Rant about irresponsible dog owners.

[2198lindsey]

After dog school this evening (dog obidience class that I teach with another friend of mine) I needed to go to pet supermarket for foster dog food. I feed my personal dogs raw, but I never know what dogs I'm having in so they get a good grain free dry food. I brought my dog in. Keep in mind, he's my demo dog at class. He's got several Rally Obidience titles, a CGC award, ect. He also weighs about 25 pounds, and is a terrier mix. He's a dream to own and behaves beautifully.

Anyways, I'm lurking around the big bags of dog food, when I see a beautiful Saluki, and his 2 people. Naturally I notice he's keying in on my dog, Petie, and I made him sit on the other side of me. Long story short, Saluki broke free from one of his people charging straight at my dog. Naturally I'm pretty calm, and in my mind the only logical thing to do would be to drop Petie's leash and catch this dog because for all I know he could kill mine, there's a pretty big size difference here.

I drop Petie's leash, manage to catch this dog by his collar screaming at him "Knock it off!" Amongst this chaos the dog's owners come rushing over. Petie walks over to say hi and they start freaking out like he was growling or something. I look over away from the dog trying to bite me and manage out a "Petie, sit". He obliges and waits patiently for me to be finished, shooting out a look at the dog like "Uh oh mommy's not too happy!"

Cops were called. The owners of the Saluki claimed my dog bit them and I literally had to sit there for a few hours so they could review the security tapes to find out no one was at fault but their dog. I don't want to press charges, I just wish that people who could not controll their dog either seek help, or don't bring it into public. There's my rant.
Here's Petie, the little tough guy.

 

[T_Licious]

What a sweetie! :heart:

Ugh I can't believe they tried to claim he bit them!!! I would be tempted to press charges on them just because of how fast they lied, like they were looking for a lawsuit or something. I really hope they don't try to do that again to anyone else.

Way to go with your dog instincts! I am sure you saved him a painful injury

 

[pinky]

You might want to consider pressing charges so there'll be some sort of documentation showing irresponsible pet ownership in case something like that happens again with them. They were lucky that you knew exactly what to do and no one got hurt. Had it been a dog owner with less experience handling that kind of situation, it could have turned out a lot worse..... Petie sounds like a real sweetheart and certainly looks like one.

 

[2198lindsey]

I'm only 15, essentially it's up to my mom but she told them to give us a couple days and that she's willing to do whatever I want to, within reason. I don't know if I'm up for it...I'm recently in remission from cancer, and going through a huge custody battle over me and my siblings and I just don't know if I need that right now. I'm certainly tempted to drop it and offer them a spot in my class. All I can say is I'm extremely glad it was me and that I knew what to do. Thanks, couldn't ask for a better dog in a situation like this.

You might want to consider pressing charges so there'll be some sort of documentation showing irresponsible pet ownership in case something like that happens again with them. They were lucky that you knew exactly what to do and no one got hurt. Had it been a dog owner with less experience handling that kind of situation, it could have turned out a lot worse..... Petie sounds like a real sweetheart and certainly looks like one.

 

[2198lindsey]

Thanks! He's the best.
And yes, it ticked me off for a while but I'm not certain what to do. The nerve of some people...

What a sweetie! :heart:

Ugh I can't believe they tried to claim he bit them!!! I would be tempted to press charges on them just because of how fast they lied, like they were looking for a lawsuit or something. I really hope they don't try to do that again to anyone else.

Way to go with your dog instincts! I am sure you saved him a painful injury

 

[ellisa]

Petie is adorable!!!

I'm so glad it was all caught on tape so the cops could see who was rightfully at fault.

 

[2198lindsey]

Thanks, unfortunately he knows it lol
And yes. Not to sound odd but I looked like quite the bum (just changed out of dog slobbered clothes) and not to say that I wouldn't be trusted, but I definitely would have looked at the older couple with a nice car better than me and my little mutt. Not only that but the general rule stands that minors don't know anything about anything, right?

Petie is adorable!!!

I'm so glad it was all caught on tape so the cops could see who was rightfully at fault.

 

[T_Licious]

I would ask them what it would involve while you think about what you want to do. It might just be that they take care of everything once you give the go ahead. I just keep thinking about what would happen if it was someone else's dog. My dog is only 15 lbs and deaf and going blind and wouldn't stand a chance against a dog like that.

