Sgt Grit Marine Forums

First off, I'll apologize in advance if this gets a little wordy...

I have a dog - he's a lab/beagle mix named Rigi.  He's 53 lbs and pretty solid so he can hold his own.  Anyway, we go running a lot, and on Saturday morning at 8:30, we went running around the neighborhood.  We were about 2 blocks away from my house and out of nowhere, a big frickin' monster of a Rottweiler came bolting across the street at us.  No collar, no tags and no person with him.  So he jumps on Rigi and the two dogs start going at it!  I, of course, am in full-blown panic mode.  And I couldn't really tell if they were playing, or if they were fighting, but with a big unknown Rottweiler, I didn't really want to stick around and find out if they would make good friends.  I couldn't get them separated, and I'm standing on the street corner yelling for help.  At one point, I screamed "sit" and both dogs sat down for approximately .3 seconds before going at each other again.  So knowing that the Rotty sat on command, I'm inclined to think that he's house-trained and was maybe playing with Rigi.  Rigi, however, was not playing.  I think he knew I was freaked out so he was trying to protect me.  Luckily I had my cell phone with me and was able to call my parents (who only live a block away) and my dad flew out the door to come get us.  In the meantime, I was finally able to get the Rotty calmed down and he was kind of walking along side us.  So, again, I'm inclined to think that he was a good dog - just excited and playing.  But...you know Rottweilers aren't really known for being overly friendly, so I was still really scared.

 Any...point of this story.  I got back to my parents' house and had a full out panic attack.  My dad wanted me to call Animal Control, but I was afraid that they'd put the Rotty down because he didn't have any tags or anything.   Well, that made me cry even more because I really do think that he was trying to play with Rigi and that he was a good dog - he can't help it that he falls into the "vicious breed" category.  On the other hand, before the Rotty incident, I had passed a young mother pushing a stroller and walking a little Yorkie.  What the hell would that lady have done if that Rotty had come after her little dog and/or her baby?  I guess it's a moot point, because I called Animal Control and no one was there at 9:30 on a Saturday morning.  So my dad and I got in the car and just drove around the neighborhood for a little while looking for the dog and making sure that he wasn't attacking/playing with anyone else.  We never found him.

I'm not sure that there's a point to this post.  I'm still bothered that this giant dog was just out roaming by himself.  But...any thoughts?  Should I have pursued government offices until I found someone to come get this dog?  Oh, man, but I would be so sad if he was put to sleep because of his breed.  I really think that maybe he was a good boy.  Again, though, Rottweilers are known for being aggressive - and I would have felt really really awful if that dog attacked someone else.  Or a little dog who's not able to hold his own like Rigi can.  Thoughts?

(And by the way, thanks for reading the whole thing...I told you it would get wordy...)

funny you post this because tonight i was walking Aiko and the Lab we are babysitting and we got ambushed by a pit, i freaked out and screamed, the pit took off, i scared her, but the lab i was trying to walk then tried to chase her. i am really sorry you had to deal with that. i think most shelters have a 48 hour rule, if no once clams them then they get assessed for adoption, and i've seen rotties in the adoption area before. so i doubt that he (especially if he's as smart as you think he was) would get put down right away. it's too bad people cant keep their pets tagged. but accidents happen, thats why we got microchipped too.

I would  follow up with animal control.  The dog has an owner and some training if he was taking orders from you, but the owners are very irresponsible letting a dog run without a collar,  tags and not on a leash.   Sounds like you were very lucky that you and your dog didn't get hurt and who is to say that the next time he comes out that he won't attack.  I know that you must feel guilty about calling animal control, but think of how awful you would feel if he hurt a child and maybe you could have done something to stop  it.  Animal control will patrol the neighborhood until they find him.

SaraLou14:

First off, I'll apologize in advance if this gets a little wordy...

I have a dog - he's a lab/beagle mix named Rigi.  He's 53 lbs and pretty solid so he can hold his own.  Anyway, we go running a lot, and on Saturday morning at 8:30, we went running around the neighborhood.  We were about 2 blocks away from my house and out of nowhere, a big frickin' monster of a Rottweiler came bolting across the street at us.  No collar, no tags and no person with him.  So he jumps on Rigi and the two dogs start going at it!  I, of course, am in full-blown panic mode.  And I couldn't really tell if they were playing, or if they were fighting, but with a big unknown Rottweiler, I didn't really want to stick around and find out if they would make good friends.  I couldn't get them separated, and I'm standing on the street corner yelling for help.  At one point, I screamed "sit" and both dogs sat down for approximately .3 seconds before going at each other again.  So knowing that the Rotty sat on command, I'm inclined to think that he's house-trained and was maybe playing with Rigi.  Rigi, however, was not playing.  I think he knew I was freaked out so he was trying to protect me.  Luckily I had my cell phone with me and was able to call my parents (who only live a block away) and my dad flew out the door to come get us.  In the meantime, I was finally able to get the Rotty calmed down and he was kind of walking along side us.  So, again, I'm inclined to think that he was a good dog - just excited and playing.  But...you know Rottweilers aren't really known for being overly friendly, so I was still really scared.

