I'm so glad that you reconsidered and took your umbrella and also that you both made it home unharmed. Tibbe sounds like such an adorable little boy with a larger than life personality. It's no wonder why you love him so.

I think the umbrella idea is wonderful. I have used it every time we go to the park ever since I first saw you post about it. Before that I would automatically pick her up whenever I saw a dog near by but if one ever came from behind it would have been too late. I know these little dogs sometimes remind other dogs of bunnies or something but I think there are a lot of people that just do not train their dogs properly.

Glad to hear Tribbe was not effected in the least by the incident! He sounds like quite a scrapper!

Glad he is ok and you had your umbrella. I never thought of carrying one. Your quick moves probably saved your baby.

I always used to pick Jilly up if a dog were coming near but after her attack, when I was trying to leave the scene, that Dalmatian kept following us. She was having a seizure and choking in my arms from her injuries and I had to keep that beastly thing from getting her again! If I had just had a big open umbrella, I could have just put it behind me and hustled a lot faster out of there but as I had nothing but that faux walking stick in one hand and my little girl almost en extremis in my left arm, I couldn't do much but slowly sidle down the sidewalk. I couldn't have successfully fought a 65 lb. dog off with just that stick as long as I had her in my arms and if I put her down, he could get at her again. A big umbrella would have intimidated him and kept him at bay. But you know, that Dalmatian came all the way to the end of the block following us before he turned for home and I could run a ways away and see to her, open her airway. Once she stopped seizing, I ran home, watching over my shoulder and waving that stick behind me just in case. It was as I was standing there with a bleeding, seizing dog in my arms being stalked by that dog that I realized picking up your dog can't help much if you have a dog that really wants to attack. And you become their target, too. If only I'd known about the umbrella before that, I likely could have saved Jilly a lot of agony.

Oh my gosh how scary! I would have been terrified! Thank goodness for your umbrella!

Wow! Too scary and too close! Thank goodness you are a quick thinker - but sounds like Tibbe was protecting you from those big bad dogs!

So glad all is well - give Tibbe a big hug :D

So very glad you and Tibbe are both safe.:)

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
Absolutely!!! Everything you point out is true!!! We save our babies by snatching them up, but then YOU become the target for the atteacking dog, as it continues to go after your dog, held high over your head, if possible! With all that you endured with the horrific attack on little Jilly, OMG!!! it is a wonderment you could even function at all....Excellent idea with the large umbrella....a LARGE one is the key phrase here....if it had been one of those little pocket size purse carryind, I dont think you would have had the success you did....and I agree with your idea that it is probably the sounds and the flurring bustle of that "monsterous thing" flying open unexpectedly when you push the button, that provides at least 50% of the fear factor for the avenging dogs! Poor you and poor little Tibbs! These babies of ours will take on ANYTHING!!! You need a "NO FEAR" bumper sticker for his butt!!!

Oh, my goodness, no fear at all. Fairly shortly after Jilly was attacked & the vets cleared her to go on a walk again, I took her right up the block (but certainly not on the street where the Dalmatian lived) to where a particularly loud and viscious-sounding GSD lived on the corner house and whose back yard ran alongside the sidewalk, trying to keep myself calm, ready to go into trainer mode and ready for her fear at seeing a big dog again. I had prepared what I was going to do to slowly rehab her thru her fear. But the moment he came near his fence & began to bark, she was pulling on the leash and when I let her go right up near the fence, she was snarling and going toe-to-toe near the Cox fence with that big dog who sounded so loud & intimidating and she was just about 6 weeks post-op from her injury repair surgery. I was scared she'd hurt herself getting so roused and we left. I did give her praise for her extremely positive reaction to her first re-encounter with a big dog rather than ducking her tail and running away. She was just fearless and I never saw that the attack changed her a whit! All my preparations and reading about how to rehab a once-attacked, fearful dog weren't ever needed!

Tibbe is apparently a lot like her. He backs down to nothing from another dog. So I have to take that into consideration when he's around them as he thinks he's Rin Tin Tin - and he's more like steak size to some of today's big dogs!

