Brennan Got Attacked Today.

Before anyone freaks out over the title of the thread, he is fine. He wasn't bit bad and with a little antibiotic ointment he is going to be fine.

The story.

I joined a local dog walking group of people who walk their Pit Bulls. The Pit Bulls were behaving amazingly and angelically, even my mess of a dog LOL. So we went to a park and were walking along a trail. We went through a first loop, and then were taking our second loop.

This woman with a boxer/bullmastiff looking thing of a dog walks by us, of course Brennan is excited, but I'm holding him back. Okay, the big thing of a dog LUNGES at Brennan out of NOWHERE and gets him in the face. The stupid lady walking the dog couldn't even control him!

So she's like "Is he okay?"

And I'm looking Brennan over and I don't see anything on him, so I'm like "YEah, he's fine."

The lady didn't even apologize or anything for her stupid piece of s*** dog.

Well, it turns out Brenny has a cut on his chin and a little place next to his nose on his muzzle and a place up towards his eyes on his muzzle.

He's not phased by it at all though, though he did raise his lip a little when I put antibiotic ointment on it, but I'm sure it hurts, so I don't blame the poor guy.

Goes to show you, Pit Bulls aren't demonic killer dogs... Brennan didn't even try to fight back at the dog, he cried in pain, but didn't even try to fight back...

But he is fine. He's happy, tail-wagging, enjoyed the rest of his day at the park, including getting him in the water! He's not a fan of water, but I got him to go out in it as long as I was with him.

Just wanted to share his story in hopes that someone will see Pit Bulls aren't always the mean ones.

Yet another example of "blame the deed, not the breed!" I'm glad Brennan's injuries were minor, poor guy! But true to from, nothing gets HIM down, still wagging away! The other woman obviously didn't have any control over her dog, and that's not the dog's fault, but her own, sadly. Both Boxers and Mastiffs are usually GREAT dogs, if properly trained and socialized ...

Give you brave goofy boy a bellyrub from me, okay?

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Originally Posted by Karen

Yet another example of "blame the deed, not the breed!" I'm glad Brennan's injuries were minor, poor guy! But true to from, nothing gets HIM down, still wagging away! The other woman obviously didn't have any control over her dog, and that's not the dog's fault, but her own, sadly. Both Boxers and Mastiffs are usually GREAT dogs, if properly trained and socialized ...

Give you brave goofy boy a bellyrub from me, okay?

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Yep, that's exactly how I was looking at it. I was fuming inside, but I kept my cool and handled things well and so did Brennan. And yes, it was her own fault for not controlling her dog. In my opinion, she shouldn't have been walking him if she couldn't control him :rolleyes:. I've known several boxers and a mastiff that were both big sweeties, so I don't know what was wrong with this dog... Stupid owners.

If Brennan had done anything to the other dog though, I'm sure all hell would have broken loose. But no one even noticed that her stupid dog attacked mine.

I'll give him a bellyrub, he'll like that :)

I don't care what breed you own, it's always the other dog you have to watch as well as your own, because you have to assume THAT owner doesn't have a clue. :rolleyes:

Glad Brennan and you are both alright. Whew! I'm not sure I could have remained calm, I suspect I would have given her a piece of my mind, lol.

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Originally Posted by Freedom

I don't care what breed you own, it's always the other dog you have to watch as well as your own, because you have to assume THAT owner doesn't have a clue. :rolleyes:

Glad Brennan and you are both alright. Whew! I'm not sure I could have remained calm, I suspect I would have given her a piece of my mind, lol.

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Yep, that's true!

I'm not sure how I remained calm, honestly. The group of people I was with said I handled things well, and one of them said she usually would have went off, but we were having a good day and we were all having fun and that we didn't want to be the stereotypical Pit Bull owner and start having a freak out.

I'm still mad though. If that dog lunged at Brennan, they should have KNOWN that their dog had the tendency to be dog aggressive, and WHY IN THE HECK would you walk it in a public area when you can't control it? Brennan didn't even do anything, I think he just looked at the dog :rolleyes:

Bri, trails and parks are always risky. You have plenty of irresponsible people who bring their ill-trained or uncontrollable dogs and a few happy ones like Brennan and you get a bad situation. I never understood how you can even contemplate bringing an uncontrollable or aggressive dog to a park or something. I mean, if you can control an dog-aggressive dog fine, but a human aggressive one is a huge liability and I have seen it believe it or not. :rolleyes:

One of my biggest pet peeves is when someone has a dog not under control off-leash and the dog comes running up to everyone. Sure it's friendly but that's not to say my dog is! I know Mikey would be one of those and he's NEVER off leash.

