I may have to retract my statement and support....

    • Gold Top Dog

    I may have to retract my statement and support....

    In a post I did yesterday, I voiced my support of breeds that are stereotypically labeled as aggressive... and while I think it's important to understand a dog's background and breeding and not base the entire breed in a category due to certain incidents, I am, in an emotional state, retracting my statement... to a point.

     As I was typing my post, from my office yesterday, a neighbor's dog...a well bred, family raised, obedience trained pitt bull, was mauling one of my horses. This dog is the dog I used as my example of what a pitt should be.... we know this dog, my kids play with this dog, he's always been friendly and affectionate and obedient. Until yesterday.

    Yesterday something snapped in him, and he turned vicious and possibly crippled my horse, a horse I've had for 17 years, raised from a foal, trained and made my partner......  he attacked her, chased her down and mauled her. He ripped her legs open, both front legs, ripped the chestnut from the inside of her left leg, bit a two inch chunk off her lip on the left side, exposing gum and teeth, and tore her chin on the right side.

    I look at my mare, fighting to survive, in pain, shivering and trembling in fear and pain.... and I try so hard to not blame the breed. I tell myself any dog, any breed of dog could have done this.... but knowing this dog, the way he was raised, his training and the love he's recieved his entire life... part of me has to say, it wasn't in the way he was raised, it was in his breeding... he was bred to do this.

    This one incident... this one occurance has changed my thoughts on the breed, on this dog. My trust for him, the admiration I had for him is gone.  I no longer look at this dog and see a beautiful example of a misunderstood breed.... I see a vicious attack dog, who when prompted or provoked for unseen reasons, has the potential to turn into a killer.

    • Gold Top Dog

    Firstly I am very, very sorry about your horse.

    But honestly....MANY dogs given the chance would chase and kill livestock. From chickens to horses. THAT dog, is obviously not a dog to have around livestock. Many would say that BREED is not a good choice, or many other breeds known to have some pretty marked prey drive.

    My little hounds have killed snakes, possums, and squirrels. Are they also vicious killers? Are they less vicious because the animal is considered vermin or I have no emotional attachment to it?

    I am extremely sad for you that your horse was attacked and so grievously injured. And your opinions are your own. But you could put about ANY breed into that same situation and it may well have turned out the same way. I hope your horse does well and can recover and again I am so very sorry it happened.

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    OMGosh!  I am so sorry for the pain your horse must be in!  I hope she is able to recover!

    My own personal opinion of pits is that they always have the potential to do some severe damage.  All dogs have the potential to bite, pits (and several others) can do some very serious/fatal damage.  When that prey drive gets turned on... well it's a big deal.

    Neighbor has a "very sweet pittie, never did anythign to hurt anyone ever" who last month flew through the screen of an open window and attacked another pibble x.  That prey drive can be a scary thing.

    Anyway, I feel like I"m nt able to articulate my thoughts well at the moment... need coffee!!

    Hope your horse feels better, please update for us !

    • Gold Top Dog

    I am so, so sorry about your horse. I hope that she is able to recover from her injuries, mental and physical.

     

    I have to say, though, that prey drive is VERY natural for a dog. Two of my small, adorable dogs will kill a prey animal faster than you can blink. Jewel, the adorable Italian Greyhound, bred for nothing more than a pet, nearly killed my Cockatiel, last year, from the inside of a crate. She has killed many mice, birds, and lizards in the yard. Fluffy is the same way, and both will also kill cats. It isn't the dog's fault it was set up to fail. Leaving a terrier free around animals that instinctively run from predators is setting it up to fail, period. It's not the dog's fault that it was allowed to interact, off leash, with an animal that couldn't defend itself. I hate it that your horse is so hurt, but the dog's life is probably at risk, now, too, and I can't help feeling bad for the poor dog.

    • Gold Top Dog

    I'm so sorry that your horse was attacked and seriously injured. What a terrible thing to happen.  I'm sure you're still in a state of shock over the incident.  It's very hard to separate your emotions from your logic when something like this happens.  

    As far as changing your feelings about an entire breed because of this incident, I can understand. I don't agree but I do understand.  Gina said very well what I would say to you and there's no need for me to repeat her words.  I know that right now you are devastated and it's completely normal to be feeling the way you feel at this moment.    I hope in time you can come to a better understanding of what happened and not profile a breed because of this horrible incident.

    I hope your horse recovers fully and I'm sending healing vibes to her and to you.  ((((hugs))))

     

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    JackieG

    I hope your horse recovers fully and I'm sending healing vibes to her and to you.  ((((hugs))))

    Ditto.

     

    Deb W.

