Winnie's First Battle


Winnie had her first fight this afternoon.
and despite everything, she was magnificent.
Contrary to most people's belief, Bulldogs are generally not aggressive in any shape or form. They are well known in possessing a unique kind of dignity when it comes to confrontation, and I have read that they will often stand calmly in the face of an attack.
Today , for the first time since Constance , Mabel and Winnie have been with us, I witnessed first hand this behaviour.
I was getting the other dogs into the car at the railway walkway at Dyserth when a black and white collie cross trotted purposefully around the back of the berlingo. Luckily the terriers were already inside, leaving Winnie waiting for her usual " leg up" into the back, and within a fraction of a second the collie had bitten Winnie hard on the rump. The collie skittered away growling as I turned to slam the car door shut to prevent the hysterical terriers from piling out , and Winnie followed it with her head held very high and her eyes fixed and staring.
As the collie danced around barking and snapping , Winnie stood totally immobile with her eyes hard as flint and when contact was finally made the fight was almost over as quickly as it had started as Winnie clamped her massive mouth around the collie's neck , and flung it onto its back.
She then literally lay on top of it as it kicked and struggled helplessly.
The dog's owner ran up with his wailing wife in tow
" He's killing him!" He shouted
" SHE  hasn't  got any fucking teeth!" I shouted back , but I was a little concerned that Winnie may collapse the dog's ribcage if she was left much longer, so between the three of us we separated the dogs.
The collie continued to bark and snap and twisted like a mad thing with his two owners hanging onto his harness.
Winnie just stood  and snorted quietly to herself like a bull.
She looked magnificent

Later the woman owner was good enough to apologise, and we all left things on fairly good terms

On the way home, I treated Winnie to a whole scotch egg all to herself


77 comments:

  1. Oh Winnie ! What a wonderful bulldog you are.
    I hope you are not hurt. I know the healing qualities of a scotch egg.
    This just happened to Hamish and and it has been two weeks of pain, He was bitten in the neck and thrown. He has still not recovered and is in pain.

    The Square Ones sending woofs to Winnie.
    cheers, parsnip

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    1. Airedales are not as sweet natured as welsh terriers are they?
      Poor Hampshire!

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    2. I think you are right about Airedales. But this one is very hyper.
      I can just see in my mind Winnie thumping over grabbing the collie and then like any good pro wrestler sitting on the dog !

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    3. Damm automated spell check...I did write Hamish

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    4. John, no worries... we have added that name to his list of pet names. I thought you did that on purpose.
      I love it !

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  2. Good for Winnie!

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  3. Oh John, I would have probably had a heart attack right there on the sidewalk. I have jumped in the middle of fighting dogs before in my younger days. A Malamute that had just killed one of my favorite chickens, growled at the edge of the wood at me and I let out a rebel yell and ran at the dog ready to do battle. Thankfully, he turned and ran off. He had bitten a woman walking down the road before in which she needed stitches. Hurray for Winnie The Brave, but as for me, I'm getting a little less fearless these day.

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    1. Did you report him to the police Donna?

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    2. It's a different world out here in the country, John. Dogs run freely and are only stopped when a farmer shoots them. I did have a clear shot at the Malamute, but could never harm an animal though in the heat of the moment, I was ready to beat its ass. It is funny though, the lady that was bitten has a husband who is a lawyer. The sheriff wouldn't come for a dog killing a chicken.

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  4. Go Winnie. Toothless but still able to have a ruck. Girl power!

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  5. Yay Winnie! Sounds like the other dog needed to be taught a lesson in canine etiquette. I am glad to hear no one was hurt.

    So many dogs have no idea how to behave around their own kind. (I've been doing a lot of reading about dog behavior since adopting Hurricane George.) Little dogs seem to be the worst. Twice I've had tiny lapdogs escape their front doors and charge up to me and my two dogs while walking with them in our neighborhood. And my two are big--a 60 pound shepherd/rottie mix and a 75 pound lab/pit bull mix. Both times my Ginger (the shepherd mix) grabbed the little dogs and shook them like ragdolls....once they got right up in her face. Thank goodness she never actually hurt either of them. And the owners were hysterical....but since mine were on leashes and properly restrained there would have been nothing they could have done had there been injuries. But I wonder why so many people don't socialize their dogs to interact with other dogs? My two meet strange dogs easily as long as they are "balanced" as Cesar Milan would say!

