*****Pitbull Attack On My Son's Dog Stopped-Finally!!!*****

[yorkietalkjilly]

Talking with my son last night I found out that Tex, his American Bulldog, a 90 lb. bruiser of a dog with bulging muscles who is a real canine "dog whisperer" himself(kind of like Cesar Millan's late "Daddy" - and my only "grandson", who helps my son rehab canine behavior problems and socialize pet & rescue dogs brought to the dog resort/rescue where my son works), was attacked by a huge Pitbull belonging to a V.I.P., the dog outsizing even big Tex, whose head comes to my waist when standing beside me. Tex looks like a canine Mike Tyson!

Danny said the two dogs have been doggie buddies, been playing together and of course both are neutered but when another two dogs on a small group outing across the way were acting up, the Pittie came running from yards away, attacked Tex from behind, getting a "death grip" on the back of Tex' neck. He said Tex was standing completely still once his neck was being held & thankfully stayed still. Danny couldn't pry the jaws apart or off and the Pit wasn't jerking/tearing Tex' flesh or anything - just holding on despite a helper grabbing, pulling his hind leg, twisting his ears, finally even rendering blows to the dog's side & finally its nose & face as Danny moved to try to be sure he protected Tex' throat and neck from further damage should the Pit start to pull or tear at the neck. They tried everything they could humanely do without really seriously injuring the Pit but it held. Dan said he began to talk to the Pittie, calming him and his eyes softened, his ears resumed more normal position, he relaxed his body but the Pittie held on just the same, teeth buried in Tex' neck muscles. Finally, Danny said, he moved over the Pittie, pulled its collar up as near to its head/throat as possible away from the thick neck base and began to lift up. I think they call it "hanging" a dog, cutting off its air supply. The Pit let go and Danny was examining to him to be sure he was breathing and okay when Tex turned around and attacked the Pit!

They fought a bit as Danny moved in to grab & restrain Tex as two coworkers got the Pit but it broke loose & in an instant, the Pit had Tex by the back of the neck again, growling, holding with his teeth buried again but not jerking his head tearing flesh or anything, just the vice-grip. Danny said he had been holding onto Tex in restraint when the Pit broke from his handlers, flew over his arm from the backside and got Tex the second time, so he was temporarily pinned with his hands trying to get over as much of Tex throat as possible. He told another coworker get the Pit's collar again, move it toward the head and lift up, cutting off the air temporarily and once the guy did, the grip was again released by the Pit and the guys were able to corral the big dogs away from one another for good this time. My son says it's pretty clear the Pittie didn't want to hurt or try to kill Tex but he just couldn't let go.

The big Pit was cleared by the vet tech but Tex saw the vet. After a full body examination, the back of his neck was shaved, his neck and 4 deep, 2 more shallow punctures cleaned but no sutures were necessary. He was given meds there and sent home on antibiotics, etc., rest and twice daily wound treatment and being seen in regular follow-up. The Pit is doing fine, breathing, eating/drinking/barking/playing normally with no hoarseness or neck stiffness.

The Pit is quarantined just in case but he's healthy, up-to-date on rabies, etc., so they don't expect he is ill - just being a dog and a typical Bully breed that will sustain an attack even when it is in pain & perceived peril itself. Tex was on 2 days of rest, his neck stiff, but is fine, wounds beginning to crust and back to being his "Daddy"-like self. Danny said when the Pit is "free" again & Tex' wounds fully healed, he will resume socialization with the Pit and Tex!!!

So if you are ever in an unfortunate encounter with a Bully or any type dog that holds a bite despite all other humane efforts to stop it, you might try lifting up on the attacker's collar or, if collarless, use a stick or something inserted under the dog's throat near the head & lifting up until its air is temporarily cut off to save the other animal or person. Pitbull fighters say they occas. use iron chisels or rods inserted in the side of the mouth to pry the jaws apart. It's just something I wanted to pass on as a possible severe injury/lifesaving tip in case of such a future attack that can't otherwise by stopped.

