What is the best thing to do when your dog is attacked?

[AndTheWinnerIs]

My lovely soft lab was attacked yesterday by a dalmation x , he fortunately is fine but was yelping whilst the other dog was on his back.
I was useless and had no clue about what to do, fortunately the owner managed to get hold of his dog < the fact that he did'nt even have the gumption to apologise did piss me off and the other people around whose dogs had also been attacked >

So what do you do?
Any suggestions welcomed thank you.

sounds like you did the right thing - that is stand back and wait for the owner to get their dog. had you intervened you may have been bitten.

i hope your dog is ok. it may be worth speaking with the dog warden too, especially as it sounds like others were involved.

Let go of your dogs lead so it can run or fight back better. Shout like crazy at the other dog (not sure if this is good advice but bellowing no and leave may make a dog think twice). Its what I've done and the first time the dog did seem to pause before carrying on and the second time (different dog) it backed off.

From my experience its best just to let them get on with it as anything you do might make things worse. My lab was attacked (by another lab) for the first time 3 weeks ago. I had a plan in place of what to do, shout, throw treats, use the compressed air spray that I always carried in my pocket etc but it was so sudden I didn't do anything apart from let go of the lead to prevent my arm being wrenched off. My dog was pinned on his back and yelping loudly, owner arrived, called his dog off, apologised profusely and made a fuss of my dog who seemed completely unphased by the whole thing and even tried to go back to the other dog for a sniff. A few days later I found a big scab behind his ear so he must have been bitten.

My staffie was mauled by two patterdales. It was horrible. she lay down and they basically tore away at her. The kids dad would drag one off an the other one had a hold of her face. It was like watching a tandem attack. The kids dad and a neighbour got bitten.

Our lovely affectionate staffie changed. I have since had to rehome my patterdale as they started to fight badly and there was no way i was rehoming the staff.

I now cant trust her with other dogs and it makes me so angry especially with her being a staff. She has never had a fight in 6 years and these two dogs have ruined it all. By the way the other 2 dogs are notorious for attacking people, dogs and cats.

I dont know what you can do. How is your dog with other dogs now?

This frightenes me hugely.

I was not brought up around dogs and tbh have always been a bit frightened of them. I'm getting better now we have our own pup, but would be terrified if another dog attacked her/us.

Mine has only been attacked once in 6 years. I seen it happen from along the street and ran as fast as i could. When i got there i sort of froze and was too scared to help the dog. Luckily other people were there and helped.

It is a horrible experience though. I dont know what i would have done had i had the dog out instead of OH.

My pup was attacked last week. It was utterly terrifying. He was bitten on the paw and had to have antibiotics, and in the skirmish I also got bitten and had to get a tetanus and antibiotics of my own. The dog escaped from its owners car, and chased down the road after us on the school run. I reacted on instinct, and hauled my poor pup up off the ground by his lead. The owner of the attacking dog was mortified, and shocked. He knew his dog could be dog aggressive, but he'd never chased after another dog down the road before. In the end, we weren't badly hurt and I'm gradually introducing our pup to other known friendly dogs. If I'd let go of the lead, I'd probably have lost him tbh, as his recall is virtually non-existant and he would have been terrified :( I've taken to carrying a large golf umbrella, purely as a way of protecting him should it come to it.

Garrgghh! Poor you. This is my nightmare TBH. Harley is soft as butter but a bit too keen to play. I keep him in the lead for that reason as soon as I see other dogs. I am so terrified that another dog may take exception and hurt him.

I know my dad got badly hurt when he intervened in a dog fight. Big gash in his hand and an infection.

When my dog was attacked I grabbed the other dog by the scruff of the neck and lifted it off. Luckily, it was a small dog and it calmed down as soon as I had hold of it. It probably wasn't the most sensible thing to do, but with both dogs off-lead and the other owner miles away I acted without thinking.

My dog has been fine since then, he's always been slightly nervous around other dogs and I was worried that all my hard work at socialising and building his confidence would be instantly undone, but it seems very much like he's forgotten all about it. I did make a concious effort to be confident when I took him back out and to let him greet other dogs the way he normally would. It might have been different if he'd been really hurt in the attack, luckily he wasn't.

Thanks for all your advice, he is fine ,it's me whose a bit wobbly!
Some horrible stories though from you all :(
We went on a quiet walk today and did'nt see anyone ,but I will probably go back to the beach tomorrow and see how he is.
I just don't understand why an obviously agressive dog was allowed off lead when there were other people around.
It has really made me think about my personal safety as well. I think nothing of going to the beach at night with my music on, think we may stick to roads now when dark and quiet.

Its annoying when you and your dog have done nothing wrong though. Why should you have to take your dog out in the dead of night to avoid other peoples who are vicious and roaming the streets.

some people just don't judge their dog right. or they have dogs that rarely get their blood up . or they have dogs that don't return.

from what you say though it just sounds like this guy is a plonker who can't control his dog or doesn't take this behaviour seriously enough.

i have been walking my dog almost every day, often twice a day for 6 years - so far without a single bite either from her or to her. it isn't a common occurrence....so don't worry yourself unduly.

what i would suspect is that this kind of thing happens when you get that person who hardly ever walks their dog suddenly decides to do so....