Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with attack

My dog just attacked a large rodent-like creature, should I be worried?

AZNsupermarket — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 22:23:01 -0800

My dog just attacked a large rodent-like creature, should I be worried? I was walking my dog (A soft-coated wheaten terrier) at night in Closter NJ, when he ran off to chase a large rodent-like creature. He bit it and attacked it, and the creature fought back, but no skin was broken that I could see, and there was no blood. Eventually the creature got away. My dog seems to be okay, and is all up to date on all his shots - he got a whole bunch about a month ago (including kennel cough and distemper). This event has left me a little shaken. Is there any possibility that my dog may be hurt without me realizing it or contracted a disease from the creature? Should I take him to see a vet?

Any advice will be appreciated.

How do I stop my cat from attacking my Roomba?

leptin — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 20:41:35 -0800

How do I stop my cat from attacking my Roomba? I recently purchased the iRobot Roomba Pet Series 532 Vacuum Cleaning Robot, which has a sidebrush that sweeps in a circular motion as the Roomba moves around the house. I understand that as a cat, that must seem to be the best cat toy in the world, but my cat's tenacity is interfering with the Roomba's job. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to stop a cat from attacking the Roomba? Thank you very much for your help!

Preventing panic attacks on an airplane flight?

wastelands — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 20:39:32 -0800

What else can I do to help prevent a panic attack on an airplane? I'm flying next month for the first time in almost five years. I have flown four times before, and I never had a problem with panic. Hell, I enjoyed it. I love planes.

But in 2006 and 2007 I had panic attacks on trains and buses. It's not the mode of transportation that bothered me, it was being crowded into a confined space with lots of people, which would be the same on a plane.

The last couple months I've decreased my caffeine intake dramatically (which seemed to make the panic worse), been able to be in crowded situations (like meetings at work) without panic, and started meditating 10 minutes a day in the morning.

But I'll be going from the west coast to the east coast, so it's not a short hop. It'd really suck to have a freak out when I'm stuck on a plane for hours.

Anyway, does anyone here who flies regularly and deals with anxiety have any tips?

Two things I already did: 1) I requested an aisle seat, so I can get up easily and not feel "trapped"; 2) I have been watching videos on YouTube of planes landing and taking off, from the perspective of passengers.

Thanks!

Do I have anything to freak out about, except freaking out itself?

elektrotechnicus — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 13:49:56 -0800

Almost two weeks ago I suddenly started having strange feelings of lightheadedness, abnormal difficultly concentrating, a lack of coordination (feeling as though I might fall over or run in to things), and visual issues (difficulty focusing on distant objects, seemingly less aware of my periphery - though there are no noticable gaps in my visual field). I've had these, albeit with decreasing frequency and severity, since that time. I'm often very fearful during these episodes (which can last 4-5 hours at a time, the dizziness/lightheadedness sometimes all day), fearing permanent brain damage and having extreme feelings of derealization. I've come to the conclusion that at least some of these symptoms are due to panic attacks. Does that explain it all though? The things is, while I've had some academic reasons to be stressed out, that's nothing new for me, I've never been overly anxious about it. Right around the time things started getting bad I was actually having a pretty good week - so I can't help but shake the feeling at least some of the symptoms preceded the anxiety.

I've been to the university clinic twice since this started, and the first time a nurse practitioner did the standard host of neurological tests - reflexes, balancing with eyes closed, asking me to smile, checking for nystagmus - which I passed with flying colors. She thought it was likely some sort of labyrinthitis, which should clear up in a week or two. I'm not sure whether that matches my symptoms well - I haven't had any difficulty staying upright or gaging my movement, it seems to be more of an issue of coordination.

Are all these symptoms safely ascribed to anxiety, even if they seem to have started before I felt anxious, and recur without apparent shifts in affect? If not, what sort of tests should I ask to have done by a doctor - if only to assure myself that I don't have a more serious issue? Any advice on dealing with panic attacks?

The "brain fog" or lightheadness is something I remember feeling when I was younger, leading me to get checked out for anemia (none detected, it cleared up). The feeling is a diffuse vacuum or fuzziness in my forehead, at a point about equidistant between my temples and an inch behind where you'd see a hindu woman wear bindi. I realize there isn't any innervation there, but it's still unsettling.