Was anything ever done about the Dalmatian after the attack? I know some areas are quite slow to deal with dog attacks.

When my Shih Tzu and I were attacked by a dog all I had was my purse to whack the other dog on the head but I kicked at him as well. He had rushed out the owners door and was upon my baby before I knew what happened. We were living in town at the time. I had just come home from work and put his leash on him and never put down my purse as I usually did. It was a pretty good sized purse though since I used to work long hours and carried a ton of stuff. The owner came running out the door yelling at me for hitting his dog on the head as it was trying to eat my dog! They were mindless "people." Thankfully, my little guy was not as seriously hurt as your Jilly but I still carry the paranoia of another attack. My heart starts racing when I see a dog heading toward us. I almost stopped taking Gracie to the park that she loves so much because of my own paranoia. Can't say I am totally free of it but I feel we are much safer with the umbrella.

Tibbe is one tough pup! Glad your all ok. Ive had a few encounters as well on walks :-/ Always scary.

evil dogs trying to get Tibbe. I hope you aren't too shaken.
I'm sorry I don't know what a Spitz dog is?
Can you report the attack to the animal services in your area at all.

Pepper spray is such a great idea and you can usually clip that to your trousers hmmmm, wonder if it works on hawks. Those are my biggest concern these days.

I called 911 from the vet's office after Tibbe went back for treatment, since the dog was possibly a danger to the public - especially little kids, being loose like that and after he stalked us - and I needed him quarantined to be sure he didn't have rabies, etc. Animal Control and the police visited the people and he was quarantined and thankfully given a clean bill of health. They actually kept him at my vet's clinic where Jilly was that first night post-op B4 they let her come home! He stayed there another 9 days. I was there when he was picked up bringing Jilly back for post-op care. Animal Control issued a ticket of some type to the people - can't recall what it was. Thankfully, that house is blocks away from where we live - as our walk that day was farflung - and I just never walked in that direction again.

Glad you had that purse when your dog was attacked. Imagine that person getting mad for you hitting the dog trying to eat your baby!!!!!! A vicious dog attack will kind of mark you for life and makes you super sentient from then on. After that attack, any walks included an umbrella, even when no dog was along, and that was in 1998 or 1999, so I have used umbrellas for a whole lot of walks and a whole lot of dogs coming my way so far with 100% success. But these dogs got closer than any others and I really think it was they weren't privy to the intimidating opening up of the umbrella before their eyes and ears. That is something for me to remember for the next rainy day walk!

Some people put too much trust on their dog...what makes them think they're not going to run out to chase something, what if a car happens to drive by??? I am so glad that you & Tibbe are ok! We've had a big unleashed GSD trotting up to us & as soon as I bent down to scoop up Princess & Turbo, the GSD already had his nose on them. After the fact, I realized that the GSD was very friendly but I wasn't sure how Turbo would react (he nips @ other dogs if they get too close) & thus provoking the GSD. Turbo is even more fearful of other dogs after this experience bc of how I reacted.=/ I'm working on him, sitting whenever a dog passes by or going the opposite way if he gives a negative reaction (this seems to work the best for him as long as we're moving away from the other dog!). He'll do good on some days, others not so much esp if the other dog is barking back lolll...total chaos.

Your right. People do not realize that no matter how much they love their dogs and their dogs love them the dog may react in a totally different manner in a different sort of situation.
One of my sons has a Chocolate Lab. He has been to my home and was a perfect gentleman with Gracie. I took Gracie to Thanksgiving dinner at one of my other son's house and Bear was fine there also......until we went outside. When he saw Gracie outside, on her leash, he came running and wanted to step on her and he would not stop. He is very big and she is very small and his big feet going for her could have done some big damage. I picked her up and he went up on his hind feet at her. He was not vicious but dangerous. I had to take her inside. People beware! Don't leave a little dog unguarded with any dog that you are not well acquainted with!

I am so glad that you and Tibbe is okay. Does he normally growl at other dogs when they come barking and running up? He must have felt the need to protect you.

