Let my be more direct. What do I do if a pitbull attacks my child or myself?

Question

My new next door neighbors just got there teenage sons a pitbull for Christmas. I have a three year old daughter who I went through great trouble to have, lost her twin sister in the womb, and was born premature weighing only 1lb 9oz and spent 3mts in the hospital, then a year later went in for open heart surgery. I love her more than life itself and only want to be proactive in case the dog does attack someday, what I need to do to save her. I have no malice for any dog, but knowing the reputation of the breed, want to be fully prepared for the possibility. I have search the internet, and only fond one web site that gives me some answers. I specified the pitbull, because that's what is next door. For those who think I am ignorant, maybe you should have the full story before you judge me and go through what I have already had to endure. My only goal is to protect my child from potential harm. Again I ask, if it attacks what can I do to save my child!!!!

Answer 1

Best thing to do is prevent the attack!!

Get to know the dog make sure he knows who you and your daughter are. And watch yourself if you ever raise a hand to your child the pit will lay its life down for those he protects.

Answer 2

If they rasie and train there pit right there should be no problem. They use pit bulls a therpy dogs service dogs for the handicapped, that is what mine is so he is in the public all the time, sars dogs and police and detiction dogs. They would not be used this way if as a breed they were unstable. If these people lett thier pit bull run free or keep it chained all the time it can be aggressive. Never let the child be alone with any large breed and watch when the the child is out side. If your neightor dose let the dog run trun them in and be loud about it make animale control do something. If you think they are training to fight the dog call the aspca. The people on my block as ask for my pit bull to come out side when kids are playing becasue he as stop twice, someone from taking a child from its yard. They were called the nanny dog for thier very protective feelings toward childern. They have been known to die in protecting them. But bad owners have given all pit owners a hard time becasue of how they let their dogs act and how they train them. Petey theloveable dog of the OUR GANG kids of the movies and TV was a pit bull. I have a thre month old grand neice living with me and I worry more about the poodle across the street that has biten close to 10 people in the past 3 months than my pit.

Answer 3

There is no easy answer for this question. How can you prevent something from happening is the first thing you must ask yourself.

1 do you have a fully fenced yard
2 dose you neighbor have a fenced yard
3 do you watch your child when she is out to play

there are so many factors in this question!! You should never worry your self about something that more then likley will not happen. Pit Bulls have a bad rap, but that is because people have given them that rap! Not all pits are going to grow up to be agressive dogs. If the dog is raised as a family pet and as part of the family you many find out that this dog could be your nieghbors and your childs best friend.

I understand you have doughts and that you want to protect your child but being worried about something that more then likley will never happen is just one more worry that you do not need. If you nieghbor got a Lab or a shepard would you still be asking this question? Please do not be one of those people who sees a pit bull, or Rott or Dobey and think that is is a dangerous dog. Only people make breeds bad. There are no bad breeds just bad owners!

Answer 4

There is no one who should consider you ignorant for wanting to protect your precious child. Pit bulls, unfortunately, do have bad reputations, however, not all of them are nasty. It depends on how they're trained. Saying that, I would not have one. You need to be concerned where your family is concerned. Do you have a fence around your property? If not, perhaps you should have a good fence installed. Teach your little girl not to go up to that dog or any other dog. The dogs can be territorial. I understand that if a pit bull attacks, they don't let go. I don't know if pepper spray would help.
Maybe your humane society can give you some guidelines.
Good luck.

Answer 5

There is no easy answer to that question. First, you should understand that pitbulls can be as safe around children as any other dog if they are properly bred and trained. You may be worrying for no reason. If the dog does not come from a line of dogs that were bred to be fighters, and it is properly trained, it will not be a threat to your child. Second, you need to teach your child to respect all animals, never to approach a strange animal, and how to behave around dogs so they do not frighten them or provoke them to attack. Even a well-trained, sweet-tempered dog may bite if it feels threatened or scared. Third, just keep your child away from the dog. Fence your yard, if that's what it takes. And do your child a big big favor, Don't be overprotective . I know that's hard, under the circumstances, but it's important. Don't "punish" your child for the loss of the twin by taking all the fun out of HER life.