[gracielove]

Thank God they were men there dealing with those dogs. A couple of light weight women would never have been able to deal with a situation like that. I love the breed but I have my own reservations. They show people who rehab Pit Bulls on TV, and I can see why they want to try to give them a normal life, but I also feel that those dogs can never be totally placed back into society as a regular dog would be. Not knowing the breeding background of the dog makes it that much more dangerous. With so many irresponsible and actually criminal elements breeding these dogs over the last decade it is just a dangerous genetic accident waiting to happen.

I'm so glad your son's dog is going to be alright. It sounds like they knew how to handle the situation pretty well. It could have been much worse for everyone involved. Do they know what the Pit had been doing prior to the attack that would make him do such a thing? Has he ever attacked before?

[Britster]

I'm so sorry ((hugs)) I love Pits and am an advocate for the breed, however some are hard wired with dog aggression. Unfortunately, it's a fact of life when owning a Pittie, that dog aggression is very common and likely to pop up. I've heard of dogs who lived together for a few years peacefully and then one fight... bam... they have to crate & rotate.

Very scary!

[yorkietalkjilly]

Originally Posted by gracielove

Thank God they were men there dealing with those dogs. A couple of light weight women would never have been able to deal with a situation like that. I love the breed but I have my own reservations. They show people who rehab Pit Bulls on TV, and I can see why they want to try to give them a normal life, but I also feel that those dogs can never be totally placed back into society as a regular dog would be. Not knowing the breeding background of the dog makes it that much more dangerous. With so many irresponsible and actually criminal elements breeding these dogs over the last decade it is just a dangerous genetic accident waiting to happen.

I'm so glad your son's dog is going to be alright. It sounds like they knew how to handle the situation pretty well. It could have been much worse for everyone involved. Do they know what the Pit had been doing prior to the attack that would make him do such a thing? Has he ever attacked before?

It's funny as this pit was a pet, a loved dog who has his own professional trainer for life, was minding his own business and not a rescue at the resort, and was literally across the field from Danny and Tex and the 2 dogs who were acting up were at the other end of the field with other trainers. But as you know, dogs will be dogs & sometimes a big, powerful or even little dog will react badly when another dog reacts to other dogs' contretemps. Danny didn't see it but imagines Tex reacted as if to start toward the other dogs & the Pit saw it. If you've ever been around a group of dogs, you know anything can happen - its just that the big, powerful breeds stories of this kind of thing don't always seem to end as well as this one did. They have stun guns they keep nearby to end deadly fights or attacks on dogs or humans but since they didn't have any suspected "dangerous" dogs out, he didn't have it on him as he was off duty, just letting Tex have a pee session and besides, they hate to use the stun guns ever. It would really have to be a deadly or vicious attack they couldn't handle to warrant use of the stun gun. But as "grandmother" to Tex, I'm sure glad he's okay & back to being Tex! Thankfully, his own neck muscles are so thick & he's so big, he wasn't seriously injured. But a Pitbull of even a smaller size can usually take almost any dog in a fight if he really wants to. Really glad both are okay. Next time I see Tex, he gets extra hugs!

[yorkietalkjilly]

Originally Posted by Britster

I'm so sorry ((hugs)) I love Pits and am an advocate for the breed, however some are hard wired with dog aggression. Unfortunately, it's a fact of life when owning a Pittie, that dog aggression is very common and likely to pop up. I've heard of dogs who lived together for a few years peacefully and then one fight... bam... they have to crate & rotate.

Very scary!

Oh, I love pits too. I hope we're going to get to go to "Rock-A-Bully" in Dallas this weekend as it is a charity event for Pit/Bully rescue and that guy Shorty and his Hercules from Animal Planet are going to be there. I'm not so interested in them but the charity part and the speakers. My dentist and all her employees but one all have Bully breeds and are going. Danny will be working or he would be there, too. I hope soon enough the people who fight & breed aggression into this breed will move on or the laws will become so severe they lose interest and reputable breeders can bring this breed back to being nanny dogs one day!

[gemy]

I am so sorry this happened, and glad that neither dog suffered life threatening injuries.

And yes lifting the dog up by its collar, high up around the neck is called hanging. It is usually maintained until the dog "submits". Muscles relax, dog goes limp/easy against the restraint.