Oh, gosh. Made a big typo - in that first line of my reply to "gracielove" it should say "Jilly" instead of "Tibbe"! I am so used to typing Tibbe's name now I guess I just did it by rote. After Jilly went back for treatment after she was attacked and at the vet, that's when I called Animal Control and 911 all those years ago. Sorry! I think I need a brain transplant! :( :)

No, he's in love with all other dogs but once they snarled at him, he went postal! He's the biggest dog lover in the world. He loves cats, squirrels and any thing else he sees. Surprised me to see him flex up like that but he was apparently royally ticked off when they rushed at us snarling and growling.

Oh, boy, are those wise words. A Yorkie around any big dog in any new setting or situation could be at risk just from their tiny size if the dog gets rowdy or anything. Just one big paw whacked across the back with enough downward force could really hurt a little dog weighing 60 - 90 lbs. less than them. Yorkie moms and pops have to be super careful with them a lot of times.

Tibbe's a lover and a fighter :)
You're story about Jilly's attack has me rethinking that just picking up Buster is not enough to stop a dog intent on getting him. One arm to fight off a larger dog is not enough. I am sorry that you had to go through both of these experiences. When I first was walking Buster he was nipped by a neighbor's Chi that ran out unleashed. They yelled out oh she's friendly and she was so small I did not worry until she bit Buster. They then said well she sometimes does that. I was furious and felt so bad that I had not properly protected Buster. I told them never to tell anyone she was friendly that to warn people that she might bite. I was lucky it was a small dog and Buster was not hurt badly.

Oh, BB, it's true. Just picking up a little dog didn't stop that Dalmatian from wanting more. He was fixated on both of us and kept walking slowly after us, head slightly down and forward. He was intent on more action I am convinced. Most dogs after a bite or an attack will retreat, act somewhat scared, usually aware that the presence of a human is about to bring retribution of some type on them. But this guy - he was emboldened. I truly think if I hadn't the stick and started acting somewhat intimidating as I tried to get Jilly away and home to the car and vet, he would have gone after both of us. And when I saw the people he belonged to, I even wondered if he hadn't been maltreated by them and had some hatred of humans. But that dog stalked us after his attack. Ugh!

So glad that you two are okay ;)

Oh my! That is so scary! I am so glad you guys are ok. What a good idea to use a umbrella! I need to carry one with me.

I am so happy that you and your baby are ok!! I didn't read all of the posts, but did you file a police report? I would have. I hate irresponsible pet owners!!!!:mad:

Well, since this time the dogs only ran at Tibbe snarling and growling and when it put the umbrella between us and them and they tried to get around it but never did - thank God - no, I didn't call anybody. But back in the late 90's when little 3 lb., leashed Jilly was attacked and bitten causing 6 lacerations by a 65 lb., off-leash Dalmatian who dashed from his porch behind bushes, I called 911 & Animal Control. The police and AC visited, quarantined and ticketed the appropriate parties. :)

(Here is the post I always place on threads like this for anyone who is interested. It didn't work as well with these 2 dogs as I had the umbrella open, over my head to keep the rain off us & the dogs were almost at my feet before I saw them, realized what was happening & took the open umbrella from over my head, putting it between the dogs and Tibbe and me. So these dogs didn't ge the full effect of witnessing that tiny stick about 16" long spring open into that big, wide, noisy thing right before their eyes and ears.) Here is the usual post:

I walk with a huge black umbrella that self-opens when I push a button. It is a big thing and impressive as it opens with a snap/whoosh! It give me a large appearance to the approaching dog, having that big, black, wide structure spread all out before me.

The thing I found most helpful to me 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 shape 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 3 lb. 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 is just a dissolver of bad attitudes. Most approaching dogs aren't really bad, they just are inquisitive, 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, which a dog can read from quite far off.
Train your dog to sit/stay when you 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.

I would still go to the police to get a record of this incident on file. The next time you may not be so lucky. By doing that, you may be saving someone's child's life, as well. Think about it. It's not too late.