Omg! I am shaking and need advice!

[aggieterpkatie]

So sorry that happened! I hope Animal Control gives the owner a fine or some other type of punishment. If my dog ever did that I'd be falling all over myself with apologies! What a jerk! And definitely, if that dog even steps foot on your property, I'd SSS. Hope your little doeling is ok!!

 

[GoatCrazyLady]

I had the same thing happen to me while walking my basset hound. Out next door neighbors dog attacked him twice now. I worry for all my animals & I am to scared to go for walks now, as he sits on the road by the mailbox. URGH! Hope your baby will be o.k.

 

[Lizzielou118]

Im so sorry that happened to you! My Pug Olivia was attacked by a pitbull when she was only 7 months old. We were at my daughters softball pactice & my Pug PUPPY! was on a leash. Some foolish family was letting their pitbull run free in the baseball feild and it managed to get away from them and charged us. I was pregnant with my middle child at the time and saw the dog coming last minute, so i started screaming. Next thing I knew my pup was in the dogs mouth, my husband came running and kicked the pitbull. It dropped our pug and took off running.
My pug survived but she was never right after that, definatly thing she had trama issuses.
All dogs should be kept on a leash or fenced in, no matter what state you live in.
I hope your Doeling pulls through and I hope they take the pitbull in to custody.
What if its a small child next time or an elderly person who cant fight the dog off? Im just saying...

 

[SkyWarrior]

I am so sorry to hear this happened.

As a large dog owner and semi-retired sled dog racer, I would say the pit bull's owner is at fault. The pit bull isn't necessarily people aggressive, but could be. Dogs have a natural instinct to go after prey--and sorry to say, but your goats are on the menu. That doesn't preclude the owner from keeping his dog under control at all times.

I too second that you were perfectly within your right to walk your goats on leash on the road. Now that you had that experience, I would keep a nice bottle of bear pepper spay with you for the purpose of keeping possible dogs from getting at your goats while walking. Yes, I don't think you should have to carry one in a perfect world, but our world is seldom perfect.

As for dog bites -- you did good to give your goat a shot of Pen G. Keep that up. Dog bites are notoriously bad for infection because dogs have enzymes in their mouths that break down tissue. Also, flush the wound out with a syringe filled with a mix of hydrogen peroxide and water. You want the wounds to heal from the inside out. Dog bites, especially big ones, do a lot of damage by trauma (trust me -- first hand experience here!) Your goat is in a lot of pain, so if you can give her bantamine or some other pain meds that are safe for goats, do it. Use ice packs wrapped in a towel on that neck to reduce swelling. I would also talk with your veterinarian about looking at her neck, if you can.

The shaking is due to pain and being shaken up. Pit bulls bite with something like 400 lbs per square inch, which is pretty gnarly. Keep an eye on that doeling. Shock is characterized by a drop in temperature, pale gums/low capillary refill rate, and a fast, thready pulse. If she's showing symptoms, maintain a consistent body core temperature and get her to the veterinarian ASAP. With pit bull bites, there can be internal bleeding.

Good luck! Let me know how it goes.

The bite pressure thing is grossly inaccurate, but I digress.

NO peroxide. Peroxide kills healthy tissue and good bacteria. Water only is best.

Dogs of ALL breeds can be very prey driven. It is absolutely the owner's fault for not having it contained. With that said, it doesn't seem like the guy really gives a crap about his dog. You now have to be proactive and bring pepper spray, an airhorn (good distraction), a BB gun...something to divert the attention away from the goats. I won't walk my dogs if I know the neighbor's intact GSD is out. I have never trusted that dog. Maybe try walking around a bit and if you see the dog, don't take the goats out till he's inside.

Actually it's not grossly inaccurate. Dog bites (not just pit bull bites) are in the range of 200 to 400 PSI. Wolves can bite with about 500 PSI. As a person who has suffered enough dog bites, and who has researched this pretty well (professional dog writer), the upper end depends a lot on the dog, but it wouldn't surprise me. A medium to big dog like a pit bull could have a strong bite.

Peroxide -- yes, it can kill healthy tissue if the solution is too strong. I was thinking 10:1 water to peroxide ratio. That's how my dog bites have always been cleaned out at the hospitals. Just enough to get rid of the bad stuff. My bad for not specifying.