Answer 6

Fatal attacks since 1975 have been attributed to over 30 different dog breeds yet all the media can talk about are Pit bulls, Rottweilers, Dobermans, or Akitas. Size alone is not an accurate indicator of which dogs are capable of killing and which dogs are not. In October of 2000, a baby was killed by a four pound family Pomeranian dog in California. In February of 2002, a Jack Russell Terrier mauled a 6 week old baby in Tennessee.
a veterinarian I worked for said to me, "Give me a so-called vicious Pit Bull over a Cocker Spaniel, Dachshund, or even a Lab any day!! These are the breeds I have the most problem with." Another vet concurred saying that in years of working at a veterinarian clinic she never once encountered a single vicious Pit bull yet had problems all the time with Cocker Spaniels and Yorkshire Terriers. " There seems to be an ever growing expectation of a "behaviorally homogenized" dog - "Benji" in the shape of a Rottweiler. Breeds of dogs with greater protection instincts or an elevated prey-drive are often unfairly viewed as "aggressive or dangerous". No breed of dog is inherently vicious, as all breeds of dogs were created and are maintained exclusively to serve and co-exist with humans. The problem exists not within the breed of dog, but rather within the owners that fail to control, supervise, maintain and properly train the breed of dog they choose to keep. It is important to emphasize that dogs bite today for the same reasons that they did one hundred or one thousand years ago. Dogs are no more dangerous today than they were a century or millennium ago. They only difference is a shift in human perception of what is and is not natural canine behavior and/or aggression and the breed of dog involved.

Answer 7

PitBulls CAN be very aggressive dogs. However, it has been my experience that they often bite out of fear, and they don't mean to actually do damage.

I don't own one, and I never would, but I have worked at an animal kennel for a while. I have been bitten by a Pit before, and as long as I don't panic they usually just let me go. They've never attempted to maul or hurt me.

Like I said, a lot of times they just bite instinctively out of fear. Once they sense the fear and panic of the other person there is really no stopping their attack until they are done. The best thing is to stay calm, but chances of that if it bites your daughter is very slim because she is so young.

Keep an eye on your neighbors, and watch out for signs that they may be raising the dog to be mean and nasty. Chances are, they just wanted a pet for their child, and didn't make the best choice of breed.

Also, most counties have leash laws. If they keep their dog fenced, and you keep your child away there should never be a problem.

Answer 8

I understand your question and I agree with what others have said about familiarizing the dog with you and your family as well as always having mace or pepper spray handy and not leaving your child alone. Is there a leash law near you? Also, I would educate your daughter on the dangers of approaching an animal without an adult around. Don't specific breed, just teach her about animals.

I can appreciate what you went through, and I'm sorry you felt that you needed to share that with everyone on here. Ignore the riff-raff. Dig through everything to find the answers you are looking for.

Answer 9

You ask pitbull lovers and owners and other people answering this question not to pass judgement on you about your question, yet you are passing judgement a dog you don't even know?????

You may know the "reputation" of pitbulls, but this reputation has only been created by owners that are irresponsible and purchased pitbulls for the entirely wrong reason.

I fully understand you love your daughter more than life itself, but, being a pitbull owner, I love my two pits more than life itself. They are my son and my daughter.

Did you just research how to stop an attacking pitbull, or did you research temperaments and personalities of pitbulls, becuase if you had, you would have come across pages and pages of internet sites that talked of nothing but the sweet personality of pitbulls.

Pitbulls are loyal dogs. There is no agressive nature to them unlesse provoked. Pitbulls, however, are very wary of strangers, and will bark at you if your walking down the street. Don't be alarmed, they are letting you know they are aware of you, and don't want you coming near.

If the next door neighbors are responsible owners, they will keep their dog in a fenced yard, and leashed or chained when it is outside.

The pitbull next door shouldn't be a concern to you, it will not attack your daughter unless your daughter terrorizes it, or makes it feel threatened in some way.

Answer 10

looks like no one has answer you question.... What do you do if a dog attacks you...
You have to get the dog before it bites. once a dog gets a hold it is hard to get it to let go. The main thing is not to run away! if you run away the dog ill chase you and you are acting submissive. I had a rotti come and was running teeth bare and wanted me. I turned toward the dog and ran the dog didn't know what to do it turned around and ran away but kept any eye on me I found a stick to shoo him away and I kept walking on my way. I am only 154 cm so it is very scary when such a big dog is after you.

When I go walking with my dogs i bring a horse crop with me it is a whip like thing to prevent dogs that mean business. my dogs are show dogs I don't want scars on them! Let alone them dead!

Once a dog is latched on it is hard to get off you can bang it on the head with a baseball bat and it wont let go. some people use the metal end of the lead to smack the dog on the head. Some choke the dog. Pull/ blow in ears. pull back legs. squirt with hose but the main thing you don't get hurt yourself!

I wish more research and knowledge was available in this area. It is sad there is this issue.

Answer 11

I definitely understand your concern. Though not all pit bulls are bad, they have a reputation for being aggressive. The best thing you can do to protect yourself and your child, is to prevent it. Never let your child be unattended while with the dog so he wont pounce on her. Hold her if the dog is around. Try to avoid eye contact with And I was watching a documentary about dog attacks because of the attacks you may have heard of on the news. A sensitive spot for them is there nose. Try to hit them on the nose. And the website below says to huddle into a ball and try to play dead, probably so it can't get your face. If your daughter is with you, you may try to shield her with your body. And it also says that you should try to seem dominant. Don't show signs of weakness. And remember not to run away because it will chase you. Good luck with everything. I hope everything goes great for you and your daughter. =D