rant: irresponsible dog owners

Hey guys

wanted to vent a little frustration and also see what your experiences are in the US, i know most of you guys are there, i'm in spain.

Here it's illegal to have your dogs loose, they must be restrained at all times and under control in public areas.

I have two dogs, a husky and a rottweiller, a 50kg rottweiller, not once have i ever been out my door without them being on a lead and close to me.

Wish i could say the same for other owners, lots of my neighbours have dogs and they often have them loose on the roads with them. A month ago an alsatian cam running up to my rotty, smelled each other for a second and then started fighting. I managed to prise them apart, not before the other one bighting me, and then the woman took control of hers. Ofcourse her dog had never done anything like this before!! Firstly i don't believe her and how does she know how her dog is going to react to every other dog???

I gave her a right mouthfull and threatened reporting her to the cops.


Today my wife had a problem with the husky, she was walking calmly when two pitbulls came charging along no leads or collars, owner wandering behind not to bothered. They didn't fight but my wife was screaming for help from the fright, tellig him to control his f'ing dogs, his response was not to insult him. I heard the screams and went running, I was absolutely furious and shouted at him, he didn't really care, said he was on holiday and that in his hometown he walks them as he likes. He did say sorry but it was genuine at all, he didn't give a sh?t. I told him that if it had been me with my rotty she would have torn them apart, his response was that it was ok, they were insured.

It makes me really really angry how ignorant some people are!!

Re: rant: irresponsible dog owners

i had a similar situation in Florida. I owned a pit that was always on a lead. had a guy let his rotty come walking up to us looking for trouble. i asked him to get his dog he chuckled. suddenly when his dog was on the ground it became a big issue for him. my dog was well trained but he had no problem pinning the rott down. no injury and he let him up as soon as I told him to.
another guy let a german shephard come at us, he was a little more intelligent, he came and got his dog before it got up to us. my dog was very friendly but he considered it defending his pack when the other dogs approached in an aggresive manner.
people always want to "try" a pit. I never understood that thinking. my dog was a simple pet not trained to fight and all that nonsense.

Re: rant: irresponsible dog owners

what are the laws like there? do dogs have to be on a lead?

i know what you mean, at one point with this alsatian i grabbed it's hind legs and yanked it away, it yelped and the owner complained about me hurting it, until their dog is in trouble they don't care.

some people kinda realise, they want to give their dogs a bit of freedom and when they realise there's another dog try to put them back on a lead quickly to not cause trouble, but ofcourse that's still gives room to accidents.


ammonia hey, now that sounds like an idea, gives the other dog's owner less room to complain if i say took a stick with me! fantastic idea, i'm going to get my wife a squirt gun in the morning, cheers

Re: rant: irresponsible dog owners

Most cities in the US require dogs to be on leashes these days but few enforce it. In your situation I would have reported it to the police.

Re: rant: irresponsible dog owners

i've found out where the guy lives and my wife and i have decided we will be calling the police in the morning, it could be a child the dogs run up to the next time!

Re: rant: irresponsible dog owners

Good idea. At least there will be a report on file if it happens to someone else.

This happened last month here in Memphis...
http://www.myfoxmemphis.com/dpp/news/local/072010-one-dead,-three-injured-in-dog-attack

Re: rant: irresponsible dog owners

Why not just get a can of mase. Mase is legal to use on humans so any complaint saying you hurt their dog protecting yours would not hold up in court. And mase would work "better". Our laws are the same except in some rural areas where there is no leash law.

Re: rant: irresponsible dog owners

Tonight in our local paper is the obituary of a 7 year old boy who died from a dog attack. 3 pit bulls and 1 mixed breed involved.All 4 were put down because they weren't sure which dog was guilty. The dogs had a 'reputation' already...but were allowed to run loose any way. Saddest thing I've read in a long long time.

Re: rant: irresponsible dog owners

CN Spots said:

Good idea. At least there will be a report on file if it happens to someone else.

This happened last month here in Memphis...
http://www.myfoxmemphis.com/dpp/news/local/072010-one-dead,-three-injured-in-dog-attack

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poor guy, i'm not surprised at him having a heart attack, although these pit bulls didn't actaully attack my wife or the husky she was petrified and very shaken at the sight of these dogs careering towards her.


That's so sad about the boy dying, do you know if the owners of the dogs had any action taken against them?

Re: rant: irresponsible dog owners

With pits its not about how they are raised, its about how they are controlled. I have had a couple of them...... some things set off their instincts to attack (like most all dogs), difference is they can inflict a great amount of damage quickly. I would never dream of letting one loose to run in public.

Someone above mentioned people always want to "try" a pit. Did you mean they want their dog to try taking it on or people always want to try owning one???

Re: rant: irresponsible dog owners

letting a couple pits run up to a stranger and their dogs is a FANTASTIC way to get your dogs kicked or shot.

Re: rant: irresponsible dog owners

If you can not control your animals you should not have them. This means using restraints (leashes etc) when and where necessary.
My 2 cents.

