Bad dogs or bad owners?
By savak03
@savak03 (6684)
United States
August 3, 2015 9:29pm CST
For the past couple of years my age and health have been doing a number on me. I have fallen a couple of times and gotten very week so I use a cane or walker all the time now. I also don't have my own car so I have to rely on friends or public transportation every where I go. A couple of months ago we had some new neighbors move in nest door and they have a beautiful gray and white pitt bull dog that they kept in the house. We hardly ever saw him and didn't give it a second thought until the day he came over into our yard and attached our dog who was tied up outside. Then the man and his "wife" came running over to separate the dogs and she picked up a shovel and hit our dog in the head which blinded him in one eye. Fortunately my daughters boyfriend was there and knew how to handle fighting dogs and he got them separated without too much more damage. The dog we had wasn't really ours, we were just watching him for a friend when he couldn't but after he came and got him they started letting their so called gentle dog outside without a leash more and more.
So, the other day a friend came to pick me up to go grocery shopping and this dog came across the road and clear up in my yard and started barking and growling at me. I wouldn't turn my back on him to get in the car and he stood there and raised a fuss until a friend inside my house came out and grabbed him and took him back to his own home. When I got back home it happened again and my friend heard him barking and jumped out the door and grabbed him again. She told his owners that if he ever strayed in our yard again she would kill him because she was not gonna let me or my grandkids get bit.
They had the nerve to call my son over when he got home from work and said I threatened their dog with my cane. I think if I had of had the strength I would have gone over there and beat some sense in their heads. It's not the dogs fault they are making him vicious.
2 people like this
3 responses
@savak03 (6684)
• United States
5 Aug 15
I think the owners need the obedience training. The friend I mentioned is a young woman who owns several fierce dogs herself. She has rescued them from the streets and other bad owners who couldn't handle them any more. She takes good care of them and provides proper discipline and training. And she does all this in spite of being basically homeless herself.
@Lolaze (5092)
• St. Louis, Missouri
4 Aug 15
Dogs learn their behavior through reinforcement. So there aren't bad dogs, just humans who train them to act badly...or don't train them at all and that leads to them acting badly. One of our dogs bit my mom last night because she tried to take food away from her. Is the dog bad? Not really. The dog acted like that because she is food aggressive. She's like this because my mom refused to train her and let's her get away with anything. This dog has bit me 5 times in the past, and now bit my mom. It's because she's untrained and allowed to act as she wants. Thankfully she's only a small dog and has never caused real harm with her bites.
@glasser3 (354)
• Hibbing, Minnesota
4 Aug 15
Certain people, should not, in my opinion be allowed to own dogs or any other animals for that matter. The above poster @Lolaze is very right. Dogs and most pets for that matter are going to act like they are trained to act. It's unfortunate too, because I have seen perfectly good animals ruined due to lack of or improper training on many an occasion.
In your situation I would personally be mindful of your neighbors Pittbull as it is showing overly aggressive behavior and could very well bite you or someone else. My suggestion, and I'm not one to call the police on a whim, next time your put in a position where this dog is acting aggressively toward you or someone you know on your property, I would file a report just so that in the future if there is a biting incident it is on file that this dog has acted aggressively in the past.
@savak03 (6684)
• United States
5 Aug 15
Training is important for dogs or children. What they learn to get away with when they are young is what they will continue to do when they are grown. In this case I feel the lack of training and the fact that now he has been in a fight and tasted the blood of his enemy he will only get more viscous over time.
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
5 Aug 15
Wow…the mere fact that the man's wife picked up a shovel and hit your dog could be grounds for "animal" abuse. I agree that it's the owners that can make a dog "bad" and not disciplined. I have a neighbor who does have a pit bull and that dog is the biggest smooch around. What can be alarming, is, if their dog can go about attacking another dog, next time it could be a small child!
1 person likes this
@savak03 (6684)
• United States
5 Aug 15
That was my thought, too. I was there at the time this happened and believe me I told her just what I thought of her in no uncertain terms. I believe I even told her that if she did it again I would take the shovel and hit her upside the head. I was angry. There is no reason to mistreat any animal. Even though I am primarily a cat lover I do not put up with wanton abuse to other animals either. Anyway if she wanted to hit one of the dogs it should have been her own since he was the aggressor.
1 person likes this
