German Shepard:1 Yorkie:0

[Mitzi]

This morning, this woman was walking a beautiful German Shepard in front of the house. Well, my male Yorkie THINKS he's a german shepard. A friend came over just then and I yelled to her to close the door....too late. The male Yorkie took off after this GS and lit into her. The dog was startled and didn't like my dog hanging from her ear. She growled and grabbed my yorkie. She started to shake her head with him but the owner held her head still as I ran up. She dropped my dog who ran whimpering to me. I got blood all over me and ran to the car and got him to the vet.
He has some bad puncture wounds and and a broken front leg.
The owner of GS came over to apologize and I told her it was not her dogs fault. My dog was unleashed, even tho he had gotten away from me in the house. And maybe he will think twice now about going after anything close to his yard.
Just what I needed today.....a vet bill. Will someone please tell my Yorkie he isn't a German Shepard???????????????
For those of you that own German Shepards, any advice on what to do if my dog runs and attacks like that? If the owner had not been there, she probably would have killed my dog by shaking it like a rag doll. I wouldn't even begin to know how to get my dog out of her mouth. We try very hard to keep our dog in the house but he does escape at times. We may find a new home for him.....I'm afraid he might do that to a child.

[ 01-26-2002: Message edited by: Mitzi ]

[Snoopy1]

Here's my dog story.

I have a chihuahua. One night he was out in the back yard and started barking furiously. Normally he doesn't do that at night; just during the day when he sees a person too close to "his" yard or house. I went out to investigate and discovered he had something trapped behind the air conditioning unit. Assuming it was a cat using our back yard as a shortcut to visit a friend, I picked my dog up and carried him inside.

A few nights later it happened again but this time I saw the culprit. It was in a corner in the shadows where I couldn't get a good look at it, even with the outside lights on. It was black with a white spot (no, it wasn't a stripe), a spot. It started running along the wall toward the front yard but it didn't run the way a cat would and didn't try to jump up on the wall. It was more like a crawl.

Since then I keep my dog inside after dark and put him on a leash before we go to bed. I stand at the sliding glass door and let him out as far as the leash will reach so I can pull him back if I need to. I don't want him getting in a fight with this unknown creature.

My daughter thinks perhaps the intruder is a possum but we don't really know.

[ALadyToYou]

I am very sorry to hear about your pet. I hope he recovers quickly. I hope you are OK too.

Mitzi, even though your dog got out, I would like to commend you for being a responsible dog owner.

I can’t tell you how many times while I was walking my two German Shepherds, on their leashes, when smaller unleashed dogs would run up to us and cause a commotion. When I would request that the dog be put on a leash I would get this reply, "But my dog won’t bite." I would look right at the owners and tell them, "But my dogs will!" Some owners just don’t get it!

Even though the dog is smaller, the larger leashed dog feels threatened because he is tethered. He acts on instinct to protect himself. It would be very difficult and dangerous for you to get in between the dogs.

When an unleashed rottweiller attacked my 100 lbs male and had him in his mouth, his owner beat him on the head to get the dog to release my dog. It was one of the worst experiences I have been through. However, I did not blame the dog, I blamed the owner. I would hate for you to have to go through that.

Has your Yorkie been fixed? If not, getting it done might help a bit. What about an obedience class? I know it may be a pain, but, to keep you from having to go through this trauma again, you are just going to have to go out of your way to stop his ‘escapes’.

I hope things work out and that you do not have to find a new home for him.

[Mitzi]

Yes, Lady, he is fixed. He is big for a Yorkie and feircely protective of the house. We decided what we would do is get one of those electric fences. He would never be shocked unless he tried ti run into the road. It would just be around the curbing so that, if he ever does that, it would stop him. My friend has one and her dog won't leave it's yard.
The GS owner felt so bad but it was not her fault. Her dog was on a leash and mine wasn't. He waits for that door to open so he can run out. We may just put a small fencing across the door so that, if the door opens, he will run into the fence. We have one on the back door. All we have to do is open it to come in. By then, he would be there and people would know not to let him out. It would be a little convenient but worth it.
I laugh at my female Yorkie tho. She is SO funny. She's about nine now and we call her "Porkie Yorkie". She would eaything if I let her. She sleeps most of the time and if the male starts barking, she will jump up, almost still asleep, and start barking, not knowing what she is barking at! It is so funny. She is so laid back and quiet. He isn't.
It sure was a scary situation. Her GS has a small bite on his ear but both dogs are current on their shots.

[Fastie]

Mitzi, the shock fence might work. They seem to work pretty well but it sounds like in your case if your baby was excited and ran across it, he might get a shock but he'd be outside of it and probably end up standing on the other side crying to be rescued. The fences don't promise to stop your dog in every case. I've seen that happen, where the dog is excited, crosses the wire and then can't get back. they aren't very happy... lol... We have a baby gate to keep our "babies" away from the front door. It might seem like a pain in the beginning but it works great. I'm so sorry to hear you baby got hurt so badly.. poor little boy... My dog sends his wishes for a speedy recovery...

[Mitzi]

We will probably use the gate first. As soon as that door rings, he flies to the door. He can get out of the screen door because it doesn't latch correctly. My husband is going to see if he can fix that.
The 2 yorkies are so different. The female is so sweet and quiet. The male is lots of fun but like the hyper Yorkies I always heard about. When we come home from wherever, he practically stands on his head, he is so glad to see us. The female might open one eye to look at you then it's back to snooze time.

[SGT Dave]

Mitzi-

I am SO sorry to hear about your dog. I love mine like a child, and I can imagine how you must feel. I hope it gets to heal quickly. Give it TLC!

I ALSO admire you for being able to look at it objectively and realize it wasn't the other dogs fault. I was starting to thing objectiveness was a long lost quality in adults.

[Mitzi]

I am too. My son was furious that this dog hurt ours but I explained the leash laws to him. He got all hot and bothered and said the lady could have controlled her dog. I told him yes, but I didn't have mine under control either.
He kept up with it wasn't my fault, yadda, yadda, yadda. I TOLD him that, if I wanted to make a scene about this, it would all boil down to one thing.....Her dog was leashed and mine wasn't.
He kept say, "But...." Finally, I got exasperated with him and told him that he had some growing up to do. You can pick the law apart as much as you want but it all comes back to the law. Her's was leashed, mine wasn't.
He wasn't very happy so I told him to call the police and ask them. He said no, he believed me. I told him there was a lot to be said for when you are wrong. I did feel guilty because the poor pup is really racked up. But, it was an unavoidable thing that happened. I know it wasn't my fault but the law said it was. 'Nuff said.

[txinvestigator1]

One word...Training.

Your dog CAN be trained to not run out the door when opened.

As the dogs owners, it is our responsibility to take steps to protect them, and that includes obedience training, crating when necessary, etc.

BTW..I feel sorry for the little guy and you. Bravo for not being one of those, "it's not our fault" types. And your son will eventually get it, just keep on teaching by example!!