in general in society which is why we have all the stories that make up this thread with more to come I am sure.

For instance...

There was a little terrier at the open space (wilderness) walking park down the street from my house not long ago that was mauled and killed by a pitbull and the owners were like 'we're sorry'...Meanwhile the elderly woman with the dead dog was left standing there stunned. I do not know what became of this instance, I hope she got some sort of compensation or something besides 'we're sorry'...WAJ

and another...

Many years ago, maybe 25 or so, I was walking my Malamute/Husky mix down the street a few blocks from my grandma's house and we were mauled by a dog that just bolted out of his house from across the street. It was bad. My dog Bear was cut up, I was cut up and I ended up having to stomp this dog to end it. What happened next is what amazed me...As this dog is limping back across the street throwing up blood and hacking the owner comes running out of the house yelling at me and screaming, what had I done to their dog like the whole thing was my doing...'Uh what did you say?' I became almost instantly enraged and announced that he was next and to come and get it...He went back into his house and shut the door. Me and Bear continued home covered in blood from the fight. This was 25 years ago...I love animals and would never intentionally harm one UNLESS the animal is coming after me or mine and every time I take JOE or Bea or any dog on a walk I always have the scene from that day in the back of my mind and a stick in my hand. It sux.

Note to unruly dog owners:

I love my dog more than I love yours. End of story. So if your dog is out of control be prepared for what comes next as I am a firm believer in self defense. Whatever it takes.

End RANT

Side note:

I was walking through Lowes the other day and there was a pile of dog cr** right in the aisle smeared around. C'mon people. Really? You bring your little doggie to the store and let it cr** all over the place and walk off like it didn't happen shrugging your shoulders. You and your lil doggie must be some kind a special...

Have a great day and be safe out there. Kick A** if you have to

 

[agentbunny]

I am so sorry to hear your story. I would have been terrified, as you were. Poor little Daisy, so innocent and trusting. If you have any friends nearby who have dogs that Daisy knows, I would have them come visit in a few days, so that she can know that not all dogs are going to hurt her. I know you must feel sick about this, as I certainly would, and it breaks my heart for you and Daisy. You should go to the park(without Daisy) and find the owner of that dog, and give her a copy of the vet bill. She should be responsible for it-and ask for copies of her dogs shot records. She should not get off so easily. If her dog has done this once(that you know of) I would say there are certainly chances that it will do it again at the park-to another dog. Dogs know a submissive position, and it attacked anyway. Praying that Daisy will not be too traumatized by this, and that she heals well. You will be scared from now on-I know I would be.

I agree completely. Unless that owner has to pay for the damage her dog did it will likely happen again as most owners of vicious dogs find a way to blame the dog who was attacked or the other owner for what happened. If it ever happens again (to anyone) it is important that the incident be documented with police and animal control. At least take a picture of the dog and owner before going to the vet. They might think twice about visiting the same dog park.

I personally do a lot of stereotyping when I go to the dog park. If the owner looks sketchy or a particular dog puts me off by appearing too "gamey", I don't go in until they leave. There is nothing wrong with following your gut feeling about something. I have promised myself that if either of my dogs ever show a hint of aggression to another dog I will remove them from the park as well.

I hope your baby recovers and this does not make her afraid of other dogs.

 

[Davidh]

I'm so sorry that happened to her. this is why I never, ever take my bullies to an off leash park. You never know who will be in there and most people do not watch their dogs the way they should. Plus I wanted to add, the best way to break up a dog fight without getting hurt yourself is grab both dogs by the hind legs and lift them up off the ground if you can. they will turn loose and this keeps you from getting bit. A pit may take some time to turn loose but if you can get his front feet off the ground too, it helps. I hope she will be OK and have a speedy recovery. Bless her heart.

 

[agentbunny]

I'm so sorry that happened to her. this is why I never, ever take my bullies to an off leash park. You never know who will be in there and most people do not watch their dogs the way they should. Plus I wanted to add, the best way to break up a dog fight without getting hurt yourself is grab both dogs by the hind legs and lift them up off the ground if you can. they will turn loose and this keeps you from getting bit. A pit may take some time to turn loose but if you can get his front feet off the ground too, it helps. I hope she will be OK and have a speedy recovery. Bless her heart.

