unleashed pitbull wandering in my back yard - should I be

[salin]

concerned?

Not at the second (eg no immediate threat) but that s/he can wander around with no owner in sight?

Story earlier this week locally where a pitt bull lunged through a locked glass door, broke the glass and attacked a postal delivery person - if a couple of folks from across the street hadn't seen it and ran over and pulled off the dog - it would have been very, very serious.

I love dogs - but I really don't get the whole pit bull thing.

[bridgit]

1. where, "nice doggy" will not do...

yes.

[Dogmudgeon]

2. Call your local Animal Control authority

There has been too much trouble with pit bulls to take a chance with one wandering around your neighborhood.

I know, pit bulls can be as nice as other dogs, but too many people train theirs to be aggressive. A call to the dog catcher will get everything straightened out, pronto!

--p!

[RebelOne]

32. But then if the owner doesn't claim the dog,

it will be euthanized. Many states do not adopt out pit bulls. If they are taken into the shelter, they are automatically put down. The shelters will only allow rescue groups to take pit bulls.

[amazona]

40. better that than a child killed

We had a dangerous dog in our neighborhood for weeks. I didn't report it, although some people did. Animal Control did nothing. Finally a 9 year old was mauled. Then they finally acted.

Dogs should not be wandering free and uncontrolled in a residential neighborhood. If you don't report it and a child is crippled or killed, you are always going to feel funny about it.

[Kolesar]

42. The shelters will always have plenty of sweet dogs to be adopted

This thread has been very eye opening to me.

[cestpaspossible]

3. take off all your clothes, get on all fours, and charge it,

barking like a dog. That'll scare the thing!

[salin]

5. LOL

er... so you really hate me that much ?? ;-)

[cestpaspossible]

15. you don't think it will work?

trust me ;-)

[salin]

17. thanks for the giggles

but I have to take a pass on your judgement on this one - of course if you want to come over and test the theory.... ;-)

[BikeWriter]

4. I "inherited" a pit bull once. He was extremely well behaved...

after an attitude adjustment. We never had another problem with him.

[salin]

6. hope that is the case here - just don't like

the periodic wandering thing. Would hate to be taking out the trash and...

[BikeWriter]

11. Yep, don't take any chances with a roaming dog.

[KG]

7. assume the worst when dealing with pitbulls

they may or may not be anymore viscious that other breeds, but when they do go postal they are just outragously dangerous.

[salin]

18. Heya KG!

:hi:

Caution will be the word.

[cornermouse]

8. Postal delivery person was on his property which he thought he was

defending. This one in your yard, not his. Most dogs are territorial and tend to not attack on property that is not their own. Pitbulls might be different though.

[salin]

9. hope you are right

but if the dog wanders a bit out of his actual territory - does s/he begin to perceive that broader area as part of his territory? Don't know that dogs understand property lines.

[cornermouse]

10. Good question.

Bigger dogs tend to think they "own" a larger area.

[havocmom]

20. You are correct, dogs will define their own territory if they are left to

wander unsupervised. Do not take chances with this one, salin. Some are just wonderful but you don't know the dog. Call the authorities to deal with it.

A very experienced dog handler/trainer of guard dogs once told me 'When confronted with a pit bull, you have to remember one thing and make one decision: Do NOT turn and face them straight on, always keep your side to them. Straight on, face to face is considered an act of agression by them and is a likely provocation. The decision you make, and make it fast is which arm do I want to keep. Make the choice and turn the other side toward the dog.Make up your mind fast or you may not get a choice in the matter.'

Call the people who have the neck snares to catch him with the greatest degree of safety. Any small child could be at risk with this animal wandering loose.

[salin]

24. fortunately - I don't have any small children

though there are kids in the neighborhood - and I think in the family that owns the dog (that is - who I am assuming owns the dog.) I'll try to be alert.

Thanks for the advice. Scary advice (in terms of needing to prethink such a thing, which arm one would be willing to lose) - but good advice.

