Attacked by another dog...

[Erin]

My first day off in three weeks, and I spent the afternoon crying at the vets office...

My husband was walking Hershey this afternoon in our neighborhood, and notice a great dane tied to a house down the street. The great dane saw Hershey and pulled its cable so hard it snapped. He ran right up to Hershey and my husband, but wasn't acting aggressive at all... My husband, being the nice guy he is, didn't want their dog to get hit by a car in the street, so started walking back towards the house, and trying to the owner's attention(who was inside the house). As soon as Hershey and my husband got near the house, the dane lunged at Hershey and grabbed her by the back of the neck. And would not let go. Long story short - the dog wouldn't let go of Hershey until my husband pried its jaws apart...

I got home just as they came back from their walk, and my husband had already called the vet. Hershey was acting very normal and very excited to see me. As I bent to pet her, I got blood all over my hands, and soon realized she had puncture wounds all over her neck. I just lost it, and put her in the car, and drove to the vet...

She's okay. She got a nice new haircut, taking off most of the hair around her neck. The vet cleaned the wounds and gave me antibiotics and some doggie pain-killers. She's zonked out in her doggie bed, but she's eating her food and seems ok... The wounds are open, but I have to keep them clean.

Anybody deal with this before? I really hope Hershey isn't too traumatized long-term.... I think my husband might be though...

(My current problem now, is that she smells like a kennel! This other dog was all over her, and was obviously not as "fresh-smelling" as Hershey... but i'm wary to get her all worked up with a bath...)

[Leslie and Halas]

That's really scary. Glad Hershey's going to be ok. Years ago, my husky and I were attacked by a rottweiler. We both ended up with some puncture wounds and trips to the ER. Luckily, some people came to our rescue. The people trying to get the rottweiler away from us didn't have much luck, because the rottie was pretty relentless, but someone in a truck stopped and opened the passenger door so we could jump in to get away. My dog was always very friendly to dogs and people, and that DID NOT change because of the attack. He seemed to recognize rottweilers after that and would go out of his way at places like Petsmart to avoid one if he saw one. But he was still always very friendly with all dogs and people. So I'll bet that Hershey will get over this. Maybe get her out with some friendly dogs that she knows, once she's healed, and her wounds have closed up. Until then, some pampering is in order - for Hershey and your husband.

[Adrianne Matzkin]

OMG - what a day you had! Poor Hershey - and that poor GD!. It is obvious that this family needs lots of education. I would go over to speak with them (without Hershey, of course) and find out what they have in mind to help this poor dog and where they plan on keeping him. Do they have a fenced in yard? If not, they better invest in one asap! If they don't have plans for training then maybe you need to rethink about not reporting them. Next time it could be a human child or someone else's little pup. What would have happened if a child was walking their dog?

Do you hae of the bath wipes? I keep them around if Samantha doesn't smell so sweet and a real bath just can't be done at the time. I got mine a PetSmart.

[Kyoko]

OMG..... Thank God that she was OK. It must have been really scary for you, Hershey and your husband !!
Any time when people own any animals, they have to be really responsible of taking care of them!! They truly need to invest in the fence if they don't have one. I am surprised that shelter allowed this family to adopt this dog if they do not have a fenced in yard, and did not educate them a little more about supervising this dog. My 13 year old Chow Chow can get funny around certain toy dogs / very little kids. ( He came to me at a year old, and I don't know that history of him ) So, we are very careful about that. But we have these two little dogs ( Jack Russell and other one, I don't know what it is...) in our neighborhood, that runs around free. I get frustrated when I am walking mine on the leash, and these loose little dogs instigate on him....They will be more likely to be hurt if anything goes on since they are tiny, but we are the one that is being responsible. I am really glad Hershey is OK. It could have been a major disaster.....

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I am glad that Hershey and your husband are ok (eventually anyway). I am also "cautious" about big dogs if I don't know them, so I really empathize with your husband. I think it would be a good idea to find out what the neighbor's plan for the dog is. If she has a good one, then I wouldn't report her, but if she doesn't really then I probably would because it is a matter of safety.

[Janie]

So sorry. this happened to all of you....glad it was not worse then it was! Speedy recover for Hershey will be in my prayers.

[Sine]

gosh, that is horrible what happened to you guys. i really don't know what i would've done. i'm really glad your hubby was able to pry his jaws apart and that hershey and your husband turned out okay. thanks for sharing this experience with all of us and hope everyone recovers really soon!

[Holly St Pierre]

This happened over the weekend at the local dog park I go to. Luckily, I was about to leave, so I had Gunner on his leash, but a boxer mix for some unknown reason came in to the park, went up the hill & attacked another dog for no particular reason. It took 4 grown men to pull him off. The dog that was attacked was hurt pretty bad. It really opened my eyes to what can happen in an area with so many dogs & being off lead to where no one has control. I won't be taking Gunner back there. I can't take the chance of him being attacked. The chances are much too great, as I have seen this there before, but not to this extreme.