Air horns may or may not work. BB guns -- hmmm, I've had dogs in a fight that would not separate for dang near anything. I had to use a fire extinguisher on them. I suspect that pepper spray would've worked. One pain with pepper spray is that if the wind is up, you can accidentally spray yourself and your goats. Try to find something that uses gel or similar base that won't spread via air too badly.

I think I was pretty clear when I said that dogs can be prey driven. I wasn't singling out pit bulls. My own breed, Alaskan Malamutes, are very prey driven. I wouldn't trust any of my dogs with a goat, and I have well-trained dogs.

That being said, the dog isn't to blame for being a dog. The owner is to blame for not training/not controlling his dog. Being proactive, now that you know he's out there and keeping something with you will keep you and your goats safe.

A friend of mine lost a goat to two dogs attacking her doe. The dogs were a small dog and a medium dog of mixed breed. (She caught them savaging her goat). You'd be surprised at how small of a dog can kill an animal, especially when working in packs.

Let us know how the doeling is doing.

 

[secuono]

I really don't understand why everyone beats an attacking dog!
You need to grab the dog's back legs straight up and turn away with the dog to get it off. If the dog is still going nuts or cannot be held by his collar, you just hold onto a leg in the air and drag it away to be locked up.

 

[Stacykins]

I really don't understand why everyone beats an attacking dog!
You need to grab the dog's back legs straight up and turn away with the dog to get it off. If the dog is still going nuts or cannot be held by his collar, you just hold onto a leg in the air and drag it away to be locked up.

That move does not always work. I DID that before, to get a golden retriever off the dog it was attacking. Well, it did get it off the other dog, so mission somewhat accomplished. Instead, the dog decided I was the next target. Thank goodness I was wearing leather work boots, because even though I both back legs tight and high, it snapped back and got my foot, the only thing it could reach. Better than another dog being mauled, I guess.

I found the solution with the steel baton, easily to flick out and wield . A crack across the side of the muzzle will turn away an attacking dog pretty easily, without much 'oomph' required for a sound strike. I've used it before, better than getting bitten OR getting your animal mauled.

 

[suzeqf]

I've been lurking for a while but had to comment, I've been on the receiving end of a fighting pit bull attack, i was walking my cocker and dog was in an abandoned house with a chain link fence and busted out of the fence and my dog hadn't been wearing her fence collar he would have killed her. It took the dogs owner tackling the dog to get him off of her and he got loose and he had to tackle him again because he was so wound up. This happened a block from a preschool and nursing home. I called the cops and the county took the owners to court and forced them to keep their dogs in a fence and chained. Now I live in the country and have 60 chickens and I'm getting to be getting 2 little does this spring and I always keep a stick or bb gun handy by the back door just in case of strays. I ended up having to re-home my cocker after the attack because she had the canine version of PTSD and became very protectice of me

Give Daisy a big hug and lots of love and I hope she gets better

 

[teach1rusl]

Any updates? Has animal control contacted you all?? How's the doeling doing???

 

[elevan]

Any updates? Has animal control contacted you all?? How's the doeling doing???

x2

 

[Karma]

So I don't know where you are in NY but here (cortland county) we call the county animal control and local "dog wardens", however they usually are slow to respond if they even do we also call directly to the county sherrifs office - especially when an animal is attacked to the point of requiring medical assistance or possibly not making it-because we know it is taken more seriously and documented much better with them so if we go after the owner for medical/replacement costs, we have all the proper documentation and an extra witness to attest to the condition of the attacked animal. So I'm glad to hear you involved them because they usually take it alot more seriously than the AC people.

Also I wanted to point out your reactions, especially the screaming could have made the situation worse - I know it is easier said than done to stay calm when you think your animal is going to be killed however, when dogs attack things like getting hit, kicked, or people screaming can actually encourage redirected aggression (ie, the dog turning to bite you) or encourage the dog to become even more frenzied in their attack.

As far as what to do to protect your animals at home, I would not rely on electric to stop a dog - especially a pitbull which are notorious for having a massive prey drive and high pain tolerance. I know my siberian husky has run straight through hot electric strong enough to keep an ornery escape artist angus bull contained. If the dog decides the reward is bigger than the risk of the pain from the charge, the fence will not stop them to matter how powerful it is.