The confrontation between the dogs is over but if the puppy were mine, I'd get him to the vet but even before that, I would definitely be calling the county animal control. There is no excuse for having a dog like that especially when they take him outside their own home. Both dog and owner should be punished after this. The dog should be removed and watched to be sure there are no rabies. The dog owner can be fined. For what it is worth, another thing the animal control can do if you have problems with other dogs when you are on the road. Take a picture! A picture of a dog on a road can mean an automatic $50 fine for the owner. The dogs have no right to be on a roadway.
If I'm understanding your description, the attacking dog had ahold of the pups throat and would not let go for some time. Not sure if it would help or if it's a good idea to get in the middle of a dog fight but, grabbing ahold of a dogs haunch at their "waist" directly in front of their hind legs and lifting straight up will most time make them release their grip. The dogs natural reaction is to rear around, so you may get bit, but if you had a good strong hold of a handful of neck scruff first you may be able to control the dog enough. Lifting at the haunch is a technique often used to get a retrieving dog who won't release their prey/ball to release. Try it out on your dog so you can see the dogs response. Sorry about your dog and I hope he is not permanently afraid of other dogs. My dogs are off leash routinely. When I meet other dog owners who are apprehensive about my dogs being off leash it is often because their dog had a bad encounter. Aggressive dogs off leash are my biggest fear about letting my dogs off leash in a public area. I don't understand why a dog owner who knows their dog is aggressive would allow their dog to be in a situation where they may attack another dog.
Dave, how are the pups? Got enough newspapers and paper towels! I just bought supplies for the dogs to last a month. Plus I had a vet visit. And had to do the flea treatment. Cost a lot. I won't feed out dog food that has corn, wheat or byproducts. Also have two cats but that cost is much less. Don't know how you do it with five!
Hope the pups ok. I would have gone with a punt in the gut/rib area. Probably would have gone with the knife if that did not work.
The last thing I would be doing is sticking the .gov on a friend. Personally I'd chock it up as a mistake on both sides and leave it at that. I really get tired of finger pointing and it HAVING to be someone's fault. As for a dog roaming around and a $50 fine for photos... really?! The several times I've had random dogs come my way I've been able to catch most of them and call the owner. I've had my dog get loose a few times and only have had one person be an a-hole about it. I found out last year where I live they "require" dogs and cats to be licensed like they are a car. Talk about a load of baloney! Needless to say, I've never gave them any money for that.
The new pups are doing great, bit of an issue with Willow being domineering, but she is the dog alpha and I think it will pass. Having 5 definitely hits the budget but I thoroughly enjoy them so I'm OK with the expense.
In Maine a large portion of the required dog registration fee is allocated to the animal welfare program, I register all my dogs and do so happily.
Good for you. I think most dog people are very good people. My female dog is with me most of the time. I call her my therapy dog. She knows when my PTSD is acting up and has a sweet way to draw my attention to her.
My dog got fixed up yesterday and we should have gone sooner as what was just a gash looked to be clearly infected. $500 later (plus 2 followups to come), he is wearing the cone and crashing into everything but happy as a pup. I've spoken with the owner of the other dog, have proof of her rabies vacc, and will let it all play out and die down. He has offered to cover all bills, and this was really unfortunate as better communication would have prevented all of this. DaveGunter, nice summary and excellent advice. That's a good point to test out the hold before it really needs to be used.
