Close call with a pit bull

[gym]

I almost had to shoot a pit bull today. After returning from a walk with my 11 week old Lab Pup. I heard something coming up behind me at a fast pace., By then I was at my property line about 25 feet from the door which is set in another 20 feet.
I turned to see a slate grey full grown female Pit,"I think it was female", now the delima, I started to yell commands, "no" "down". over and over, I had my gun out now and aimed at the animal. It showed me teeth, and I backed into the corridor leading into my front door with puppy in hand and gun in the other. I love dogs, and didn't want to shoot this dog unless it attacked. Attacked to me means broke what I consider my safty zone of 10 or so feet with a lunge, ears back and growling and or showing me teeth. It continued to circle me as I fumbled with the key which I now had to put the puppy down to unlock the darn door, First key, wrong one, dog still there. Second key and I opened the door, hurled in the pup, without even shutting the alarm, turned and the dog was gone. Thank god I didn't have to fire.
I called animal control and my landscapers pulled up at the same time, asking if this was about a pit bull, as I said how did you guys know, apparentlly there was a women driving around with a red SUV looking for her dog, from a different area. The animal control officer now had a verified account, so he proceded to go and look for the dog and vechicle, as I told him to remind that stupid woman how close she came to losing her pet. And that a collar and tag would have made me feel it was at least a house pet and not a dog that was perhaps a street dog.
That dog was a heatrbeat away from doggie heaven. I am beginning to feel it is just unsafe to leave the house anymore.
Would anyone have fired first? instead of waiting?
I always criticize police for shooting dogs when they make entry into peoples homes. But it's hard when an animal that dangerous, is right next to you showing pre attack signs. I still believe in that, and am relieved I didn't have to fire. Here is some info on the breed for anyone interested
Having my 40 on me, at least made me feel that I could end this at any time, if I was unarmed, I may have acted differentlly and the dog could have sensed more fear rather than anxiety, I would have had to make a run for the door instaed of a slow retreat while speaking firmlly and slowlly to the animal, but who knows.
http://www.dogsbite.org/dangerous-dogs-pit-bull-myths.php

 

[timhernandez]

Seems to me you were in control of the situation, didn't loose your calm, and had a firm shoot/no shoot line drawn in your mind.

I am glad it turned out okay for you and your pup.

 

[The-Reaver]

I think that the link should be dropped. As it has nothing to do with firearms.

And it's not the breed. It is the owner. I am 100% sure that a German Shepard that has been treated the exact same way dropped in the exact same situation would have done the exact same thing.
Glad your safe though.

 

[BTNut]

No, I would not have fired first. Based on your description, I don't believe I would have even drawn my gun. When I walk my dog, or pretty much whenever I go for a walk actually, I bring mace with me too, so I probably would have had that out and ready. But then again, I'm probably not a good person to ask, since I like most dogs more than I like most people.

Also, my best friend has a pit bull who happens to be a very nice dog. And I have a Rottweiler (the other "most dangerous dog" from the website you posted). That site seems to me to be very "anti large dog". I've never met a mean Pit or Rott, although I've met plenty of mean smaller dogs.

It's hard to say unless I was actually in that situation, but I believe in order for me to shoot a dog it would have to draw blood first. I did have to use my mace once on a golden retreiver that was acting very aggressive and actually bit my dog in the rump (not hard enough to do any damage) but luckily that's all it took to diffuse the situation, and no blood was shed.

I'm glad you escaped the situation without any bloodshed either. It's probably obvious, but my advice would be to get some mace and carry that on your walks, especially with your puppy. I was absolutely amazed at how quick and effective the mace was when I had to use it. Good luck.

 

[R.W.Dale]

While I applaud your handling of the situation and your restraint I will be the voice of dissent here and say that one thing I WILL NOT tolerate is an angry strange dog threatening my safety on MY PROPERTY.




posted via that mobile app with the sig lines everyone complaints about

 

[3twelves]

I have had many encounters with charging snarling dogs (rotty, german shepherd, dobie, mutts). 99% of the time just standing you ground and showing no fear, even charging them they will change their minds and back off. The one time I crapped myself is when a great dane charged at me it was the size of a horse, luckly it never left his yard.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

I live deep in the woods, 3/4 of a mile from the county road. I had a neighbor (now passed away) who shared the same common access road. He was a cabinet maker and had a shop about 50 yards from his house. One day he called me -- a pack of dogs with what appeared to be two pit bulls had him trapped in his shop. By the time I got there, the dogs were gone.

Later, he called me and told me the dogs were back roaming down our access road. I went out, and after about a half mile, heard all kinds of a ruckus. His pickup was stopped in the middle of the road and a pit bull was challenging the truck!

As I came walking up, I caught some motion to my left and saw the other pit bull headed for me, mouth open, not making a sound.

We did not wait for Animal Control -- which this county doesn't have, any way.

 

[Texan Scott]

You were already past the point at which I would've used OC. If the pit was showing teeth and closing distance, it had already decided to be a threat- it was deliberately menacing.

The thing is, a lot of pits that are well socialized and people-friendly are still hostile toward other animals. That, I firmly believe, IS a function of deliberate selective breeding. It's in their blood to maul other animals because humans bred them for that purpose.

The problem is that once the animal commits to an attack, even if it only WANTED your puppy, it will turn on YOU if you interfere. If at any point I'd had to put down the puppy or turn my back, (believing I couldn't do either safely), I'm afraid I'd probably have shot the pit.

I'm reallt glad you didn't have to.

