# I got bit by a Staffordshire Terrier



## Clancy_Wiggum (Mar 21, 2014)

I wanted to share this story just as a learning experience. I didn't get seriously injured, and I have no ill will toward either the breed or the particular dog.

First of all, my neighbor is a complete idiot. He lets his dogs lay in the public road. The last dog he had was a boxer that I really liked, and the dog died because he tied it up near a fence. The dog jumped over the fence and hung herself. I don't think he's a bad person, just an idiot.

A couple of days ago, he was standing in the yard of a house down the road that I was working on. He had what looked like a giant pit bull on a leash. I was on a motorcycle; my bike is a 500cc Suzuki. It's not a loud bike. I rode up next to him to look at the dog. He told me it was an English boxer. I looked it up later, and there's no such breed. The dog is a Staffordshire Bull Terrier: Staffordshire Bull Terrier - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 

He said it was a former military dog. I asked him what job, and he said cadaver sniffing, but in hindsight I'm not so sure about that. The dog showed no interest in me, and no excitement whatsoever. He was just standing there quietly while we talked - and that's what really got to me after he bit me, that I never saw it coming at all.

What happened was that I revved the motorcycle to leave, and I'm guessing that it triggered the bite-stimulus training that someone had given this dog for personal protection use. I was moving away from him, and that's probably what kept him from taking my calf muscle off. He launched and hit me so fast that neither one of us really saw it happen. I felt like I had been shot in the leg. I pulled up my pant leg, and saw that he didn't quite break the skin. There was the hook-shaped mark of one of his teeth. Right now my outer calf in that spot is bruised up and looks like I got hit by a line drive baseball going 110 mph. 

It'll heal. I'll be fine. It could have been much, much worse. I wanted to share this story and what I learned here - no sudden loud stimulus around big scary dogs, even when they are showing no signs of aggression. That last part is key. I'm almost 40 and have had dogs all my life, but it's naive to think I can always see aggressive behavior coming. 

And once again, I don't mean anything against pitts or staffies, or any one breed of dog. I am honestly kind of in admiration of the speed and power of the dog that bit me. It was very impressive. I almost want one now


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## trcy (Mar 1, 2013)

pitts don't take much stimulus to attack. They go from acting normal to being in a fight at the drop of a pin.


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## SummerGSDLover (Oct 20, 2013)

trcy said:


> pitts don't take much stimulus to attack. They go from acting normal to being in a fight at the drop of a pin.


Well THAT'S certainly not stereotyping. Geez. That's like saying the same thing but insert "German Shepherds" where you wrote "pitts". :banghead:

*-*Summer*-*


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

I doubt that dog was trained. I would be he just reacted.


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## trcy (Mar 1, 2013)

SummerGSDLover said:


> Well THAT'S certainly not stereotyping. Geez. That's like saying the same thing but insert "German Shepherds" where you wrote "pitts". :banghead:
> 
> *-*Summer*-*



We had 7 pitts when I was growing up. We did not train them to fight. Not so much stereotyping as going off my having to break up many fights with those dogs. One time a dog was just sleeping. The pitt went by and latched on to his head. That poor dog needed his ears sewn back on. Maybe seeing a sleeping dog induces their fight reaction.....idk, but I don't trust those dogs. I have seen to many going from very calm to in a full on fight with little to no indication as to why.


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## DJEtzel (Feb 11, 2010)

trcy said:


> We had 7 pitts when I was growing up. We did not train them to fight. Not so much stereotyping as going off my having to break up many fights with those dogs. One time a dog was just sleeping. The pitt went by and latched on to his head. That poor dog needed his ears sewn back on. Maybe seeing a sleeping dog induces their fight reaction.....idk, but I don't trust those dogs. I have seen to many going from very calm to in a full on fight with little to no indication as to why.


Sounds like you've been around some very unstable pits. That happens a lot with how often they're bred, but it does happen with any breed and I know GSDs the same way you're describing. 

Sorry for the bite, OP!


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## Jelpy (Nov 8, 2009)

_*"He said it was a former military dog. I asked him what job, and he said cadaver sniffing, but in hindsight I'm not so sure about that. The dog showed no interest in me, and no excitement whatsoever"*_

Why Clancy....I never knew you were a cadaver!

