Yorkie attacked and killed by German Shepard

[gracielove]

Just sickening. I know many people don't want to read these posts but people have to be made aware of the danger that is out there both to children and animals. Even the most friendly of dogs can quickly be incited to attack by actions that we as humans do not notice.

A big energetic dog that lives in a fenced yard can easily slide out the door accidently and go on a rampage. That same dog that only barked at you through the fence when you were walking by is now a loose cannon looking to vent it's frustrations on something or someone nearby.

I have always carried a stick when walking Gracie but I live in the country and only have to be concerned about wild animals. When we walk in the park near town I learned from yorkietalkjilly to carry a big push button umbrella to protect Gracie from dogs. Honestly, I feel safer warding off the wild animals than I do the dogs that people have in town. When I am at the park or in town things are much more unpredictable.

[GuinnessStout]

Originally Posted by yorkiedallas

This is why I carry a folding hunting knife with me on walks......... kinda red neck, I know but anything hurts my babies is going to bleed. Hard to believe no one could grab a shovel or golf club from their house to help this woman. All these stories make me want to buy a few acres in the country, build a brick wall around it, top with razor wire and never let my dogs off the property. If only I could.

If you are a redneck then I hate to know what I am lol I always have a loaded weapon on me and my neighbor already knows if he his two untrained big dogs get out his yard and make a move towards Guinney what will happen.

[MishyMish]

Very sad. Can you legally spray a dog with mase? Like someone else mention, maybe I'll carry a pocket knife. I'd be very protective of my furball...

[yorkietalkjilly]

Originally Posted by MishyMish

Very sad. Can you legally spray a dog with mase? Like someone else mention, maybe I'll carry a pocket knife. I'd be very protective of my furball...

I'd rather pay the fine or do the time than lose a dog or a chunk of skin or worse to an attacking dog. How about you? Trouble is with Mace or Bear Spray, boy if you aren't upwind of that stuff, it will take you flat out if you get a faceful/lungful during a strong wind gust! So you and to a lesser extent you little dog are sitting ducks down on the ground totally miserable dealing with that stuff inside your mucous membranes while the dog is still there. The smell might tone the attacker down some and cause him to lose his ardor but I wouldn't bet anything valuable on it.

[shawnzeppi]

What a horrible and traumatic ending. You can never be too careful when out for a walk. One of my little ones was attacked last year and we were very fortunate he was not killed. But in my case the aggressive dog was actually a Corgi, not the most aggressive bread and only in the 30 lb range (much larger than my Yorkies, though)... Now I am EXTRA vigilant to look for any dog running towards us, even a mid size or small breed and I pick my guys up and face away from the threat. I say that because we had a neighbor who's dachshund was attacked by a German Shepard several years ago, and she had actually picked her dog up and was holding it and the G.S. actually jumped up and bit into her little one! In this case, the Dachshund survived but he was a mess for weeks and we didn't go anywhere near that aggressive dog's house until they moved away. Animal COntrol in my area will not even put a dog on the dangerous dog registry unless they either bite a human or KILL another dog, just nearly killing is not enough.

[shawnzeppi]

Originally Posted by yorkietalkjilly

I'd rather pay the fine or do the time than lose a dog or a chunk of skin or worse to an attacking dog. How about you?...

I am right with you, but when you have two to walk at once, and only two arms its hard to do anything in response other than to try and scoop them up. That is my strategy now that I suffered an attack once. If I had just one, I could respond more effectively. Recently I was walking my guys and a collie ran up to us without an owner in sight, and I should have been much careful considering we were attacked by another mid size breed recently but I totally missed this guy (have to be very careful with earbuds). In this case, the the collie was very friendly and just wanted to socialize, but you cant be too careful... depending.

My point is it may not always be best to go for pepper spray first if you can just scoop your little one(s) up. I guess it all depends on your instant evaluation of the threat.

[MishyMish]

Originally Posted by yorkietalkjilly

I'd rather pay the fine or do the time than lose a dog or a chunk of skin or worse to an attacking dog. How about you? Trouble is with Mace or Bear Spray, boy if you aren't upwind of that stuff, it will take you flat out if you get a faceful/lungful during a strong wind gust! So you and to a lesser extent you little dog are sitting ducks down on the ground totally miserable dealing with that stuff inside your mucous membranes while the dog is still there. The smell might tone the attacker down some and cause him to lose his ardor but I wouldn't bet anything valuable on it.