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    1. The collie has met all of mine before
      It's incredibly nervous and overactive ......and to be fair is usually a bag of nerves after George and Meg bark at it...

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  6. It just proves that it is not so much the teeth, it's the attitude. Good for Winnie.

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  7. Bless her little heart.

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  8. I did not know that Winnie had no teeth. Well done Winnie.

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    1. She just has tiny baby teeth ........not really enough to mention

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    2. Anonymous8:21 pm

      Yeah, kinda like a ginsu knife...

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  9. Anonymous5:07 pm

    Good girl, Winnie.....you showed that miserable pup what for. A well deserved treat I must say.

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  10. Winnie is a superstar, how dignified. It does annoy me when people have unruly dogs and get arsey when their dogs get taken to task.
    Twiggy

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  11. Well done Winnie, you have the class and dignity of the Countess Dowager.
    ~Jo

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    1. Hence the photo
      She's wearing her tribute to the Ukranisn village

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  12. That was not really aggressive behavior for a herding dog, he was just trying to help you "load up" your animals. I used to have to pen my Queensland heelers when I was loading horses so they wouldn't "help" me. It was also a challenge keeping them from grabbing a horse's tail or hind leg when I was trying to mount the horse. They really do think they're helpful.

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    1. It's amazing what instincts the different breeds have. Good to get another perspective.

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  13. She was attacked and defended her self, good for her. The other dog should have been on a lead.

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  14. Badassery need not come in fits; Winnie, Youve got it, girl.
    xoxo

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  15. GIRL FIGHT TONIGHT!

    such drama today. more drama in 2 weeks...

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  16. Is Winnie an English Bulldog? I can picture Winston Churchill himself as the victim, in place of Winnie.

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    1. Yes Joanne.........she's all English

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  17. Winnie looks like she might have the vapors!

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  18. Good ol Winnie, I would have loved to see her flip that collie over. Having a Jack Russell fights are commonplace on my walkies - it's like having the naughtiest child in nursery. Sometimes avoided and always explaining.

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  19. Good for Winnie!

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  20. "WINNIE! WINNIE! ONE WINNIE GRAY! THERE'S ONLY ONE WINNIE GRAY!"
    Can you hear the crowd chanting here at The Dyserth Arena? Here comes Winnie Gray's opponent - a young collie called Colin! There's a little bit of sniffing as the bout begins. Should be a good fight...but oh! It might be over already. Winnie is squashing Colin! Colin is whining like an academic in a wine bar! And the towel has been thrown in!
    "WINNIE! WINNIE! ONE WINNIE GRAY! THERE'S ONLY ONE WINNIE GRAY!"

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  21. Winnie won the war! x

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  22. Sweet girl. (and btw I think this is my first comment, so howdy)

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  23. good for you Winnie, defending yourself with dignity!!

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  24. Once many moons ago while stationed in Germany a friend and i took our dogs for a walk...Mine a 4-5 yr old Rottweiler and hers a German Shephard puppy.... the puppy was determined to be well .... a puppy and my friend for whatever reason continued to let the puppy harass my Rottweiler ...nipping at her ears and such well i guess my dog decided it was time to teach the pup a lesson and had had enough.

    She grabbed that pup ( i say pup but probably close to a year old) around the neck and slammed her to the ground on her back while all the time growling and making an awful fuss and the pup was squealing....... I try to drag my dog off the pup and she just drags the pup with her and then i see blood on the pups mouth and tongue and i think OMGod she's killing my friends dog!! Now i have to tell you my Rottweiler was the most mild mannered, well behaved dog. Kids can hug her and pull her ears and never a peep out of her...patience of a saint except for apparently nippy German Shepherd puppies... Well finally she lets go and i'm just cringing thinking of what she might have done to that dog. We check the puppy over everwhere...no broken skin... then we see the puppy had bitten its own tongue in the tussle... It was jut the big dog teaching the puppy to mind his manners.... We continued on the walk and the puppy continued to dance circle and jump around my dog but it no longer nipped her ears or touched her..... lesson learned.....

