How to stop dog attacks.

Our small & timid male Pomeranian has been savagely attacked on the street by unleashed & out of control larger dogs 4 times in the past 2 years. The latest attack on Tuesday last left both my wife & the pom bloody, bruised and traumatised. First stop was to the Vets. hospital & then the wife had to get treatment for shock & cuts. She is getting back to normal but the dog is lucky to be alive. No more "walkies" unless we can find some means of protection. I have seen small hand held stun guns used in the States They are advertised on lots of internet sites but apparently are not allowed here & it is considered a criminal offence to own one. I have been told that they really do the job & momentarily stun without permanently damaging the attacking animal.
Anybody out there got any legal alternatives? Even a heavy stick has no effect on these frenzied bloodthirsty dogs once they get their teeth in ?
HELP PLEASE !

Is it too much trouble to find out who the owner is and report it to the dog warden?

Owner was abusive & did a runner whilst 2 passers by came to help. Am still trying to trace him but Garda no help - "Too busy".

sorry to hear about your trouble,i,ve had some trouble like yours,with my bichon frize,you know the owners are to blame,but all you can do is carry some protection e.g. stick/walking stick,and also lift up your dogs.i am sorry to say,it is the wild west out there and try and protect what you have.

It must be worthwhile talking to your local dog warden anyway, even though you can't identify the owner. He may have other similar reports, so it is important that he sees any trends.

Did your wife sustain the cuts from the attacking animal? If so then the animal in question needs to put down. Was this mentioned when you contacted the police? I find it incredible that a dog can attack a person and the police wil not action the case.

My wife was not attacked but got hurt & cut trying to get the attacking dog away. She'll get over it but what she really wants before she goes out again is something like a stun gun, battery operated cattle probe or pepper spray. The Garda say that possession of these are illegal in this country even if used in self defence. Maybe she should get a shotgun & take her chances like Padraig Nally.

Maybe he needs a friend....

http://www.funny.co.uk/stuff/art_175-2709-Fluffy-the-Destroyer-of-Worlds.html

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Re: How to stop dog attacks.
Did your wife sustain the cuts from the attacking animal? If so then the animal in question needs to put down. Was this mentioned when you contacted the police? I find it incredible that a dog can attack a person and the police wil not action the case.




not much the gardai can do if the owner did a runner??? presumably they are not identifiable and as such cannot be traced without some difficulty. I can understand (not making little of the incident) why the gardai would not devote resources to an issue like this.

i regularly walk a bigger dog than that mentioned, its a golden retriever, fully grown, very tame etc. nearly ten years old. last summer, first time ever, a smaller dog - like a pit-bull type breed - approached my dog and started barking and growling etc. i was fairly worried to be honest, looked around and no sign of an owner, my dog was petrified, after a few minutes the other dog jumped up onto my dog and latched its teeth into my dog, i took another look around - no owner. i kicked the other dog as hard as i could manage and, lo and behold, the owner suddenly appeared. the owner looked rougher than the dog - a large female with soverigns etc. she wanted to know what i was doing kicking her dog!!! i asked for her name and address so i could report her to the gardai and then pursue the necessary avenues to having the dog put down, she was gone.....

when walking the dog now, i carry a hurley. its in a park so i have a good reason to have it with me. dog mace etc and stun guns sounds a bit iffy.

Dog mace, stun gun, cattle probe!!!!. Maybe the dog thing was just an excuse for collecting information for something more sinister?

I don't know what a cattle "probe" is, but i have a feeling i wouldn't like it!

Cattle *prod* surely.

As to the original question, WillyPat, our resident animal expert, suggests you carry a black pipe around with you. If you're stopped, say you're a plumber on your way to a job.

Battyee: This is how we solved fighting problem in our household, We have a springer spaniel(spike) and a long haired lab and a rothweller(Sultan), Spike is the oldest and naturally he is the boss and the smallest, all got on fine until the Sultan decided he didn't liked being 2nd so the odd scrap used to take place, The scraps got more serious and they started to hurt one another Well it was more one than the other but the springer still wouldn't give up,he was always the one to start. While on a visit to the vets for a bite damage from the rothweller our vet said to Mrs that this wasn't going to stop and the poor little springer would be killed if something wasn't done, So he gave Spike a vasectomy and lo and behold they never fought again and spike never gets on to any other dog and no dog annoys him either, Get your dog chopped others will loose interest in him, oh and I'll never start a fight in our house either.

Hi Bskinti,
Our vet is of the view that the chop might reduce risk of a repeat but no more than that. He says it can work but to turn our meek little Pom into a Eunoch seems unfair as he wouldn't say "boo to a goose". It really is a nasty bad world out there. "Dogs will be dogs" but all that is needed for owners of savage dogs is to keep them on leads & off the street. That is the law but like a lot of other Irish laws is it ever enforced ?

If you haven't reported the matter to your local dog warden, you can't really moan about the law not being enforced.

Exercise the dog in the back yard.

Sorry to hear about your problem.

Is it possible to change your route? A park/green area?

How about one of those extendable dog leads for your own dog so you can pull her closer if you see other dogs approaching and lift her up if necessary. Then its a matter of protecting yourself. Carrying a thornstick seems the only (legal) option which isn't much good if the dogs are out of control.

I'd definitely report it to the dog warden. Chances if the dogs are regularly out on the streets without a lead, it would be better for all concerned if they were picked up before they go for a child or cause a car accident.

dog wardens take reports seriously,so as rainyday says you should report it. if a dog warden picks up a dog without a lead and the owner comes to take it back he has to produce a current dog licence otherwise the fine is around €70 and he has to purchase a dog licence before the dog warden will give back the dog. so report it. chances are zero that the owner has a licence for the dog.

I'd carry a nice 4 foot stick and break it off the other dogs head if he came anywhere near me or any dog I owned. One other things. Don't ever let a dog fall in behind you and start following you. Chances are the dog is preparing an attack. Stop and turn and confront the dog straightaway.

The reports from the UK regarding the death of a 5-year-old girl after a mauling by a pit bill mention that there had been prior complaints regarding the dog. This highlights the importance of ensuring that these attacks are reported and acted upon. You really have a duty to ensure that the dog warden and the gardai are aware of your attack. If you get brushed off by either of these, put your report in writing to a senior official.