Personal Alarm

[susiestar]

I managed to find a personal alarm here in town and husband picked it up on his way home. It is not as loud as some could be, it should be plenty loud enough. It is actually kinda cute - and not girly, lol. Quite a few of them at some of the online sites were pink. Somehow I think thank you would mind that.

He made it to the bus and home today - luckily the dogs were still tied this morning and afternoon. They were loose in the early afternoon but must have been elsewhere when thank you was walking home.

He is much relieved to have the alarm and we talked about the responsibility of taking it to school. He said that he won't show it off or set it off at school or on the bus - and I didn't even have to suggest it. He just said it as we started to talk about it after I let him try it.

I wrote a note for his teacher explaining that he was bitten over break and that the dogs are still loose so thank you needs a way to scare them off. I said that he agreed to not use it or show it off and asked them to let us know if there are any problems. I also said that the Sheriff suggested giving thank you pepper spray but that we felt it would be inappropriate and dangerous for thank you and anyone else who might be around it at school or on the bus. thank you was relieved that we didn't want him to have pepper spray - not just that he might get sprayed but that the other kids in school might grab it or take it from him and hurt someone or get hurt. I was rather surprised that he thought of that on his own but it was something he brought up right after the officers left. Mostly he was worried that if he left it in his backpack another kid might take it and use it - and he isn't "responsible enough" to keep track of it all the time! (I swear this kid is one of my rewards for all the years of gfgness!)

I hope the teacher is fine with this. the bus people really don't give a hoot if he gets bit as long as he isn't on the bus when it happens.

If anyone is interested, I found it at Radio Shack. They had one listed as "in store only" for $3 but our store was out. The guy on the phone said they had a $5 one that has a carabiner and would do the same thing, so we got that one. This might be handy for keeping on a keychain to startle a difficult child or get their attention?!?! Or if any of us are out and about late at night or in bad areas. It is much lighter than some of the ones I have seen in the past.

Thank you for all of the suggestions and support. thank you said it made him feel good that all of you thought about him and hoped he felt better soon - and were mad at the dogs and their bad owners. So he says Thank You also.

 

[KTMom91]

Saw an air horn at Dollar Tree today, and thought of thank you. Glad you found something that would work for him.

 

[Mamaof5]

Gods forbid this should ever happen (again in thank you's case, he's lucky it wasn't a severe bite). If ever the dogs do attempt or do bite thank you or any of you there are a few tricks you can do to make them let go and go tearing screaming from you. Use these with caution.

If the dog has a limb, resist the urge to pull away but rather shove forward with the limb they have in their mouth and either slap hard on the nose or bridge of the nose. If it's an arm rap the dog with the other hand on the bridge of the nose as you push the arm forward into the mouth. This causes two things to happen: The dog chokes as they can't get air with your arm shoved into the throat and the shock of the rap on the nose or bridge of nose will cause their eyes to water. Subsequently, it causes the dog to let go and flee (flight response). You can also try grabbing the dog just under the ear at the flank of the dog (above should, below ear) and growl while yanking on the flank. This is an alpha male behavior that says I'm bigger, faster and meaner than you are peeve off and shove off I'm not interested.

A good hard kick to the flank or hip can make them let go too. I would do these things unless it's absolutely last resort and last ditch efforts in an aggressive dog attack but if you have no other choice these are options that can be used to secure your safety. I hate the idea of hurting an animal but if that animal is hanging off your arm or your kid's arm it's the only option at times.

 

[susiestar]

Thanks for the ideas. I will tell thank you, but I really doubt that he would do it. It is not his nature to hit - not even when he is hit first. While it keeps him from getting into fights, it also can hinder self protection. They are things husband or I would use, though if the dogs bite him again they will be dead dogs walking. If the sheriff won't take them away I will feed them some kind of poison. Once, their owners get the chance to control them. Twice, they are dead. No debate, no discussion. I will NOT tolerate it a second time. I don't care if people object to this. It is NOT illegal if they are off their owner's property.

Knowing their owner - they are well used to being hit/growled at. So that isn't likely to make them run. I really don't know if the alarm will work, but it is supposed to be louder than an air horn or whistle and pepper spray just isn't safe to send to school with a 11 yo. Even if he didn't misuse it, another child could easily get it from him and cause a problem. It is sad but the option if they bite again is a permanent one.

 

[Mamaof5]

Instead of poison, which is an extremely painful way to die for a dog could you possibly find a different way to do so if you ever had to? If you or your husband did get bit, instead of making the dog let go you can wrap you bitten arm around the head, shove into the throat and grab the other side of the head and snap the dogs neck. Gruesom discription, yes. Painful, no - not for the dog, if you do it right at the base of of the skull where the brain stem is, it is instant death for the dog. No pain involved. Of course that would entail being bitten by the dog which we don't want.

