Two weeks ago, I told the story of how a loose dog in my neighborhood ran at a friend of mine and her dog as they were standing by their car in front of my house. We were all lucky that day, since the loose dog did no lasting harm to the humans or to the other dog. It could have been so much worse.
I asked online for dog lovers and dog professionals to share their stories about what can go very badly when loose dogs attack. I said, “You may know a dog who’s suffered a surprise attack by another dog, with physical injuries and/or emotional trauma that can last a lifetime. You may know a child or vulnerable senior who’s been caught in the middle of such a dog vs. dog situation that’s left scars which don’t heal.”
I added, “I want to relay your stories about what can happen when a loose dog approaches or attacks an on-leash dog, causing physical and/or emotional trauma to the on-leash dog and possibly to the humans with it. Has such an incident happened to you and your dog, or to someone you know and their dog? Was there lasting damage to any involved? How was it dealt with? Tell us all the details and how the loose dog’s humans reacted, if they did at all. Did they take responsibility?”
Here are more of the stories that were shared.
Terri Taylor-Joseph (Louisiana) This is the picture [below] of Yeti that I posted from the day before Yeti was attacked on hotel grounds while we evacuated from a hurricane. (We had done a similar walk on Sunday, August 29, 2021.) While coming to terms with the possibility that I could lose most of my possessions, I was at peace knowing that I had what I needed at the hotel with me. I had my family, my dogs, and my cats. The other things were possessions.
Prior to evacuating, I searched for articles on what to do if your dog is attacked while on leash. I did this because I knew there would be many people evacuating with pets who don’t typically leave their property, let alone travel. Since we compete in dog sports, I’m used to encountering people who know their dogs and follow appropriate protocols for handling dogs around others. In the case of an evacuation, I would potentially encounter people who might not be as dog savvy and dogs that might not be well socialized.
Yeti and I encountered a man with two large dogs who were aggressively trying to get away from their owner, with their attention focused on us. I crossed the street to give them a big bubble, but the larger, more aggressive dog broke free from the owner and charged us. Because of my research, I had already rehearsed what I should do in this situation based on the size of my dog, the size of the attacking dog, and the presence of the owner.
Although my instinct was to drop Yeti’s leash to allow him freedom of movement, I knew that I needed to keep control of my dog in the situation and keep him near so I could assist him … versus the fight moving out of my reach so I would not be able to intervene in a timely manner. In addition, I was walking him on a martingale and did not want him to get tangled and choke to death.
The two dogs sparred for what seemed like an eternity on their hind legs. When they were on all fours, I moved with Yeti to avoid hindering his defensive moves. The dog bit at Yeti’s neck and luckily came up with fur, but eventually bit Yeti on his lower back and clamped down without letting go. I kept Yeti still as I faced him while holding his collar, the martingale, and leash so that the dog would not pull him down or start thrashing. A kick to the dog’s neck and me whipping the dog in the head with Yeti’s leash did not help. Ultimately, I pleaded for the guy to get his dog off of my dog. The dog finally released Yeti after the guy choked his dog off with the collar.
Yeti is fine and luckily didn’t have any puncture wounds. He had an abrasion and was put on antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medicine. That double coat came in handy. Because Yeti gave a good fight and I had rehearsed the scenario in my mind numerous times, we survived the attack. I’m glad the second dog was not involved.
Please prepare for these scenarios. I considered taking my other Australian Shepherd on the walk at the same time using a splitter but had decided against it.
My plan for the splitter in case of an attack was to slip the six-year-old dog with the better recall out of the martingale and to keep Yeti, who was two, on leash so that they would not get tangled. I no longer use a splitter and now use two separate leashes when I take them on a walk together. I’m lucky I did not have both dogs during the attack, as I believe the guy would have released the second pit bull. Based on the guy’s never apologizing or attempting to recall the dog when he got loose, I believe there is a possibility that it was intentional and we were sport for them.
One of the best things I think I did is that I remained quiet and did not scream, which would have heightened the excitement. As I held Yeti upright and still once the dog had latched onto him, the silence helped to de-escalate the situation. I also kept the fight close to me by keeping Yeti on leash so I could assist him. At the end of the day, Yeti literally fought for his life and is here today, happy and healthy.
This incident still haunts me.
