So our dog escaped the house and attacked another dog today

[nadine_mn]

I am unemployed and I am usually home all day every day. Today I took my mom for a belated Mother's Day outing of shopping and lunch. Came home found my dog hooked up outside, our cat loose in the yard and the screen popped out of the window.

I freaked, thought I our German Shepherd went on some neighborhood rampage.

Apparently (from witnesses) a Sharpei from up the cul de sac got loose and came into our yard (near the window that got busted out). Our German Shepherd then knocked the screen out (the window was only open 1/2 way) and crawled through the window and "attacked" the other dog.

I put attack in quotes because the other dog survived with a small puncture wound in the neck and those of you who know dogs know that GSD have a stronger bite force than Pit Bulls. The dog was more slobbered on than anything. Our dog doesn't understand how to play well with others (he was a rescue and he was the smallest dog there so he is used to rough housing and doesn't understand that not every dog can kick his ass) so he slobbers and mouths. If our dog was going to attack with the intent to harm, that dog would have had much more injuries.

I found out that 3-4 men (neighbors and someone biking by) beat our dog with sticks. Our dog never left his yard (we don't have a fenced in yard) and when the police came, he had been sitting in the yard by the house alone for over an hour - the police hooked him up.

The police said that since our dog never left the yard (by all reports) and that the other dog was loose and came into our yard, our dog had the right to defend his property and the police said there is NO problem with us.

Apparently the neighbors in the cul de sac are pissed at us (not the neighbors to the other side of us - they both said our dog never left the yard and our dog wagged his tail when other people came into the yard.

I feel sick - worried that neighbors will complain and our landlord will evict us (we have lived here 10yrs and just have a month to month unwritten lease).

I am pissed as hell at whoever beat our dog with sticks (after the dogs had been separated - I understand seeing a German Shepherd with another dog in his mouth would be upsetting but apparently they continued to abuse our dog after they were separated).

I feel guilty for not shutting the windows all the way, I just was used to being home and not worrying about anything.

I can't believe our dog never left the yard (our cat got out too, our other dog stayed in the house) and our pets didn't run into the street or get hit.

Ok just had to vent - I am shaking and crying over the whole mess.

[cliffordu]

1. Secure your dog.

PERIOD.

[nadine_mn]

2. Wait - it is our fault another dog was loose and came into our yard?

Yes, it is my fault for having a window open 1/2 way (we had a screen) but our dog has never tried to escape before (we have had him 4 years).

The police said it was not our fault, that it was the other dog - WHO WAS NOT SECURED - which escaped from its back yard and came up to our house.

The police said our dog did what he was supposed to - defended the property.

[cliffordu]

4. Then your dog can be completely within his right and still be beaten to death

by a bunch of assholes in the next instance.

If you really love your dog, SECURE IT.

Sometimes being in the right means exactly nothing.

[Sekhmets Daughter]

5. That's a great point... n/t

[nadine_mn]

7. I do love my dogs - there is no question about that

I never imagined that he could sneak through that partially opened window - he is a large dog.

I have learned my lesson, we will never open our windows again.

I get your point - my dog deserved to be beaten.

[cliffordu]

9. That wasn't my point and deserve has NOTHING to do with what I said.

But thanks for playing.

[nadine_mn]

12. Your point was that it was my fault that this happened

and what happened to the dogs was a logical consequence.

I am not playing anything.

Trust me, I am sick over what happened. If I thought for a minute he could have gotten loose, I would not have had the window partially opened. I take extra precautions when I am with our dogs. I have never had a dog (including this one) try to get out a screen window - we have had 4 large dogs at one time and none of them ever tried it.

I blame myself 100% for leaving the house with windows partially opened (even with screens).

[cliffordu]

13. Where did I write that your dog DESERVED to be beaten?

[easttexaslefty]

3. The dog WAS secured.

It never left the owners yard.

[Sekhmets Daughter]

6. I'm glad your dog is okay, and you're not in any trouble....

But a tiny bit of negligence could have had more serious repercussions for both your pets and yourself. As it is, you're worried about your landlord trying to evict you.

Don't continue to beat yourself up over it...just remember to close the windows when you leave!

[nadine_mn]

8. I am worried about our landlord evicting us - because trying to find housing with 2 large dogs

is nearly impossible.

