We were just attacked by a massive German Shepard

Just been out with Troy for his usual 5:15am walk and took our usual route of which is a sort of alleyway that goes under a bridge. At the end is a house we always hear a dog barking, one that is always chained up and used for a guard dog. Domt think it is walked and socialised etc.

Well at the end off the alley I see a German Shepard looking at us which I assume has escaped from the yard. It had no collar and kind of mattered fur. It just stood staring so I thought screw that and turned around and walked away.

But then I heard it starting to trot towards us, so I turned around and tried to stand my ground and scare it off but it took no notice. As calm as you like, no barking or growling it just started to bite into Troy on his rear. Troy obviously started to defend himself which resulted in a scuffle between the two.

This dog was massive. I tried splitting them apart but you can imagine how hard and daunting that was! I wasn't sure if I should just let go of the lead and let Troy properly defend himself or what! Hardly seemed fair he was on the end of a lead while I'm using one hand and both feet to try and stop the dog attacking!

In the end I managed to split them up, picked Troy up and managed to make the dog retreat! I hope Troy doesn't think he did anything wrong because he kept looking up at me as we walked after

What type of behaviour was this GSD showing? Obviously agressive but the bites where like nips kind of, just biting down.

Hate to think this dog could start attacking someone else but I didn't know who to ring and report it to. Wasnt on my list of things to do at that present moment!

omg are you and troy ok?

OMG thats horrendous.... are you both alright?

sounds very dangerous and I'm not great with dog behaviour but I'd say the GSD may have been curious to start with if he came over calmly, and just wanted to meet, was his tail wagging at all before the fight broke out?

If you and Troy were both nervous, that might have contributed to the fight...

No it didnt seem like it wanted to meet, I mean it just trotted over calmly and just started biting straight away, no sniffing or anything.

We are okay, no broken skin. Just disturbed and wet fur where you can see the dog bit him.

In some situations I would have let go and let my dog defend itself good and proper. GSD don't have the tenacity of a Staffy and under all that fur they are pretty thin. Good guard dog but not bred for fighting. I would have to assess the disadvantage of my dog on the lead and the fact that this dog walked up and attacked my dog and that it could potentially turn on me too. Don't worry about your dog a few minutes with a GSD won't do a thing. PS. I do of course abhor dog fighting as a sport etc but not about to let my dog get attacked and twisted on the lead to its disadvantage with an aggressive dog like a GSD without the opportunity to defend itself.

PS. Not saying you should have done that, as I said, would have to assess the situation in each case.

Its so difficult, Im glad all is well. I think your dog was looking at you think, what the hell just happened! Kennys been lucky so far, has lone dogs are a big problem in my area, and its only a matter of time, b4 he gets attacked. I really dont know what i would do either. Ideally, id love to pic kenny up and run, but at 20 kg, its impossible. I think you did well. xx

Theres 1 dog in particular, who's allways targeted kenny, he's a big aggresive lurcher. His owner leaves him out daily to roam and he's used for hunting. I've always mange to get out of the situation, but He seems to pop up without you noticing. I started to hate going out on walks, because what ever route i take, im sure to see the bloody thing
In fact, the next time it happens, and i have already spoke to the owner, im gona do a massive slag off on Facebook

I think the dog should at least be reported to your local dog warden, the contact number would be on your local council website. Just explain what happend and a good description of the attacking dog. It may not have done much to you but just think of the next person along maybe with a young child, yes I know we have all seen the pictures in the newspapers of what can happen.

Hoping you are OK it can really shake you up, I know, I have been there just before Christmas when Rocky was attacked by a German Shepherd Dog. Although we had vet bills to pay because of it.

That GSD probably thought you were on his patch and had a go straight away. To be honest, you did well. Stray aggresive dog and a staffie are ingredients for a lot worse.

one thing though, as soon as you possibly can, get Troy to meet well behaved dogs so he doesn't think they're all d1cks and has to start Armagedon every time he meets one

Gee you handled this amazingly, esp as it must have been very scary. The GSD sounds like as you said hasn't been socialised but if there was no growling snarling then it may just have been a stupid move on its part. It might be the only way it knows how to be with other dogs as this sounds like very puppytype behaviour. Obviously another dog wouldn't stand for this (rightly so) and thats why troy defended himself.

I would leave a note with the guys door just saying that his dog got loose and attacked your dog but you are willing to let it pass but if it happens again you will be seeking legal advise.