 

[2198lindsey]

That's what I'm saying!

I feel like if I do go through with it, they'll be very shy about getting help or won't at all, then it'll happen again and what? The dog will be put down?
I'd like to avoid that. Watching the dog I know there's things I could reccomend to control it. I'd much rather me help them control him then it go through the court system. Personally I think that it'll be a lot more stress than needed when I could be much nicer about it.

I don't know, maybe that's just me being a 15 year old animal loving girl, but I can't stand that dog even having a chance of being euthanized when me and Petie are fine.

I would ask them what it would involve while you think about what you want to do. It might just be that they take care of everything once you give the go ahead. I just keep thinking about what would happen if it was someone else's dog. My dog is only 15 lbs and deaf and going blind and wouldn't stand a chance against a dog like that.

 

[T_Licious]

I would ask very specifically what the details would be. It could just be a fine or something. My concern would be that the dog does it again, because the owners don't learn their lesson and get the dog proper training, and the dog could actually hurt someone next time which would result in being put down. I am not sure what your local dog ordinances are like though. What charges would you press? Could it just be about letting the dog off leash or would it be for attacking unprovoked?

Trust me, I know all about being a 15 yr old animal loving girl, now I am just a 30 yr old one

 

[2198lindsey]

I'm not sure exactly, I will definitely find out.

I think that even if they do get fined they might be bitter about and rehome the dog to someone else who doesn't know what they're doing or something of the sort. I think my main problem in looking at all of this is I love training dogs and that I know exactly what I could do and that I could help these people and this dog lol.

I would ask very specifically what the details would be. It could just be a fine or something. My concern would be that the dog does it again, because the owners don't learn their lesson and get the dog proper training, and the dog could actually hurt someone next time which would result in being put down. I am not sure what your local dog ordinances are like though. What charges would you press? Could it just be about letting the dog off leash or would it be for attacking unprovoked?

Trust me, I know all about being a 15 yr old animal loving girl, now I am just a 30 yr old one

 

[T_Licious]

Maybe you can mention it to the people you talk to about it, like offer them a spot in the class? It might work! That would be so thoughtful of you to help them out

 

[2198lindsey]

That's for sure what I'm hoping to do. Although, honestly, I don't think it's a good idea to have him at class around other dogs so I think I'll offer private lessons and fix it.

I could just see them rehoming him after a law suit, it happening again and him having to get put down. I see it all the time and it's not fair. I know how hard trouble dogs like that are and sometimes you just need a little help.

Maybe you can mention it to the people you talk to about it, like offer them a spot in the class? It might work! That would be so thoughtful of you to help them out

 

[SugarWolf]

I'm glad you were there to handle the situation so well, and i'm sorry that people are such idiots when it comes to things like that.
(What the hell were they thinking, bringing an obviously unsocialized dog to a public place like that??? ugh)
Seriously disgusts me that they were too busy yelling and thinking about pressing charges to even bother trying to control their dog even AFTER you were basically being attacked. Ridiculous.
Kudos to you, you and petie are champs.
And i hope the other dog's people shape up and actually TRAIN and take care of their dog :<
other than the ridiculous amount of stress, i really hope you're ok.

 

[PrincessAngel]

I would offer them some private sessions, but they have to want to help and change their dogs behavior for it to have any longterm effects. And unfortunately a lot people are in denial about their dogs behavior.

Irresponsible dog owners drive me nuts! I've had my fair share of bad dog encounters with my dog and dumb owners who don't do anything. My dog can be fear aggressive in some situations (this has actually gotten better when I switched to raw food), he's a 12.5lb yorkie so when he freaks out I can easily pick him up (unfortunately I'm short so around big dogs this is not that helpful). Anywho one day we were walking and this german shepard was out and my dog freaked out and the dog kept coming towards us and the owners who were standing RIGHT THERE, just let their dog keep coming even when my dog was freaking. I picked my dog up and the german shepard was right up on me, and I tried everything to keep my dog from biting the shepard, because yorkie vs. shepard= very bad. In the process I took a nasty bite to my arm from my dog because the dumb owners wouldn't get their dog. I stood their with blood gushing down my arm and no one bothered to ask me if I was okay (mind you there were at least 3 people who witnessed this).

