[CorkyMax]

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A Juneau, Alaska, woman says she knows it was stupid to punch a black bear in the snout to save her dog.

But Brooke Collins says the attack happened so fast that all she could think about is keeping her dachshund, Fudge, from being killed.

The 22-year-old says as soon as she let her dogs out Sunday, Fudge started barking and she saw the bear carrying him like a salmon.

Collins told the Juneau Empire ( bit.ly/qJVzQ3) she did the first thing she thought of and punched the bear's face and scooped away her dog when it let go.

The startled bear took off through bushes to a mountain.

Fudge suffered some claw and bite marks, but they weren't deep. Collins says he appeared to be more shocked

[lange]

:shock: She is so lucky both her & her dog are safe. I can't imagine what I would of done in her situation. ....Exactly how big was that bear?....shiver....

[Lara's mom]

I think I would have done the same thing...Today, I was walking home with Lara and some idiot owner has her stupid pit bull unleashed and unmuzzled which is against the law here. The dog was also way too young to be legal since it has been illegal to have pits born in this province since 2005. The dog ran at us and I picked up my little dog and kneed the I LOVE DOGS!I LOVE DOGS!I LOVE DOGS!I LOVE DOGS!I LOVE DOGS!I LOVE DOGS!I LOVE DOGS! as it jumped and sent it flying. Thankfully, the owner got it under control before it could attack again.

I am SO tired of these bloody nasty dogs attacking innocent people and little dogs who can't defend themselves. Frankly, I couldn't care less whether it is the owners fault or the dogs fault. If you choose to have a dog that is clearly unpredictable, can you not at least leash and muzzle the thing so it doesn't present a danger to perfectly innocent people and their dogs?

[lange]

Originally Posted by Lara's mom

I am SO tired of these bloody nasty dogs attacking innocent people and little dogs who can't defend themselves.

I see people with little dogs unleashed more often than big 'bad' dogs.

You can easily fall into the mentality that certain breeds are the problem. But what happens then when those of us with "bad breeds" have to deal with loose, little dogs that come up to us trying to get our dogs riled up? Our dogs are the one's automatically deemed responsible because they can cause more serious injury but the little dog gets away with more.

Breeds aside, I think it's ALL on the owner if a law is being broken regardless of the specifics.

If certain dogs need to be muzzled by law, then they should and the owners need to deal with it if they choose to own such a breed. If there was such a law in place for Akitas in our city I would either abide by it or move. But you should put the blame where it belongs. ANY owner & ANY dog can be a liability, period.

Regardless of the breed, the dog who starts a confrontation (big or small) is the dog who should be liable, not the dog who is more powerful. From what I've heard, justice is supposed to be blind.

[reeskujo]

I aree 100% Lange..In all my years of training I've never had one Pitty be it a puppy or an adult start a fight with another dog..In fact they were usually the best behaved dog in their class..On the other hand I've had numerous small breeds start fights and nip at people..However,that does not mean that I think all small breeds are bad..It means they've had owners who had no buisness having a dog regardless of the breed..

I myself get truly sick of hearing people blame the so-called "bad breeds" instead of the owners and the falsehoods such as a particular breed being naturally aggressive or unpredictable..When are people going to realize that regardless of a dogs size or breed any dog can be ruined by people who own them..I guess not to many people paid attention to what became of Michael Vicks Pitbulls or how many of them were not only able to be adopted but went on to be therapy dogs!!..I'm also sick of it being blamed on the large breed dogs for starting dog fights and not the owners of the small breed dogs who have let their little one antagonize the bigger dog because they don't know how go be responsible owners..
My Seigi is in love with the little Bulldog next door and when they play she'll latch on to his neck to where she's off her feet yet he doesn't try and attack or hurt her..Why is that?..Because he's been properly trained!!

IMO,stereotyping and blaming big dogs for these types of situations as whole is the same thing as blaming a whole race of people for the actions of a few!!!

[Lara's mom]

Well, I wish I could agree with you but, a couple of days ago a little Shorty JRT that I rehomed was killed by a pit bull. Please don't expect me to feel kindly toward either these dogs or their stupid owners who feel they are somehow above the law. I just can't.

[reeskujo]

I understand how you feel but again I have to say that it's the fault of the owners not the breed as a whole.

[Lunareclipse]

Originally Posted by reeskujo

I understand how you feel but again I have to say that it's the fault of the owners not the breed as a whole.

I agree. We have a pittbull living two doors down from us and he is the most well mannered dog on the planet. I don't have anything to fear from him. The little dachshund that lives with him is a terrifying little beast though. That thing tried to take off my finger one day. Thank goodness it was small. If it had been bigger, I wouldn't have a hand left.

[lange]

The sad reality is that this breed has been the real victim of stupid humans & pays the consequence that they themselves didn't even create. It could have happened to any breed but it happened to this one. It's bad breeding, dog fighting & bad ownership that is the real problem.
I admit I have even been fearful of a single pitbull because I didn't like the signals it was giving off to my son. But I also realize that not ever bully is the same as the last. If breeding was better controlled & monitored there's be less bad breeding. If people were held more responsible for their dogs that are FIRST -1.) Bred and born to, THEN -2.) Owned, 3.) THEN sent to shelters or the like; if there were more REAL PERSONAL responsibiliy & CONSEQUENCE, than no breed or mutt would suffer as much; nor would victimized people.

Today it's the pitbull, tomorrow it's the poodle. It can be any breed that is exploited. The exploitation is the root crime. I also blame society. Just as Michael Vick can be idolized TODAY. It is all a shame.
We, as humans, NEED to see the forest for the trees or we just continue the cycle of victimization here.

[reeskujo]

Very well said Lange..What is also very said is that it hasn't stopped with the Pitties...It continues on with many other large breeds..I've looked up BSL's in almost every state and some have gone so far as to ban St.Bernards!..Seriously?..Can anything be more ridiculous?

Rather then people realizing the fact that it's not a breed in itself but the fault of the backyard breeders,puppy mills and bad owners they fall into the myths and the histeria that all large breed dogs that all large breed dogs are nothing more then vicious killers..If you look into the history of large breeds as well as small there are many small breed dogs that have been bred for hunting as in small rodents and such yet people simply don't fear them or concern themselves with their prey drives because of their size..As a trainer almost every dog I've ever had snap at me has been a small breed..My first dog bite as a groomer was from a crazy Poodle!!..Mind you again,that is the fault of the owners..I've seen many more ill behaved small breeds then large because the owners tend to let them get away with more misbehavior since the resulting bad behavior is not to concerning to them because the dog can't do as much damage as a large breed.They forget the fact that regardless of it's size any dog can bite and do damage when not properly trained!!

[Lunareclipse]

If they ever ban saint bernards where I live, I'm moving.

[Lara's mom]

Neither of my girls has ever been involved in a fight. Lara is a pretty small girl - under 14 pounds. Bailey is 14 1/2 and around 42 pounds.