I've seen a dog poisoned and die from such. The Kill Box, much like rat poison, is painful and sometimes takes more than one dose or several doses over time. Even arsenic or cyanide take time and massive, several doses. It's slow, painful and utterly the last resort for killing an animal. by the way: kill boxes use carbon monoxide as the poison to put down animals. You could always live trap the dogs and have them removed for humaine euthenization at the owners expense through the Sheriff? Either way, from what you've said. Even the legal killing of their dogs on your property I could see them being nasty about towards you. They sound like the type that would be nasty people if you farted in their general direction even. Don't sound like nice people or responsible ones at all.

 

[Mamaof5]

If you think your dog is aggressive check the following symptoms

• Excessive barking;
• A tendency to snarl, growl, or snap to protect food;
• Overprotectiveness of possessions;
• Fearfulness in new situations or around strangers;
• Severe attacks on other animals, such as cats or livestock;
• Attempts to mount people's legs;
• Snapping and snarling when petted, groomed, or lifted;
• Frequent attempts to chase moving objects such as bicycles, skateboards, cars and trucks;
• Repeated escapes from home and long periods spent roaming free

How to Avoid Dog Attacks.

• Avoid going onto private property unless specifically invited.
• Do not run when confronted with a threatening dog. Running only stimulates the dog to increase its aggression.
• Hold your ground and demonstrate moderate dominance by telling the dog firmly to go home. This usually works wonders. Firmly saying "no" and "sit" may also work.
• Avoid direct eye contact, which the dog interprets as a challenge. Instead, appear nonchalant.
• When the dog begins to back away, slowly retreat also, keeping the dog in view without paying much attention to it. If the dog begins to come back, stop and wait until it moves off again.
• Do not try to outdistance the dog on a bicycle. Stop, dismount and stand with the bicycle between you and the dog. Without something to chase, the dog may lose interest.
• Do not try to pet a strange, free-roaming dog.
• Never attempt to touch or pet a dog that is eating or sleeping.
• Do not be embarrassed to jump on a car, climb a tree, or call for help if you are threatened.
• Do not be embarrassed to ask a dog owner to restrain the dog until it clearly recognizes you as a friend.
• Avoid any encounters with guard-trained dogs. Find out if any are patrolling before you walk in a new area.
• Report all aggressive loose dogs or incidents of actual bites.
• Keep still and try to remain calm. Do not scream or run. (J. Michael Cornwell, DVM, advises children to "be a tree," with feet together, elbows against your chest and hands under your neck.)
• Glance at the dog so you know where it is, but don't stare it in the eyes.
• Don't turn your back on the barking animal.
• Let the dog sniff you. In most cases, it will leave as soon as it realizes that you aren't really a threat.
• Speak to the dog only in a calm voice. You might try: "Go away," "Go home" or "Nice dog."
• Wait until the dog leaves, then slowly back away until it's out of sight.
• As a last resort, throw or pretend to throw an object at an aggressive dog.
• If attacked, "feed" the dog something else--your jacket, bike, purse, books--to distract it.
• If knocked down, curl into a ball, and use your hands to protect your head and neck.
• Seek immediate medical attention for dog bites. All bites should also be reported to the police or animal-control department.

http://www.canismajor.com/dog/aggres1.html

Some more information for you. A lot of this is behavior centered.

 

[TerryJ2]

Wow. Good advice here. (Although I have to admit I've never known how to break a dog's neck...)

thank you sounds like a great kid. I just wanted to add that.

 

[HaoZi]

Eye contact and tapping on the TOP of the nose are both alpha behaviors in canines (alphas will bite the others on top of the nose, subs will nibble the alpha under the chin), so whether or not to maintain eye contact with the dog will depend on the situation. If you can assert yourself as a dominant, then keeping your nose high (again an alpha trait is in keeping the nose higher than the others) and maintaining eye contact is critical and breaking it signifies you are subordinate. There are dogs in which this is a bad idea to challenge them and others that you can make back down by getting that level of authority over them, but it's a case-by-case basis that also requires attention to where you are, the dog itself, other body language it is exhibiting, and why the dog is doing it (territory, fear, feral, trained for it, etc). It would NOT work with a dog trained to attack, like those used in fights, well-trained guard dogs, police dogs, etc., but I have used it against feral dogs (again not always the best method but it worked on that occasion) and scared dogs that got loose.

Just like you see lots of conflicting advice on dealing with bears, a lot of it depends on the species, how the encounter happened, where, and (in the case of bears), what time of day it is. What works to scare off a surprised black bear during daylight hours (making yourself look big and loud) is useless at night, because after dark you have to treat it as a predatory attack and fight for your life, doing as much damage to the bear as possible. With a grizzly or other brown bear, it's different, because their behaviors and hunting patterns are different and not as limited to nighttime hours. They're also bigger and more aggressive than black bears.

Animals are as individual as humans, and even expert handlers get hurt and killed sometimes.