To put the strength required into perspective, if you have a 130lb dog, and women of average size and strength, each woman would have to lift up off the ground 65 lbs of dog, who also might be struggling and resisting; and hold this dog up for more than 30 seconds even going into a minute or more of time. Sobering thought!

[Buster Brown]

I am glad to hear that Tex was not seriously injured in this encounter. It is so great that Danny kept his wits about him during the attack and prevented a bad situation from escalating into a horrible one.

[yorkietalkjilly]

Originally Posted by gemy

I am so sorry this happened, and glad that neither dog suffered life threatening injuries.

And yes lifting the dog up by its collar, high up around the neck is called hanging. It is usually maintained until the dog "submits". Muscles relax, dog goes limp/easy against the restraint.


To put the strength required into perspective, if you have a 130lb dog, and women of average size and strength, each woman would have to lift up off the ground 65 lbs of dog, who also might be struggling and resisting; and hold this dog up for more than 30 seconds even going into a minute or more of time. Sobering thought!

My sister saw a show handler do that to a poodle one day on the sidelines during an early junior show my young niece was showing their poodle at and chewed that handler out then and there. Said learn how to handle your dog, lady, without choking it, or get out of the business! The small crowd applauded. If you mention it to her to this day, she still goes ballistic about a show handler "hanging" her dog for just misbehaving, not attacking another dog or anything. She called it "hanging" then and nobody ever "hung" a dog when she was around after that at any dog function she attended. I know Danny would never have done that if a sustained attack hadn't been under way. He hates hurting or possibly endangering a dog in any way & was almost apologetic to me for using that tactic. He keeps checking on the Pit to be sure its windpipe is okay!

He's magic with dogs and he can manage even the most problematic of them so well under normal circumstances. And he's taught Tex to remain calm, not to attack dogs even when they approach at a level of high aggression in order to help defuse them, so he feels guilty for that. He thinks Tex, rather than defend himself, had turned toward him for direction when he saw the Pit approaching, looking to his leader for direction and Danny was looking down at his iPhone. But once attacked, Tex was going back for more, training be darned! I told him if Tex is going to be a behavior therapy dog, it is part of the price to be paid for doing what he does to help dogs & normally works so well. They have helped so many problem dogs to go back home or to new homes rather than get euthanized or live for years at rescue. And I also told him if he hadn't "hung" that dog, they would have eventually had to use more Draconian measures on it and Tex could have had torn neck muscles, lost a lot of blood.

But objectional as it is normally, I thought I'd share how it was used to stop a sustained, likely to escalate, dog attack.

[ironmike86]

Yup I've been around Bulldogs all my life. My Uncle breeds"American Bulldogs. a 90lb dog will feel like pushing a 240lbs man. Strong as heck. But always go for the collar to control them. Just like they do. They go for the neck. I want a big dog but I don't trust them with Moki. Not a Guard dog anyways

[yorkietalkjilly]

I've found that pulling on a collar of a Bully breed's powerful neck usually just causes them to pull harder but I'm not a man and far from strong enough to dig in my heels. Maybe if I owned, raised & trained them they would be more likely to give over but back in the day, having one or two in emergency rescue for a few days, while they were often still pretty traumatized & wild, I had to use other methods such as body blocking or a tennis racket/umbrella block to really control them when trying to get at me, another dog or bolt out the door until I'd had a couple of days to work with & train them and establish leadership. They are extremely smart but stubborn about some things, have to know you mean business while making training a game of sorts, setting them up to succeed. And every one of them except the truly psychologically damaged, loves cuddling and sweet-talk when training is over and its fun-time! No dog can quite play with as much joy, unleashed energy & abandon as a Bully breed who has himself a good temporary home, his own soft bed, full tummy from regular meals and love for the first time in his life! Some have never even been in a house and have to be "introduced" to furniture, the sound of the fridge and the sight of TV! It's heartbreaking.

I personally would never "hang" any breed just in day-to-day handling but only if it were attacking and wouldn't give up that vice-grip. I know we all hope for a brighter future for the breed.

[gracielove]

I don't think your son should feel bad. He exhibited amazing restraint considering his dog was in a death grip. I hope this experience doesn't make Tex become defensive or nervous about other dogs. I know he's a big guy but it had to come as a shock to him.

