A Pitbull fight

[Gini]

One of the people next door to us have a male pitbull. Never had any problems with him until today. A friend of their's drove in the drive with his German Shepherd, the pitbull was locked in a chain link fence. The German Shephard jumped out of the car, the pit came thru the fence (I'm not sure how) and attacked. Both men were trying to pull the dogs apart but the pit had his jaws locked and shaking the shephard. The men were trying to get the pit off by beating on it both of them. When the pit got off the other dog it attacked the men. It tore into both and both were taken to the hospital with horrible injuries. One I hear is in surgery now. Shephard is ok but the pit ran off and is loose.

They are looking for the dog now but it's a big desert around us and I'm praying no one else is hurt before the dog is caught.

I have never seen anything like this EVER and don't want to again!!! Again, this dog has never been a problem and Don the owner raised him from a puppy....

 

[Marty]

Gini that is scary. I know Amy will lick you to death and never met a stranger, however if its another dog that comes on the property, all bets are off and she's going to protect her territory.

When the pit got off the other dog it attacked the men. It tore into both and both were taken to the hospital with horrible injuries.

According to the Dog Whisperer Caesar Milan when something like this occurs, this pit bull was probably caught up in a Red Zone state of mind when he turned from attacking the shepherd and transferred it to the men. Sorta like a reflex where the dog didn't know the difference between biting the GSD and the other men it happened so fast. What a horrible dangerous situation. I hope the men will be ok as they must be traumatized and in such pain from these kinds of serious injuries and the GSD too. How both sad and ironic though, if the people who owned the GSD had only secured their dog to stayed put in the vehicle this would probably have all been avoided but yet the pit bull no doubt will be the one hunted down and killed. Sad dangerous day for all.

 

[Miniv]

In a sense, I do agree with Marty. If the German Shepherd had been kept in the car, the pit bull wouldn't have seen "red" in regard to territory.

However, we have four big dogs. And we've had visitors with dogs in their cars come visit hundreds of times. NEVER have our dogs turned vicious. And we've even had a friend's dog occasionally be allowed out to relieve themselves. I've also been around gentle pitbulls, so this situation has me stumped.

I pray your neighbor's dog runs himself ragged, doesn't get into trouble, and eventually comes home.

 

[~Lisa~]

It is not uncommon for a dog of any breed to attack whatever is breaking it apart from a fight they get so tunnel visioned on what they are doing it takes some time for them to come down from the frenzy. I have been bit by my border collie breaking up a fight in fact she bit me and Raven

The only time our pit fought he did bite my leg while I was breaking up not even a fight but more of a scuffle however he realized it very quickly and while I was bruised he didnt break skin.

It is hard to not get excited and caught up in a moment like that when you are working on fear and stress but breaking up any dog fight the more calm you are the quicker the dogs can calm down as well again though I realize it is not easy to keep yourself in a calm place in a situation like that

 

[Pepipony]

Problem is, this breed/type of dog was bred to attack. Period. There are many that are cupcakes, there are many that will never, ever bite. BUT, when they do, its not just a bite, its a full on attack. Another problem is there are morons out there that breed to make this aggression even more severe and they in turn sell puppies to unsuspecting people. If you want a pit, buy from a reputible breeder.

So now this dog is known to attack. Sad for all around. It is up to the owner to get insurance for the possiblility that this will happen again and to make sure that this dog is never in the position to attack again. I think that what people may miss is the fact that this dog was in a fence and he got out, came through, whatever. What if that dog came through that fence at a person? Granted , the GSD owner 'may' have needed to keep his dog in the car, but we dont know if he was told it was ok for him to let the dog out or the dog had been there before. Shame on the gsd owner if he was told to keep his dog up.

 

[shorthorsemom]

I have seen good pits and bad pits and mostly what I don't like is that they grab hold and shake and don't let go. My friend had a decently bred nice mannered pit that was obedience trained and a perfect dog. She took it to a horse farm of another friend of mine. The horse sniffed the pit and it launched and held the horse by the nose. It did alot of damage, the humans got involved and the pit launched on them too. Then the pit attacked her foal. Foal died, horse was put down, humans got hurt real bad. Husband had a heart attack because of the stress. I knew both the owner of the dog and the owner of the horses, both were capable and savy with regards to horses and dogs. Just a horrible unforgettable accident.

Another friend of mine got a call that her son was mauled by a pit. His friends dog, raised from a pup, well socialized. He was bit badly. I had dobies most of my life and well understand what it is like to own a dog with a "reputation" however after these two personal experiences I just can't ever get myself to the point of ever trusting the breed fully.

I usually take Caesar Milan with a grain of salt, but do totally agree about the red zone comments and observations made by Marty. Those humans made a bad decision and the dog will no doubt suffer for it.

The original post didn't mention the age of the dogs or whether they were both males, intact or neutered. If they were both intact males then the humans were even more at fault.

 

[uwharrie]

I really think Pits and other "dangerous" breeds get a bad rap not because they are prone to bite, but because when they do bite they can inflict a lot of damage.

I have seen many small dogs that would bite you in a second but you never hear of Chi's or Toy Poodles being a banned breed. It's not because there a any less prone to bite it's because they rarely inflict any damage and therefor not reported.

That being said, Pits for the last 150-200 yrs have been bred to fight each other, they do tend to be dog aggressive and much of the recognition of doggy "social" cues has been bred out of them. Terrier breeds are known to be "scrappy", and with many terrier's you have to be careful around other dogs. An interesting note is back when fighting dogs was still a legal "sport" a dog that bit a handler was not tolerate no matter what.