    I'm so glad Winnie was alright. Such a stoic lass. Hugs~ deb

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    1. Dog fights often sound worse than they are......this one was over in around 20 seconds!

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  25. Go girl Winnie…..good for you! My schnauzer has been attacked a few times, and I tend to just pick him up out of the way…probably not the best thing to do, but it is my first instinct to protect my little fella.

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  26. I've been in that situation often with Snippers, who was attacked in his own car by a spaniel as a puppy. Any time another dog growls at him, he goes in for the kill. Very embarrassing, especially when the other owner says "he's never done this before!". Bollocks. Good on Winnie but probably a good thing the terriers didn't get involved! Those teeth.....x

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    1. Thank goodness they were in the car.......there would have been a free for all if they'd got out

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  27. did he break the skin when he bit her? I hate when people dont have their dogs on their leads when they know they are nervous and do not come by command. how scary

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    1. She does have a bite on her skin but it's pretty small

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  28. A dignified lady she is. But she ain't gonna take shit off no collie!
    I love her for that.

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    1. It's a side of her I've not seen before.........I loved the way she stood and watched the collie afterwards , no lead, no manhandling , she just stood and watched

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  29. Good Girl Winnie! You make us all proud!
    Ruth in Oxnard

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  30. Go Winnie go!
    In my experience, dogs can usually settle minor skirmishes on their own....with one backing down or retreating. Winnie knew what had to be done and waited to do so.

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  31. GO WINNIE!!!!! She definitely earned that scotch egg :)

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  32. Bless her little, ok well maybe not little but bless her heart. She so deserved a treat after all that! I am glad that other dog didn't hurt her!

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  33. We will fight them on the beaches...we will fight them in the car parks...
    Well done Winnie, you saved the terriers - though they may have liked to join you!

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  34. 'We shall fight them on the beaches.........'!That dog's a dead ringer for another 'Winnie'! x

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    1. Though my Winnie doesn't have " black dog " days

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  35. Hooray for Winnie! What a good girl! I'm so glad you treated her to an entire scotch egg, John. She earned it!

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  36. Oh Winnie looks beautiful in that photo. As you said dog fights are over quickly but they look intense . Glad she had a scotch egg to help her recover . Cutest photo ever of Winnie xxxx

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  37. I hope that the attacking dogs owners will now keep their dog under better control.

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  38. Oh Winnie, girl. Poor thing. Love that picture of her.

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  39. Magnificent warrior, that's Winnie! A woman can only take just so much and then she has to defend herself. She earned her scotch egg, John....

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  40. Always good to hear that the victim eventually gets the upper hand. Well done Winnie.

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  41. Well done that bulldog. That's a very fetching photo with the (I presume) facecloth on her head.

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  42. Attagirl, Winnie! Don't let anyone give you aggro - but if they do, show them who's boss.

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  43. If she turns up at the wedding with a 'hen night black eye' I'm gonna be cross.
    and that's a pre-warning young lady
    x
    ps i have a small yappy terrier dog (not my choice, but i do love him really) with few teeth now and we keep him on a lead. he has a daily fence battle with ralph next door, they can't see other but make a hell of a racket, sorry to all neighbours if you're reading this - which you're not so whatevs
    x

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  44. Good on you Winnie. I'm pleased the owner-ess of the collie apologized. It's actually the human's fault that the dog was loose and able to attack your baby.

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  45. It'a always the mild-mannered dogs don't you think that get attacked?
    Glad that she is ok. Bless her! xxx

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  46. Good for Winnie, teeth or no teeth she's shown that she can defend her self when push comes to shove.

    The collie was lucky you managed to contain the terriers, it would have had the gang after it.

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  47. And the winner is .......

    Way to go, Winnie!

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  48. Yeah. Go Winnie! Seriously I'm glad all parties came away unscathed.
    I picture her channeling Lady Bracknell.

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  49. Anonymous11:06 am

    I feel quietly proud of Winnie's self defence style.

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  50. Wow! I hate to cheer for aggression, but I think I can make an exception when it's clear self-defense. Go Winnie!

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  51. Winnie deserved that Scotch egg. That look is so Churchill, getting down to business. Don't mess with the Win!

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