Re: rant: irresponsible dog owners

+1 on the suggestion to use Mace- or more likely, pepper spray.
If it's legal to carry and use for self defense, that is. In some areas, even in the US, it's not legal for citizens to carry the stuff, therefore you'd be risking a criminal charge if you used it and it was reported.
I have a can of Freeze +P (Pepper spray plus tear gas) handy for any time a dog decides to charge me. The nice thing is that these cans have a good long range, so you can spray before your saftey is at risk from a vicous dog.
Using the spray, if otherwise legal, is defensible, since in most areas of civilization, dogs are required to be on leashes when out in public, and if the owner chooses to not follow the law, you can't blame someone for defending themselves. You can't know if that dog running up to you want's to lick you or take a chunk out of your leg, until it's too late. Let alone worrying about getting rabies, etc.....

Re: rant: irresponsible dog owners

We rarely walk our dogs. We live in the country and they have a 5000 sq foot kennel, and we let them out in the 2 acre yard occasionally. But on those days when we do walk them, they are leashed and I have a gun. We have bears, coyotes, raccoons, dogs, and now wolves in the area. And yes, I will shoot before I watch our dog (or a person) get killed/maimed or infected with rabies. From past experience I have learned there are no warning shots.

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We rescued a dog two days ago. 6-week old puppy sitting in the ditch next to a 60MPH highway. Judging from the bruising, scrapes and other problems it's pretty clear that he was in the back of a truck and jumped out. Who puts a puppy in the back of a truck without any kind of restraint? And then refuses to go back and look for it?

Re: rant: irresponsible dog owners

leoo24 said:

poor guy, i'm not surprised at him having a heart attack, although these pit bulls didn't actaully attack my wife or the husky she was petrified and very shaken at the sight of these dogs careering towards her.


That's so sad about the boy dying, do you know if the owners of the dogs had any action taken against them?

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This was one of those news stories that went on for a week. Turns out that the owner was arrested for the first dog attack and was in jail at the time. The second attack that killed the old man happend when his girlfriend went to feed the dogs in his apartment and they got loose. So she said.

Re: rant: irresponsible dog owners

I have dealt with this problem 4 times in the past.

I always respond in the same fashion as I live in the county we have no real rules for leash laws or restraining animals we have no animal control and my last conversation with the Sheriff's office has made it very plain what to do.

I have a Handgun Carry Permit, it doesn't make me Johnny Bad A** or anything it is a tool in my tool box there to do protect my family and I have no qualms about doing so. I don't hunt and I don't like to hurt an animal I have two cats and a small house dog.

All 4 situations have been handled relatively close to the same way.

First time was when I lived in the city I stepped foot outside my house to be greeted by the neighbors Rottweiler on my front porch with teeth bared, I walked back in waited for the dog to leave and then walked over to the neighbor's house asked them to please not allow there dog to run free as it had attempted to bite me once and I had allready notified the authorities. I also the next day mailed them a certified letter. Two weeks later my beagle was outside in my yard on a dog run and was attacked by the rottweiler I grabbed a stick and hit it over the head, the Rott turned its attention to me I shot the Rott twice. My Beagle Sassy bled out and died on the way to the vet.

2nd Time

After I had moved to the country my neighbor had two pits and a Mixed breed that had been harrassing the whole neighborhood they had allready injured another neighbors dog. My son (was two at the time) was playing outside on the side of the house (I was on the front porch) when I heard him start screaming. When my son's safety is involved no compromise as they were charging him as soon as they crossed my property line I shot one of the Pits and the mixed breed when they were about 50 feet away the other pit ran off the neighbor came down raising all kinds of crap but with two dead dogs on my property and a prior police report of the dogs being viscious and unrestrained nothing could be said or done about it.

3rd Time

Not even a dog of all things it was a DUCK I kid you not a Duck. Same neighbor had farming animals. I had just bought my wife a Brand new Car it had 6 miles on it when we drove it home from the dealership. The neighbor had been letting his birds run our property he had chickens Guineas and Ducks. I asked him to try and please keep them cooped up as much as possible because they were getting on our cars and scratching and damaging our cars and I was allready looking at a repair bill for my truck, that I wasn't going to hold him that I was not pleased that I was allready going to have to pay to get the paint on my truck repaired and that my wife's car was brand new so if his birds scratched the paint on it I was going to be REALLY upset. I told him I also knew that his coops and fences were broken and needed repaired and that since he ran his own business he was busy so I offered to go repair the fences and coops and not charge him for labor. I took him pictures of his bird's standing on my wife's brand new car and the scratches they had left in the paint. The last straw was when the thing came over and flogged my wife two rounds of bird shot and that was the end of the duck. Two weeks later I was served with lawsuit papers, I immediately countersued we went to to court it was on my property inflicted bruises on my wife and chased my child ( proved damage to wife with digital pics) proved damages to my truck and my wife's car (his duck standing on and scratching cars). Total for him awarded in court $88.52 + $125 for court cost for the market value of the Duck (he also sued for 13 duck eggs at $15 per egg). The duck laid the eggs on my property (shown with digital pictures) therefore they were considered my eggs. Total counter suit costs awarded $125 for medical bills get my wife checked out at the doctor make sure no broken bones. $859.63 middle repair estimate for paint damages to my truck $1013.89 paint repair damages to my wife's brand new not a scratch on it car. For a total of $1998.52. I even asked him to withdraw his suit before court and that if he would withdraw his I would withdraw mine and that we would consider it a wash. He said it was the principle of the matter, I shouldn't have shot his duck even though it inflicted bodily harm to my wife (no matter how small you don't mess with my wife or my child).

