Long, sorry...stupid man and his pit bull

[SkooterIsMe]

First let me say that I love pit bulls. If somehow all boxers went extinct, if I didnt commit suicide for lack of boxers, I would get a pit. ANYWAYS...

So the other night, I took Harley with me to visit some friends. They have a full grown female pit bull named Annie, and she's amazing. She and Harley are great friends. However, another person was there with another full grown pit named Stolie, who happens to be Annie's daughter.

Everybody was out back, and the dogs were playing. The yard was Annie and Stolie's yard, so I understand that they get territorial. Annie was wonderful as always, but Stolie kept nipping at Harley.

She was just telling him off at first, and it was ok. But then she started to get more aggressive, and though she never bit or hurt him at all, she came too close for comfort, and even chased him halfway across the yard (not in play).

I wasnt too worried that she would actually hurt him, but you never know. So once, right after she snapped at him, I said to her "you're getting close to getting kicked in the head."

Now what I meant was "You're getting close to biting my dog, and IF you bite him, I will kick you in the head." I had no intention of hurting Stolie, and I tried to explain it to her owner, but he was drunk and took only what he thought I said. I know that if any of us heard someone threaten our furkids with a kick in the head, we'd freak out, just like he did. But the thing is this:

It may have been Stolie's property, but it doesnt matter who's yard you're in when a dog gets attacked. He said "that's like kicking my daughter in the head. Stolie's my daughter."

So I said "Well Harley's my son. Would you let a pit bull attack your son? Or would you do something about it??" All he had to say was "It's HER yard!"

Who cares. I like Stolie, she can be a really sweet dog. But I would not hesitate to do whatever it takes to save my dog from danger. She never hurt him, so I didnt hurt her.

Her owner would not drop the subject though, even after I tried to explain the miscommunication. I finally just had to leave my friend's house and go home. Stubborn drunk men SUCK.

 

[TossBranAbi]

Sorry you were put in this situation but I do feel you could have handled the situation a little better.

Let me start by saying that if anyone said they were going to kick my dog in the head, I would flip out on them, no matter what the circumstances where. I once went off on my Dad's girlfriend for swinging a saucepan at Brady because "he was too close to her flowers"
There are better ways of resolving a problem than threatening, especially with how you threatened. You may have seen it as nothing but if I would have overheard you telling my dog that, I would have gone crazy, drunk or not. You don't ever kick a dog, whether they attacked your dog or not. Kicking teaches nothing.

If i were you, I would have isolated Harley from the other dogs and if that was not feasible, go home like you did.

I am not saying you are a bad person or anything like that, it just could have been handled better. Don't worry yourself, the guy probably won't even remember what hapened.

 

[punchinella]

All in all, I'd say the situation could have and should have been handled better by both parties. It is our responsibility as dog owners to try to the best of our ability to keep our dogs from harm or from causing harm.

Dogs by nature are territorial. Therefore, it is not unrealistic to expect that taking your dog onto another dog's turf may cause friction. Granted, the owner of the pit could have taken steps to prevent his dog from being aggessive towards Harley. However, if you see the other owner not responding, then I say it is your job to remove your dog from the premises if you think there are going to be problems.

I don't blame Stolie's owner for getting upset. Why would you think he should react any differently? You may not have meant it, but he certainly had no way of knowing that. I would be irate if someone made such a threat to Punchinella. Besides, even if Stolie attacked, kicking her in the head is no solution...if anything it would likely escalate her aggression, and perhaps get you injured as well.

Sorry this happened. Sounds like no real damage was done, however, and that is a good thing. Try not to worry about it.

 

[Gangly]

Situation could have been handled better, but hindsight is always 20/20

The only thing worse than an aggresive dog is an aggresive owner, and the Boxer unfortunately has an undeserved bad reputation of being aggressive which means we have to be on our best behavior to correct the horribly wrong image society has created for our loved Boxers.

We, as owners, need to help shine light on the matter of them being wonderful dogs but it doesnt help if we cant seem to keep ourselves in check. If we look bad, the dogs look bad, and as owners of this wonderful, caring, loving breed, we need to be better than most with the careful grooming of the image we portray of ourselves and our wonderful boxers.


"It may have been Stolie's property, but it doesnt matter who's yard you're in when a dog gets attacked"

YES IT DOES!!!


You mentioned that the dog was on its own property and that Harley was the visitor. Its should be no surprise that another dog might would get a little territorial when Harley went to go play on that dogs property. To react the way you did was careless on your part and its your responsibility to remove Harley from the situation, not the other owners. Threatening the other dog for acting the way Mother Nature designed it to over the past million years was not the best course of action and I completely understand why the other owner would get upset.

In Texas, the owner of a canine is not held liable for damages that occur on their property, only damages that occur outside the borders of their property. If their dog and Harley got in a skirmish while on their property, you would be responisble for the damage to Harley and their dog because Harley was on their propertly. If you perceive a threat to Harley while you are on someone elses property, it is soley your responsibility to remove Harley from the situation because you are on somebody elses property.

 

[ELubas]

My male recently got kneed in the chest by a stranger-long story but my dog was completely innocent in this- but I blame myself for letting my boy get in this guy's way and not protecting him. But I did not even bother to get into it with this guy-just got the hell out of there. I think we can all be a little sensitive about our dogs and I agree with the poster who said you probably should have just gotten the heck out of there-there is no reasoning with someone who has been drinking anyway... Most important thing is no one got hurt

 

[My Boxer]

.....I said to her "you're getting close to getting kicked in the head."

Now what I meant was "You're getting close to biting my dog, and IF you bite him, I will kick you in the head." .... She never hurt him, so I didnt hurt her.

Wow, those are fighting words. Anyone who thinks that kicking a dog in the head as a correction has no business having a dog. Your dog is young and needs to learn his boundaries. I would have leashed him, and if that didn't work, left. But to think you have the right to kick someone's else's dog to correct him is wrong! I would do anything to protect my dog, especially if someone was threatening to kick him. But kicking a dog is wrong, wrong, wrong! After all, the dog's were only being dog's, and Harley would have learned to stay away from her.

 

[Gen G. :)]

I have to agree - things did get out of hand, your words were too strong. But threatening to kick someone else's dog is, no matter the way you put it, unacceptable. I would have reacted the same way the other guy did, and would have also invited you to leave if you actually intended to kick my dog (no matter the circumstances!). After all, the pit bull was on her territory and showing Harley "who's boss". Nipping and chasing might be scary to us humans, but they are nonetheless parts of dog socializing.

It is clear that you adore Harley and want to defend him at any cost; for that reason, I don't think that you would have let anyone threaten Harley of kicking him in the head, even if he were on his yard, chasing and nipping at a pit bull. I'm really glad nothing happened, but as another poster said, we must be careful with our words when it comes to our dogs... and everyone else's.