 Any...point of this story.  I got back to my parents' house and had a full out panic attack.  My dad wanted me to call Animal Control, but I was afraid that they'd put the Rotty down because he didn't have any tags or anything.   Well, that made me cry even more because I really do think that he was trying to play with Rigi and that he was a good dog - he can't help it that he falls into the "vicious breed" category.  On the other hand, before the Rotty incident, I had passed a young mother pushing a stroller and walking a little Yorkie.  What the hell would that lady have done if that Rotty had come after her little dog and/or her baby?  I guess it's a moot point, because I called Animal Control and no one was there at 9:30 on a Saturday morning.  So my dad and I got in the car and just drove around the neighborhood for a little while looking for the dog and making sure that he wasn't attacking/playing with anyone else.  We never found him.

I'm not sure that there's a point to this post.  I'm still bothered that this giant dog was just out roaming by himself.  But...any thoughts?  Should I have pursued government offices until I found someone to come get this dog?  Oh, man, but I would be so sad if he was put to sleep because of his breed.  I really think that maybe he was a good boy.  Again, though, Rottweilers are known for being aggressive - and I would have felt really really awful if that dog attacked someone else.  Or a little dog who's not able to hold his own like Rigi can.  Thoughts?

(And by the way, thanks for reading the whole thing...I told you it would get wordy...)

I hate when people say that, ANY DOG can be AGGRESSIVE, even little innocent dogs can attack anyone ( a friends jack russel bite their daughter in the face when she was little for no reason)....We have a Rottie, we had him since he was 9 weeks old (he'll be 6yrs old in Aug) & he's is a great, loving family dog & would defend our kids in a second if someone was trying to hurt them.   

The owner of the rottie is irresponsible for letting him/her get out & it just stinks cause of the owners neglect, if animal control finds the dog & noone claims him, he will pro'lly be put to sleep & like you said seemed like a nice dog & was listening to your commands.  I'm sorry you went through that, I'm glad your dog is okay. I just hate when people say something about Rottweilers when yes some can be mean but it's all how the owners train them... most are lovely & so sweet but get a bad name for the few that are trained to be mean....

TLeeC16:

I hate when people say that, ANY DOG can be AGGRESSIVE, even little innocent dogs can attack anyone ( a friends jack russel bite their daughter in the face when she was little for no reason)....We have a Rottie, we had him since he was 9 weeks old (he'll be 6yrs old in Aug) & he's is a great, loving family dog & would defend our kids in a second if someone was trying to hurt them.   

The owner of the rottie is irresponsible for letting him/her get out & it just stinks cause of the owners neglect, if animal control finds the dog & noone claims him, he will pro'lly be put to sleep & like you said seemed like a nice dog & was listening to your commands.  I'm sorry you went through that, I'm glad your dog is okay. I just hate when people say something about Rottweilers when yes some can be mean but it's all how the owners train them... most are lovely & so sweet but get a bad name for the few that are trained to be mean....

I agree with that, which is why I was hesitant to call animal control.   If you want my honest opinion, I'm more afraid of a little ankle biting dog than I am of a big dog.   But you have to admit that the "oh sh!t" factor is a little higher when there's an 80 lb Rottweiler running at you full speed than when it's a 10 lb Dachshund.  Especially when the owners are no where around.   Trust me, though, I would have had the exact same dilema if it were a 10 lb. Dachshund on the loose.  Like I said, I had my dog to kind of protect me and he was able to hold his own with the Rotty.  But I keep thinking of that woman out pushing a stroller and her little Yorkie.  That little Yorkie wouldn't have been able to defend anyone from a big dog -my lab/beagle mix or the Rottweiler. 

I think calling Animal control is the right thing to do. I would feel guilty about it, but it's just something I think that needs to be done. If the dogs is roaming around the neighborhood, it's not just dangerous for the people, but for him as well. What if he runs across the street again and gets hit by a car. Accidents can happen and your dog can take off, but to not have any identification on him isn't just irresponsible, it also makes it seem like the owner doesn't cares about the dog. I know it's a far stretch, but maybe it all happened for a reason. Maybe he gets put in a shelter and can get better owners.