I am unemployed and trying to find a new place for us and our dogs would be very difficult.

We had new screens windows recently put in all our windows (I have no idea how he popped it out) so I thought leaving the windows partially open would be ok for a few hours. I have left the house before and never had a problem.\

I know this was entirely my fault - trust me I do.

[Sekhmets Daughter]

11. That's why I said, stop beating yourself up...

Shit happens... Once it does, all we can do is learn from it and try to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Also, be thankful the screen gave, rather than having your dog tear through it! I imagine your dog really objected to that other dog being in his yard. It could be worse. My son had a friend whose Pit Bull broke right through a closed and locked window to get to his female while she was in heat! The pups were gorgeous!

[CBGLuthier]

10. OMG police officers that are intelligent

Truly a rare thing. and you are very fortunate to have encountered them.

My little fellow (half blue healer half chihuahua) would probably make some of the same mistakes but I do believe he would leave the yard.

[olddots]

14. Our pets own us

n.t.

[hlthe2b]

15. Obviously, better securing of your dog in future, but right now get witness statements on paper

Just in case someone wants to make problems with you in the future... and make sure what you were told by police is documented in writing as well.

Yes, had your GS wanted to cause harm, that dog would have been dead. This is definitely in your favor, but still, don't take a chance in the future... Perhaps consider some behavior modification to tamp down his instinct that caused him to jump through the screened window, but from what you describe, this is not a dog that I would consider overly aggressive.

Get the incident documented, though... just in case

[Raffi Ella]

16. oh wow, I am so sorry that your dog was beaten!

god damn it how upsetting. A similar scenario happened to me once. There is a house a couple of doors down that is rented out, seems a new family moves in every few months. One of the families had a new puppy they let run the neighborhood.

My 100lb dog was very confident and playful but not dangerous whatsoever. She pretty much stayed in her yard and the neighbors all knew her and liked her, she always came when called and was never a problem. So, I'm in my back yard and I hear my dog cry out. I ran around to the front yard to see the new renter guy start to kick her (again apparently) while his puppy ran around in circles around my dog.

I called her to me and told him I didn't know what the hell he thought he was doing but he needed to get his dog and get the fuck off my property and that if he ever so much as looked at my dog again I was going to press charges- the fucking bastard had the audacity to tell me I should have MY dog secured!

MY DOG never left her fucking yard thank you very much!

ugh. again, I am very sorry your dog was hurt. It's very upsetting, they're like kids to some dog owners and to think they were beaten? I am so sorry.

You need to take your dog for a walk around the neighborhood with your head held high and allow your neighbors to see just how loved he is and establish that YOU have nothing to be embarrassed about nor your dog. It will also give you a chance to maybe connect w/ the neighbors and let them know just how upsetting all of this was for you. If your landlord gives you any grief have that same attitude.

Hugs to you, take some deep breaths, it's gonna be ok. Your dog probably has forgotten about it already.

[marzipanni]

17. My Australian Shepherd Petey was attacked by a Sharpei

owned by a neighbor of friends were we visiting for the afternoon. While my dog was in the car most of the afternoon, this Sharpei was in our friends' house and noticed himself in a mirrored wall, and lunged under the dining room table to attack his own reflection! Our friend laughed and said that wasn't the first time he had done that...

Then I took my dog for a walk and was putting him back in the car and the Sharpei came barreling down from his driveway and attacked. Petey had the top of the Sharpei's head in his mouth and I was trying to pry his mouth open, (stupid, I know) afraid his canine tooth might go into the dog's eye. I shouted for help and my husband and our friend came, but Petey had already let go. We assessed the small hole on the Sharpei's scalp, put some H2O2 and antibiotic ointment on it and went to tell the owner. They were not at home, but later our friend reported what had happened. The Sharpei's owner was not concerned at all, they knew how feisty their little punk was, and the hole made by Petey's tooth healed fine.

I hope your neighbor was just being defensive, feeling guilty because their dog shouldn't have been wandering around loose.

Your poor dog, I hope he isn't suffering from the over-reaction of passersby; scary as dogs snarling and snapping at each other seems, as our veterinarian friend says, more often than not dogs sort it out in a few seconds!