The dog will know the difference between walking around the back yard or ten blocks. Mine run free in my yard but are always excited when I grab the leashes. So yes they do know the difference. As for walking mine I don't have these problems as people are afraid of them and they Just get out of the way for the most part. And other than maybe seeing a dog on the way they are to in tuned into there walk they could careless about people they see on the way.

trojan , and again i never said you shouldnt walk your dog i asked why would someone ,i understand your point. my question was just being turned into something i didnt say. im not saying that i agree with your response but it is your choice, what im saying is to me the risk would be to high, children are shorter then adults , dogs can misread even something as simply as them swinging their arms as invasion of their space,i doubt the dog would know the difference of being walked around your back yard or 10 block s down the street

There is nothing that can replace the exercise a dog gets when it's walked. You can't let it loose in a fenced in back yard, you can't keep it couped up in a house. I wouldn't really consider it a danger to be walking this dog, IN PUBLIC, where people *are* likely to be present. Nine times out of ten, I don't encounter anyone who feels the need or want to pet my mom's dog. While I'm walking the dog, it's not like he's lunging at every person in sight. In fact, the only time he would even think about nipping someone, is when they've come up to him to pet him. If someone, or a kid, just walks past, then he's fine. As I'm walking him, I keep myself aware of my surroundings and if there are even kids present playing in a yard or something.
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I continue to walk him because walks are what dogs need.

where did i say you shouldnt walk your dog? what i said is why would you walk the dog where you would encounter other people. the dog if it bites someone is the one who will suffer. again if your going to quote me get it right.there are other options to walking an agressive dog then just down a sidewalk

hannah said...tough call on this kid being bit. yes WHY now do you say something?? did your friends give you some sue happy ideas? I would think a good parent would have noticed this earlier!! hmmm

hannah serial blogging again? do you really need to get on my case every time i type something? maybe you should get some real friends

Did anyone check the firehouse? The red-headed woman in question may have been a firetruck. Eyewitness evidence is often shaky at best.

This woman walks two dalmatians on Wright Rd. almost daily. I cannot believe she has not been identified yet.

LAgal.... Who Cares.... Does it make you feel better to find fault in someone... Are you that Perfect...

etown- that's what I'm talking about, in terms of nature and common sense, it is NOT my mom's fault if someone provokes the dog and he bites back to DEFEND himself. In terms of law, yeah, they may see it as being her fault. I've always had a problem with how the law deals with animals and I've always thought it to be unfair.
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Egalindo- I'm aware that the dog still needs to be trained to behave well around children, but he's not my dog, he's not my responsibility. I've done the best that I can to train him to be a better dog with the knowledge I have on my own, and not going to any classes. He IS a better dog than when my mom adopted him, but he still has some improvements that need to be made. And no kids live in this neighborhood so I'm not worried about someone throwing a frisbee into the yard. Kids do walk by, but the dog is always on his leash when he's outside. If they come up to him and taunt him, first I'll yell at the kid if I notice it, but if I don't notice, then it's not my fault (in my eyes) if the kid gets bit (for going into our yard). The leash's length is several feet away from the sidewalk, clearly enough distance where nobody has to even think about worrying if the dog would be able to reach.

To: Ann Marie Ames,
Dalmatian is spelled with an "a" not an "o" :)

Also I know of more small dogs biting people than the larger breeds. But not much is ever said about that. As far as this situation the owner should come forward and do what is right. My incident happen on my property. I was not sited for it.

I have two Dobermans. Friendly but also cautious as well. When walking them I am always aware of who is around them. As they can since fear in people I watch how they act around them as well. I have had kids try to walk up and pet them some ask and some don't. If I let them pet them I always tell them where to pet them that I know is the safest. I also keep my hands on the dog to handle them in a worse case situation. They are friendly dogs but you can never tell what they or the kid may do. I did have one person claim they were bitten from one of the dogs. I did what I had to do with the rules of the city and it cost me over $100 for the vet visits to have him checked even though he is up to date on shots and licensed. The person didn't even have his skin broken. The officer even said he was not even sure the mark was from a dog but he had to do his job as well. Both my dogs were stray. One came from the pound here in town and the other from a rescue. They can be protective if I am attacked. It is there nature. They are also attention hounds as you can check with my neighbors and there kids. I would not blame the dog I would blame the owner. I have had dobermans for years and will only own that breed as long as I have dogs. I always make sure that I learn my dog and try to train it the right way. That is the responsibility of the owner. As with parents to raise there kid properly as well.