I had been on Concerta for several months, but stopped taking it last Wednesday as a precaution, which seems to have made me a bit less anxious (I'd noticed some anxiety in the past when going on the medication after a period off).

Just to prempt the question, I haven't been high lately.

Why is our German Sheppard suddenly attacking our Pug?

texas_blissful — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 10:23:44 -0800

Why is our German Sheppard all of a sudden attacking our Pug? We have 2 dogs; both are female, spayed, about 5 years old, and are mostly indoor dogs. We’ve had the pug for years, and we got the German Sheppard 9 months ago for security type reasons. I didn’t want to get a protective type dog unless I was certain that it was a dog I could trust with our 2 small children. (I know you can never TOTALLY trust a dog, but stay with me here.) After extensive research we found a woman who breeds German Sheppards, but primarily she is an animal behaviorist and trains dogs for a living. Our GS came from Germany, and had been with this woman and her 3 small children ever since. She wasn’t able to breed the GS so she wanted to find the right family for her, which is where we come in the picture.

So the GS and pug have gotten along fine. The GS will let the pug know that she’s the Queen Bee by guarding her food, standing over her, etc, but she’s never been aggressive. Until yesterday. I don’t know what happened, but they were outside, and I hear barking, my pug crying, and slamming against the patio door. I run out there and the GS is standing over the pug and biting at her head. I took the pug to the vet and she had 2 puncture wounds and scratched cornea. She’s doing okay, and after I brought her home, the GS was acting totally normal again.

Well, this morning I stupidly left both dogs outside while the pug went potty (like I have every single morning for the last 9 months), and another fight broke out. I had to grab the GS by the collar and jerk her off so the pug could escape. I have no idea what provoked her……maybe she was protecting her food, but the pug would never go over to the GS’s food dish if she was there.

I read in this thread that “bitches can and do kill each other, same sex, similar age dogs …..often do not get along, and females will take it to extremes”

So how much of this is “normal” pact behavior vs. aggression that will continue to escalate (or god forbid, possibly turning against us)?

PS – Yes, she has been very well socialized, and though we have over an acre lot that she runs around on, we only take her on actual walks every other day.

When Dogs Attack

toastchee — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 05:42:08 -0800

My dog and I were viciously attacked Wednesday at a place of business. The dog is owned by an intern of the business. She has a new puppy and was unrestrained and had no collar (which made it difficult to control her). I was going to let it slide, but they have been less than friendly and take no responsibility for the attack. The place of business is an outdoor music venue with attached recording studio, dogs without leashes have always been welcome.

My dog was sniffing around and got attacked. For several minutes I tried to separate them and also got bit. The owner ran over and told me to put ym dog in my car, which I did. The other dog circled the car threateningly, and a few minutes when she left, I opened the door to console my very frightened dog. The aggressor then jumped in my car and resumed her attack. I fought her off, got in my car and left.

My sweet dog has not been the same since.

What are my legal options to ensure this doesn't happen again?

Is drinking Red Bull before a cardio workout a dumb idea?

Senor Cardgage — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 15:06:43 -0800

Is drinking Red Bull before a cardio workout a dumb idea? For the last year, I've been doing a pretty strenuous weightlifting regimen on my upper body mondays, wednesdays and saturdays. I would like to start doing cardio/ab work on the remaining days. Mainly I want to add cardio in as a means to get my own natural energy/stamina levels up so that I wont have to rely as much of caffeine or energy drinks throughout my day or (more importantly) when I go dancing on the weekends.

I am 34, naturally pretty energetic anyway and have very little body fat. What my hope is it that cardio will give me a marked increase in energy.

Now, here's the conundrum: when I do my lifting regimen, I usually have a sugar-free Red Bull beforehand just to get my wherewithal up. If I do this for cardio (say the running incline machine) will this be like "cheating", and will it lessen my gains? Is it a bad idea to mix Red Bull and cardio anyway?

Note: this may be a really dumb question, but humor me.

Doomed. I'm Doomed. (Am I?)

Anonymous — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 13:45:54 -0800

Every member of my family, save one, has died young from a heart attack. Am I doomed? YANAD, YANMD.

My parents, grandparents and many other relatives have all died at young ages (40-60) from their first heart attack. All smoked, most were overweight, all led mostly sedentary lifestyles, and didn't do much in the way of "eating healthy foods".

