# What would you have done in this pit bull situation?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-have-done-in-this-pit-bull-situation/598391
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [October 3, 2011, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-have-done-in-this-pit-bull-situation/598391 "2011-10-03T00:34:34Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 3
### Author:  [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)
#### Post date: [October 4, 2011, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-have-done-in-this-pit-bull-situation/598391/41 "2011-10-04T18:35:11Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#):
>
> Seriously, I don’t know a damn thing about dogs, and I wasn’t aware that “knowledge of how to control a dog” was a prerequisite for getting your hair cut these days. I don’t like dogs, they scare me, and if one runs into a business I’m in and starts barking its damn head off and chasing around biting/nipping people, I’m going to freak out and try to get away. I guess that makes me an “idiot”.
If you have a phobia about dogs, you should probably make an effort to learn more about them so that you’ll know what to do if you’re faced with an out of control dog. I’m not saying this because I think all dogs are angels or that you’ll love dogs if you just get to know them better. I’m saying this because you’ll be safer if you learn how to act around them.
Freaking out at a dog is always a bad idea. Dogs, even the best of them, aren’t as smart as you are. If you go apeshit - they don’t know what to think or what’s happening. They might decide it’s a new game. They might decide you’re attacking them. Either way - if you freak out, they freak out back at you.
Humans, being the ones with the brains, are the ones who are responsible for acting rationally around dogs. Stay calm, stand your ground, and use your best James Earl Jones impression to tell them, “No. Stop. Bad dog.”
Maintain your authority. It’s a mind game really, but it works. Dogs are the product of 15,000 years of breeding to obey humans. When you freak out, you give up your authority. Maintain your authority and dogs will respect you.
People who have a phobia about dogs should seek out an expert who can teach them how to act around dogs. You might never like dogs, but you’ll be safer.
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### Author:  [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)
#### Post date: [October 4, 2011, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-have-done-in-this-pit-bull-situation/598391/42 "2011-10-04T19:05:37Z")
> [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](#):
>
> These responses are idiotic. I don’t have a dog. I have no interest in owning a dog, nor any interest in learning about “dog body language” :rolleyes:. If I was in a barber shop, with a dog charging in aggressively trying to grab at people, especially a breed that I recognize can do terrible damage to a human, potentially making threatening sounds, I’m going to treat that dog as a threat and act appropriately.
Since you have no interest in learning what’s appropriate, what makes you believe you have any idea how to “act appropriately?”
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### Author:  [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)
#### Post date: [October 4, 2011, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-have-done-in-this-pit-bull-situation/598391/43 "2011-10-04T19:09:45Z")
> [@Merneith](#):
>
> If you have a phobia about dogs, you should probably make an effort to learn more about them so that you’ll know what to do if you’re faced with an out of control dog.
What I make an effort to do is stay away from dogs. I know my limitations. My issues with dogs stem from some very traumatic childhood experiences. There is no way, I repeat no way, that I am going to face a snarling, charging dog and calmly tell it, “No. Stop. Bad dog.” That is almost hilarious to me. And frankly I resent the implication that in a situation like this, the responsibility is on me to behave appropriately. How about the responsibility is on the dog owner to keep his dog from running loose in public?
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### Author:  [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)
#### Post date: [October 4, 2011, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-have-done-in-this-pit-bull-situation/598391/44 "2011-10-04T20:07:32Z")
In any confrontation between humans and dogs, the one advantage humans have is their brains. If you’re going to lose your mind every time you see a dog, well, it’s not the dog that’s the troublemaker.
As for blaming the owner - sure, I blame lousy owners for 99% of every dog problem there is. But blaming the owner after the fact is not as useful as preventing a problem in the first place. And, of course, not every dog has an owner. Learning how to act around dogs is like learning how to cross a street or learning to swim. It’s something every child in the US should be taught.
It’s a shame that you had such awful experiences when you were little. But you’re a grown-up now. You can choose to learn how to act in a rational manner. As someone with my own mental hangups, I know that following through on that choice is easier said than done. It’s easier to cling to the irrational behaviors - but doing so is not the better course of action.
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### Author:  [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)
#### Post date: [October 4, 2011, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-have-done-in-this-pit-bull-situation/598391/45 "2011-10-04T20:22:34Z")
> [@Sailboat](#):
>
> Since you have no interest in learning what’s appropriate, what makes you believe you have any idea how to “act appropriately?”
Oh shut the fuck up. Given a 13 year old was hospitalised due to the supposed “playing” dog, and another bunch of kids were attacked prior to the animal making its way into the barber’s shop, I’d say my reading of the situation is a damn sight more accurate than yours is.