I was just curious in general. I was thinking about the wind factor with mace. While were on the subject... What is the best way to safely ward off a vicious dog? Is a knife or gun the only answer?

[MishyMish]

[/QUOTE] My point is it may not always be best to go for pepper spray first if you can just scoop your little one(s) up. I guess it all depends on your instant evaluation of the threat.[/QUOTE]

After this and the dog is still engaging and no owner in sight, what then?

[dlaureanonw]

How horrible my heart goes out to this lady.

[chestermama]

that is horrible, I hope they find the dog

[yorkietalkjilly]

Here is the post I always post on threads like this for anyone who is interested:

I walk with a huge black umbrella that auto-opens when I push a button. It is a big thing and impressive as it opens! It gives me a large appearance to the approaching dog, having that big,wide structure spread all out before me. You can keep your dog behind the umbrella if you lay the bottom edge of the open brolly on or near the ground/pavement, rolling it with your free hand as the other dog moves to one side of the other to keep it between you and trouble.

The thing I found most helpful about the open umbrella is the distance it will keep a troublesome dog away from our immediate vicinity. I have yet to have one ever get even remotely close to me and my Yorkie with the trusty brolly fully employed. They either go the other way immediately(99% of the time), stand their ground if the owner is making them or give you a very very wide berth. They don't get close enough to or try to keep an aggressive attitude when they hear the umbrella whoosh open and see that imposing structure blossom open before their eyes. It is very disconcerting to any dog. It is a good diffuser of tense situations but should it not be, a sturdy or actual defensive umbrellas can serve as a real weapon should you actually run into a dog who is bent on attacking.

When my little 3lb. Yorkie, Jilly, was attacked by a 65 lb. Dalmatian on a neighborhood walk,my simple wooden walking stick(pre-umbrella) was how I saved her life and got her free of the big dog's jaws. It was after that attack that I decided to use a button-operated umbrella for future walks as a deterrent - even if I have no dog with me.

But the role an open umbrella best serves as a dissolver of bad attitudes. Most approaching dogs aren't really bad, they just are inquisitive, overly excited and out of control and this tool helps them to settle down rather quickly and become serious about how they can best stay well clear of you, your dog and your umbrella. And it gives you a wonderful sense of security and some control which a dog can read from quite far off.

Even if a dog is upon you and starting an attack before you realize it, if you can keep your wits about you, press the button and suddenly open that umbrella in that dog's face or against its body, theoretically I would say it could likely surprise and frighten the attacker enough to cause him to back off, maybe even run off, depending upon the situation and the reason for his attack. Even if he stays in the near perimeter and circling you, you can place the open brolly between you, your dog and the other dog, careful to stay behind it, using your cell to call for help or calling out to neighbors/passersby as you try to back toward a car, fence, house or some area to get your backside against something substantial the dog can't use to get around you and cut out the threatening circling they sometimes do to try to find another angle of attack. Having been in a dog attack, I do think if I'd had this type umbrella with me, the attacking dog would have backed off much quicker than just that swinging that plain stick as I was trying to help Jilly with the other hand as early on she was growling, fighting back. The handle of that walking stick was partially broken off and I couldn't get a good grip but if I'd had an umbrella to whoosh open into that dog's face or side, I think it would have shocked and scared him into seeing us as something other than victims. As it was, it took some time to get enough hold on that walking stick to actually strike hurtful blows and in the meantime Jilly was being badly hurt.

Train your dog to sit/stay when you auto-open the umbrella so that in an emergency situation, your dog will not be running around at your feet or shying away from the umbrella opening, thus adding to the stress of the moment.

You can Google and see the actual self-defense, button-open umbrellas that are heavy duty, unbreakable and made to help fend off attackers. Some come with all kinds of interesting add-ons. I don't know if these umbrellas do, but I wish they would come equipped with an electronic noisemaker/sonic device of some kind that could help scare the aggressive dog as they are deployed. These umbrellas are pricey without the add-ons.

[MishyMish]

Originally Posted by yorkietalkjilly

Here is the post I always post on threads like this for anyone who is interested:

I walk with a huge black umbrella that auto-opens when I push a button. It is a big thing and impressive as it opens! It gives me a large appearance to the approaching dog, having that big,wide structure spread all out before me. You can keep your dog behind the umbrella if you lay the bottom edge of the open brolly on or near the ground/pavement, rolling it with your free hand as the other dog moves to one side of the other to keep it between you and trouble.