you can fight it all you want your not gonna win, the only time you might not be held responsible is if your dog is inside your home and they entered without permission. it may not be fair but that s the law. and if they find out that you were aware of the dogs behavior they get 3 times what ever is awarded to them if they sue you

Trojanvirus--If children are your dog's weakness and (clearly you are aware of that because you wrote it in your comment) and your dog bites a child that chases a ball or frisbee into your yard then it is YOUR fault--100% YOUR fault. People and animals are not on the same level--if you're dog can't understand that it needs to be submissive to people then that is also your fault for not training your dog well. Also, even if the child were at fault...the dog still needs to be put down after biting someone if need be to determine if it has rabis or not.

etown- if a dog bites when provoked, it is NOT the dog owner's responsibility. At least not when we're talking about common sense. I'm sure in the eyes of the law it still may be, but the dog would just be acting on instinct. I read a link to an article from I believe England, where a dog bit a child (6yrs old maybe?) because the child was squeezing/pulling on the dog's man bits. Tell me, was that dog in the wrong? I don't think so. If I remember right, the dog didn't even attack, he just bit as a warning, then stopped. If anyone were to squeeze on my woman bits, you're darn tootin' I'm going to react, and it's not going to be pleasant.
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When walking my mom's dog, I don't encounter many children. Children are the dog's only weakness. Walks are healthy for dogs AND people, which is why this dog still goes on walks.
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If anyone were to try to get my mom or I in trouble for her dog nipping when the dog is on a leash IN OUR yard, which isn't long enough to reach the sidewalk, then I'm going to fight it the best I can. Once you walk on our property and start taunting a dog on a leash, whatever happens is YOUR fault, not mine, not the dog's, not my mom's.

a dog that has biten before , or nips whether its provoked or not is still the dog owners responsibility to control. once you have knowledge that your dog bites, nips, if they do it again you can pay heavily in damages to the person that has been biten. if your insurance company find s out you have an agressive dog they will not insure them under your policy, but i wonder why anyone who has a dog that has these traits why would you even take them for a walk where you would encounter other people. if something happens the dog would be the real loser and if you love your animal why would you risk it

I had a deaf dalmation I named him ASKHIM

Hey WHY_TEACH_IN_JANESVILLE I dont like kids does that mean I should be put down. The same goes for some animals. Unfortunatly dogs cant say get away from me. The only thing they know to do is growl and if that dont work they nip.Should a young kid be running around unsupervised anyway.

why_teach- I'll agree with you on the point that the dog needs to be trained to behave well around children, but I will not agree on the point that the dog should be put down. The dog is not viscious and behaves well around every body EXCEPT for kids. He was adopted from the humane society and was very much uncontrollable at the time. I don't know why he doesn't like kids, but he just doesn't. He doesn't attack them, he'll just nip at them, which I understand is still unacceptable. However, if he were to visciously attack another person, I'd definitely be more concerned. For now, I'm personally not going to get my undies in a bundle, especially as nobody in the family has any kids of their own or brings any kids over.
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I'd also like the point out that the only time this dog has nipped at a kid was when he was on his leash, he was at the end of the leash barking, STILL IN THE GRASS, and the kid STILL walked up to him to TAUNT him, not to pet him but to TAUNT him. In *his* (the dog's) own territory. Kid deserved it.
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In the story I typed about the parent not disciplining the kid who wanted to pet the dog, YES, I will blame that parent. The child did not respect the fact that I said he couldn't pet the dog, and the parent did nothing to stop the child. Who cares if the dog was going to bite or not, the point is, I told the child no, the parent heard me say no, and still nothing happened. I was the one who had to raise my voice and physically move the child away, not the parent. I SHOULDN'T BE SOMEBODY ELSE'S PARENT!!

I hated also when people say only certain breeds are mean. Alls animals can be mean if not trained right.It's sad to say that Labs are the number 1 on the bite charts reason their over breed. Yes the parents are at fault for not watching their 5 yr.old on a very busy road but going through rabies shot are not a good punishment for this child and her family either. I'll keep my eye out cause I have seen a dog and a woman usually its a man in that area walking a dalmation I believe they live in those townhouses cause the dog usually runs in the median to go potty.

Ut Oh..........