So glad you are both alright. You semed to have handled the situation well

Glad troy and you are ok Must of been very scary duno how i would react only had small dogs attack mine .I would leave a note or go and see the owner as already said

That must have been so scary, It's horrible when you don't know whether to let go of the lead or hold on. You handled the situation really well. Glad you are both ok.

Just read all your replies.

Thanks for the support and info etc.

If the dog didn't stop and continued to attack, I think I'd have to let Troy off his lead and sort the other dog out

In this case though, the dog decided to leave us be once I picked Troy up.

Troy meets a lot of dogs on walks by the way and has never been properly attacked like this so I think he knows they are not all like this. Might do him some good to know they aren't all nice either though eh!?

There are two homes close to each other I think the dog may have escaped from, I don't know which for sure. I'll ask a fellow dog walker I know within the area, might be able to shed more light on where it came from.

I just hope by now they noticed it had escaped and it's back in the yard and not harassing any more people.

In some situations I would have let go and let my dog defend itself good and proper. GSD don't have the tenacity of a Staffy and under all that fur they are pretty thin. Good guard dog but not bred for fighting. I would have to assess the disadvantage of my dog on the lead and the fact that this dog walked up and attacked my dog and that it could potentially turn on me too. Don't worry about your dog a few minutes with a GSD won't do a thing. PS. I do of course abhor dog fighting as a sport etc but not about to let my dog get attacked and twisted on the lead to its disadvantage with an aggressive dog like a GSD without the opportunity to defend itself.

PS. Not saying you should have done that, as I said, would have to assess the situation in each case.

I think that is a very fair to be honest. Would have had no choice if it came down to it I guess. I have never obviously let dogs ever fight it out. Would they eventually stop until one gives in or just fight till the death or what? I know Troy can look have to himself but I avoid vet bills where I can

So glad neither of you were hurt.

I'd say that the dog was protecting what he perceived as his territory, that's why he didn't challenge or really bite hard. He was just trying to 'see you off'. You really shouldn't let it drop, though. Had he done that with a child who had a dog with him the situation could have been so much worse.

Equi wrote:I would leave a note with the guys door just saying that his dog got loose and attacked your dog but you are willing to let it pass but if it happens again you will be seeking legal advise.

If you can find out who the owner is, I'd do the above. But if you're not sure, I'd contact the dog warden & the police straight away - it can't be allowed to happen again.

Glad neither of you were hurt

think id have let my dog off the lead, my staffy has more of a chance against a gsd than i have, id find out where the owner lives and let them know, could be a one off that the dog escaped or they could be the type that seem to kick the dog out to roam the street, that way you can decide if they need reporting

Well done gee! God I think I'd have papped myself I'v always been wary of gsd's

I think I'd ring the police or even the rspca if it looked in poor condition x

letting your dog off leash to fight might save you personally some scratches but what if your dog learns that he likes it? I had DA nutcases in the past and they make life hell so now I avoid it as much as possible


I think getting involved so your dog feels protected is the best long term solution

I know from experience that a staffy has the tendency to go on and on and on but im sorry they will never win against a GSD. They may win the "FIGHT" in dog terms but they won't come off better. Lexi got into a few scraps with my retriever who had a chest of hair just like a shepherd and lexi was beaten to a pulp and had to go to the vets because he face was so swollen and she couldn't eat and there was not a single mark on the retriever. Lexi "won" the fight (it was over food, even though they had ate together for 7 years prior!) and the retriever backed away and let lexi eat her food but lexi was the one that suffered. So just be very careful about immediately letting it off to go and sort it out, this should be a very last resort or only if you are personally being attacked by the dog and your own dog is protecting you. Staffys are tough little dogs but they are not protected like a GSD so wont come out without a mark.

Instead you should always first try these methods to berak up a dog fight:

Try commands first, the dog may be well trained and stop on command

Throw your jumper or a bag or something into the middle of it and try to get thee dogs biting it instead and pull your own dog out of harms way and try to keep them from getting back together

If in doing that the dog begins to attack you then yes unfortunately you will have to let your dog go and go to the nearest house and bang the door down and ask for help

Glad you both are ok. Its a hard one this is, I think you did right by picking up Troy up before it got out of hand. I hate GSD, one has bitten my hubby for nothing, cut through the skin on his hand and was ready to attack him ever more if the owners hadnt got hold of it and shut the kitchen door on him. Hubby is in the building trade you see and has to visit peoples houses, hence the dog went for him for nothing. They are big things next to our Staffies, which is why I am so glad either of you are hurt. I would report it, cos its got to be done.

If your hubby was in that dogs house then it attacked to protect its territory, not for "nothing" just how i see it..