[Kim]

Hi Erin!

Yes, this is a very similar situation to what we went through, although ours wasn't as bad. It's horrible to have to go through this. Our attack was made by a German Sheppard while my husband was walking our puppy and I was on my way home from work - so very similar!

You should definitely call Animal Control, and file a report. That way - you will know if this has happened before with that dog.

I'm sorry you have to go through this.

[nonnie browne]

These kinds of incidents really get my blood pressure going. Sooo many people do not have any business being pet owners (and sometimes parents for that matter). I understand the support of rescue dogs and shelters, but if you are courageous enough to rescue a breed, particularly a giant breed, then for heaven's sake, do not leave it tied outdoors. Sounds like Hershey got great care at the vet, but I would consult an animal behaviorist to find out how to deal with the trauma, because he is so young and you dont want long term issues. I dont know what they would advise. My Buddy loves other dogs and genuinely just doesnt understand when he trots over to meet another dog, and they arent friendly. He goes to doggie day care where he has lots of pals, but I havent had the courage to take him to an off lead dog park. We have "encountered" and "met" several neighbor dogs on leads, some whom I know and some I dont, but I am always very careful with those dogs - I try not to let my anxiety translate down to him, but I'll bet he knows I am anxious, because some dogs are crazy lungers and get in your dogs personal space before you even see it coming! Good luck. If you get great advice, let us know!

[Brenda Hetzel]

I have encountered many irresponsible dog owners during our numerous walks. Some have ended in tragedy
for the other dog and some have left me shaking in my boots for my own dog. Most incidents have been with a younger child trying to control a much stronger dog and then we come strolling down the street and BINGO, the dog comes after us and the little kid isnt strong enough to hold him.THat dog comes barelling across a busy street and gets run over by a car! I'm left in tears for their irresposibility and the dog is left dead. Smashed on a busystreet whre u would think owners would know better than to leave their presious pet in the hand of a 2nd grader or younger!

[Paula]

Like Kyoko, as soon as I read "Rescue", I thought rescued from where? I've never seen a rescue posting for Large Breed dogs yet that didn't read "MUST have SECURE FENCED YARD" ! And in this case for a Great Dane no less with small dog issues. In the front yard!!!! What the he...!
I know that your husband told these people that he wouldn't report the incident and beleive me, me more so than most people understand that. But I think at the very least that dog needs to be more securely contained. Let' hope that the owners themselves are taking some appropriate measures. They should be terrified that next time it will be more serious; it might be a very small child. Trust has been broken. Do we even know it was the first time for this dog.
Last Sept I had to give up my 95lb. male Bouvier because he broke free while my husband was putting him and his female littermate in his vehicle. He was on leash. He did this purposely to lunge at and bite in the upper lateral thorax a 21 yr old female jogger. He let go immediately and ran up the street in the other direction, and returned and jumped in the vehicle as soon as he was called. My husband said that the dog looked as startled as everyone else. I, in the house not seeing it happen called the breeder immediately upon hearing about it, the jogger went to ER, her mother( who had a common law husband LAWYER) came over to tell me her daughter wasn't going to but if it were up to her...she would sue me. We returned our Bouvier to the breeder who called it "PREY DRIVE". Well I didn't care what she or anyone else called it!!!! I loved Benny, he was my dog 3 1/2, well trained, ran free with his sister at our cottage for 3 yrs. I was shocked and devasted I was just sick about it all. But the very second I heard what happened I knew what I had to do. What if he jumped my fence, what if he broke my cable what if he sqeezed through the door while one us was exiting. Never again could he be free! How could I even let him go swimming? Thank God it was an understanding girl (who also felt bad for Benny and I) who ended up with one bite: 4 puncture wounds and not a small child's neck or worse.
I know it was Hershey, but Benny also barked at dogs when he saw them "walking by the house" on leash with their owners.
That by the way is why I own a DOODLE today

[Barbara Burrows]

Erin, I am glad Hershey and your husband are OK. A dog tried to bite Abby at the dog park 5 weeks ago. She is OK, scratches no puncture wounds. We had been at the park for a while and she was running with other dogs. A large black dog came into the park and immediately went after her. He ran into her and she rolled 2 times. She got up and ran to me, the dog came after her again. I picked her up and he jumped, trying to reach her. I turned my back to him and his paws were on my shoulders he was trying to bite her. Someone pulled him off and I left the park..

The owners of the dog never tried to get their dog under control. They were asked to leave and not return to the dog park.

Abby had always been a very calm dog, now was startled by people, sounds, quick movements and dogs. I took her back to the dog park when it was empty, then when there were a few dogs there. Last week was the first time she didn't pull back from a black dog. She is getting back to her calm self....