[yorkietalkjilly]

Originally Posted by gracielove

I don't think your son should feel bad. He exhibited amazing restraint considering his dog was in a death grip. I hope this experience doesn't make Tex become defensive or nervous about other dogs. I know he's a big guy but it had to come as a shock to him.

Oh, thank you. I don't think its in Tex' nature to know fear or feel intimidated but I think Danny knows how to help him through it if he does exhibit any residual problems. Actually I imagine Danny will have the Pit and Tex spending a lot of time together once Tex' wounds are healed.

[DBlain]

I don't care what anyone says, for the record I have a strong distaste for Pitbulls, no matter if some are "gentle" to me they are a loose cannon waiting to go off, there are so many other breeds to choose from, so why one has to choose a pit bull is beyond me. I just wish they would let that breed become extinct. Did you guys read the thread on here a month ago about how two followed a members mother's medium size dog through their doggy door and killed their pet. I pulled up the statistics once before and the % of serious pit bull attacks was higher than all other breeds put together. My town has a no pit bull regulation and if I see one that is living in the neighborhood I would report it in a second

[yorkietalkjilly]

I completely understand how some feel about this breed and all potential buyers should(but don't) understand unless you get one from a breeder who has carefully bred for gentle temperament for decades, one could be getting a ticking time bomb. But as a breed, it is not the dogs' fault. When you have one in rescue, you are always on your guard around them but as a family pet, people let their guards down and that is when tragedy can occur.

Expecting one not to act a lot like Tex' attacker is kind of like expecting a terrier not to chase a mouse across the barn floor. It goes against the very grain for many of the Bullys to let go of a bite until its victim is subdued and that trait was just not in that breed along with serious viciousness until irresponsible breeders began selective breeding of highly dominant/aggressive, stubborn, never-give-in Bulldog types to vicious-natured, super-aggressive Bullys for generations to create a fighter who could either quickly disable or outlast others in the pit. And to keep their fighters "pure", they would kill any dog that lost a match to avoid it passing along its DNA to their dogs or sell/trade/gift it. Even though "losers" that were allowed to live might be weaker or less aggressive dogs themselves, vicious genes still lived within and could be passed along to another generation in breeding, as the public soon found out.

I used to feel like you do until I began studying what makes the breed the way they are now and it is such a troubling story of exploitation and abuse by mankind it can sicken. If they do legislate the breed out of general existence, it won't stop the underground crowd from still breeding and fighting them; and the super-aggressive gene pool that will be left will be more appalling than the horrible ones we have now! Inevitably, some of those will make their way into the public sphere to be bred with a Lab, GSD or Rottie, so Pits will still passing along those killer type genes to other known biting breeds and create another similar but different-looking killer "breed". Some line-breeding of those for a while and we have another "breed" that also kills and maims.

Knowing what I know, though I love the Pitbull type and sweeter dogs were never born, I couldn't have a Bully in my home to live as a pet unless I could guarantee a long, long lineage of breeding for temperament and I would never keep smaller animals with one and closely supervise while children, others around.

[gemy]

Originally Posted by ironmike86

Yup I've been around Bulldogs all my life. My Uncle breeds"American Bulldogs. a 90lb dog will feel like pushing a 240lbs man. Strong as heck. But always go for the collar to control them. Just like they do. They go for the neck. I want a big dog but I don't trust them with Moki. Not a Guard dog anyways

Mike get a well bred and temperament tested BRT. They are usually not prey driven. They were bred to protect humans! And over time they will protect your Moki from any predator. Actually pack dynamics start pretty quickly as evidenced on our gals week vacation. A Rottie mix, jumped out of the bushes to "attack" two of"our " new pack's Yorkies which were leading our pack on a walk. They our pack had been together exactly 2.5 days. The Rottie had obviously not seen Magic as he was behind about 10 paces the Yorkies. Magic surged forward with his very deep threat bark. It was a tense moment, thankfully the Yorkies obeyed Ilona's come command and hightailed it out of there. The Rottie decided against pursuing any more aggression. TAil tucked he ran out from the road. If Magic had not been there those Yorkies would have been in serious trouble!. And I am very happy that Rottie retreated, as the very last thing I would want is a dog fight. It would break my heart to see any dog injured.