Shop dogs

[Phillip Patton]

Never carry a knife to a dogfight.

Seriously though, I would carry a gun on walks, if it's legal. If it's not, a Tazer or pepper spray. The strong stuff.

My dad and I were biking through a small town nearby, and there were three Labs running loose. One of them (the mother of the other two) bit my dad on the calf as we were going by. Well, we stopped, and confronted the dogs, at which point they backed off. As long as we faced them, they backed off, but if we turned they would attack again. Cowards.

We tried to get the owners attention, but either no one was home or they were hiding....

It was a little scary, but we eventually got away without any serious injury, and called Animal Control right away. He told us that we would be well within our rights to shoot the dog. He talked to the owner and told him if he didn't tie the dog up, he would have to put it down.

Since then I haven't seen the dog loose. For awhile after that I would roll down my car window and bark and growl at it. Yeah, I'm weird....

Not sure if the same rules apply to protecting your dog, but it sounds like you and Angie were in danger too, so...

Glad it didn't turn out worse.

Well we had a scary thing happen yesterday that's worth mentioning here!

Angi came up and we took Shadow on one of our favorite 5 mile walks. About 4 miles into it, there's an old farmhouse that has a big, old Rottweiler. He has ALWAYS been tied up, and is usually too put out to even stand up while he barks at us on our way past the house.

Yesterday there was a bull-dog of some sort at that house and he came running out to the road to see who we were. I looked up, and sure as shit here comes that old Rottweiler... NOT TIED UP.

I tried really hard not to panic, but that didn't work very well. I looked at Angi and said, "I don't know what to do!!!" All the while flashbacks from when I was a teenager and my neighbor's Rottweiler, Rambo (120 pounds of head, teeth, neck, and chest) got loose and latched onto some random dog walking through our neighborhood. Rambo's owner's dad was there at the time, and he hit Rambo with an aluminum bat about 6 times before Rambo finally let go of the other dog. The other dog lived, but it took something like a couple dozen stitches and a $1500 vet bill.

So back to yesterday- The big Rot comes trotting toward us... not running full bore, or snarling, or even barking. I have this tiny bit of relief that maybe, JUST MAYBE he's only going to "say hello."

He gets up beside Shadow, takes a quick wiff of him, and then opened up his huge bear-trap of a mouth and dove right toward the small of Shadow's back!!!

Now mind you, I'm an animal lover and I don't want to hurt them... but when it comes to me hurting them, or them hurting me or my family... My familia wins out every time.

Luckily I had positioned myself just right--- and RIGHT BEFORE his teeth made contact with Shadow..... I hauled off and kicked that mother f'er right in his side as HARD AS I COULD. And that must have been pretty hard because he's about a 120# dog and he flew all the way over by the opposite ditch line, and decided to back off just long enough for us to get away from there.

The ONLY reason that worked, is because he's an old Rot and he didn't have the gumption to stick with it. I hate to think how it would have went down had the Rot been young like Shadow is. I wouldn't have been able to stop him. Time to start carrying a fighter when we walk I guess!

One of my Dad's friends has a 100 pound PitBull... and if it would have been that dog or one like him, Shadow would be dead and I would either be dead too or in the hospital.

How do you guys prepare for and/or handle this type of situation??????

 

[jonnymac44]

Damn, Nick!!

Glad you guys and Shadow are alright.

That is a situation that all dog owners and walkers in general need to be ready for, I suppose. I always carry a fixed blade when walking Ozzy and I'm certain I would be willing to use it if a loose aggressive dog came at us, but it's not something I look forward to.

There was a time several years ago when Ozzy was young and I also had my two young daughters with me who were 3 and 6 years old at the time. We were at the local grammar school playing with Ozzy when two large Akitas came into the schoolyard through the open gate. We were now inside the schoolyard with these two large dogs who blocked our only way out. Of course they turned out to be aggressive. It made things more scary and difficult because I had to look out for two small children and a young dog in addition to myself. I had my oldest daughter get her sister and our dog up onto the play structure they have at the school and I faced off with the Akitas. The first one that came at me got a boot square in the nose aka the Nick Wheeler treatment! I had my knife out by this time, but the kick sent them both running out of the gate, which I quickly shut behind them. About twenty minutes later they wandered off and I got the girls and Ozzy back home safely, but it was one of the scariest moments I've had with my children...ever! Never did find out whose dogs they were. By the time authorities showed up they were back in somebody's back yard.