I'm sorry you had that experience but just be glad Brennan's okay and everything! It could've been worse!

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Originally Posted by Alysser

Bri, trails and parks are always risky. You have plenty of irresponsible people who bring their ill-trained or uncontrollable dogs and a few happy ones like Brennan and you get a bad situation. I never understood how you can even contemplate bringing an uncontrollable or aggressive dog to a park or something. I mean, if you can control an dog-aggressive dog fine, but a human aggressive one is a huge liability and I have seen it believe it or not. :rolleyes:

One of my biggest pet peeves is when someone has a dog not under control off-leash and the dog comes running up to everyone. Sure it's friendly but that's not to say my dog is! I know Mikey would be one of those and he's NEVER off leash.

I'm sorry you had that experience but just be glad Brennan's okay and everything! It could've been worse!

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Oh, I know that. And I'd been monitoring Brennan very closely because I didn't know how he was going to react. You see, there were dog aggressive dogs in our little walking group, but the owners knew this about their dog and were watching them and keeping them away from other dogs like a responsible owner. It can be managed, but SOME PEOPLE...

I never let Brennan run up to strange dogs for that reason. I don't want his face to get bit off. But I wasn't even letting him towards this dog and all of a sudden BAM this dog LUNGED at him and is in his face, biting him out of NOWHERE. I was so mad. If Brennan had got hurt badly, I would've had to hurt someone.

And yes, that's how I'm looking at things. It could have been a lot worse. Though I'm freaking out and worrying about him like I should be, I just have to think that he's okay and that it's nothing serious. My sweet boy proved to me today that he is a very good boy and I'm so proud of him for that. :love:

Poor Brennan. So glad he wasn't seriously hurt.

This is why I don't take Zoee to the dog park. She is not aggressive, but the way she acts.....nobody else would know she's not going to tear their dog apart. She raises the hair on her back, which is a sure sign of aggression. But she's never attacked another dog in her life. She's actually a big wimp. But I'd rather not take any chances so she doesn't get to go to the park anymore. And she is not a boxer/mastiff and physically I can control her. But when she acts like that I freak out emotionally.

Wow, glad Brennan is OK! Sounds like the other dog is VERY poorly controlled. I hate when people own strong breeds that they cannot control in public or even at home. :rolleyes: Give Brennan a kiss for me. :)

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Originally Posted by Taz_Zoee

Poor Brennan. So glad he wasn't seriously hurt.

This is why I don't take Zoee to the dog park. She is not aggressive, but the way she acts.....nobody else would know she's not going to tear their dog apart. She raises the hair on her back, which is a sure sign of aggression. But she's never attacked another dog in her life. She's actually a big wimp. But I'd rather not take any chances so she doesn't get to go to the park anymore. And she is not a boxer/mastiff and physically I can control her. But when she acts like that I freak out emotionally.

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Aww, Zoee :(. At least you are responsible with her and know her! These people clearly didn't know a darn thing about their dog and that really upsets me. Brennan is a wimp too, I think haha. The one time he actually went to a dog park was okay until another dog came into the open area with him, so he's not allowed to go back there either. This was just at a regular park though. What if the dog had attacked a child instead of Brennan? That thought scares me because there were children everywhere :/.

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Originally Posted by luvofallhorses

Wow, glad Brennan is OK! Sounds like the other dog is VERY poorly controlled. I hate when people own strong breeds that they cannot control in public or even at home. :rolleyes: Give Brennan a kiss for me. :)

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Yep, my thoughts exactly. I should have had a few choice words for these people probably. I will do that :)

I'm so sorry to hear about this, Bri! But I am so relieved that Brennan is okay and unharmed. Some people just shouldn't e dog owners ... Let alone take their dogs to dog parks!

I'm sorry this happened to you, but I'm glad Brennan is ok! Stupid lady shouldn't have a dog

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Originally Posted by Taz_Zoee

nobody else would know she's not going to tear their dog apart. She raises the hair on her back, which is a sure sign of aggression. But she's never attacked another dog in her life.

