I'm sorry Slip, but with very few exceptions, a dog that smells fear will generally attack and a dog that sees someone running away from them will chase and possibly attack. In most cases of attack by dog the dog was either raised to be vicious -- in which case it is not the fault of the person being attacked, but rather of the owner and in that case -- IMHO, both the owner and the dog should be put down OR the person who was attacked did something to provoke the dog or showed excessive fear of the dog. My dog Zoe is as gentle as they come and has never attacked or bitten anyone (other than another dog who was after her food), but she has run into people twice that had an irrational fear of dogs and while she didn't attack them, she growled menacingly at them and bared her teeth.
I think it fits with the sage advice that the only thing we have to fear is someone who is afraid of us. It works with humans, dogs and probably a lot of other creatures as well. On Apr 20, 6:33 am, Slip Disc <[email protected]> wrote: > That is a personal view gruff, you can't be serious as to suggest that > some of the people in the "canine homicide" link were "more" at fault > than the dogs that attacked them, unprovoked that is. Why is an 80 > year old woman more at fault for getting mauled to death by a dog when > she is peacefully working in her garden? Dogs are wild beasts as are > the tigers that mauled Roy Horn. People just have this notion that > they can keep these huge muscular dogs, with a history of attacking > without provocation, as sweet little pets. I have 3 Chihuahuas and > can see how vicious they can get so I wouldn't trust them if they > weighed in over 100 pounds. I have as you, fended off attacking dogs > simply by acting like the dogs master or showing enough aggression to > make the dogs think twice about messing with me, but this in know way > lessens the fact that dogs can be dangerous. > The number of attacks is evidence enough. > > On Apr 19, 6:01 pm, gruff <[email protected]> wrote: > > > I think a lot of dog attacks are more the fault of the people who got > > bit than the dog. > > > I hike around the desert quite a bit and have run into wild dog packs > > and coyote packs more than a few times. The two things you don't want > > to do are show fear or run. Dogs can smell fear and they will chase > > down anything that runs. > > > I've faced down menacing dogs and dog packs many times by just > > standing my ground an ordering them back in a loud aggressive voice. > > Sometimes I even make a menacing move toward them. This same strategy > > works with bears too (with the sole exception of perhaps grizzlies and > > polar bears.) This strategy does NOT work with wild cats. There was > > an incident here in Arizona just the other night. A bobcat strolled > > into a bar in Phoenix and clawed up quite a few people before it found > > its way out of the bar. Maybe they didn't want to serve him (or her.) > > > On Apr 19, 12:10 pm, Slip Disc <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > Truth is, as I see it, dogs have been known to attack their owners > > > without provocation, with many attacks resulting in the fatality of > > > the owner. So I think people forget that all dogs are "animals" once > > > wild and untamed and have an innate violent nature which can emerge at > > > any given time. The statistics presented in the link show that not > > > only vicious dogs are known to cause death, as was the case with the > > > Pomeranian killing the infant. The correlation between dogs and > > > owners may have some credence within a controlled study and > > > accumulated statistical data but overall dogs, regardless of the > > > owner's temperament, can be vicious. > > > http://www.dogbitelaw.com/PAGES/danger.htm#meaning > > > I found this website to be a worthwhile read with current statistical > > > data. Read through "Canine Homicides" for a real eye opener. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Minds-Eye?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