 

[gym]

Bt, I also have had 2 rotties, and they were 2 of the most loving dogs I have ever owned, I had an artificial leg made for one when he cotracted bone cancer, so understand I have been around dogs, as my facebook page is all about rescues, and I and my wife between us have had over a dozen. So I am not pre disposed to breed judjement.
But any large dog that follows you and shows teeth is a threat, and Pit's have a tendancy to be bred in FL for one thing only, especially in bad neighborhoods, which border my development, as do most good areas in FL., if you are familiar with the turf you know that you can have million dollar homes in a area, and a thousand yards away there is a trailer park, that's just the way it is. Some are house pets , many are not. I was not going to find out the hard way which one this was. It's gun related because without a gun, I would have been in deep doody, since these dogs can kill a man or severlly injure him in seconds, another reason to be armed at all times.

 

[allaroundhunter]

And it's not the breed. It is the owner. I am 100% sure that a German Shepard that has been treated the exact same way dropped in the exact same situation would have done the exact same thing.
Glad your safe though.

There are some breeds that are naturally more aggressive than others, and Pits are most definitely in this category. German Shepherds do not have the same aggressive drive that Pits do.



Onto the OP:

I have been attacked by dogs on several occasions, and have shot more than most. The majority have been Pits, but there have been occasional Rotts and some mutts. All but 2 that I have shot have been feral dogs (and those two were bred and treated as fighting dogs).

I agree with, Texan Scott that if I was in your situation and had OC spray, I would have already used it. You did good on holding your fire, and even better in knowing exactly when that might need to change.


You mentioned that your "safety zone" is 10 feet so I will give you a story of one of the Pits that I had to shoot. I was walking back to my ATV when a Pit stepped out about 60 feet away (in between the ATV and myself) and started snarling. I drew my pistol and tried yelling at it and shooing it away but nothing worked. When it lunged towards me I started firing and fired a total of 7 rounds (5 of which were good hits). The dog did not go down until it was 3 feet away from me.... That dog covered 57 feet in less than 3 seconds. To me, if a dog is within 10 feet and is snarling, it is well within my safety zone and is going to get OC'd almost immediately.

 

[robMaine]

There are some breeds that are naturally more aggressive than others, and Pits are most definitely in this category. German Shepherds do not have the same aggressive drive that Pits do.



Onto the OP:

I have been attacked by dogs on several occasions, and have shot more than most. The majority have been Pits, but there have been occasional Rotts and some mutts. All but 2 that I have shot have been feral dogs (and those two were bred and treated as fighting dogs).

I agree with, Texan Scott that if I was in your situation and had OC spray, I would have already used it. You did good on holding your fire, and even better in knowing exactly when that might need to change.


You mentioned that your "safety zone" is 10 feet so I will give you a story of one of the Pits that I had to shoot. I was walking back to my ATV when a Pit stepped out about 60 feet away (in between the ATV and myself) and started snarling. I drew my pistol and tried yelling at it and shooing it away but nothing worked. When it lunged towards me I started firing and fired a total of 7 rounds (5 of which were good hits). The dog did not go down until it was 3 feet away from me.... That dog covered 57 feet in less than 3 seconds. To me, if a dog is within 10 feet and is snarling, it is well within my safety zone and is going to get OC'd almost immediately.

This is slightly off topic, but to say American Pit Bull Terriers are more aggressive then other breeds, that needs to be qualified with the statement "towards dogs". I am around Pit Bulls, both those I own, and at my MMA gym which is also a APBT rescue. Have I ever seen a Human Aggressive pitbull, yes. But it is very rare, however they do often have a high prey drive, and dog aggression. Additonally, most dogs referred to as "Pit Bulls" by non-owners and the media are not true APBT's(which are 30-50 pounds, and thiner/wiry), but are poorly bred Mastiff and American Bulldog mixes(50-100lbs) and possess the guarding and attack dog traits that shouldn't be present in a Pit. For a fun experience, try http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petbull/findpit.html Sorry for the rant, and finally, dogsbite.org is pure propaganda run by one bat-<deleted> crazy women.

In this situation however, I probably would have had a gun out, just because the dog was probably going after your puppy and that would be worrisome.

 

[mgkdrgn]

Sounds like you did ok to me.

One of the primary reasons I got my carry permit was dogs. There are a few in the neighborhood that if they were "loose" while I was walking my dog I have no doubt I would end up shooting them. They have already killed one pet that I know of.

Closes I came to drawing was when a Pit came running up to my dog and I while we were walking. For what ever reason he stopped just as I put my hand in my pocket, and that's what saved him.

 

[Slamfire]

You did good, I am glad neither you or the dog were hurt. Pit bulls have to be taught to be nasty, but there are a lot of owners who want nasty pit bulls, and you have to assume that if the dog is threatening you, your life is in danger.

I was going to search for a news story I remember about a big dog that killed a small woman, and when I searched in Google for “woman killed by pit bulldog” I am totally amazed at how many women have been killed by pit bull dogs.

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&tbo=d&...72666ff0e4cc03&bpcl=39650382&biw=1024&bih=571

You did good, yes, you might have been in killed, as it was you came through and are OK.

 

[allaroundhunter]

This is slightly off topic, but to say American Pit Bull Terriers are more aggressive then other breeds, that needs to be qualified with the statement "towards dogs".

Fair enough, but I have had pit bulls come after me (not another dog) 4 times.

They are more aggressive towards other dogs, and as has been pointed out, when they do that, if a human is to try to intervene, he or she is just as much of a target to that pit bull as the dog they are trying to protect.

 

[Walkalong]

I am glad it worked out and you were not hurt and did not have to shoot the dog.