[amazona]

41. I was attacked on my OWN property

I'm just sayin. What is true in general is not necessarily true in particular. A wandering dog can be dangerous. You don't know why it is wandering. Might not be a territory thing. The dog might be ill, distemper or rabies or another illness that affects the brain. The dog that attacked me apparently just went insane. Large dogs or dogs of breeds known to be dangerous should be reported.

[Shoeempress]

12. Take a picture of the dog. We had a very nasty standard poodle in our old

neighborhood, went after me 2x. Called the dog officer, he went to the owner, had the talk. Owner then only let the dog out after 5pm when the officer was off duty. Called the dog officer and told him, he said, take a picture, I'll issue a ticket. We took a roll of 36, after the 2nd ticket, dog no longer allowed to roam. Do you know who owns it?

[salin]

19. I think I do

and he is a rather - er - scary guy ... nice on the surface, but something a bit off... don't know that I would do the confrontational thing. However I do have a new handy vid camera - will use it if I see the dog wandering much in the future.

[Shoeempress]

29. You don't the Dog officer does it.

[Joey Liberal]

13. I own a Pit Bull that hates republicans

I've trained that dog well:)........ I personally would not advise that anyone should approach a Pit Bull that has wandered into their yard. My dog would not attack you. My dog would attack your dog if you have one. That's just how they've been bred. I got my dog for protection, and I can tell you that I have not been disappointed. Pit Bulls are great dogs. I am a Liberal living in a very fanatical red state. None of the right wing wackos that surround me in my neighborhood fucked with my Kerry yard signs. Hmmmmmm.......I wonder why?????

[skygazer]

14. I would call Animal Control

I too love dogs and I've met many nice pit bulls. That said, the problem with the breed is that people often purposely breed them to be aggressive. Part of agression is training but part is breeding - you can breed the trait into a dog just as you can breed for size or color or most anything else. People may purchase a pit with the idea that they'll keep it as a nice house pet but it may have some very aggressive bloodlines they don't know about.

Dogs ARE territorial but an agressive dog may or may not be aggressive regardless of territory. Dogs look at the world differently than humans. I always cringe when I see people approach a strange dog and get down at face level with it - to a dog, this is threat behavior, having a stranger looking deeply into their eyes. Most well socialized dogs will not react violently but some might.

Bottom line - I would be leery of a loose, unknown pit bull wandering my yard. And I would call Animal Control.

[gizmo1979]

16. We have a pit bull mix

biggest whimp in the world,but they can be raised to fight don't take a chance call someone to get rid of it for you.

[salin]

22. I haven't seen it wander, but once before

but if there is ever a time it is wandering around and I need to go out - I will certainly make a call. Thanks.

[all.of.me]

28. my neighbor has one like that

scared of other dogs, scared of thunder. it's very funny. he's a wonderful dog. he's neutered, by the way, if that makes a difference.

[gizmo1979]

37. Ours is also fixxed.

[libodem]

21. terrified?

'F' yes. I didn't know what they were until 1980. We had an Australian Shepard. Cody was a cool dog. Smart, obedient, dog. He ran out of our yard, one day. He saw a couple of dogs running by. Went to sniff butts, I guess. They were two Pitt bulls. They had gotten out of their dog run. They both glommed on to him like glue. He ran for our yard. He ran under my husband's truck. They were all three fighting like mad. I was scared. I got the water hose. I thought spraying would have some effect. It did nothing. The dogs owner's wife came alone, breathlessly. She had no power to call them off. I had a garden implement. She said "try to stick the handle up one of their asses". I was aiming under the truck at a dog fight and had no chance. The man came driving up. He was desperately looking for the dogs as well. He called them off. My dog was obviously in shock. He gave me his address and told me to take, Cody, to the vet. When I tried to collect for the vet bill, the people had moved, to California. He denied all along that his dogs were vicious. He blamed my dog for running out to greet his dogs.

[skygazer]

26. Scary stuff

My Boxer was killed two years ago by a stray pit bull. Jake was the sweetest guy in the world, not a hint of malice in him. He was on his own property (28 acres of it, not like there were houses right next to each other) and this piece of shit (pardon my language) came onto the property and attacked him. Jake was ten years old, neutered, had never picked a fight in his life - he was chewed up very badly. By the time I got there, he was barely alive - I brought him to the vet who gave him the shot - he died in my arms.