Unfortunately our leash laws suck in my county and lots of my neighbors have dogs that are let loose who really shouldn't be. I've basically learned what houses to avoid and refuse to walk on a certain side of the street and as much as my and my dog love the common ground along the creek I won't take him on certain parts because of the dogs.

 

[Carissa6729]

Great job handling it! Most people don't realize that you should release your dog (if you can't properly defend yourself and your animal), or give them enough space to defend themselves and it can cause MORE harm to them and possibly their death if you try to restrict their movements when another dog attacks.

As far as pressing charges, honestly, I wouldn't. This is just my opinion though. There is a police report, I assume, since they were called if there wasn't one, I would just make sure that one was made so that it is documented and if issues arise again with this animal, there is already a recorded history. Unfortunately, many dogs are surrendered and put down because they are vicious and unstable when really the entire fault lies with the owner improperly training and some proper training could have resolved the issue.

 

[cassielfsw]

I really wish there were a requirement to take a dog behavior/training course and get a license before owning a dog. I can't even count the times I've had a strange dog go bonkers at me just for walking past their house or heaven forbid, knocking/ringing the doorbell (used to a be a Girl Scout -- cookies, you know). I had one neighbor growing up whose dog spent most of its time outside, unsupervised, no leash, and no gate on their driveway. I had to stop walking to school because the beast tried to attack me multiple times.

Maybe everyone I've ever met is just egregiously bad, but I can count the number of well-behaved dogs I've ever met on the fingers of one hand.

 

[2198lindsey]

[MENTION=25180]cassielfsw[/MENTION] That's unfortunate :/ I started training dogs at 8, and I'm lucky that I have an older friend that gives me an opportunity to help educate the public about how easy and fun it is to train your dog.

[MENTION=7628]PrincessAngel[/MENTION] Oh my! So sorry to hear that! And I think I'll offer it to them. I wasn't hurt neither was Petie and I'm here to help people when I can. I wish people would offer me nice things like this when I'm a jerk in the heat of the moment.

[MENTION=24816]Carissa6729[/MENTION] Thanks! I know I can help him and I'd much rather not risk the chance of him being passed around and put to sleep when I could just be a nice person and try to help them. They were elderly and old people have a special place in my heart.

[MENTION=26562]SugarWolf[/MENTION] Me and Petie are fine, thank god. I think in the little scuffle of me shoving him out of the way and the elderly couple doing the same he might have fallen over and reinjured his back, he's about 11, because he's limping slightly. Nothing serious thank god.

 

[PrincessAngel]

I really wish there were a requirement to take a dog behavior/training course and get a license before owning a dog. I can't even count the times I've had a strange dog go bonkers at me just for walking past their house or heaven forbid, knocking/ringing the doorbell (used to a be a Girl Scout -- cookies, you know).

Oh my don't come walking by my house especially with a dog! My dog barks like crazy when dogs are walked by! An the doorbell, my brother orders food so much that if my dog just hears my brother come out of his room my dog jumps off my bed and start barking at the door ( even when nothing is there!).

[MENTION=25452]2198lindsey[/MENTION] , It's good to have people like you willing to help educate others! I've volunteered in shelters and have some training in dog handling and behavior. I was try to offer advice to people with animals (especially guinea pigs) and I try to do it in a kind way, but a lot of people I know say "oh they're fine" and it frustrates me, especially when owners are completely clueless about things! This lady at the vet didn't know straw and hay were different and she wanted to feed oats or something to her rabbit instead -_-.

 

[Kristine]

Ugh! I'm glad you were able to handle it as well as you did. Shame on them for lieing and for not being responsible for thier dog.

We have an extremely gentle black lab. He's 8 years old but has some medical issues and is very spoiled as a result. Every year for Halloween he dresses up and helps me pass out candy. He LOVEs costumes and kids. He accompanied me a few times when I took the kids out trick or treating and the little kids just get a kick out of him. When he sees a child walking towards him he would sit down (no comand needed but he does follow hand comands too) and patiently wait while the child pet him and then would stand up again when they moved on. He's just that good with kids and never jumps on them, ever. I had one lady start yelling at me that it was inappropriate to have a dog out (on a leash even) and that he was going to attack someone. I was just so floored that I was speechless! Needless to say he's been manning the porch with me each year since and those who come just love it. He sat in his dragon costume most of the evening this year while little kids oohed and ahhhd over him. He totally hammed it up.