Incident 4

We sold the property and have moved into a triplex. One of the neighbors has a viscious boxer that he used to let roam the yard my son is now 6 and he was in the driveway when the boxer growled and snapped at him. I called the landlord informed him of the issue and let him tell the tenant to keep their dog restrained. 2 weeks ago I got off from working an afternoon shift I got home at 12:15 am when I got out of my truck the dog met me at my truck door neighbor standing out on her front porch dog running loose. Dog runs to my truck door I get out shut the door and the dog starts growling and snapping at me I draw the pistol, and the neighbor sees me draw the pistol, then the she hears the round going in the chamber. I yell you need to call your dog now if it snaps at me again I will defend myself. Immediately she starts yelling for the dog the dog retreats. Ever since things have been peacefull as the dog stays fully restrained at all times now.

I don't like to hurt any animal but the safety of my child, my wife, and myself will NEVER come behind the life of an animal. If your precious animal is so valuable you need to keep it fully restrained at ALL times. Even my dog when attacked was fully restrained on a run in MY yard. I do not use mace or pepper spray. If I feel my family is threatened by an animal then I WILL do what is neccessary to defend them. I have seen large dogs go right through pepper spray and not so much as flinch, I have seen the person using pepper spray blinded and clouded by the spray.

I have had 9 dogs in my life and never has ANYONE of them EVER been a threat to anyone including a Full Blooded German Shepard and a Great Dane.

Re: rant: irresponsible dog owners

perchin said:

Someone above mentioned people always want to "try" a pit. Did you mean they want their dog to try taking it on or people always want to try owning one???

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people love to try in both ways. the rott above the guy thought it was a joke because his dog had a weight advantage. the other thing people like to do is try and get close to pits while in their house or yard.i can't remember how many times i heard "i'm really good with dogs, i can walk right into your house and not worry about the dog" one guy tribed to "bribe" him with walmart brand dry dog food. it was hilarious in a way. the dog nipped him very lightly on his leg so he dropped the food. dog ate the food out of spite and walked away. guy was good about it knowing it was his own fault for trying something stupid.
unfortunately i came to realize the pit would never be happy in the city. we had moved there from the country in tenn. so i sold him to a pig farmer so he could go back in the country. he was very happy out there.
luckily for me my dog was very well behaved. so well in fact the dog control officer of our city asked if i would bring him into court when they were doing mandatory insurance trials. he wanted to show the court a well behaved pit. there are many out there who are made to be mean. one thing i learned from a guy was folks were feeding gun powder to their pits in order to tear up the stomach lining making the animal vicious.
mine was gotten at 6 weeks old when my son was 6 months old. they grew up together and the dog was unbelievably good with him

Re: rant: irresponsible dog owners

I am a long-time dog owner and a big softie for pets in general, but personaly believe there is no room for a pit bull or rotweiler in society. Maybe on a wide open 100 acre farm or something, but they do not belong among people. Those breeds (and one or two others) have been problem animals in so many places, it makes me shake my head in amazement why they are continued to be allowed to exist.

Re: rant: irresponsible dog owners

TahoeQ4Pilot said:

I am a long-time dog owner and a big softie for pets in general, but personaly believe there is no room for a pit bull or rotweiler in society. Maybe on a wide open 100 acre farm or something, but they do not belong among people. Those breeds (and one or two others) have been problem animals in so many places, it makes me shake my head in amazement why they are continued to be allowed to exist.

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Respectfully I disagree.

A problem dog is a problem dog, and a Problem dog no more belongs on a 100 acre farm anywhere as it does in society. My problems in the country have stemmed from people thinking that the dog will be better off on a 100 acre farm somewhere in the middle of nowhere. People still have to deal with it no matter if it is in the country or city.

I could personally care less if my neighbor wants to own a Cheetah on his property as long as he properly cares for his Cheetah and makes sure it is of no threat to my family i.e. keeping it restrained. It is his business just because a cheetah is a dangerous animal its still his right his right to own it and its right to exist. The breed doesn't make it bad the lack of care from the individual owner makes it bad. I have seen several Maltese Yorkies Beagles and Dachshunds bite does that mean that they shouldn't exist? The only reason you don't hear about these breeds biting is because they with rare exception don't kill. It is the RESPONSIBILITY of the owner to maintain the dog. Turning an animal loose on a 100 acre farm is NOT the answer and eliminating the breed is NOT the answer. Restraining the dog and responsibility of the owner IS the answer.

Sorry about the Soap box but hearing people say they took their bad dog to a farm to have a better life is one of my biggest Pet Peaves. A working dog I.E. Pit Bull Rott Doberman German Sheppard can be happy in the City if you are willing to take it and run about 5 miles a day to get the energy out of it.