If I had been in your shoes I would have freaked out. I'm not really good with big dogs as it is, that's why mine are tiny, but to have a breed like that come running towards me. I'm so glad that nothing bad happened and you guys aren't hurt.

Young lady, why aren't you carry pepper spray? it doesn't hurt the dog, but it will make him run away and gives you time to get to a safe place. for that matter why aren't all you ladies carrying some kind of protection if your out walking dogs, or strolling babies or running. As you know my husband is a police officer and I'm licensed to carry a gun, but I don't like to carry a gun, so pepper spray is the next best thing. Girls, please take this advice get some kind of protection!!!! Just a concerned mom here. I'm just joking about the young lady part, cause it sounds like I'm scolding you and I'm not.

Dovie:

Young lady, why aren't you carry pepper spray? it doesn't hurt the dog, but it will make him run away and gives you time to get to a safe place. for that matter why aren't all you ladies carrying some kind of protection if your out walking dogs, or strolling babies or running. As you know my husband is a police officer and I'm licensed to carry a gun, but I don't like to carry a gun, so pepper spray is the next best thing. Girls, please take this advice get some kind of protection!!!! Just a concerned mom here. I'm just joking about the young lady part, cause it sounds like I'm scolding you and I'm not.

I totally agree with the pepper spray.  When I go running by myself, I carry it.  At 4' 10, I am not a big person at all.  I need all the protection I can get from people and Animals.  Great advise and thanks for being concerned.

 WOW....I would've been totally scared.  We have a little yorkie and I would just die if a big dog came up to us and wanted to fight or something.  I would've called animal control if it were me.  I think if an owner is going to be irresponsible then that's the consequence they have to pay you know.  

Dovie....I'm going to go out and get some pepper spray soon.  I think I should definitely have that with a little dog and small children!!  

Dovie:

Young lady, why aren't you carry pepper spray? it doesn't hurt the dog, but it will make him run away and gives you time to get to a safe place. for that matter why aren't all you ladies carrying some kind of protection if your out walking dogs, or strolling babies or running. As you know my husband is a police officer and I'm licensed to carry a gun, but I don't like to carry a gun, so pepper spray is the next best thing. Girls, please take this advice get some kind of protection!!!! Just a concerned mom here. I'm just joking about the young lady part, cause it sounds like I'm scolding you and I'm not.

 

 

How sweet are you!  Great Reminder and even better ADVICE!!!!!!!!!!  Thanks!!! 

This happened to me only it was in my MIL front yard with a German Shepard against my Miniture Schnouzer!  The German Shepard was not playing around though and ended up tearing my dog almost in half.  I don't know what came over me but i somehow grabbed the dog by her coller and pulled her off my dog...no problem and she was not light!  I think it was the strength a mother gets when her kids in danger!  Anyway i did call Animal Control and here to find out the German lived around the corner and had gotten into lots of fights with its compainions and kept running away.  I saw it a few more times after that but then nothing.  My dog did survive but it was the most scariest thing ever!

I would have a tough time with that one, too. I know there are a lot of "no kill" shelters these days, but I don't know which ones are which, and I don't know if animal control would take them there. I always worry because my cat manages to work his collar off whenever he sneaks out side...so maybe people would think he was a stray.

Thats crazy but it was a good thing you handled it the way you did because I would have FREAKED out! I'm not fond of big dogs because of being attacked by one in the past, but I know what you mean by not wanting to put a dog down because of his breed. He sounded like a good dog to me too, but maybe it would have been a good idea to call animal control, thinking that maybe some kids would be playing outside and the Rott wanting to play too runs to them and the kids FREAK, the sudden mood change could alarm the dog, making his playing mode into protection or teritory mode. But that's just me thinking, I'm way too perinoid of big dogs and children.

oh wow!!! that would completely freak me out!!!!! i dont know what i would have done in your situation! haha and Dovie pepper spray is a great idea (that i should have already had lol)   right after i read this i turned to my husband and said "can we get me some pepper spray this weekend?"  haha

Aww poor pup...I think the right thing to do is call animal control, even if he was being playful. Big dogs are scary, even if they're harmless. My dog got attacked by a dog that our neighbors were petsitting...and he wasn't messing around! They didn't even do anything about it. He was around small children in the house and everything. But it's better to be safe than sorry.