[quote=“tigerman”]
But as my father taught me, we need to teach them also that bullying is not acceptable.[/quote]
Oh yes, it is important to tell one’s kids that there are times when you have to make a stand. Both my kids study Aikido and every single class I tell them that the best self defense is to run. I also let them know that fighting is a last resort, expecially for them as they are being trained in a martial art. It’s hard to explain to kids when to run and when to make a stand.
Enemy smaller? Make a stand.
Enemy bigger? Run.
Enemy smaller? Make a stand.
Enemy bigger? Run.[/quote]
Outstanding 
Why oh why is everybody overlooking the absolute best possible way to deal with this situation?
After kicking the dog (only enough to keep it off your dog, not enough to actually maim it), walk into the store, compliment the woman on her attractive dogs, and then tell her how much you enjoy eating them. Tell her you spent a year in southern China, and you really acquired a taste for yellow/brown/black/fillintheblank dogs. Do it with a straight face, and possibly a convincing twitch. Then calmly suggest that she restrain her dog otherwise it may disappear. Then bid her a good day.
I PROMISE SHE WILL THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU SAID.
The second time you have problems, return to the store and (very calmly of course), ask her if she remembers what you told her the first time. Compliment her again on her attractive dogs, and let her know that you won’t come back a third time. And… suggest to her the possibility that the dogs may not be there the next time she looks for them.
The third time you run into doggie problems, sneak back in the middle of the night, dognap the little runts, take them to Nantou (preferably up a high mountain), deposit them, and see how long it takes for them to find their way back to Taipei. If you are really lucky, then they will decide they prefer being stray mountain dogs and they’ll never come back.
I’m telling you, it’s the best way. The element of surprise goes a LONG WAY in Taiwan. Yeah, the cultural stuff about Taiwan and losing face etc. etc. etc. hold a lot of truth. But even more importantly, you should consider WHAT WORKS. Shouting never works because people get pissed off. Confusion, on the other hand, works wonders AND saves face.
Enemy smaller? Make a stand.
Enemy bigger? Run.[/quote]
Outstanding [/quote]
A caveat…
If the enemy is smaller, be sure he is not a hobbit. Those halflings can be downright nasty…just ask Shelob.
I’m quite surprised how calm you are. I wouldn’t of been. Poisoning the dogs would of been the nicest thing. If they had attacked my kin, I would of gone down to Aimai and bought me a nice wooden bat and packed my switchblade in my back pocket, proceeded to find the dogs and proceed thereforth with beating them to death. A stern warning would of been issued to the local that if this happens again take a good look at the dogs because it could of been you.
This face shit and local way are just a smokescreen for one person to get away with screwing over another person.
Oh and the wife, gf, whoever getting pissed off at you. That’s one that you just have to get use to. If I’m getting grief from a local, my gf says its my mistake. If she gets grief from a local, well it’s because the local is an idiot.
CYA
Okami
PS for neighbrly relations, just poison them.
My Taiwanese husband taught me to kick the unleashed dogs who attack my leashed poodle. It was HIS idea. He does it and asks the pissed dog owners if they’re aware of the leash law, or if they’re idiots. When they then show him the leash that is always being carried in their hand, he tells them the DOG is supposed to wear the leash, not the IDIOT!
And here is advice that was given, by a Taiwanese, to a Taiwanese for dealing with other Taiwenese idiots like the one you mention, Tigerman, “Just tell them that if it happenes again you’re going to sue them.” I believe that man knows what he’s talking about!
[quote]When they then show him the leash that is always being carried in their hand, he tells them the DOG is supposed to wear the leash, not the IDIOT!
[/quote]
I like that.
Although I never really counted poodles as dogs 
– they’re more a form of snack food for proper dogs, aren’t they? Except standard poodles – they’re cool.
I think you should let it blow over for a few weeks. When all seems forgotten, set a trap for the unleashed dogs. When you’ve caught them, drive them out of town and let them go. Don’t kick them please.
Or
Since they’re unleashed, and likely not wearing a collar, call animal control and have them picked up. Once the owner realizes they’re gone, she may go searching for them and then get fined when she locates them again. That oughta learn her.
Your wife is mad because you made her lose face by being brutish.
There are much more devious ways to solve these problems than being confrontational. Perhaps it’s not in your nature to be so underhanded, but I believe it is more effective, and you won’t seem like the bad guy, because you KNOW how Taiwanese tend to twist these things around…
[/quote]
I like that.
