I was attacked by a dog today.
 

Oh wow.. I would be deathly afraid of dogs if that happened to me..

good thing you didn't get hurt. *huggles*

May I ask why were you frightened of dogs in the first place? You don't have to answer ^^,

My mom is very scared of them just because they have fangs.. I'm uncomfortable around them cause I never get much contact with dogs.. but I don't think I'm afraid.

I see..

*huggles* well good thing it didn't get ya ><

I prefer cats =w=

I would be terrified if that happened to me. X__x Aggressive dogs freak me out. I'd get chased by dogs every once in a while when I used to ride my bike to school and it's a scary feeling when they chase after you.

It's good to hear that you got away safely from it though!

I saw my brother get attacked by dogs a long time ago. He was bitten on his leg and I've been kinda scared around dogs ever since.

*hugs* That sounds terrifying and I love dogs. o.o

Now, I could go into a huge rant about that shouldn't have even happened in the first place because any dog, aggressive or not, should be contained within a fenced in yard or a house. >> Grr people.

Not all dogs are huge monsters. Mine is a huge pushover. Ask Ulti, he really is.

Picture of said dog:

I've had a couple of encounters with aggressive dogs in the past, but nothing severely bad. I own an american bulldog. He probably weight around 110 or so, pure muscle, but he's a big baby (though still an effective guard dog) and we keep him fenced in.
I guess a perk of being in law enforcement is I almost always have a handgun on me. That being said, if an aggresive dog comes after me, my bite is worse than his

As a kid a dog bit my finger, (the lady let me pet them but one of the two was a little more aggressive than the other, she gave me a Dolly Parton creepy barbie doll thing as an apology gift AKA to make sure we didn't get her dog in trouble, I guess?) and my ex's dog once latched onto my neck, I have a scar on my jawline from it :P
I have to admit certain big dogs scare me, but I still loves dogs too much (I feel an affinity for them, same with cats)

There's no such thing as aggressive dogs. Just stupid owners...
Any dog can be great if the owner actually took the time to properly socialize and train it.

A dog is not born agressive in my opinion. It's something that's learned from how it's handled.

That's harsh. I love dogs, but I grew up with them (my parents had a great dane when I was a baby. I used him as a big toy of sorts, so I'm told). I think a lot of problems with dogs come from people not socializing their animals properly, or trainging them to simply behave when strangers are involved. It doesn't help that a lot of people use methods of interacting with dogs that are outdated. Sticking your hand in a dogs face to let it smell it can be asking for trouble if the dog is uneasy or nervous. The dog can smell you just fine from where you are standing.

I have been bitten three times by dogs. Once by a golden retriever who had just had puppies and didn't want company (the signs were there but being like 4 years old I wanted to pat her anyway), once by my spaniel that was ill and later put down, and once by a toy poodle that was afraid of me.

I can understand being afraid of dogs. I know they can have habits that would be frightening for people not aware of what the dog is doing. I know three dogs personaly that like to 'mouth' people they meet or like, grabbing into hands or arms and such to play or whatnot. Pit bulls are known to do it and my sister's pit-mix does it. He doesn't bite, and isnt' trying to hurt you but feeling teeth even lightly on one's hand can be frightening.

Okay, I've read this a few times and I hate to say it...but I don't think it was an attack. Yes, if you're wary of dogs it would feel like one, but I actually think the dog was trying to encourage you to play with it. I've worked with animals for 10 years and was 'raised' by them for the years prior to that. Often dogs will bark and growl to get your attention, 'asking' to have you interact/play with them. When you bolted for the door it probably thought you'd started a game of tag(part of why you never chase a loose dog). When you stopped and didn't do anything it figured you'd given up the game, hence the sniffing about.

Am I saying this wasn't aggression on the dogs part? No, I wasn't there, can only surmise from what you've said, but I've been around enough animals that's my first, third and fifth thought after reading it. Should you assume all dogs doing similar things are playing and not protect yourself? Heck no!

That all being said I would STRONGLY recommend talking to the neighbor that owns the dog(or have a friend/parent/someone if you're not comfortable about it) about having their dog loose. Most places consider that a violation of the leash laws, and if the dog SHOULD attack they can be charged with up to Assault with a Deadly Weapon(friend got served with that, we laughed even as we realized how serious it was). If you continue to see the dog out and about loose call your local ASPCA and report them, they'll talk to the owner and issues fines if it continues.

