http://www.thisishampshire.net/news/4470934.Giant_dog_ate_part_of_my_wife_s_arm/

Surely a dog owner should know not to approach an unknown tethered dog?

> Surely a dog owner should know not to approach an unknown tethered dog?

I know it is senseless but I do think that the owners should not have left such a large & powerfull dog unatended. My dog is a friendly lump, but I could not put him in that situation by tying him up & leaving him, even for 2 mins, the potential for serious damage is too frightening to think about becasue even the sweetest dog is still a dog and there will always be people - or even children - that jsut don't see the danger in patting an unatended, dogs head :(
I don't think the dog should be PTS, but I do think the owners need to be made to realise the potential of thier dog and never aloow a situation like this to happen again.

The dog an Akita (large powerful guarding breed) was tethered in a car park where other people are likely to be walking and parking their vehicles, the owner may have also parked their car nearby.  Is it not possible that the dog was guarding its owners car, the owner of the dogs however well behaved at home or out walking would placed tethered be using its natural instinct to guard. The owner should have thought this through and not placed the dog unattened in a situation where it could be approached by anyone in a public place, however much he/she thought they knew their own dog and it would not harm.  However it did with serious consequencies. 

The dog was approached by a stranger who stroked it and for whatever reason the dog saw this as a threat and reacted accordingly.

But was it the dogs fault?  No I do not think so but I do think the owner should be held responsible for leaving a dog tethered without ensuring that a member of the public could not approach the dog (pity the dog did not bark) then know one would have approached.

The lady who was bitten was foolish to have approached a tethered dog of any breed but to approach a guarding breed was very naive. I do wish her well on what must have been a very scary experience for her. A lesson learnt the hard way for an adult for a child who maynot have known better then the result could have been even worse. Sad all round because no one bothered to think first.

It is time that all learnt to respect dogs the owner to understand his breeds basic instincts and not to place his dog in such a position that it's at risk and the public to not approach and stroke dogs they do not know.

         

Imagine if it was a child running over to pet the dog, no excuse that was a dangerous animal and should not have been left unattended. The lady was daft to have touched it but it still should not have been left unattended.

Surely a dog owner should know not to approach an unknown tethered dog?

I agree, common sense should have taught her better, but a dog of any breed unless of an exemplary character should not be left unatteneded in a public place either, a careless mother could have missed her child stroking such a dog too, with even worse injuries. I guess the owner thought no one would be daft enough to go over and stroke it, but I guess the woman thought the dog was friendly otherwise it would not be left in public.

So both people are to blame completely, I don't particularly think the dogs character is very good for it to bite, (unless being teased or hurt) but being PTS is a bit extreme not knowing the full situation especially if a one off.

Hopefully both people have learnt a hard lesson and I hope not at the dogs expense.

Regardless of whether or not the woman should have approached the dog, the dog should not have a) been left unattended or b) reacted like that.  Sorry, I don't care whether it thinks it is guarding the car or not (and the article actually said that she stroked the dog and it was as she walked away that it bit her several times) it should not have bitten. 

I appreciate we are all dog lovers here, but sometimes I think we err too much on the side of the dog.  I don't blame the dog, but the owners - not just for leaving it unattended, but I also wonder how it has been treated/trained (or lack of) in order for it to act like this.

Based only on what the paper is saying (we really don't know the full story and newspapers are known for bending the truth to sensationalise a story) I cannot see any reason not to pts the dog.  Sorry if that upsets some.

> I appreciate we are all dog lovers here, but sometimes I think we err too much on the side of the dog.

I think we often err on the side of the dog as the dog is the one that can not speak out in it's defense. A dog should not bite a person, but the dog will never be able to give it's own account of things.

Turning your back on a dog that you don't know, that is acting in a defensive/threatening manner can actually trigger an attck - of course this is not something everybody knows, and not many people would notice subtle sings of defensiveness/threats from a dog (especially some breeds that are not as demonstrative), but far too many dog owners forget that thier dogs are dogs, and no matter how hidden, they have a dogs instincts, especially when left tied up with no owner for direction.
People with large/powerfull dogs should go out of their way to ensure thier dogs are NEVER put in a situation where the dog could be forced to use it's instincts.

From the dogs point of view (and this is an Akita, not a soppy little lap dog): -
stranger approaches,
dog displays warning signs by 'freezing' (it's tied up, it's only options when threatened are freeze or fight)
the freezing goes un-noticed as it is a very subtle display so stranger continues to approach the dog which is percieved by the dog as a continued threat or challenge, maybe dog yawns to  show he is uncomfortable, or turns his head away slightly (humans interpretation - my!! how cute that dog is yawning, ahhhh, he looks like a lil' teddy bear/bless him, he's shy, he's looking away).
Maybee even the dog is wagging it's tail, demonstrating it is tense, but percieved to be friendly.
stranger ignores these signals and is even threatening/challenging enough to pat the dogs head!!!
Stranger then retreats - dog takes it's chance to re-inforce the warnings that were previously ignored.