This particular tragedy could have been prevent with two simple things, 1) the Shepherd should have been kept contained 2) the pit should have been in a more secure fence.

 

[Reble]

Sad to see this happen, but yes any dog can attack and bite.

If they do so, not too be bred or say it is their nature.

I breed Shih Tzu and poodles and if they even show signs of bad nature I would not be keeping them. Sorry but just not OK, no matter what breed small or big.

No excuses for any dog to attack. Just my opinion.

Sure hope the guys are OK, and yes, the bit bull should be put down.

We had a collie / Shepard mix and attacked a guy that came on our property, and as much as he had never done anything like this before, people come first, so he was put down, sure would not want a child hurt.

 

[MindyLee]

As a pit/mixed dog owner (pit/lab). I love my dog and trust her with friends and family. BUT I DO NOT trust her with people walking by with or without their dogs because she dose show somewhat aggressivness in the window towards them. And I do believe not to get in the middle of dog fightes because of "the red zone" during fights. BUT as a responsable dog owner who is aware of my dog's aggressivness, I take all percautions to prevent this from ever happening.

#1 I dont kid myself on having a 100% safe dog

#2 My dog dose not leave the house without being on a leash. Just because I dont see anyone walking by dosn't mean their not there or will be soon.

#3 If she is tied outside while out doing yard work, (no fence around the property) She is mussled IF she was to get loose.

This is the hubbys baby girl and their is no way she will ever leave this home BUT we do what it takes for her not to be taken away because if we did'nt take these percautions... this could very well be our dog

I wish other folks did the same to prevent stuff like this from happening.

 

[Reble]

#3 If she is tied outside while out doing yard work, (no fence around the property) She is mussled IF she was to get loose.

I wish other folks did the same to prevent stuff like this from happening.

Yes, nice to see you take precautions, I also agree the mussel on when out doors would prevent a lot of accidents.

 

[Gini]

Just wanted to let you all know that Don and the other man are doing ok. Don will have to have another surgery on his hand but Dr's have told him he should regain most of the use of the hand. For him this could have been a lot worse. I understand his friend is also doing fine. I think we all around learned from this horrible experience.

As far as the dog. He hasn't been seen and the authorities feel that he is gone. We have all kinds of preditors out here and I really agree with them.

Someone would or should have seen the dog by now.

Wish this hadn't happened this way but it is a lesson learned!

 

[ohmt]

I am just so not a pit fan. Watched a family raised pit attack my best friend when we were young and ever since then I will never trust one again. That one was raised from pup by the family with their 2 little girls and then one day just snapped. I know this doesn't happen with all, but it happens with SO MANY.

My grandparents have raised collies for years and they are very protective of the family, but they never ever attacked another animal or person. We had a very drunk man come up to our house once and our collie wouldn't let my grandma go to the door and stood there, teeth bared to the man. That's the only time I think I've even heard her growl. She knew there was something not right. Other people that show up get licked, she cleans all of the barn kittens on a daily basis, and plays with our horses. How many people would let a pit do that???

I think they're great for people who can take precautions and don't have little kids, but I have just lost all trust in them otherwise.

P.s.-I wouldn't consider him a gonner just yet. Last year we rescued a male collie that was on his own in the woods for 2 months. Came to us very skinny, but he survived!

 

[~Lisa~]

she cleans all of the barn kittens on a daily basis, and plays with our horses. How many people would let a pit do that???

I think they're great for people who can take precautions and don't have little kids, but I have just lost all trust in them otherwise.

I would! We had a pit we had to put down due to old age complications. He was the best dog I have ever owned. My children grew up with him- he helped raise a litter of kittens and saved a c-section pup- took care of her until about day 3 or 4 when mom finally decided she would and could be a mom. Even after that he cleaned the pup and slept with her. He was out with the horses and rabbits and other dogs and cats all the time. There was nothing about that dog I didnt trust. He was in and out of childrens hospitals visiting with patients (that was quite a few years ago)

When Raven was born he would sleep under her crib if anyone but me held her including her dad he was right there by their side watching every move and checked her out totally when she came back to me (I guess to make sure she came back to me with all her parts? lol)

The only time he showed true agression is when I was about 8 months pregnant and took him for a walk we lived in So Cal then. A car of gang members came into the parking lot we were at in a church next door to my house actually it was a Mosque anyway they were yelling out the window and being idiots. He stood between the car and me and growled letting them know he was not playing and they left. He did exactly what I would expect of a dog in that situation.

Working in a dog grooming shop years ago I can tell you there are several unpredictable breeds heck IMO a Chow can be one of the worst but that is just my opinion and experience I am sure there are wonderful Chows out there.

Anyway just needed to stand up and say I would and did allow my Pit to be with my family from a newborn baby until the day we had to put him down. He was the best dog I have ever owned we did not raise him we adopted him from the pound when he was about 2 yrs old. I would give anything to have another dog like him

 

[Katiean]

I am sorry this happened and I am glad that both men are going to be OK. I would hope that this dog did not get taken in by someone. I would search lost and found ads and in pets on CL. If this dog did this kind of damage to 2 people and another dog, he should be able to hold his own with a predator. I would not consider him gone. I hope all remain safe.

 

[ohmt]

Thank you for the beautiful story Lisa

I do really love hearing stories like that! Still will never be able to trust a Pit, but I don't think all of them are bad. Just have too much personal experience with them being unreliable. The ones that aren't trust-able are that way because of negligent people. Not just people that don't raise them right, but all of the people that bred them for years and years to fight.