This topic might be termed

"The politics of 'me'" Or..

"love your enemies..as long as they are human"

All have some application to this story.

I often go for a walk around 6.00am at a local public access place of wide open spaced. The facility is fenced and all access points have signs erected "Dogs must be on a leash".

Most dog owners ignore this, and sometimes find that the 'other' dog which is also unleashed, bites their little pooch to bits.

But.. to the story. There are 2 women who usually come alnog with about 3 or 4 dogs, and wander around with them unleashed. One of those dogs is a labrador. While most dogs which are unleased seem to just want to 'greet' the stranger coming the other way.. THIS one.. seems to want to turn me into a convenient "chew toy".

Phase 1. It runs up to me, (silly me thinking it wants a pat) so I try to pat it. Then..it starts to 'chew' me. Not a 'dog fight' intensity..nope..just 'chew'.. like the other day it was climbing up me and sunk it's teeth into the back of my upper arm...and 'hung'....
I let this pass, with no comment.. and today, it came up, so I just stood still, doing nothing, to see what it would do. Annnnd sure enough.. it grabbed my hand and started.. "chewing/biting".. well.. that was enough for me.. plenty of 'accomodation' already, time for 'ACTION'.. so I kicked it! *thump* Yelp /yelp/growl/bark. The owner glared at me.. clearly I'm the 'bad guy' here :)

Later.. I warned the owner "If it comes on me again, I'll hurt it".
Whereupon.. I got "If you had kept walking it wouldn't have done anything" HAH! (been there, experienced that.. result "chew toy-land")

So.. should I allow this mut to 'chew' me or should I report it, or kick it. or.. sue the owner or..?

I certainly wouldn't allow the dog to "chew" and I definently would not kick it, because that's just plain animal cruelty!
But I can understand your fustration, before taking any course of physical action how about you threaten the owner in a kind manner if possible and then hopefully she will control her dog.

It's called "mouthing", you animal, and it's what dogs do to express affection.

You didn't take the owners to task for not having their dogs on a lead. Instead, you kicked their pet and gave them a warning afterward. Their rudeness doesn't justify your violence, and if someone gives you a bashing for it I won't have an ounce of sympathy.

Sancho's right - the dog was clearly just being over-friendly. While the dog owner should have had her pet on a leash, Polycrap was more at fault for kicking the poor thing. That's a really good way to get properly bitten.

Why didn't Porky just ask the dog's owner to put it on its leash, rather than antagonising both her and the dog? It seems that he's as boofheaded with animals as he is with humans.

Around the second or third time it happened, you should have gone up to the owner and said, in a polite, friendly, neighbourly manner, "Excuse me, but I really don't like your dog mouthing me. I seem to be some sort of magnet for him! Do you mind calling him off me, or leashing him if you see me coming?"

Kicking the dog shows that you have a taste for cruelty, and an inability to deal with an uncomplicated difficulty in a normal way. It reflects what you appear to do on this forum — escalate a small problem in order to demonise others and generally stick the cat among the pigeons. You seem entirely motivated by narcissism and pleasure in conflict. Certainly not Christianity.

Do you not yourself notice that you end every argument that by comparing yourself favourably against Christ? "Oh look, once again, coincidentally, these selected bible quotes demonstrate how Jesus agrees with me!" You don't love Christ, you hate him — otherwise why would you belittle him by making him like you rather than trying to discover who he might truly be? You are a sham Christian with an imaginary friend you've remade in your own image, to justify your own prejudices.

On the other hand, maybe you're this lovely guy. Who knows?

Fascinating!

The way that some people have 'injected' their own undertanding of 'what' this animal was doing.. mind blowing.

I meet dogs every day on this particular patch, and I know the difference between 'mouthing' and showing affection and 'chewing/biting' duh.. myyyyy goodness.. the depths some of you will stoop to :)

errr some facts.

1/ I don't have to TELL the silly owner it should be on a leash she has to pass a SIGN telling her that every single time she comes in.

2/ If she chooses to ignore that clear and unmistakable sign..and then choose also not to restrain the animal when it goes for me...repeatedly.. over and over.. and with me not being in the slightest bit 'provocative' to the mut... there is nothing whatsoever cruel about kicking this animal in self defense. In fact.... (double duh) its lawful!

3/ Even if I applied the 'human' law of 'reasonable force' this owner would still be blaming me.(and some here by the looks of things)

If she hasn't got the sense to realize that her dog mauling people is a problem she is responsible for, and that she should put it on a leash AS per the sign.. then I'd say she has not a leg to stand on.. and neither does the mut.

If common sense "leash the dog" does not prevail when repeated attacks have been made, then a good swift kick might.

Further.. how arrogant and mindless was sancho's idiotic comment that kicking a dog which is in the process of biting/mauling me is 'animal cruelty'....utter, absolute, and complete rubbish.

CJ jumps in also in the frenzy to support such twisted thinking..in fact..that he does.. explains a lot about why his responses on many threads have a 'surreal' air about them.

Sancho then wants me 'bashed' as a result. Now that's logic for you.

-animal attacks human
-human defends self
-BASH the human :)

good 1 Sancho