Photo by Terri Taylor-Joseph
Amanda Bingham (Georgia) When I was a kid, I grew up in a hick town with no leash laws. Everyone’s dogs roamed free. Everyone knew everyone and all the dogs knew each other. This was a road about 30 miles from town, five houses on it. Anyway, there was a little dog called Tripod, a three-legged feisty dog that was one of the older dogs in the neighborhood. All the dogs in this story had grown up with him. He was 12. All the dogs were playing on a hillside by a graveyard, zooming around and having a good time. Then one of them stepped on Tripod and he ran off “kayaking”—aka screaming (kayakayakayak)—and a young German Shepherd ran to chase him, and that triggered predatory drift. They ran him down and pulled him into a million screaming pieces. I was a young kid, maybe seven. I ran over with a stick to try to save him and one of the dogs snapped at me and I realized if I jumped into that mess, they might pitch in and pull me into a million screaming pieces, too. I ran to the neighbors’ house and the men came out and shot a couple of the dogs that had Tripod’s body and wouldn’t let them take it, and the rest of the dogs were dispersed back to their houses. Every single family’s dogs, including Tripod’s family’s dogs, helped kill him.
Donna-Leigh Rowley (Ontario) My walker was bringing Shiloah in from a walk with another friend who had her smaller dog with her, too. Her smaller dog was barking. At the unit that is close to the lobby, the door opened, then closed and opened again, and a large Mastiff dog went after the smaller dog. The owner was able to pull her dog away. My walker had Shiloah, and the Mastiff went after Shiloah. My walker managed to grab the big dog’s collar, but he still bit Shiloah on the ear and back. My walker was holding onto the big dog’s collar while Shiloah’s leash was caught on her watch. Shiloah tried to get away but could not. My walker is less than 100 pounds, Shiloah is 122 pounds, and the bigger dog was at least 160 pounds. My walker held him off until the owner’s brother got the dog back into the apartment. She came upstairs to me with blood on her hand and told me what happened. Because Shiloah is all black, she did not know where he was bit. She looked him over and found a small gash in his ear and later a small bite on his back. My walker was brave and I am grateful. Her left side and chest were bruised. This happened two weeks ago. The owner was not home, but when he learned about it, he was very concerned about what had happened and offered to pay the vet bill. I said, “No worries, I’m covered,” and “It was not that bad.” The owner is and was in contact with a trainer whom I know; the dog will be properly trained for a muzzle, and now does not go near people or other dogs. We have no idea why it happened, but apparently he has a history of biting. Shiloah is already reactive and, of course, this did not help.
Eileen Anderson (Arkansas) I used to walk my 12-pound rat terrier, Cricket, on leash every day on my suburban street. A neighbor let his two bigger dogs, a golden retriever and a retriever mix, hang out in his unfenced front yard unsupervised. We had walked by them several times and nothing had happened except some exchanging of barks between the dogs and Cricket. Then one day, the dogs lunged to attack.
The mix got Cricket’s whole rear end in her mouth. I grabbed Cricket’s front end. Cricket kept trying to fight them and never whimpered, never cried. I was screaming, and the owner came out and called off the dogs.
I had bleeding Cricket in my arms, but the owner was saying, “She’s okay, she’s okay.”
She was not okay. The skin on her back had been torn and her whole rear end almost degloved. She had very deep bruising as well. She got many stitches and several drains and was in severe pain even with medications. I wrote my neighbor a letter about the incident. I had told him I wouldn’t report it to Animal Control if he paid Cricket’s vet bills and contained his dogs. This was a mistake on my part. He paid the bills, every one. But he continued to leave his dogs in his front yard.
This was the most traumatic event of my life. I remember all too well playing tug-of-war with my small dog as the prize. But Cricket showed no evidence of emotional trauma. We had limited places to walk, so we continued to go by that house (the other direction we could go was even less safe). Her walks were everything to her.
I now watched for the dogs like a hawk and carried deterrent spray. Cricket remained her feisty self, not being scared of big dogs or the area where the attack occurred. I reported my neighbor to the city a couple of years later when his dogs threatened my 30-pound dog, Summer. I tell everyone who is wondering whether to report a dog attack to do so. I wish I had done it at the time of Cricket’s attack. My dogs were never hurt again, but that neighbor’s dogs continued to harass other dogs and people who walked by.
In the stories that have been shared, the reactions of the loose dogs’ owners vary widely. In my experience, the owner who takes fair warning from a “minor” incident is unusual—very rare. The owner who fails to contain his dog even after complaints from neighbors? That’s far more usual, I’m sorry to say. What truly astounds me is the thought that some owners might actually “let” their aggressive dogs run loose after other dogs for entertainment. That can never be allowed.
