Well, first and foremost, the people with the shiba are to blame, because not only have they failed to control their dog’s aggressive behaviour, but they were also negligent enough to allow him or her to attack another dog. While I do understand how some people want a biter to be killed, in my mind it does little to fix the larger problem: that of irresponsible, negligent pet owners. That dog can be turned into a good dog. Killing him or her would be like destroying a gun or knife that someone had accidentally hurt someone with. You could report the dog, and it indeed would be the safest thing to do, but I hate to see a dog take the rap for a bad owner.
I’ll get criticism for saying this, but you’re also to blame for getting bitten because you tried to break up a dog fight without knowing how. Also, it might be helpful o know that you could have prevented the attack by your reaction. This is not to blame; it’s to help empower you to prevent such an incident next time. If a dog shows interest in you or comes running at you barking, how you react will dictate the outcome. When stray dogs appear to charge my dogs, I can deter most of them from coming closer simply by pointing at them, showing a confident posture, and giving out an assertive but calm “Hey!” It stops them in their tracks. If the dog still keeps coming, the worst thing you can do is raise the level of aggression by shouting, hitting, or grabbing any of the animals. Most dogs just want to assert themselves but instead end up fighting or biting just because the human unwittingly instigated such.
I often deal with people who are convinced that other dogs will always attack theirs–and they do, because that’s the vibe that person is giving off; when I walk their dog, nothing ever happens, simply because I’m not projecting that fear nor encouraging anything of the sort in the dog I’m walking.
It’s an incredibly useful piece of info to have, but, sadly, the kind of defensive people who most need it are also the least likely to accept it. I have absolutely no idea exactly what happened in this case, though, so it may or may not be pertinent in this case.
Anyway, to answer the question, the dog charged and engaged another dog, not a person, and unless there is a history of attacking people, I would say you are better off helping the owners understand the importance of properly restraining or muzzling their dog. And you’d also do well never to engage such a dog with your toddler around, and to teach your son to do the same as he grows up and know to stand still and ignore a charging dog.