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It's actually not a sure sign of aggression. It could just be excitement. Clover does it every time she meets/plays with a dog (even my other dog Zeke) - she's just excited.

I'm so sorry your Brennan got bit. I cringed as I read the title of this thread. A few days ago I read on another dog forum (specific to boston terriers) about one of the bostons getting mauled, almost to death by a pittie. The owner knew his dog was dog aggressive but kept him off leash. The pictures of my friends dog were horrific to look at and it's a miracle her dog survived it. My dog Frankie is a little dog aggressive so I always take him on walks with proper stong harness and leash. We always avoid dog parks and other people with dogs. The lady should have at least apologized. Glad Brennan wasn't hurt too badly.

Thank you everyone. Brennan's few marks are healing really well and he's fine :). Probably going to take him on another walk next weekend with the same group of people. It's nice to meet other Pit Bull owners who can teach me things!

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Originally Posted by beeniesmom

I'm so sorry your Brennan got bit. I cringed as I read the title of this thread. A few days ago I read on another dog forum (specific to boston terriers) about one of the bostons getting mauled, almost to death by a pittie. The owner knew his dog was dog aggressive but kept him off leash. The pictures of my friends dog were horrific to look at and it's a miracle her dog survived it. My dog Frankie is a little dog aggressive so I always take him on walks with proper stong harness and leash. We always avoid dog parks and other people with dogs. The lady should have at least apologized. Glad Brennan wasn't hurt too badly.

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Oh gosh, that's horrible :(. Those kinds of owners are what makes Pit Bulls look bad and why everyone thinks they're horrible dogs. I hope the dog has an easy recovery and isn't too traumatized from the event.

And yes, that's the responsible thing to do. And you know you can control Frankie too without any worries. This lady just shouldn't have been walking that dog at all. There were even dog aggressive Pit Bulls in our group like I said, but their owners were controlling them and knew they could like responsible owners. Some people just don't need to own dogs *sigh*

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The lady didn't even apologize or anything for her stupid piece of s*** dog.

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I am sorry Brennan got bit, but your wording made me sad to read. The dog isn't a stupid piece of____, and I have been caught off guard by something seemingly out of character by my dogs before too, and it's especially possible in a group of dogs not familiar with each other. You said she asked if he was okay, so she did seem to show concern. She may have been shaken herself and not reacted as collected as she should have. Often things that seem out of no where to us had some tension or some unseen provocative factor that is not evident to us. (A side glance, a body posture, a past experience with a similar dog, etc.)

Anyone who takes their dogs frequently around other dogs is taking a bit of risk that you may be in situation, present day or years from now, when your dog or another person's dog does something completely unexpected before humans can react.

It's understandable to be protective. Dogs are like our kids, but we must also always remember they are dogs with their own communication system and dog behaviors that are not always discernible by us.

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Originally Posted by K9soul

I am sorry Brennan got bit, but your wording made me sad to read. The dog isn't a stupid piece of____, and I have been caught off guard by something seemingly out of character by my dogs before too, and it's especially possible in a group of dogs not familiar with each other. You said she asked if he was okay, so she did seem to show concern. She may have been shaken herself and not reacted as collected as she should have. Often things that seem out of no where to us had some tension or some unseen provocative factor that is not evident to us. (A side glance, a body posture, a past experience with a similar dog, etc.)

Anyone who takes their dogs frequently around other dogs is taking a bit of risk that you may be in situation, present day or years from now, when your dog or another person's dog does something completely unexpected before humans can react.

It's understandable to be protective. Dogs are like our kids, but we must also always remember they are dogs with their own communication system and dog behaviors that are not always discernible by us.

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I was pretty angry when I wrote this, so that explains my wording.

I just felt that the lady wasn't concerned enough. She didn't give me time to look Brennan over too well before asking if he was okay, and she didn't seem too concerned by the fact that her dog just bit my dog and could have caused a lot of damage. The dog would have made two of Brennan and probably could have ripped his face off if it had tried hard enough.

I also felt that she should have had better control of her dog. Because it was clear that the dog was walking her before Brennan got attacked. If I couldn't control my dog in a public setting like that, then I wouldn't bring my dog.

I know there are unknown signals and anything could have set the dog off, but I feel the fact that the lady couldn't control her dog was just really stupid and careless on her part to walk it in a public area.