I'm scared to think what would happen to an english bulldog if you grabbed him by the hind legs and lifted him off the ground. Does this work with bulldogs? Seems like it would break their hips or something.

 

[Sophatp]

I am happy to hear that Daisy is getting better. I love taking Leo to the dog park because he is so friendly to everyone and every dog. I wish there was a bullie meet up in my area. he has been bitten a few times for being in your face to other dogs, but he is not threatening in any way. Before I enter the dog park, I like to look at the dogs inside. If I see any unsupervised dogs I do not take him in, or any dogs that are not playing appropriately as these are off leash parks. I do not want Leo to be scarred by a bad incident and become scared or aggressive from a bad exp. with another dog.

 

[nycbullymama]

There's no other way for us city folk to socialize our dogs. We live in apartment buildings without backyards. We don't have pretty wooded walking paths where we can take our babies off leash.
We have concrete dog parks. We go there so our pups can run around freely and socialize with other dogs. Most of the time, nothing happens. But like everywhere else, there's always going to be that one person/dog that's outta control and ruin
it for someone else.

Blue's been attacked twice. Lucky for us it wasn't anything serious. Once was a Boston Terrier because he didn't like Blue going after his ball. The other time it was a Wheaten Terrier who bit him over the eye. The Wheaten incident wasn't at a dog park. It happened in the Florida Keys, at a pet friendly hotel where it's encouraged to bring your dog.

There was also another incident when Blue was a pup also over a ball. But the owner was a moron that actually said "he's not aggressive unless there's a toy involved". Well then genius, why would you play ball when other dogs are around??!! Perfect stupidity on the owners part.

My point is, that it can happen anywhere, and with any breed. But there's no way I'd stop going to the parks. Blue has fun, he gets to exercise, and be social. As for me, I've met some wonderful people.
[MENTION=8562]IPickedADaisy[/MENTION] Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying take Daisy back to this particular park. But I'm a firm believer in socializing your dog just so things like this don't happen. Maybe you can find a playgroup or meet up in your area when she's feeling better?

 

[dieMuttivonBifi]

I second the post above. like her i am a very firm believer of socializing your dog, no matter what the breed is, no matter what size your dog maybe! And one should know your breed. Pitts need intensive mental and physical stimulation. like our EBs they're not for everyone. I also believe in responsible dog ownership. i judge and curse the ones who aren't. Exercise-Discipline-Affection. Its not so hard to remember and yet alot of people still don't get it. Oh and one way to get a Pitt off your dog is press both hands or an arm to its neck, the dog will need to breathe and it will let go. no amount of beating will make it loosen its grip due to it locking its jaw.

I really am so sorry this happened to sweet Daisy. I hope this experience doesn't traumatize either of you. My boy was bitten by an older huge dog at 3 mos. old, i ofcourse was furious. This happened just infront of our apartment building. The dog's owner just up and left without even a sorry. Next time we met i was so enraged i screamed at her with all my broken german and glory. I didn't see them again. That Pitt's owner should be accounted for what happened. but that's just me.

And remember just because a dog is wagging it's tail doesn't mean it's friendly.

 

[IPickedADaisy]

Thank you to everyone for the kind, thoughtful sentiments & wonderful suggestions. Daisy is feeling much better so that is easing my anxiety somewhat. Hearing other's stories helps too. Hopefully we are both able to at least socialize with other bulldogs and known friendly dogs. We're going to take it slow. Thank you all again!

 

[Davidh]

[MENTION=10206]agentbunny[/MENTION] works on any dog.

 

[2BullyMama]

Thank you to everyone for the kind, thoughtful sentiments & wonderful suggestions. Daisy is feeling much better so that is easing my anxiety somewhat. Hearing other's stories helps too. Hopefully we are both able to at least socialize with other bulldogs and known friendly dogs. We're going to take it slow. Thank you all again!

How is Ms Daisy doing?