Phillip, I like the pepper spray, probably not a bad idea at all. Can't carry a firearm here in CA so that's out, but it's important to be prepared as best you can. When you leave the house you never know what you may have to deal with.....

 

[Bruce Bump]

Man, Nick you guys were lucky the rot was an ol timer. We've had some pit bull attacks here. Its not safe just walking down the street sometimes and thats in town. Barn yard dogs are really unpredictable and usually arent tied up.
Son Michael is a cop now and carries pepper spray. Heck the mail man carries pepper spray but all the dogs love him.

 

[tattooedfreak]

My father took to carrying a shorter walking stick made from hickory or ash (cant remember which) when he goes on his walks. He has run into a number of strays and since he cant carry his pistol and only carries small pocket knives, it was his solution. He may be 70 but if he hits a dog (and he will), it's going down.

 

[NickWheeler]

Just for the record, I want to make it clear I have NOTHING against dogs like Rots. I loved Rambo--- he was an awesome dog.

But if another dog is seriously going to try to hurt Angi, Erin, Shadow, or me--- then I'm not going to just stand there and watch. I don't care what kind of dog it is.

Thanks for the advice guys! I actually was thinking pepper spray because I wouldn't want to kill the dog. After we were walking away Angi told me I need to start carrying a big 'ol stick when we walk. I told her I was thinking something more like a can of hair-spray and a lighter. LMAO

Johnny- That would be scary!!! An Akita is a beautiful dog, but they're BIG, lean, and known for their aggression. Having your daughters with you and TWO Akitas blocking you in would be very freaky. Glad it worked out okay!

Edited to add: I posted this BEFORE Randy made his thread about Rots and Pits--- So it's not like I posted this because I felt guilty or something like that.

 

[Chuck Gedraitis Knives]

You need this, they carry it at Dick's sporting goods.

http://www.pepper-spray-store.com/products/muzzle-dog-spray.shtml

 

[LifeBlade.net]

Great idea for a thread Jonny and long overdue! That's a great looking shop buddy you have there. Thanks to everyone else for sharing the pics, too. We've got a fine assortment of canine friends here for sure (Bruce, that trio is just about too cute).

Wow Nick, that's quite an experience! Glad everything turned out OK, minus a set of sore ribs for that ol' rottie.

Kelley and I have had a couple of close calls before that were dealt with in the manner you handled things (kick in the teeth/side), so I can honestly say that I know exactly how quickly things can get exciting.

While I typically have a blade and/or pistol of some sort on me, I've been carrying an expandable baton when we head out with the dog for years now. I figure it gives me one more level of escalation before I have to do something permanent to some poor dog, just because their asshole owner doesn't care enough about them to see to it their animal is properly fenced, or on a run.

While I haven't utilized it in this role personally, I'm sure OC spray would be effective as well, but you might catch your dog in the overspray, not to mention you and everyone else in the vicinity if the wind isn't in your favor.

The baton gives you a lot of options and in some cases allows you to get the attention of an irresponsible owner before things have to get ugly.

One night, Kelley and I had 3 unleashed dogs run at us, ahead of their owner. I flicked the ASP out, yelled "GET BACK!" and got between the approaching dogs and my fam. When the baton hit full extension and the owner saw that I wasn't at all amused, he quickly called out to his dogs to come back. Between my shout, body language and the owner waking up, everything turned out OK and we moved on past each other without any further drama.

I'm all for dogs making friends, but if they're not giving me any signs that they just want to trade butt sniffs, then I'm going to have to get in the way. And for Christ's sake, have your animal on a lead... Some people are just morons.

With that said and in an attempt not to fully hi-jack Jonny's thread, here are pics of MY Rottie, Venus, which is one dog you'll never have to worry about attacking your dog or you, unless you do something awful to us first.

She's 115 lbs of love and loyalty and as good as it gets.



Here's another to give you some perspective of Venus' size. Her front paw next to my #1 girl's rear paw.

Got a great cat (and I'm not at all a cat person) that was a rescue too, but that's another story for another time.

To quote Benjamin Hoff as I relinquish the floor "Lots of people talk to animals.... Not very many listen, though.... That's the problem."

If you've got an animal, try to make sure you're doing enough listening.

Taylor

 

[jonnymac44]

Nice, Taylor! Venus is a beauty. I love Rotties to death.

It's funny how just about every responsible dog owner you talk to has at least one story about dealing with some idiot who has no clue

Thanks for the pic!