The thing I found most helpful about the open umbrella is the distance it will keep a troublesome dog away from our immediate vicinity. I have yet to have one ever get even remotely close to me and my Yorkie with the trusty brolly fully employed. They either go the other way immediately(99% of the time), stand their ground if the owner is making them or give you a very very wide berth. They don't get close enough to or try to keep an aggressive attitude when they hear the umbrella whoosh open and see that imposing structure blossom open before their eyes. It is very disconcerting to any dog. It is a good diffuser of tense situations but should it not be, a sturdy or actual defensive umbrellas can serve as a real weapon should you actually run into a dog who is bent on attacking.

When my little 3lb. Yorkie, Jilly, was attacked by a 65 lb. Dalmatian on a neighborhood walk,my simple wooden walking stick(pre-umbrella) was how I saved her life and got her free of the big dog's jaws. It was after that attack that I decided to use a button-operated umbrella for future walks as a deterrent - even if I have no dog with me.

But the role an open umbrella best serves as a dissolver of bad attitudes. Most approaching dogs aren't really bad, they just are inquisitive, overly excited and out of control and this tool helps them to settle down rather quickly and become serious about how they can best stay well clear of you, your dog and your umbrella. And it gives you a wonderful sense of security and some control which a dog can read from quite far off.

Even if a dog is upon you and starting an attack before you realize it, if you can keep your wits about you, press the button and suddenly open that umbrella in that dog's face or against its body, theoretically I would say it could likely surprise and frighten the attacker enough to cause him to back off, maybe even run off, depending upon the situation and the reason for his attack. Even if he stays in the near perimeter and circling you, you can place the open brolly between you, your dog and the other dog, careful to stay behind it, using your cell to call for help or calling out to neighbors/passersby as you try to back toward a car, fence, house or some area to get your backside against something substantial the dog can't use to get around you and cut out the threatening circling they sometimes do to try to find another angle of attack. Having been in a dog attack, I do think if I'd had this type umbrella with me, the attacking dog would have backed off much quicker than just that swinging that plain stick as I was trying to help Jilly with the other hand as early on she was growling, fighting back. The handle of that walking stick was partially broken off and I couldn't get a good grip but if I'd had an umbrella to whoosh open into that dog's face or side, I think it would have shocked and scared him into seeing us as something other than victims. As it was, it took some time to get enough hold on that walking stick to actually strike hurtful blows and in the meantime Jilly was being badly hurt.

Train your dog to sit/stay when you auto-open the umbrella so that in an emergency situation, your dog will not be running around at your feet or shying away from the umbrella opening, thus adding to the stress of the moment.

You can Google and see the actual self-defense, button-open umbrellas that are heavy duty, unbreakable and made to help fend off attackers. Some come with all kinds of interesting add-ons. I don't know if these umbrellas do, but I wish they would come equipped with an electronic noisemaker/sonic device of some kind that could help scare the aggressive dog as they are deployed. These umbrellas are pricey without the add-ons.

Thank you for this. I will certainly keep this in mind.

[yorkiedallas]

I have a friend who has a taser with her on walks. She says that the buzzing sound it makes when you turn it on makes a dog back off. Does anyone have any experience with this?

It makes me mad to think we have to gear up for battle when we take our pups outside, or sometimes even into the back yard.

[concretegurl]

Very sad.

Especially sad no one helpes her.

Even when a dog is attacking another dog people are accidentlt bitten, but often the aggression is not towards people at all.

If enough people had jumped in they may have scared the GS off by yelling no, drop it and leaving open an area for the GS to escape from.

May breeds especially terriers (our yorkies) have a strong prey drive.
Lack of early socialization leads to dog in dog aggression, training and owner responsibility could easily have prevented this.

My Scoobers had severe dog aggression when I first got him at 10 pounds he tried to take out the neighbors boxer & their great pyranese...having a larger dog with this issue takes more responsibility.

[gracielove]

Originally Posted by yorkiedallas

I have a friend who has a taser with her on walks. She says that the buzzing sound it makes when you turn it on makes a dog back off. Does anyone have any experience with this?

It makes me mad to think we have to gear up for battle when we take our pups outside, or sometimes even into the back yard.

It is sad that it has come to the point where people can't walk down the street and feel safe because of irresponsible pet owners in the area. I think tazers are illegal to have in some states unless you are in law enforcement. It does sound like something that might work. It's just that some people should not be turned loose with a device like that just as they are not responsible enough to own a pet.