Attacked by a pit bull

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kimele

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If by S&M you mean Metallica's live album....and she was born and raised in California, as was I, because that's where all the cool people are born.
 
California has zero tolerance for pit bull attacks. If I'd reported the problem the dog would have been destroyed. I don't agree that any dog who bites someone, be it person or animal, should be put down. They're animals who are highly driven by instinct. You can train them to resist, but the instinct to do what they were bred for is very strong.

Everyone is putting the guilt on me if the dog attacks someone else. You know what? Fuck you. If you think any dog that behaves aggressively once should be destroyed, you're fucking heartless. Any animal can have their aggression response triggered; even the friendliest most loveable mutt in the world could go crazy on someone or something. Does that mean all dogs should be destroyed? Cats bite people a lot more than dogs do but you never hear people talking about destroying them because they bit someone.

As far as pit bulls go, i've got nothing against them. They're just like any other dog; they respond to instinct in the face of a lack of training. Any responsible dog owner will spend a lot of time training the behaviors they want in their dog (I've even done it with cats), but you can't expect a young puppy to be on their best behavior.

So to answer your very pointed and condemning question; no, i won't report the dog so it's destroyed and no, i won't feel guilty if someone else gets bitten. Why? Because it's the owners responsibility to keep it under control and get it trained (both of which the owner's father promised would happen) and get it fixed when it's old enough (which will be this week for this particular dog).
 
Sorry to hear about your and your dog's injuries. She will probably recover no problem. It's not like a sanguine dog to turn shy because of an attack like this one. Keep socializing her, and don't let the event traumatize you either, as she will respond to that fear. If you're unsure, there is a book floating around that has been absolutely wonderful for me, and has made not only training but understanding my dogs really easy. It's called "Dog Talk" by John Ross, and it teaches the human to train the dog from the canine's point of view and takes the common stumbling blocks out of the way so you can really get down to business.

I like that you aren't automatically slamming the breed, but I'm equally glad the owner is being decent about it. Dogs are, by their very nature aggressive creatures, but humans are by their very nature, jerks. Dogs are very social, of course, but aggression is what those pointy teeth are for. For the most part pit bulls are just like any other dog, except for their tenacity. It's not that their jaws lock, that's a myth, but they do have very powerful jaws (their jaw muscles run all the way to the top of the head) and don't WANT to let go. I can swing my pit bull around in complete circles with a chew rope, then whisper drop it and she lets go.

Anyway, I imagine you were yelling your head off, already, but my pits are very responsive to voice command. Many dogs, even ill-trained ones, will respond to the "voice of authority", but sometimes they won't, unfortunately. Properly trained dogs should respond after one command or be prepared for the consequences. I hate to see people saying "sit, sit, sit, sit, sit..." and not correcting their dogs. Or punishing them for coming when called because they didn't return right away. Contrary to your inclination, you have to treat the "come" response like the best thing the dog ever did, no matter how many times you called.

Anyway, extraneous information aside, I wish you and your friend, Molly a very speedy recovery.

Edit: That took me awhile to pound out, but I'm really impressed, Tostig by your rather impressive grasp of human-canine socio-aggro mechanics.
 
Saturday evening a friend was having an art show opening in a rather downbeat neighborhood (not quite ghetto). I'd missed the message that the venue had been changed so I was walking up and down the street trying to find the show. A nearby shop owner's door was open and what comes bolting out straight at me? Another pit bull. It stopped at my feet, staring up at me; ears back, poised forward, snarling. First thing to run through my head was, "oh no, not again." I almost laughed because it reminded me of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (poor pot of petunias). I did the only thing appropriate for the situation; I crossed my arms, turned my back on it, and stood still. (Never stare at an aggressive dog, just try to be boring, and for fuck's sake don't run or they'll have to chase you). I just stood there waiting to feel teeth. It was a minute before the owner could come out and collar his dog. He said something like, "finally, someone who knows what the fuck their doing." Then he yelled at his wife, "don't let boomer out, he bites people!"

I still have nothing against pits, but it was a little soon to be confronted by another aggressive one. Lucky for me I met a couple nice ones on halloween or I probably would've been more freaked out. As it was I was just shaking from adrenaline (yay fight or flight response!) for about an hour.
 
Wasn't meaning to condemn you, I was just asking the question. Personally, I would report the dog, not to be an asshole, but to prevent a future and more violent attack. It did that kind of damage and it's only a puppy? What will it be able to do when fully grown? You're right, it is the owner's responsibility to control the dog and he failed. I hope my kid isn't near that dog at his next failure.

ps: I know that cats do attack people, but comparing a cat attack to pit-bull attack made me lol a little.
 
Cats are bigger than chihuahuas, and they're dogs, so they'd fall into your "all dogs who bite people" category.

Puppies, in general, bite more than full grown dogs that have been socialized. Molly used to nip at us all the time until i trained her out of it.
 
It's that kind of "how long can I go?", my cats bite me all the time..But that's because I tesea and play with them. I'm more of their mom than owner. Actually dogs bite me quite often to, because I am more like one of them rather then a "superior" so they nibble a little. It's fun.

You could go as far as saying children bite to, and they bite fucking hard. But they are thaught(sp?) in an early age that they shouldnt(atleast not other people). That actually remind me of my girlfriend who gave me 4bruices this friday..she gets a little over entusiastic when drunk.
 
As much as I would like to think that I would be a person that has the capacity to forgive on this level, I'm not so sure that I could in the same situation.
 
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