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### Author:  [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)
#### Post date: [October 4, 2011, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-have-done-in-this-pit-bull-situation/598391/46 "2011-10-04T20:31:50Z")
> [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](#):
>
> Oh shut the fuck up.
Warning issued for inappropriate language.
**twickster** , MPSIMS moderator
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### Author:  [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)
#### Post date: [October 4, 2011, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-have-done-in-this-pit-bull-situation/598391/47 "2011-10-04T21:00:56Z")
> [@Merneith](#):
>
> In any confrontation between humans and dogs, the one advantage humans have is their brains. If you’re going to lose your mind every time you see a dog, well, it’s not the dog that’s the troublemaker.
I don’t lose my mind every time I see a dog. I do, however, lose all rationality when faced with a dog that is running towards me and/or barking loudly at me. I avoid places where this is likely to happen. I don’t expect my local barbershop to be one of those places.
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### Author:  [@Avarie537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avarie537)
#### Post date: [October 4, 2011, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-have-done-in-this-pit-bull-situation/598391/48 "2011-10-04T23:36:59Z")
> [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](#):
>
> Oh shut the fuck up. Given a 13 year old was hospitalised due to the supposed “playing” dog, and another bunch of kids were attacked prior to the animal making its way into the barber’s shop, I’d say my reading of the situation is a damn sight more accurate than yours is.
“Sent to the hospital” is very different from “hospitalized.” Anyone bitten by a dog with unknown/unverifiable vaccination status should go to a hospital/immediate care center REGARDLESS of how severe the bite is. Tetanus shot and antibiotics would be administered in short order.
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### Author:  [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)
#### Post date: [October 4, 2011, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-have-done-in-this-pit-bull-situation/598391/49 "2011-10-04T23:59:21Z")
I’d have called to the dog and encouraged it to come out of the shop. It’s very clearly roughhousing rather than attacking, at least in the barbershop video, and it even tried to leave the shop a couple of times but for some reason couldn’t. If it really did bite people then it needs to be euthanised, but TBH I’m sceptical.
It was probably a lot scarier for the people there than it looked on the video, so I can understand them being scared, but I’m surprised that, with that many people, not one of them knew how to behave around a roughhousing dog.
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### Author:  [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)
#### Post date: [October 5, 2011, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-have-done-in-this-pit-bull-situation/598391/50 "2011-10-05T00:22:36Z")
> [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](#):
>
> Oh shut the fuck up. Given a 13 year old was hospitalised due to the supposed “playing” dog, and another bunch of kids were attacked prior to the animal making its way into the barber’s shop
Interesting that you remain focused on this and not the six-year-old hospitalized by the golden lab. Are some children more precious than others? No? Then what is the difference between the event you resolutely ignore and this one?
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### Author:  [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)
#### Post date: [October 5, 2011, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-have-done-in-this-pit-bull-situation/598391/51 "2011-10-05T07:44:55Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#):
>
> I don’t lose my mind every time I see a dog. I do, however, lose all rationality when faced with a dog that is running towards me and/or barking loudly at me. I avoid places where this is likely to happen. I don’t expect my local barbershop to be one of those places.
Ok, well, losing all rationality is not really a useful or defensible behavior, plus it leaves you open to the possibility of someday featuring in a highly unflattering youtube video. You might want to get that checked out.
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### Author:  [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)
#### Post date: [October 5, 2011, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-have-done-in-this-pit-bull-situation/598391/52 "2011-10-05T11:33:45Z")
I will grant you that from a generalized perspective, learning how to deal with the hypothetical situation of an out-of-control dog charging me could be helpful. However, I refuse to accept any responsibility for my behavior towards a dog that unexpectedly enters a place it has no right to be, and starts barking/leaping/nipping/biting at people. The full responsibility is on the owner, who was nowhere in sight. Also, “oh no, I might be negatively featured on YouTube” doesn’t really play a role in my daily decisionmaking process. Maybe it’s different for you.
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### Author:  [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)
#### Post date: [October 5, 2011, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-have-done-in-this-pit-bull-situation/598391/53 "2011-10-05T13:13:12Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#):
>
> However, I refuse to accept any responsibility for my behavior
This sounds ridiculous, and is what I get for posting from my phone before I’ve had any coffee. Of course I’m responsible for my own behavior. I just don’t think I bear any responsibility for the dog’s behavior, and I don’t think I’m an idiot for running away rather than trying to use dog whispering techniques to control the animal or whatever.
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### Author:  [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)
#### Post date: [October 5, 2011, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-have-done-in-this-pit-bull-situation/598391/54 "2011-10-05T14:27:27Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#):
>
> This sounds ridiculous, and is what I get for posting from my phone before I’ve had any coffee. Of course I’m responsible for my own behavior. I just don’t think I bear any responsibility for the dog’s behavior, and I don’t think I’m an idiot for running away rather than trying to use dog whispering techniques to control the animal or whatever.
