OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD!!!!!!!

[Pointy_kitty]

i'm a mess,
i seriously can't stop crying!
i was out walking my dog who is fairly skiddish with strangers so she has been know to bark at strangers if they reach for her
so to correct this i bought a halti, which is sort of like a muzzle except it only closes when i pull the leash
she has been very good for the past while (like 8 months) and hasn't barked at anyone
when people pass her i make her sit so that they are less threatening and when they try to pet her i tell them she is too afraid of strangers and i pet her face which keeps her relaxed and calm
she does however LOVE kids
so i was walking her and these two little kids came over to pet her and i told them she was shy put i let them pet her softly with my hands on her face to keep her calm
it was working but the little boy dropped his bag of candy behind her so he reached for it and out of nowhere she lept forward and started snapping!
i yanked the leash back and i closed the halti but she grazed his leg
the boy started to run and the girl just stood there in shock so i wrapped the leash tightly around the dogs face and held her by the collar,
then i grabbed the little boys candy and coaxed him to come back reasuring him that the dog can't touch him now
he took the candy and although he wasn't crying he looked a little scarred and was rubbign his leg
i gently asked if he was ok and if i could see his leg
he showed me and although there was no broken skin there was one little blue tooth mark bruse
i must have apologized a million times and explained to the kids that they must have spooked her and that i got her from the spca and that the people who had her before were very mean and would hit her
the little girl was calm and didn't seem scared and reexplained this and reasured it to her older brother (about 6 years old)
he then was calm too
i apologized again and made sure he was ok and then in a panic got my dog out of there...
i must have been in shock cause when i got home i realized that i should have asked to speak to his parents to explain what happened but all i could think about was that they might press charges and i would have to put my dog down
i am so scared to go back but i know that if that were my kid i would be enraged if they just left
oh my god i'm shaking and i don't know what to do.....
i'm so scared
i don't want to have to put my dog down, other than her being skiddish she is the best dog i have ever had
i love her so much
i never want to go back there
oh my god, oh my god
what do i do??

 

[BeautifulGoodbye]

I think the responsible thing to do would be to go back & let the parent's know what happened

Good Luck

 

[Brattina88]

I'm a "dog person"... so here goes my advice...
First, I don't think a halti is intended to be any type of muzzle like that. Its a Head Halter, for training and to stop the dog from pulling on the leash. It does close the mouth when pressure is put on it, but it is by no means a muzzle.
I think explaining that the dog was from the spca and about her past was good, but I think it would've been better if you explained that to there parents.
I, too, have a hand shy dog who is frightened of strangers. I, too, have a head halter for her. I don't think they can make you put the dog down because she was slighlty provoked and didn't break the skin. It'll be o.k ~ just don't let there be a next time

 

[Pointy_kitty]

I'm a "dog person"... so here goes my advice...
First, I don't think a halti is intended to be any type of muzzle like that. Its a Head Halter, for training and to stop the dog from pulling on the leash. It does close the mouth when pressure is put on it, but it is by no means a muzzle.
I think explaining that the dog was from the spca and about her past was good, but I think it would've been better if you explained that to there parents.
I, too, have a hand shy dog who is frightened of strangers. I, too, have a head halter for her. I don't think they can make you put the dog down because she was slighlty provoked and didn't break the skin. It'll be o.k ~ just don't let there be a next time

i do not have the halti to stop her from biting
she has never snapped at a soul in her life,
i use to sell different types of leashes, harnesses, muzzles and more so i am aware that it isn't a muzzle
i was merely describing it
i have a muzzle specifically for biting but i only use it when we go camping as a precation if she is of leash
i had the halti as a training tool
when she barks, i stop her
make her sit
close it and direct her face to mine to make eye contact
it works and like i said she hasn't barked at anyone for like 6 months
i never would have thought she would have bit anyone
there WILL NOT be a next time because i know now how stupid i was
she won't be pet by strangers and i am going to do intense training on her for the next while to ensure that if by accident a stranger approaches her again she will be in my complete control and will know not to bite
i know that going back would be the right thing...
but when i phoned my mom to tell her expecting her of all people to INSIST that i go back
she urged me not too
she said i should if it was any more then a small dot or had broke the skin at all
but around here there have been so many irresponsible dog owners and dog attacks (far worse then my situation) that they would probably have already phoned animal control and have her put to sleep
don't worry she made it very clear how stupid i was but thinks that the best thing is to lay low for a while
she agrees that she would be angry if she was the mother, but she said that this shouldn't have happened in the first place and should never happen again
if i go back they will almost certainly take my dog away
i will go far out of my way to correct and control this behavior (without punishing the dog) and i will have to live with this on my concience
or see my dog destroyed over a tiny bruise
i feal so ashamed but i would far rather be punished
with guilt then my dog killed