I'm a woman in her 30s who is overweight - due to being fairly sedentary and from a diagnosis of PCOS. This is the bad side.

On the "good" side, I don't smoke cigarettes, I don't drink other than a few times a year (socially), and I eat reasonably well with no fast food or other grease-laden meals. I take my vitamins (including some "heart-healthy" supplements) daily. I floss and get regular dental checkups.

I've had various tests done on my heart over the years and all have come back normal with no problems. At last check, my cholesterol was fine and my blood pressure was on the higher side of normal but my doctor (aware of my family history) is not concerned.

The problem is that I can't stop thinking that I'm going to die - any minute now - from a heart attack. Every twinge in my arm, shoulder, neck or back is surely an indicator that I'm about to drop dead. Every bit of nausea is the first stage of a heart attack. Every sore muscle is a.. well, you get the point.

It doesn't help that women have different heart attack symptoms than men - and that women tend to have vague signs like, "a general feeling of being unwell" or "panic" or "nausea" instead of some strong arm pain and crushing chest pain. Hello, I have that ALL THE TIME because I think I'm about to die!

Second to that, I have a completely fatalistic perspective on it - that there's nothing I can do to change the outcome because, thanks to my family history, I'm doomed due to genetics. I'm related to all these fatal heart attacks!

If I lose weight, get more exercise, and continue to eat healthily, can I prevent a heart attack? Has anyone beat the genetic odds? If I do have a heart attack, can I avoid dying or does the fact that no one else survived mean that, even if I get to the hospital quickly, I'll be toast?

Short of making friends with a cardiologist, do you have any advice for me?

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

pazazygeek — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 17:00:46 -0800

My father just had a heart attack. I am dropping everything to go and visit him this weekend, but he keeps insisting I do not come and visit. Am I being a jerk for going anyway? My father and I have a complicated relationship, but he's my father and I love him very much.

My dad lives about a 5 hour drive away. He had a heart attack either on Tuesday or Wednesday (I haven't been able to piece it together from our short phone calls), and will be in the hospital until Sunday. He's still unstable. It's a little (okay, a lot) scary, but he's alert and "all there" -- even though he seems pretty freaked out and emotional.

I am in the middle of, hands down, the most stressful work project of my life. I've been working 80 hour weeks for an exceptionally long time, and it's getting crazier as we near our finish line. Things will calm down (to almost a standstill) in three weeks, but up until then, it's going to be all work, all the time, under incredibly high pressure. It's going to take everything I've got to make it through to the end. He knows this, as we've discussed it before his heart attack.

I spoke with him twice today, telling him I want to come and see him this weekend. He says he doesn't want me to deal with the stress of driving, that he's tired and doesn't want visitors, that just hearing from me on the phone is enough, and that he is stressed out knowing I'm coming. He wants me to come up in the middle of September when things have calmed down and I'm not so stressed out. He asked me to do something nice for myself instead of coming to visit him, like get a massage or go to the beach.

This, to me, is not an option. I am very worried and I just want to see him, to know he's okay, give him a hug, and for him to know that I'm here for him. I have already booked my hotel room and I plan on going anyway.

Is this a dick move? I will admit that there is so much going on that my head is not on 100% straight about this.

they murdered her

changeling — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 13:58:58 -0800

A pair of pit bulls broke into my friend's house and murdered his little dog. What should be done -- legally, ethically, etc.? The pit bulls belonged to a neighbor. They punched a hole in their shared fence, entered my friend's home through the large dog door (he also has a vizsla, but it's the most timid, helpless creature and likely hid when the pits broke in), cornered his chubby little daschund, and killed her. Our friend found her body when he came home from work. Needless to say, he was devastated -- he raised her from a baby, and her companionship helped him through extremely difficult times.

He's not a vindictive person, and would never sue for the dogs to be put to sleep or anything like that. I believe he's spoken to the neighbor, and the neighbor is repairing the fence. These are all the details I know.