I don’t think anyone was saying that. What I see is a lot of people saying the people in the video were idiots for doing things that were basically custom-designed to rile up the dog rather than either A) calm it down or B) effectively fight it off or C) effectively stop it from acting.
“Running away” (or perhaps, walking away slowly while maintaining eye contact–running might just induce the dog to chase you) isn’t a bad idea, and I don’t see anyone faulting the people in the video who (as far as I can tell) got up and got out during the incident.
–
That said, the way that dog was acting? I read it as “wildly badly socialized dog attempting to play too rough”. In the absence of information on the severity of the alleged bites outside the context of the video, that’s my general read on the dog’s behavior–it was very reminiscent of a rescue dog a girlfriend and I owned years ago. Same tentative lunging and nipping, same vacillating between “play” and “maybe not play” body language.
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### Author:  [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)
#### Post date: [October 5, 2011, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-have-done-in-this-pit-bull-situation/598391/55 "2011-10-05T15:53:24Z")
> [@Sailboat](#):
>
> Interesting that you remain focused on this and not the six-year-old hospitalized by the golden lab. Are some children more precious than others? No? Then what is the difference between the event you resolutely ignore and this one?
What _are_ you talking about? The whole damned thread is about the pitbull “playing” in a barber’s shop. Why would I even mention a Golden Labrador attack? Have you got any other random dog attacks you want me to talk about?
Let me take a wild guess: you’re a pitbull owner, aren’t you?
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### Author:  [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)
#### Post date: [October 5, 2011, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-have-done-in-this-pit-bull-situation/598391/56 "2011-10-05T16:12:46Z")
> [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](#):
>
> What _are_ you talking about? The whole damned thread is about the pitbull “playing” in a barber’s shop. Why would I even mention a Golden Labrador attack? Have you got any other random dog attacks you want me to talk about?
>
> Let me take a wild guess: you’re a pitbull owner, aren’t you?
It’s in [post 23](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=14318963&postcount=23). I can’t help it if you’re not actually _reading_ what you’re arguing against.
It’s extremely relevant to this thread. This thread is about a DRAMATIC NEWS INCIDENT that’s all OMG PIT BULLS!!! But _another_ incident happening at the same time, has not generated any interest, _even when pointed out to you_, and the major difference is the reported breed of dog involved.
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### Author:  [@Zulema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zulema)
#### Post date: [October 5, 2011, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-have-done-in-this-pit-bull-situation/598391/57 "2011-10-05T16:25:40Z")
I would have thrown a haircut cape over the dog to slow him down then yelled at everyone to get out of the shop and shut the door with the dog inside and called animal control.
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### Author:  [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)
#### Post date: [October 5, 2011, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-have-done-in-this-pit-bull-situation/598391/58 "2011-10-05T16:33:52Z")
What would I have done in this pit bull situation?
If I was in this situation, and it was actually the case that a fierce dog had run into the barber shop and started attacking people, my first response would likely to have been to throw a drape or large towel over it and and order everyone else to stay back or leave the shop while it was trying to get itself loose. I have had to contain out of control dogs and throwing something over them disorients and distracts them for at least a moment or two.
If I was in this situation, and it was the case that a rambunctious dog came into the shop trying to engage people in play and they started freaking out and hitting it, etc. I would have probably called it to me and used a towel or something to play tug or whatever and then put in the office until I could figure out whose dog it was.
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### Author:  [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)
#### Post date: [October 5, 2011, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-have-done-in-this-pit-bull-situation/598391/59 "2011-10-05T17:45:27Z")
> [@Sailboat](#):
>
> It’s in [post 23](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=14318963&postcount=23). I can’t help it if you’re not actually _reading_ what you’re arguing against.
I’m not reading because it’s not relevant. What relevance does another dog attack have towards this thread? Do you think I’m not aware that dogs routinely attack people? :rolleyes:
> [@](#):
>
> But _another_ incident happening at the same time, has not generated any interest, _even when pointed out to you_, and the major difference is the reported breed of dog involved.
Really? It’s got nothing to do with the dog entering a barber’s shop, after being caught on video, after attacking a load of people outside?
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### Author:  [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)
#### Post date: [October 5, 2011, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-have-done-in-this-pit-bull-situation/598391/60 "2011-10-05T22:18:52Z")
> [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](#):
>
> Really? It’s got nothing to do with the dog entering a barber’s shop, after being caught on video, after attacking a load of people outside?
I’d love to see a real (i.e., text, not some youtube video) description of these alleged attacks. That dog in that barber shop wasn’t attacking anyone or anything in that video.
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