Jelpy


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## misslesleedavis1 (Dec 5, 2013)

Jelpy said:


> _*"He said it was a former military dog. I asked him what job, and he said cadaver sniffing, but in hindsight I'm not so sure about that. The dog showed no interest in me, and no excitement whatsoever"*_
> 
> Why Clancy....I never knew you were a cadaver!
> 
> Jelpy


Omg. Thats hilarious

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## Sarah~ (Apr 30, 2012)

trcy said:


> pitts don't take much stimulus to attack. They go from acting normal to being in a fight at the drop of a pin.


A staffy is not a pit, but neither breed should act like that and I think the same can be said about any breed of dog. The pits, staffies, and bullies I know are all pretty stable dogs and most would need to be pushed pretty hard to bite a human. Other dogs are a different story but these breeds in general were created to be very human friendly, but there are always exceptions. Considering the breed of dog it could have been SO much worse, but I am still very sorry to hear about your bite, Clancy. Bully breeds are great, though, I was really surprised at how much I ended up loving them after I got one!


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

Jelpy said:


> _*"He said it was a former military dog. I asked him what job, and he said cadaver sniffing, but in hindsight I'm not so sure about that. The dog showed no interest in me, and no excitement whatsoever"*_
> 
> Why Clancy....I never knew you were a cadaver!
> 
> Jelpy


I agree. If Clancy wasn't a cadaver, the dog wouldn't have reacted. I'm sure this dog was one of the top secret military trained dogs for the Zombie Apocalypse and it flunked out because it kept going for the legs and not the brains. 

I'm glad you weren't seriously injured, Clancy!


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## Chip18 (Jan 11, 2014)

There kinda sorta is a English Boxer. I just lump them all under 'Euro" myself but if that cretin was trying to pass a Staffie off as a Boxer that tells you all you need to know!

There is a difference between a bad owner and just plain criminal stupidity! That guy is going to be a problem with any dog!

Stay clear of them both hope your OK!


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

No, Clancy must be moving cadavers around -- the dog would have reacted to all the dead bodies he's been moving about. So, Clancy, have you buried anyone at that house you're working on.... in the concrete maybe?


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## Jelpy (Nov 8, 2009)

_"I agree. If Clancy wasn't a cadaver, the dog wouldn't have reacted. I'm sure this dog was one of the top secret military trained dogs for the Zombie Apocalypse and it flunked out because it kept going for the legs and not the brains."_

:rofl:

Jelpy


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## alexg (Mar 22, 2013)

Maybe the dog did not appreciate the rider needlessly revving the motorcycle?


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## Blitzkrieg1 (Jul 31, 2012)

You realize Staffys are actually quite small..right. Like a miniature pittbull no more then 16-18 inches off the ground.
Not large at all. You were probably looking at some bully mix.


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## DJEtzel (Feb 11, 2010)

Blitzkrieg1 said:


> You realize Staffys are actually quite small..right. Like a miniature pittbull no more then 16-18 inches off the ground.
> Not large at all. You were probably looking at some bully mix.


Depends on what Staffy the op is talking about. "Staffordshire bull terrier" is a breed, and "American staffordshire terrier" is a breed. The first is what you are describing, but the second is much taller/larger. An amstaff or amstaff mix could have been what the OP saw, but I think it's more likely an am bully or am bulldog. Boxers and am bulldogs have very similar features.


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## Clancy_Wiggum (Mar 21, 2014)

The bike is an old Suzuki 500. You have to rev it to take off without killing it.

To update the story, the idiot neighbor now lets the dog roam free. My grandparents live on the other side of him, and I go by there all the time. My bike is all I have; I don't have another vehicle right now.

Idiot lives on a corner, and I have to go slow on the loose gravel going by. When the dog came out, I honked the motorcycle's horn and got him to back up. But of course as soon as I was going away from him, he took off after me like he wanted to rip my leg off.

I'm not getting bitten by the same dog twice. I have a Kimber Custom .45 and I'm an excellent shot. I still don't want to kill the dog, though. I was thinking about buying some rubber bullets.


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## David Winners (Apr 30, 2012)

I'd buy some bear spray before rubber bullets. 

David Winners


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## Chip18 (Jan 11, 2014)

David Winners said:


> I'd buy some bear spray before rubber bullets.
> 
> David Winners


Yep this!!^^^ And start calling animal control every time you see it lose! 

Am Staff or whatever clearly a bully they don't need any more bad press then, they already have!


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

You might consider checking to be sure the dog is up to date on it's rabies vaccine, even though you think the bite didn't break the skin. Rabies is serious business.