I sat out in the yard with my 9mm for days after that, waiting for either the dog or his owner to show up. :grr: Never saw either one again. Later heard they'd moved down into town - since I didn't know the people's name or anything about them, I was never able to do anything about it. :cry:

This is Jake.

[friesianrider]

30. I'm so sorry.

Your Jake is beautiful, and kudos to you for neutering :) Maybe someday you'll own another "Jake" :) No doubt he loved you very much and was glad you were there with him in his final moments.

[kodi]

43. my kuvasz kodi was attacked by dog pack of 8-9 on my own property.

i am so sorry to hear of jake's demise.

thank god kodi was 150 pounds of teeth, fur and muscle and still a young 6 years old. by the the time i got to her she was backed up against a fence, with two dead dogs in front of her and 6-7 wheeling around her ready to kill her.

she had simply ripped the throats out of the dead dogs.

the pack had almost killed my neighbor's dobie, and she told me kodi saved her dog by breaking thru my fence-gate to attack the pack when it attacked her dog (he and kodi were buddies). that pack had killed several dogs prior to the incident that day.

now i have 2 more 100 pound plus kuvasz, and two big mixed labs, and if i ever see that pack again roaming the area i am releasing the hounds out the gate to kill that pack.

kodi had to get reconstructive surgery to fix her back leg, those dogs tore her up pretty bad.

i will always have several dogs in case another pack comes around so they can at least have a fighting chance.

[flordehinojos]

23. call animal control ...

they can pick it up and try to find the owner. if the owner is found they will probably cite him and instruct him not to let the dog wonder around -- if they don't find the owner they can either put it for adoption (if pit bulls are legal where you live--or, otherwise they might put it to sleep. pit bulls are no legal in this county. i am in florida.)

[salin]

25. they are legal here

and apparantly quite popular. I will keep my eyes out for this one in the future.

[DemExpat]

27. Knowing he would not be put to sleep would make it easy for me

to call animal control......

I am a loony dog lover, but unpredicatable, potentially aggressive strong dogs like Pits have been outlawed here for several years and I am much relieved to not encounter them loose on city streets and in the parks.

DemEx

[malta blue]

31. I am in a similar situation

The neighbor's daughter has this pitbull that has decided my front door is her favorite spot to "relieve" herself. I have asked them several times to keep their dog off my property, called animal control, etc. I have a 6 year old daughter who loves to play in the front yard, and can't because this dog has growled at her, and I do not feel safe letting her out there.

So the owner gives me his business card and says "call me if there is ever a problem." When there is a problem, and believe me, the dog is so aggressive there will be, it will be too late to call him, and he will be in a world of trouble. In short, contact animal control, and try to find out who the owner is (I would hesitate to actually approach the dog) and get him away from your property.

I am not a dog hater, I have one of my own. It's just that one really needs to be careful of these dogs.

[progmom]

33. what scares me about your story is that when there is a problem

...it will involve your daughter and an agressive pitt bull. :shrug: if there are leash laws in your area (and i assume there are) i would talk to your neighbor again about how his failure to comply with them will result in you calling the authorities.

what a scary situation!

[Blue-Jay]

34. Throw it some hot dogs.

He'll be your friend.

[wideopen]

35. I'd go out and run him off

You don't want him pissing on all your stuff marking it as his territory. I'd also have a pistol in my pocket in case he wanted to fight about it. I'm a huge dog lover but, if a person wants one of these dogs they have to understand they cannot be allowed to run.

[WeRQ4U]

36. Call animal control...

Pit Bulls can be extremely dangerous if raised by an irresponsible owner. And not to generalize, but if someone has allowed his or her pit bull to roam the neighborhood untethered, they may not be the most responsible pet owner.

[Guy Fawkes]

38. Many pit bulls...

are caring and gentle. THAT SAID: assume this one is EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. Always assume an animal you don't know is out to get you.

[China_cat]

39. No matter what the breed

a dog roaming at large with no supervision should be reported and picked up. If you continue to see this dog in the neighborhood, call and have him taken care of.