A great number of dogs that bite people come from puppy mills where they are not handled by humans as they grow...This is possibly one of those dogs....This is a REAL problem.
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More info @ www.nowisconsinpuppymills.com

Why_Teach and jonwayne, wtf? Do you two have details no one else has? I don't think this is a case of bad ownership but IRRESPONSIBLE PARENTING. Where was one of the parents? Why weren't they WATCHING their 5 year old? This could all be avoided if it weren't for irresponsible parenting.

Don't blame the dog for doing what comes naturally to it. It protects itself, just like you'd protect yourself if you had some unknown stranger coming up to you and trying to grab you.

Why_Teach, you sound like you are a teacher. Maybe you should get back in the classroom and train your students correctly.

Saturday around 11:15 a.m., I saw a man in his 50's walking a Dalmation at the intersection of N. Wright Rd and Hwy 14. This was a pretty large Dalmation. You don't see very many of them anymore. I will keep an Eagle eye out and report this to the police. My sister was 3 yrs old and had Rabie Shots this was very painful for here. She's 40 years old now and still remembers the trama...

Trojan,
If a dog is known for biting kids, such as your experiance, that dog should be put down. Is it worth the risk to have a dog that endangers children. Blame the kids parents if you want for not disciplining the kid in your story, but in reality it is the dog owners fault for not training the mutt. "Hello, Discipline anyone". Put that mutt down and save yourself the headache of having to worry about it biting an innocent child and tell your mother not to get another dog if she isn't going to train it correctly.

Rabies has been all but eliminated in the U.S. domestic animal population due to strict vaccination requirements. It's actually fairly unlikely that a dog being walked would be rabid, but from a public health standpoint if the dog is unidentified the exposure must be assumed. Rabies is such a swift and ruthless killer that no delay is justifiable.
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Rabies postexposure prophylaxis (preventive vaccination) is given to well over 10,000 Americans each year. I've had it, it is basically the same nowadays as a routine shot although it is a pretty substantial one with a larger needle than usual. The old vaccine needed to be administered through very painful shots; that is no longer the case. Nobody who has been exposed should shy away from taking prophylaxis. Getting the vaccine doesn't just protect you if you have already been infected, it protects you from the next exposure as well.
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There is a global shortage of vaccine right now due to production issues and thus there has been a careful rationing of the vaccine in pre-exposure situations or in post-exposure situations where infection was unlikely.

i'm shocked that they blamed another breed other than a pit bull or rottweiler that all you ever hear about i do feel bad for the for the child but i'm sick of hear about pit bulls and rottweilers being mean

I wonder what the possibilities are of the owner of the dog telling the child to stay away from the dog (maybe the dog isn't child friendly?) or the possibilities of the child just running up to OMGZ DOGGIEEZ!!!! without asking permission first.
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As others have stated, the whole story isn't here, and maybe the dog really is at fault, but I've seen AND heard so many stories about a dog RIGHTFULLY attacking a child but the dog is the one who gets the poo end of the deal.
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One day I was walking my mom's dog and a child (around 8yrs old) asked if he could come up and pet the doggie. I told him no, the dog doesn't really like kids and tends to nip at them. What does kid do? He continues to walk toward the doggie. I repeat myself, "I'm sorry, you can't pet him, he may try to bite you." Kid's mom is only but a few feet away and what does she do? NOTHING!!!! Hello?? Discipline anyone???? The kid got so close that I had to stick my arm out and push him away, raise my voice, and say "NO, HE *WILL* BITE YOU!"

I walk in that area a lot and have never seen anyone with a dalmation. I hope they find it. I wonder if the child had to get rabies shots? Don't they have to start those within 48 hours?

SarahB~ I'm with you 100% on this one! Who knows all the details and this is the first I've heard about this as well, so to all of you ATTACKERS- Just wait and see!!!!! Why the hate on Lovers Day? Happy VD to all!!!!!

I hope the little guy is Ok and that the woman comes forward.

carilla D'ville had red hair and had 101

It doesn't say anywhere that the woman did not stop to see if the child was OK. Maybe the parent did not know the child's skin was punctured until she/he got the child home. This is the first that I have heard of this incident and I read the paper faithfully. Maybe the dog's owner has no idea there was an injury? I know this sounds farfetched (no pun intended), but until we know all of the facts ...

There can't be that many women with red hair that have dalmations. Someone needs to convince her to come forward and get this taken care of. It's called responsibility.

what do you want to bet that the owner did NOT have the dog licensed or up to date with vaccinations?? So she took off. What a rotten thing to do.

It's pretty rude of the lady not to stop and see if the child is ok!