Outcome - human injured by dog that felt forced into defending itself, but dog is seen as an agressive beast and human has no idea they were warned as the dog didn't growl or bark :(

We don't know if the dog was acting on it's instincts or if the dog was just a very agressive, untrained dog with behavioural problems, but one assumes that nobody would approach an Akita, that was behaving like an untrained monster with behavioural problems, to pet it.

We are all so used to pet dogs that lots of people foget the 'dog' in the pet. This would never be a problem if owners understood the potential of thier dogs :(

I agree with what you say mastifflover, but the fault has to lie squarely on the shoulders of the owners.

We know how to behave around dogs... we are dog lovers, but if we have our dogs as part of society, we should ensure they are fit for integrating into society.  Sure the dog may have been acting instinctively, but then it has no place being left unattended in a public place where members of society may be at risk of it's natural behaviours  (I don't think any dogs should be left unattended, but that's another point).  I too feel sorry for the dog, but it has to be remembered that not everyone is knowledgeable or even a dog lover, and many pet dog owners/lovers have little understanding anyway and it's highly unlikely they would read a dog's signals.  Why would anyone (unless they are knowledgeable) think they can't approach an Akita - after all, this one was out in a public place and had been left unattended.  The vast majority would assume it was a pet.  I cannot see how we can blame members of the public for a lack of breed specific knowledge.   As an example, I cannot imagine anyone going over to stroke a guard dog, especially if there are signs out.

> Sure the dog may have been acting instinctively, but then it has no place being left unattended in a public place where members of society may be at risk of it's natural behaviours.

100% agree with you.
The owner could have stopped this from ever happening by not leaving the dog unatended.
My dog is friendly with strangers, but I wouldn't leave him tied up as I would not want to put anybody at risk from what may happen if he feels threatened. I really don't think he would do any harm to anybody, he's a bog goof-ball, but that is not a gurantee and I am not willing to put anybody at risk finding out.

How do you find out if your dog is good with strangers when it's on it's own, unless you put strangers at risk?? I couldn't do it.

Complete lack of responsibility on the owners part.

>I cannot see how we can blame members of the public for a lack of breed specific knowledge.

No, you can't blame the public, people will automatically stroke a dog without thinking about it and as somebody else said, children easliy escape thier mothers watch for a moment to fuss a dog.

I was quite cross with myself yesterday - I was chatting to a woman who had a dog, without thinking I put my hand down to stroke the dog, I didn't ask the owner if it was OK. I just did it. The dog was happy to have a fuss, but it so easily could have bitten me as I reached for it's head. I then noticed the owner was carrying a muzzle It was a greyhound, though that had been to the woods, i assume the muzzle was to stop it catching & eating bunnies! I always tell my kids to NEVER touch any dog without asking the owners and I go and do it myslef
It seems, just as a dog can bite out of instinct, we can stroke them out of instinct which, so it should be down to the owner to ensure the dog isn't put in a position to bite, or is muzzled so it can't bite.

I really don't like to see any dog left unatended, for the dogs sake, far too many people tease them, but to leave a large dog tied up also puts the public at risk, nomatter how friendly the dog is with the owners about.

>I really don't like to see any dog left unatended, for the dogs sake.

Totally agree, anything could happen or they could be stolen. Its a risk I dont take these days.

From the dogs point of view (and this is an Akita, not a soppy little lap dog): -
stranger approaches,
dog displays warning signs by 'freezing' (it's tied up, it's only options when threatened are freeze or fight)
the freezing goes un-noticed as it is a very subtle display so stranger continues to approach the dog which is percieved by the dog as a continued threat or challenge, maybe dog yawns to  show he is uncomfortable, or turns his head away slightly (humans interpretation - my!! how cute that dog is yawning, ahhhh, he looks like a lil' teddy bear/bless him, he's shy, he's looking away).
Maybee even the dog is wagging it's tail, demonstrating it is tense, but percieved to be friendly.
stranger ignores these signals and is even threatening/challenging enough to pat the dogs head!!!
Stranger then retreats - dog takes it's chance to re-inforce the warnings that were previously ignored

What an excellent explanation, very well written and interpreted mastifflover. :-)   (**This lady knows her dogs!** :-D)