 

[Pointy_kitty]

and i thank you all for your support
had this have been any other time i would have taken your advice but this is the worst time for this to happen due to all of the recent attacks by other dogs running loose

 

[mrV]

but the little boy dropped his bag of candy behind her so he reached for it and out of nowhere she lept forward and started snapping!

Sounds to me that dog was only defending. It didn't know what the child was doing - trying to harm it maybe, attacking...? How does dog would ever know that that the child was only trying to pick up his bag?

If you think about wolfes, so you know, that other herd is always bypassing other herd very far. It's not common between wolfes that strangers come close, too close - like in this case. Although dog is used to people, they still need space around them. (Children were other herd, you and your dog were the other herd.)

Snapping and biting, there is a huge difference. If dogs really bites, results can be seen too. And if the dog is mad, it doesn't stop biting either. Mouth is dog hand like hand is man hand! Also dogs teeth are sharps, so simply no pressing at all "snap" could cause cuts.

Well-trained dog is also unpredictable and may snap/bite. I wouldn't say that it was dog fault and I would be really surprised how stupid those parents would be if they didn't understand what happened. It's only simply stupidity if adults don't reliaze that dogs are not men, do not behave like men and they are always unpredictable regardless of how well-trained they are.

We are not dogs either and we don't behave like dogs behave. They have their own bodylanguage, that we can't understand.

 

[tdins_2]

this morning at 3:00 i we got a call from the police and our rotwieller had attacked a guy so we went over and it was a drug dealer guy who had been harrassing the dog through the gate nand it got loose it bit his ear it it was bleeding pretty bad and he had tried to hit the dog with a pipe and it has to go to the kennel

 

[mrV]

our rotwieller had attacked a guy so we went over and it was a drug dealer

I would say, that it would have been better to all, if you dog had eaten this guy...

and it has to go to the kennel

Your dog has to go to kennel? Why?

 

[Pointy_kitty]

this morning at 3:00 i we got a call from the police and our rotwieller had attacked a guy so we went over and it was a drug dealer guy who had been harrassing the dog through the gate nand it got loose it bit his ear it it was bleeding pretty bad and he had tried to hit the dog with a pipe and it has to go to the kennel

that really sux
your dog should get a metal

 

[billy61788]

dont dogs usually get a one bite rule? and pointy i dont think your dog could be punished, i mean no broken skin it was threatened by the boy. If a person feels threatened and hurts someone its ok because its self defense, so why not for a dog?

 

[BeautifulGoodbye]

 

[HeatherSweetness]

Ahh Pointy I wouldn't worry too much.

One of my friends was playing ball,he's about 25 now...He was running to get the football that fell in the road and their neighbor's collie got out and nearly ripped his entire ass cheek off. They warned the people and made sure the dog had it's shots,but it didn't get put down. I guess situations differ,but since the dog was restrained on a leash and with you,it was just an accident and no skin was broken so I don't think it's a terribly huge deal. Try to relax some,girl.

 

[Seanthefish]

You guys are saying that since her dog bit a 6 year old boy, that she shouldent go back and atleast explain what happened?

Im pretty sure that there is a one bite rule.

 

[Pure14K]

I think maybe you should think about getting rid of your dog... Someone that irresponsible shouldn't have a dog (And I don't mean that your dog bit someone, I mean you just left the scene)

 

[Sid]

I don't think she just left the "scene," she made sure
the boy was okay. But was so shaken that she didn't
track down the parents (which she probably should
have, but I don't know if I would have had my senses
together to do that either).

Unfortunately, these things happen some times even to
the best pet owners. I don't think she is an irresponsible
dog owner.