I'm still in shock by an unprovoked attack on my daughter by a male and female Lab which live two blocks down the street. She was scratched up pretty badly but thankfully not bitten. These two dogs are let loose for hours at times, and the male jumped on my daughter's back as she walked along the street a block from the dog's home, and would not get off. The female clawed at her front and sides as she dragged the male toward our house. Her winter coat was ripped up as well as her jeans and shirt. She pulled up her hood which no doubt saved her face from injury. She dragged the dogs for three hundred feet until the attack was stopped by a man responding to her screams. The man said the dogs were vocalizing, but not snarling or growling. He thought they were biting at her face though. The male dog challenged the responding Patrol Officer's car in an aggressive manner and was captured without fuss. Any comments on the motivation of this attack? Our dog just went out of heat last week, so that scent may have been present on her clothing, but our bitch was locked in the house. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />

I honestly don't think there is any way anyone could give a realistic opinion without seeing the incident.

Don't let your kid play outside without close adult supervision.

Do what you have to do in order to take care of the problem with the dog's owner. They are obviously at fault, no matter what the motivation.

I agree with Robert. The way you have written this does not sound like a true dog attack. If two dogs wanted to take a child down they would have done so in less than a block.

I dont have patience for idiots that allow their dogs to run loose. You need to talk to animal control, the police (insist on an incident report bewing written), the police chief, the DA, the Mayor and the newspaper. THis should scare the be-jesus out of the dog owners.

I'm still in shock by an unprovoked attack on my daughter by a male and female Lab which live two blocks down the street. She was scratched up pretty badly but thankfully not bitten.

The behavior of the dogs is wrong. They should be maintained properly, fenced, kenneled, supervised etc. But what you discribe is not a dog attack. Certainly two large dogs being unrestrained and unmannered is unnnerving for the child but it is ceertainly not an attack. Biting which dogs are all capable of doing, is the means for a dog to attack.
I hope that the child can have some more positive experiences with dogs and that a real attack is never ever encountered. But, lets call this what it is and not take current trend towards sensationalism in reporting the incident that we see all over popular media today when reporting anything.

Hi Kenneth,
I've taught my daughters that if they are confronted by an unfriendly dog (I've also taught them that a wagging tail does not mean the dog is friendly), they should stand still like a statue and not make any eye contact with the dog. Most likely, it will sniff them and go away once it realizes they are not a threat, at which point they should slowly and calmly leave the area. If it does attack them, they should curl into a ball and protect their head and neck. By continuing to walk while screaming, your daughter may have unwittingly contributed to the dogs' continued interest in her. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

I agree with the others, this should be a big wakeup call for the owners of the dogs. They need to control their dogs.

And, I'm sorry for your daughter. I hope she's alright emotionally, and that she can have some positive experiences with friendly dogs. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Thanks for the feedback...I tend to minimize this situation in a similar way, ie: GSD(zvv1) and Lab owner, and for the record, I loathe over-litigation. However, all dog owners such as ourselves may want to take a closer look. According to our local animal laws: An animal that lunges at, or jumps upon a person unprovoked may be deemed as viscious and subject to seizure and destruction. To put this into perspective, look at the current trends in Domestic Violence laws regarding assaults...very interesting. If not an "attack," what shall we call it? If you are skilled or armed, and fight off a dog with everything you have and do not receive a bite, but other injuries, does that equate to "not an attack?" If I kill a person in the performance of my duties as a sworn LE, must I first be injured? No. The standard is what a reasonable person would perceive at the moment of the incident. The man who stopped this encounter was visibly shaken an hour later as he explained to the investigating Officer what he saw and did. Certainly it's not as bad as the horrific dog incidents that make the headlines for several reasons, but in each incident one must factor in special factors relating to the victim and suspect. In this case the victim was 7 yrs old, 75 lbs., dog savy, and trained in street fighting by yours truly...and she said, "These dogs weren't playing dad." Regards, kb

Lisa,
Thank you for the concern, and the good advice on kids dealing with strange dogs. In this case the incident started with the larger dog (about 80 lbs)approaching in stealth and jumping on her from behind with no warning and continued from there. I disagree that the correct thing to do in this case would be to go to the ground, thus exposing the head/neck. I think the dogs were resonding to a territory invasion and would have just intensified their efforts on a victim going down like weakened prey. Here in Alaska, the recommended way to respond to an aggressive predatory animal (bears,wolves)(dog?) is to move slowly out of its immediate area without exposing one's back, fight like hell if attacked, then failing that, play dead.
Thank you. kb

It is impossible to say, but maybe it was just rough play? A dog that wants to bite will bite, and it sounds like these dogs don't know how to act with humans because they have never been around their owners much. If that's the case screaming and running might have just convinced the dogs that she thought it was fun.

Having dog smell on her clothes from playing with your dogs might have encouraged the dogs, who knows? Impossible to say.