The way I see it is a dog is something that can very easily hurt you. So are the weapons many of us use, but do we stop using them? No, we just use common sense and pay attention to the weapon.

A lot (probably most) dog attacks are on young children. Would you let a young child play with a knife? Maybe under your close supervision. A dog is the same way. If your child is not big enough to stand and smack the dog down, or at least run out of reach, don't let your kid alone with the dog.

The dog may be "a member of the family", but how many of us with siblings have beat the $#!7 out of our siblings? A dog is no different. It will have days it just doesn't care much for you and doesn't want you around.

Bottom line - there is no need to be afraid of the dog, but you should always be aware of it and NEVER let your face near its.

My $0.02

I would love to invite the author of this book over to my house to meet my dogs. My wife and I breed and show English Mastiffs. My sire Zeus is about 225 pounds and my delicate little girl Aphrodite is about 197 pounds. Fortunately I don't think either one could be provoked to attack unless someone was attacking my wife or I smeared you with a nice AuJUs sauce. But just for the sake of discussion, what technique do you think would work against an animal of this size who was determined to rip you apart? Now remember that law enforcement officers use dogs that weigh half this ammount and criminals rarely get away from the dogs. I really wish this site allowed for the posting of photo's so I could show you my canine buddies. Zeus is the size of my Harley Davidson FLSTC.

Love dogs (I do!), hate them, fear them, whatever...I don't really see any of this as being the point. What REALLY irritates me about the original post is that it is merely a poorly obfuscated attempt to sell me something.


If I wanted to do "doggie-style krotty", I would sign up at the Mc-dogjo down the street.

Mike

I agree about the sales pitch. But looks like someone here in Florida already bought the course.

http://www.baynews9.com/content/36/2007/1/3/212158.html

I was raised on a farm and have always had dogs and I also have been bitten by several of them (dogs in general not mine). Due partly to my upbringing and the rest to my hard head I have never developed a fear for animals (the reason for getting bit several times). The worst was getting nailed by the neighbor’s white German shepherd. The two of them had gotten out and where roaming the neighborhood. This was rather common and the dogs where known to be mean so it was always the big news. Well, I found out and decided to “help” try to catch the dog. At one point I was petting one of them when one of the cops rounded the corner and saw me. I remember him saying something and at that time the dog I was petting turned and hammered my arm. It freaked me out for a long time; I had a hard time dealing with the fact that the dogs (both of them) got put down. Since they both looked the same I could not positively identify what dog it was that bit me, and at the time the cop was more concerned with the situation of me being bitten so the dog became secondary.

The part that I - in retrospect – find amusing is that it was an apology fest. I had been out playing with friends when I got the news and took off by myself, the friends ran to my house to tell on me. As I was out trying to help, my parents where out looking for me, when the folks got there all Mom and Dad wanted to do was apologize to the cops for me getting in the way. The cop kept apologizing to my parents for asking me to grab the dog (that was what he had said “grab it” before it bit me), and the neighbors where apologizing to everybody hopping not to get sued. Thinking back, I have no doubt that if the cop would not have interfered I would have been able to walk the dog home. Since it was common for them to get out the dogs knew the drill, so as soon as the cop stepped out the dog reacted.

-JBC-

Bad Humor, Ted.. but a cute finish...

Dogs have personalities just like people, and a few "quirks" that make them appear vicious when they really aren't. They're territorial for the most part.... my chihuahua will stand you off inside his territory, but is just as easy to handle as a teddy bear away from it... even when he's getting shots, etc.

My shepherd is as smart as most people. When he runs out of something (food or water), he brings his bowl to you and drops it at your feet. If you don't pick it up and go fill it up, he will pick it up and whack you on the leg with it to get your attention. He's neutered, so he isn't agressive toward anything except other dogs near his territory. When people come up, the problem is getting him not to jump on them to "make friends".

The different breeds have some quirks too... my "yard dog" is a cross between a redbone hound and a labrador retriever, and she only wants somebody to pet her. She's a good watchdog, but digs holes in the yard (big enough to hide in) which is a hound trait, and tracks the squirrels and birds and goes "on point" to any wildlife that ventures into the yard.

My neighbor up the street, whom I don't like particularly and doesn't care for me either, has two dogs that he warns everybody to stay away from... but I can walk up and pet either one of them... mainly because I spent some time playing with them when they were puppies... so to generalize that dogs necessarily have an aggressive nature doesn't wash.

Like people, there are some that are agressive, some passive, and some that just don't care... Well, when you think about it, maybe you COULD have a martial arts class with the likes of them...

JMHO...