Dog Attack..For Real or Bluff?

Usually, a dog who is barking at someone does not really want to do a dog attack on that person. So how do you know if the dog is full of bluff, or he is really going to give you a dog bite?

Two of my neighbors' dogs are perfect examples. Sam barks loudly with her tail raised and her ears up. Her ears are not forward, which means she means no harm. She is just saying, "This is my territory."

At this point, one should stop, make eye contact, and move forward a few steps. Once she turns her back, you may move on. NEVER turn your back on a dog in this circumstance until he has done so first. This means he has surrendered to you. Otherwise he might chase you.

Dog body language is saying "Dog Attack" for sure when the dog's tail is up like a flag and the ears are forward.

Also, WATCH OUT for the dog who shows no emotion. If the dog is aggressively charging you, hold your ground and steady confident eye contact.

Remember, never go away before he turns away.

Rena Murray
DogWhisperWoman

Let's Debunk Dog Breed Stereotypes

Well, I didn't expect to be saying this this morning. But I experienced an example to drive my point home of yesterday.

Any dog of any size can be dangerous. It has nothing to do with a stereotype of a dog breed.

I experienced the "pack attack" (one in front, one behind) and stopped it due to my experience - but otherwise, it would not have been pleasant. Shortly after that, the dogs saw that I was not intimidated by the approach and they were fine with me.

Again, guys, this was not a Rottweiler, German Shepherd, Pit Bull, or Doberman Pinscher. These were Dachshunds.

Once more, let's stop the stereotypes.

Thank you.

P.S. Not many Dachshunds are like this.

People Attacking Dogs

Dog attack? Who's attacking whom?

When I was nine years old, I was attacked by a Huskie. Thank God I was able to jump in the van out of the way of the dog! In the midst of my running, the dog was shot by an officer for the Humane Society. The dog was rabid.

This does not give me any kind of excuse to attack the breed, to hate Huskies. I love them, as a matter of fact.

My point is -- Just because you have a bad experience, that does not give you any right to go around saying the breed is bad, the breed should be banned, or the breed should be destroyed.

Pit Bulls, German Shepherds, and Rottweillers are ones at which people point fingers quite frequently. There are bad apples in every bunch. What you do is rehabilitate or get rid of the bad dog.

There was a Pit Bull in my house before I was born. And my neighbor's German Shepherd was my second best friend. My grandmother had a neighbor with Rottweillers that loved me. (By the way, that dog liked tangerines and slurped one right out of my hand when I was five.)

Chihuahuas, Yorkshire Terriers, Maltese, and Dachshunds are very commonly nasty with people. Should we ban these breeds, too?

It's not fair that people go around excusing the little dogs, thinking it is somehow funny when they charge with that same intensity, and nothing gets done about it. It is just as wrong for my neighbor's Chihuahua to bite my angles as it is for another neighbor's Rottweiller.

I grew up with great experiences with these powerful breeds, but also with a great respect and awareness of what they can and can not do.

Inexperienced people have no business owning these breeds. Don't take a dog just because you feel sorry for it, or you think it's cute, or you simply want protection. The dog is not a computer program that you can install, and it will do exactly what is on that disk.

All three of these top breeds are working breeds. If they are shut in a yard all day, everything becomes a target to them. That is where the danger comes in.

Not letting these dogs know who is in charge from the beginning is where danger comes in.

Taking home a dog that shows aggression symptoms from the beginning is danger.

Breed discrimination needs to STOP, and COMMON SENSE needs to set in.

Rottweillers were bear dogs. That is why their tails were docked, so the bears could not grab them and rip them off. The dog would bleed to death.

Pit Bulls were used to move a bull, or to block a bull from killing a person. They would hold on to the side of the face of the bull until the bull surrendered, hence the name "Pit Bull." They were NOT bred for fighting. That was just a cruel thing that was started in the 1960's.

And German Shepherds, by the way (my favorite) - They were bred for herding...sheep especially. It didn't take very long for them to be used in the military.

Everybody, please, start using some common sense!