How much would you trust your pet to defend you in a fight?

[GaryE]

Never bring a fish to a street fight.

People might be surprised by their dogs. I was. Soon after I got my docile, fearful and abused 9 year old rescue golden, we were walking in a park and I spotted a mugger incoming from a stand of bushes. He was young and clearly high, and I decided to fight because he'd be off balance coming down a hill (I grew up in a bad neighbourhood and had skills) . Rosie the dog, who cowered at the sight of Hallowe'en lawn decor, transformed into a wolf.
The guy stopped dead and skedaddled. That was a big sign she'd bonded with me, but you would have to look hard to find a less aggressive, more terrorised by everything dog than she was. If you had asked me if she'd defend me, I would have said no. Whoever that mugger was, when he first sized me up, he thought the nervous older dog was no problem. Twenty feet away, he reconsidered.

At first, I would have felt safer if I had been able to sweep my arm and send a horde of flying unfed air swordtails at him.

 

[kiko]

I'd say it depends...I work evenings so I walk my cane corso in the middle of the night like 2-4am...
and because of the time and living in a city I always get my fair share of bums and idiots
if it was in europe I wouldn't mind my dog bitting anyone that he perceived as an attacker as nothing will happen to the dog
Living in Canada...it's a whole different story...
I would mind if he bit anyone...because his own life would be at risk if they deemed him a dangerous dog and have him killed
(the only people that get to keep their dogs after being deemed dangerous are the people willing to spend tens of thousands going through courts and even then it's not a guarantee)
or an actual crazy person/thief in the middle of the night saying he got attacked by my dog.
People in north america are money minded and everything is money money money
It's easier for me as a guy to give someone a broken nose and a black eye that I myself perceive as an attacker and is self-defense rather than my dog biting someone
as it can't defend itself from the viciousness of people's greed
So yeah....
Europe: let the dog bite all he wants...
North-America: do your own biting xDD

 

[Back in the fold]

I pity the fool who comes between me and my Golden Wonder swarm. They will go piranha on you !

 

[connorlindeman]

This thread

 

[sharkweek178]

The last dog I had was such a gentle giant that I was more likely to defend him from an intruder than the other way around. If a squirrel broke in, he would have kept me safe. But otherwise, I was on my own. He was a good boy though and I miss him.

 

[xxEMOxLIZZARDxx]

I had a golden growing up and the poor thing didn't know that his bite was worse than his bark. He'd stand at the top of the driveway barking at stuff in the woods and the tail was going a mile a minute.
He even almost got pepper sprayed by a mailman who came up our driveway.

I don't think my cat would fight anyone and the bearded dragon would just watch (and most likely laugh).

 

[biofish]

I don't think my cat would fight anyone and the bearded dragon would just watch (and most likely laugh).

 

[biofish]

Medium African Land Snail

Throw him like a Pokémon ball… aim for the head.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I have a pet rock. I suppose I could throw it at an attacker. Does that count?

 

[Airwreck]

I have no doubty dog would hand out a can of whoopass. Y his nickname is Dogzilla.

To add some color about killer pets.. there was a young woman who rescued a baby mongoose. It went with her everywhere.. one day she was threatened. The mongoose tore the face off of the attacker.

You don't mess with mongooses

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

I have no doubty dog would hand out a can of whoopass. Y his nickname is Dogzilla.

The name! Is he a mastiff or something? That's what pops into my mind with that name!

To add some color about killer pets.. there was a young woman who rescued a baby mongoose. It went with her everywhere.. one day she was threatened. The mongoose tore the face off of the attacker.

You don't mess with mongooses

The whole weasel/stoat family is not to be messed with! Never heard about this happening, but having seen footage of mink, stoats, even tiny weasels in the wild - they're not to be messed with, they're brave little things that can do some damage!

 

[emeraldking]

How much would you trust your pet to defend you in a fight?​

Our parrot would probably welcome that person by saying "hello"... So, I'd better try to practice on my running away...

 

[biofish]

How much would you trust your pet to defend you in a fight?​

Our parrot would probably welcome that person by saying "hello"... So, I'd better try to practice on my running away...

Idk man. Aren’t parrots kind a possessive? See humans as their mate, possessive? I was taken out by a smaller cockatoo looking thing and parrots are horrifically large I would not like the tango with them or have them say ‘hello’ atop my fresh corpse thank you bye bye

 

[jaylach]

Idk man. Aren’t parrots kind a possessive? See humans as their mate, possessive? I was taken out by a smaller cockatoo looking thing and parrots are horrifically large I would not like the tango with them or have them say ‘hello’ atop my fresh corpse thank you bye bye

Sort of depends on the exact species. Some hook bills and raptors will bond with a human with the human becoming their 'flock' and alpha. Still some of these wonderful beasties are solitary except for mating and will not make such bonds... at least that is my understanding.

Still I agree that there cases where a bird would sacrifice its own life to protect a bonded human. As to my cockatiel, no chance. It would just want to know if the attacker would give the beast more spray millet than I ration.

We are just starting to understand avian intelligence but it has already been shown that some species of birds such as ravens and starlings seem to show more 'intelligence' than some breeds of cats and dogs.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Idk man. Aren’t parrots kind a possessive? See humans as their mate, possessive? I was taken out by a smaller cockatoo looking thing and parrots are horrifically large I would not like the tango with them or have them say ‘hello’ atop my fresh corpse thank you bye bye

Eh, parrots often pair bond with their preferred owner (which is usually, but not always, the opposite of their own sex. Female parrots tend to prefer men, male parrots tend to prefer women. Generally, not always. Many parrots are fine to be handled by anyone and rarely show aggression or possessiveness, others can be unholy terrors who won't let anyone else get close to "their" person. A common thing when people decide to get a parrot is that the bird winds up choosing a different family member as their favourite person, and the one who wanted the parrot in the first place is ignored or gets bitten!

I got very lucky when I found my Amazon when he was a newly fledged juvenile, that he bonded closely with me, isn't as loud and shrieky as some parrots, and that he's generally gentle and sweet natured to everyone. Love him.
My dad, however, had a Scarlet Macaw for years, that he took in and s/he bonded very closely to him.
One of these:

But she hated my mother, wouldn't let her hug my dad or be close to him while the bird was with him, and if she was home alone with the parrot, the bird would sometimes chase her around the kitchen table, threatening to bite! You really don't want to mess with a macaws beak, they can do some seriously painful damage. A beak that can crack a walnut is not something you want latching onto your finger! In my experience though, most parrots will give a warning bite first, where they don't put full power into it.

Female budgies are evil though. Tiny beaks, sure, but a male budgie will bite and let go. A female bites and twists, and often really means it to hurt! Especially when in breeding season.
I still wouldn't want a bird trying to defend against an attacker. Even with that big beak, birds are light, and fragile, and not able to overpower a human like a large trained dog can. A painful bite isn't gonna be enough to drive off an attacker.