Dog attacked, killed on walk in Newton

^{By Jason W. Brooks Newton Daily News – 4/20/15}

A Newton woman told the Newton Daily News one of her dogs was attacked by a neighbor’s dog Friday, and later died — and it wasn’t the first time recently that one of her dogs was attacked.

Tammy Heyveld said she was walking her six-pound poodle mix, Edna, near her home on S. 24th Ave. W. on Friday when a neighbor’s dog came out of its yard and crossed the street to grab Edna, Heyveld’s dog, by the abdomen.

While the neighbor was able to pull her dog away, and Heyveld was able to get Edna to the Newton Animal Clinic for emergency surgery, Edna ended up dying Saturday. Heyveld said the neighbor’s dog is a vizsla-labrador mix.

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Labrador Retriever

While Labradors are not known for having issues with aggression, some lines have a number of less desirable traits. Some pups have difficulty focusing their attention, and their over-friendliness can become annoying. Their over-friendliness can even become dangerous as they reach adolescence and joyously jump up on people to greet them. These problems are easily solved by skillful use of rewards while the dog is still a pup. It’s important to train a Labrador pup – with reward based methods – that all four feet belong on the floor, and that sitting is the best way to greet people. Labradors learn incredibly quickly to do anything the owner rewards, be it with food or with attention. A Labrador pup will quickly learn to concentrate and even do a long ‘stay’ once they understand that this is rewarded behavior. This trainability means that owner mistakes can easily train annoying (though harmless) behavior, more so than with many other breeds. You don’t have to punish the Labrador pup, but owners should be careful not to reward any behavior that will become annoying when the pup gets bigger.

Without regular exercise Labradors can become obese and bored, which can lead to destructive behaviors such as chewing on things. Labradors do not make great guard dogs because they have a tendency to be friendly to everyone. They do have an acute sense of smell and an alert instinct and to alarm owners that someone may be entering the yard or house.

Another problem with the Labrador is that shelters often use the breed’s name to disguise the fact that a shelter dog is part pit bull or some other ‘bull breed’ mix. It can be impossible to tell by looking at a ‘Labrador mix’ whether it is in fact part Labrador or if it’s really a ‘bully’ mix. If you decide that the Labrador is the breed for you, the only way to be sure you are really getting a Labrador is to buy a pup from a reputable breeder.

Labrador Retrievers are large dogs, weighing 55 to 100 lbs. They are average shedders and have minimal grooming requirements. Labradors have a life expectancy of 10-12 years. They are healthy, overall, but are prone to hip and elbow dysplasia, ear infections, and eye disorders.

In North America, from 1982-2014, Labrador Retrievers have seriously attacked 56 humans, resulting in 3 fatalities. Labrador Retriever mixes have seriously attacked 27 humans, resulting in 1 fatality. Pit bull type dogs are often listed as Labrador Retriever mixes and it is possible that these numbers may be incorrect due to breed mislabeling

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Coming soon: Daxton’s Friends Vizsla breed bio

POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS DOG BREEDS

This is a list of dog breeds that have a history of being potentially dangerous to people, especially children. Daxton’s Friends for Canine Education and Awareness understands that any dog has the ability to bite or inflict serious harm to humans. This list consists of several dog breeds that have a higher than average number of recorded human fatalities. Please use extreme caution if you choose to bring one of these breeds into your home. Rental communities and homeowners insurance may restrict many of the dog breeds on this list due to the likelihood of a serious incident.

Pit Bulls, Mastiff, and Rottweiler lead in fatalities and are listed first. The rest of the breeds are listed in alphabetical order:

Pit Bull Terrier Family

Mastiffs

Doberman Pinscher

German Shepherd

Shar Pei

Siberian Husky

Wolf Hybrid

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How many other animals did pit bulls kill in 2014?

JANUARY 27, 2015 BY MERRITT CLIFTON

Fifty thousand dogs per year, including at least 34,250 pit bulls, attack other animals, according toANIMALS 24-7 analysis of dog attack data from 2013-2014.

Of the 82,000 animal victims per year, 59,000 die; 23,000 survive their injuries. Among the dead are 15,500 dogs, 95% of them attacked by pit bulls, and 6,000 hooved animals, 93% of them attacked by pit bulls.

Pit bulls also inflict at least 60% of the 29,000 fatal attacks on domestic birds and small mammals, and at least 60% of the 8,250 fatal attacks on cats. About a third of the fatal dog attacks on domestic birds, small mammals, and cats are by dogs who are not caught and identified, so might also include many pit bulls.

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