    • Gold Top Dog

     WOW!!! I hope your mare will be ok. {{hugs}}

     I hope she got a kick or two in... obviously not enough to do any good, but hope she nailed the dog at least once. 

     

     

    • Gold Top Dog

    What is the owner of the dog or the authorities doing about it? Something I hope.

    Sorry I forgot to add this in my last post. 

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    • Gold Top Dog

    JackieG

    I'm so sorry that your horse was attacked and seriously injured. What a terrible thing to happen.  I'm sure you're still in a state of shock over the incident.  It's very hard to separate your emotions from your logic when something like this happens.  

    As far as changing your feelings about an entire breed because of this incident, I can understand. I don't agree but I do understand.  Gina said very well what I would say to you and there's no need for me to repeat her words.  I know that right now you are devastated and it's completely normal to be feeling the way you feel at this moment.    I hope in time you can come to a better understanding of what happened and not profile a breed because of this horrible incident.

    I hope your horse recovers fully and I'm sending healing vibes to her and to you.  ((((hugs))))

    EVERYTHING JACKIE WROTE.

    • Gold Top Dog

    I am so sorry about your horse.

    I understand your feelings all too well.  Many years ago, the first time I ever met a pitt in person, it was one that broke through a fence and tried to rip the throat out of my beloved husky Shari, simply because we were walking by the yard.  My dog was leashed, we were on the sidewalk, fully within the bounds of the law.  I had a very bad opinion of pitts for years, until I came to this forum, in fact. I learned so much here about the breed.  I'm not afraid to handle pitts at the shelter (and believe me, there are a lot of them) and I don't dislike them. I am not interested in owning one, but that's another story for another thread.

    All that aside, I do agree with others who have posted.  Prey drive is not breed specific.  It is unfortunate that this was a pitt in your circumstance (as it was mine), but I do hope that one day you, too, will find some resolution.

    Healing thoughts for your mare and (((Hugs))) for you.

    • Gold Top Dog

    Maxs Mom

    What is the owner of the dog or the authorities doing about it? Something I hope.

    Sorry I forgot to add this in my last post. 

    The owners of the dog were very upset about what happened. They could not believe that their dog would do something like that. They offered to pay our vet bills when they get their taxes back... I don't know that they understand the severity of it, and that it'll be months long process to heal the horse.

    AC came out, but were worthless... a joke. He didn't even want to go up and talk to them, said it may make them mad and then they wouldn't want to pay the vet bill. Then he said he could fine them $25 for the dog not being on leash.  My husband did ask him to go with him to their house, so he could put on his report that the owners had been contacted and knew what had happened and that they agreed to pay the vet bills. He, the AC officer, asked them to sign something stating that, and they did. So that's a good thing. 

    They left the dog, didn't even look at the dog.. didn't check for a up dated rabies vacc or anything. Because it was an animal on animal attack they don't do anything... nothing, but a $25 fine, which he didn't even issue.

    The owners did call several times last night to check on the horse, didn't take their dog to the vet, and I haven't talked to them today to find out how he's doing. He was pretty beat up yesterday.

    • Gold Top Dog
    JackieG

    I'm so sorry that your horse was attacked and seriously injured. What a terrible thing to happen.  I'm sure you're still in a state of shock over the incident.  It's very hard to separate your emotions from your logic when something like this happens.  

    As far as changing your feelings about an entire breed because of this incident, I can understand. I don't agree but I do understand.  Gina said very well what I would say to you and there's no need for me to repeat her words.  I know that right now you are devastated and it's completely normal to be feeling the way you feel at this moment.    I hope in time you can come to a better understanding of what happened and not profile a breed because of this horrible incident.

    I hope your horse recovers fully and I'm sending healing vibes to her and to you.  ((((hugs))))

     

    Exactly everything Jackie said. I am so very sorry that this happened to your horse.

    • Gold Top Dog

     I am so very sorry for your horse. I love horses and can't even begin to imagine what you are going through.

    Your statement that the dog was pretty beat up yesterday, actually makes me wonder if the dog was just wandering through a pasture that it shouldn't have been in, and the horse attacked him?  I know of some therapy horses that killed a dog that entered their pasture.  Some random dog that the owners didn't keep leashed or fenced wandered into the pasture full of geldings. They killed it.

    You don't say if you saw what happened or if anyone did, so if you did see it and my theory is proven incorrect, then so be it.  Horses can and will kill what they consider predators. It's why dogs are not used to herd horse very often, if at all.

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    ((((hugs))))
    • Gold Top Dog

     Oh, how awful. I am so so sorry about your horse. ((hugs)) and healing vibes from me.