The dog might have been being territorial as well, which also doesn't necessarily mean agressive. I've been charged by dogs on the street a couple times. I keep and eye on them but usually just go about my business and not bother to react. Both occasions they stopped barking a few feet away and walked off when they saw I wasn't reacting to them. Dogs can interpret running as an invitation to chase. If that's what they're looking for they will quit when they realize you aren't playing along.

I'm a cat person as well.. I hate aggresive dogs too. ones with aggresive type manners. like my boyfriends current dog... >_> it finally likes me now but that thing is soooo stupid. it doesn't even get along with other dogs. =3= I dunno~ not a dog person.

I'm a doglover myself and wouldn't trade my pit for the world. I'm sorry to hear you had such a scare. I'm a firm believer that the owner was prolly at falt for the dogs behavior.

Dogs are treated as if they are people and need to be "tamed". They tame them against their nature and so, some dogs become frustrated... It is very true. We treat them as if they are mini people, when they are not. Dogs use to be companions to ONE person and stayed loyal to that person. Rarely were dogs consider family dogs, only latter on in our history they became family oriented. Their behavior and nature is do to humans inability to understand their pet, especially if it is a pure breed. Pure breeds have specific behaviors and sometimes they are not trained on those behaviors. I never understood why people get specific dogs and never used them to do what their natural instincts are to do.

The dog probably was confused, maybe by your actions. Fearing an animal or showing fear causes any animal to become aggressive or unsure. The dog sounds as if it was curious, more then willing to attack. Growling can have multiple reasons.

Yes, put an animal down because it is aggressive is murder to me... That is because it is not the animals fault. It is doing it by nature and by the fact the owner did something wrong. So, we should punish the dog because the owner is not able to control the animal? Why do we treat dogs or animals as if they are not a living being?

Super glad you are okay and yeah I don't like dogs that much either, just the big ones scare me and I always feel like dogs are "unclean" dunno how to explain that lol but I'm glad you were not harmed!

I don't think people should put animals down, but if they get to be too aggresive where they are killing other animals and hurting people, then there is no other choice left if something like that is running around. I protect my babies.

Well I'm absolutely sure it's the fault of the owners. 'Taming' a dog is more simple that you might think. You can even 'tame' cats. I teached mine to give a paw and to sit down before he'll get his food. If the owners can't handle him, they shouldn't have a dog in the first place. Their second dog might be most likely just the same if they get another.
It's not really the fault of that dog, he probably doesn't even know he's doing wrong >_> Because nobody tells him. The owners are to blame here.

I think you're being a bit to technical there, SanguaLuna. Purebreeds aren't totally programed by their breeding adn mixed-breeds can be just as likely to act according to instincts that may be picked up from their backgrounds, though it does have some influence of course. Dogs dont necessarily do better in houses with one person versus a family, but some dogs will. Knowing your breed definately helps though, that's definately true.

I think the term "taming" is a bit much. Dogs aren't born wild, but they can turn suspicious or nasty towards some things depending on their life experiences.

I think one of the problems people have with dogs is they don't take the time to teach them to really behave. Training is one thing, sit, down, stay, etc, but ultimately the dog can live without it if it's a casual animal (Ie, not a lot of loose energy to occupy). Simple things like teaching the dog to leave off something it's interested in, not being allowed past the end of the driveway by itself can help to curb incidents like having a dog "charge" someone or pester people. Simply repeating basic things like herding the dog back into the driveway if it strays off will do it, and the dog will pick up what it's supposed to do. It's really very easy but something a lot of people don't seem to bother to do.

I got lack of a better word, English is a foreign language for me.

Ah. I wouldn't have guessed that.

I agree that often poorly behaved dogs are are the fault of the owners. I say often because there are dogs that do act badly by nature, and it doesn't necessarily have anything to do with its breed.

I had a dog when I was a kid that would lick you to death but would never harm anyone unless they were say attacking her owner. Some dogs are more territorial, mind you I think might cat would attack strangers

muffin just attacked me when i was sitting down then