Although I never really counted poodles as dogs – they’re more a form of snack food for proper dogs, aren’t they? Except standard poodles – they’re cool.[/quote]
That’s right, Sandman, mine dog’s snack size, but no one has told him. We always have to keep him on a leash or he goes and picks a fight with the biggest, meanest looking unleashed dog he can find. And he actually starts it with a lot of the dogs who get kicked, but since he’s on a leash it’s not our problem. If the other dogs were leashed the fighting wouldn’t be possible.
Tiger, I think you were right to defend your loved ones–your son and your dog Tofu.
[quote]
I just don’t want to argue with people who are wrong, without question wrong.[/quote]
I agree with this.
I also know that in the “heat of the moment” I would tend to go ballistic–even knowing what (little) I do about this culture we’re living in.
So, I think all the various suggestions from other posters are helpful (keep cool, plot your revenge, call the police, dognap the dogs, etc.), but at least for me, it’s hard to keep these ideas in mind when someone persists in trying to explain the “logic” for their mistake.
I guess I’m too impatient for the whole “wait a few weeks and plot your revenge” scenario, though this is probably most effective in the end.
Best of luck in resolving this. I don’t think you’re ever wrong in defending your loved ones in the way you think best.
Damn! Hit reply before I realised I couldn’t post in Chinese on this particular machine.
Oh well. Pinyin it is.
“Jun zi baochou shi nian bu wan” (for the gentlemen, attaining revenge within 10 years is not too late) though reduced here in the south to a mere three!
HG
I detest people who don’t leash their dogs when walking in the city. There’s an enormous Huskie on our daily route that has on numerous occassions tried to eat/bugger my dog. Would the authorities actually give a toss about the leash law if a complaint was made?
Just don’t punish the dogs for the failings of their owners. It’s not their fault.
Brian
We called the police this morning and they said that they are not responsible for dogs. So, I asked, what if I kill the dogs or the dogs attack my son or my dog… they replied… “oh no, don’t kill the dogs… and tell us the dogs’ address”. So, maybe they will do something, but it will depend on the situation.
I guess its better to wait for a child to get mauled before taking action that could be preventive :?
You’re right, Bu, its not the dogs’ faults. That’s why I only kicked them in self defense (of my dog). But, had they persisted in the attack, I would have tried to hurt them.
This is maybe a little on the dull side to bring out Dofu’s eyes, but maybe they can do custom colours.
(Damn tripod hosting. Its a pic of a K-9 unit wearing body armour.)
Funny, you never struck me as the type.
I agree with all the nice people here who agree that it’s not the dog’s fault and you shouldn’t punish them. Don’t punish them, really you’re just letting your own rage get the better of you.
Instead I recommend thinking about this after you have cooled off and deciding for yourself what it will take to do the owner’s job for them - that is to teach the dogs that attacking you is not a good idea. Once you have calmly decided that a big stick, or a pitbull, or a water pistol full of chili juice is what it takes then go and get one and take it with you every time you go out.
A bit of rough and ready training, administered by a loving tigerman, should quickly get the message through and everyone can go about their business without bothering the other.
Of course, that’s just my advice. Personally I would have lost it completely and probably got myself beaten up, killed, and eaten to hide the evidence. Violence is a natural response to violence. Tigerman’s response is exactly what I would expect from a man defending himself and his family and I can’t find it in myself to say that he’s wrong. But what’s the point in being right if you’re not effective?
Hey, and if a sound thrashing has had the desired effect upon the dogs, and possibly their owners, take the stick round to see your wife and sec…
A thought! Is this the sort of thing that Jeffu was referring to on ICRT this morning when he said that we foreigners only come here to bitch about Taiwan?
Or was he just lashing out in self-defense after all the attacks on him here?
This a misconception that should be given little credence, but is often passed off as 'knowledge" of local culture. Local people are indeed more apt to be non-confrontational than Westerners–though if you met my wife’s family you might doubt this 
-- but it is definitely wrong to say this extends to all situations, for example family members/pets being attacked by vicious dogs.
[quote=“tmwc”]A thought! Is this the sort of thing that Jeffu was referring to on ICRT this morning when he said that we foreigners only come here to bitch about Taiwan?
Or was he just lashing out in self-defense after all the attacks on him here?[/quote]
Or is it a case of both?
I’m sure in this situation, Locker would have talked to the dog in its own language, gently trying to explain its transgression and thus becoming a bridge between ex-pats and dogs. For its part, the dog would have shortened that bridge by leaping forward and clamping its jaws on Jeff’s nuts. But that’s the risk you take…