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## VTGirlT (May 23, 2013)

Ya.. i agree with David. I would buy some pepper spray. I carry a small one around with me when I'm out training my dog/walking her. (I really should just carry it all the time)

IF the guy is going to be dumb, and not manage his dog that bite you- and he lets it loose and everything, after a puncture wound and all. Than i would report him. Because its unsafe. Who is to say a kid isn't going to go by the house and not set the dog off and the dog is loose, ya know? Or at the very least, educate your neighbor about management for his dog and tell him how you're worried about it..


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## JJSMargo (Jul 3, 2014)

First of all, any dog regardless of the breed, must be really supervised off the leash. How come the 1st dog hung itself? This one runs, chases and bites and lays in the middle of the road? Talk to your neighbor, hopefully he will listen, but if this continues, start calling Animal Control. We had a woman in your neighborhood with a massive pitt, very aggressive, went after anything and anyone. So, one time this dog bit another dog owner, he spoke to her and warned that next time he will call 911. Sure enough, she did not bother to put the dog on a leash, nor muzzled him, so it happened again. 911 was called, the dog was picked up, sat in ASPCA shelter for a week, was neutered and the owner had to pay $3,000 fine. Surprise, surprise she was cured of idiocy. It is a miracle!
Regardless of your feelings towards a dog breed, it is the owner's responsibility to take care of their animal(s), and perhaps knowing how the dog is not to leave it in the yard. Today it is a little insignificant bite, tomorrow it can be a very injurious one.


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## Clancy_Wiggum (Mar 21, 2014)

Other neighbors have called animal control on him, but I live in a very rural area, and those guys don't like to work. If there are several complaints, they will mosey on out in a few days and say "now don't do that, or you might get a ticket."

I just bought some pepper spray "gel" at Walmart: Mace Pepper Gel Mag 3-Pepper Gel Spray: Home Security : Walmart.com It's not bear spray, but I hope it works.


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## Bridget (Apr 5, 2004)

Glad you are ok. Thanks for not making a major deal out of the whole thing.


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## Chip18 (Jan 11, 2014)

JJSMargo said:


> First of all, any dog regardless of the breed, must be really supervised off the leash. How come the 1st dog hung itself? This one runs, chases and bites and lays in the middle of the road? Talk to your neighbor, hopefully he will listen, but if this continues, start calling Animal Control. We had a woman in your neighborhood with a massive pitt, very aggressive, went after anything and anyone. So, one time this dog bit another dog owner, he spoke to her and warned that next time he will call 911. Sure enough, she did not bother to put the dog on a leash, nor muzzled him, so it happened again. 911 was called, the dog was picked up, sat in ASPCA shelter for a week, was neutered and the owner had to pay $3,000 fine. Surprise, surprise she was cured of idiocy. It is a miracle!
> Regardless of your feelings towards a dog breed, it is the owner's responsibility to take care of their animal(s), and perhaps knowing how the dog is not to leave it in the yard. Today it is a little insignificant bite, tomorrow it can be a very injurious one.


Dog jumped the fence with a leash on! The guy is a tool! Any dog can be a problem if the owner is a fool!


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## Chip18 (Jan 11, 2014)

Clancy_Wiggum said:


> Other neighbors have called animal control on him, but I live in a very rural area, and those guys don't like to work. If there are several complaints, they will mosey on out in a few days and say "now don't do that, or you might get a ticket."
> 
> I just bought some pepper spray "gel" at Walmart: Mace Pepper Gel Mag 3-Pepper Gel Spray: Home Security : Walmart.com It's not bear spray, but I hope it works.


In as much as the dog is not expecting anything it should work fine. Hope you never need to use it!


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## JJSMargo (Jul 3, 2014)

Some people should never have a dog, he is worse than a fool Chip18. Hopefully, pepper spray will never be used.


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## MichaelE (Dec 15, 2012)

This summer so far, Lisl and I have been attacked by no less than three Pit Bull mixes. I very nearly shot one two weeks ago that went out of his way to come after us. He was in his back yard, we were on the other side of the street that runs along the side of the property. 

Dodging traffic this dog came after us from the other side of the street barking and snarling. I kicked it several times and I think Lisl may have gotten in a light bite or two and the dog retreated.

I called AC and told them exactly what happened. I told them to tell the owners that if that ever happens again I will shoot their dog on the spot before it ever gets close enough to do any damage.

The owners were ticketed and the dog was impounded. The owners were not home when AC visited but they got the dog. I don't know if they got it back. Lisl and I have been by there three times without seeing that dog again.

There is no reason that I or Lisl has to put up with that crap on a public sidewalk and I'm not going to any more.


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