Beyond this, are there any other steps he can/should take? What is the neighbor obligated to do legally and ethically? I'm a dog-lover, but I'm not naive -- I know not every dog can be rehabilitated. Typically, do dogs like these become irreversibly murder-minded once they've killed, or could it have been a fluke pack thing? And lastly, what should I say to him when I see him? :(

What are some heavy guitar focused trip-hop albums similar to Massive Attack's Mezzanine?

herbiehancock00 — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 21:47:17 -0800

What are some heavy guitar focused trip-hop albums similar to Massive Attack's Mezzanine? It's been awhile but I recently dug out Mezzanine and started listening to it and is totally appreciating significantly more than before. Are there any other artists out there that are similar to their sound on that specific album? I'm not looking for other trip-hop artists. I'm looking for that specific trip-hop + rock sound.

In need of advice: what should be done with a dog that has deliberately attacked its owner?

myodometer — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 08:36:36 -0800

Last night, my dog attacked me and took out a pretty big chunk of my finger. What should I do? I have a seven year old Shiba Inu who has an incredibly dominant personality. When my girlfriend and I first adopted her from the animal shelter, it was immediately apparent that she had been abused by a previous owner as she would cower anytime someone raised their hands - even in conversation where the dog was several feet away.

As dominant as she is, she also happens to be very aggressive towards other dogs. We have attempted to try and socialize her by exercising her to the point of exhaustion and introducing her to new animals on numerous occasions. These attempts, however, always have ended in her lunging for the other animals as soon as she is within striking distance.

In these cases, my girlfriend or I will quickly try to control the situation by pulling our dog off of the other dog and rolling her on her back until she settles down. In some of these instances, our Shiba will be so aggressive toward the other animal that she has bitten us, however, these bites are nothing more than 'warning bites' and she quickly rolls over submissively upon realizing that she's bitten one of us.

Last night, however, in attempting to socialize her with a dog that we are dog-sitting over the next week, when she bit my hand, she bit it hard. I ignored the bite, however, and continued to try and get control over her, as I expected that bite to be the last one before she rolled over. Instead, she released my hand and then bit my finger, shaking it like a piece of meat.

My worry is that this attack was in no way a 'warning bite' and that the dog has now escalated her aggression towards humans. If she had gotten my hand from another angle, I would have easily required stitches from this attack.

I've been told in the past that a dog that will bite it's owner is likely to bite just about anyone and should be immediately disposed of. However, my girlfriend and I love this animal and would have an incredibly hard time putting her down. We also don't have the kind of funds required to pay for a 'Dog Whisperer'-esque behaviorist.

So, is this something that I should be this worried about?

Seeking information about self defense course(s) and related activites/classes.

iamkimiam — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 18:03:32 -0800

I am interested in self-defense classes. There are lots of methods and places to do this. The options are a little overwhelming and I know very little about the topic. Can somebody break it down and make some suggestions and/or recommendations that might be best suited for me? Based on the following (below), what would be a well-rounded type of self defense that might be most effective for confidence-building, safety, and exercise?

• I am a 5' tall, physically active, late 20s female
• I have lots of free time (could attend one class, or a series, but don't know what the difference is between a single session or an intensive course)
• I live in Oakland and can travel
• Would be interested to martial arts (there's so many kinds!) and/or other forms of activity
• Classes that allow me the opportunity to meet other women and/or men in the area would be great too

Any other info and ideas welcome. Thanks!

Did the dentist almost kill my grandma?

Scram — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 01:52:25 -0800

Dentist yanked grandma's ten remaining teeth; a few days later, massive heart attack. Connected? Inappropriate? Thank goodness, my 90-year-old grandmother survived the major heart attack she suffered last weekend, while recovering from having all her remaining teeth (which she said felt loose, and which she wanted to "deal with" while she still has all her marbles) pulled and dentures made. Needless to say, I was not consulted before she embarked on this cockamamie scheme.

Because she has been in the hospital, she was not able to wear the dentures, and now when she tries they are quite uncomfortable, and she's worried the $7500 cost has been wasted and she will not be able to wear them at all.

Me, I am concerned that a dentist did this kind of major oral surgery on an elderly patient with a history of heart attack and stroke, rather than trying to save her natural teeth. There are studies showing links between oral bacteria and heart attack, but she was not warned of any risk--in fact, she felt bad for some time before asking grandpa to take her to the hospital.

Mefites with medical/dental experience, does this sound like she received inappropriate treatment? Does she have any recourse (complaint, new or adjusted set of dentures)? Should the family be furious?

That smell

Freedomboy — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 22:42:25 -0800

NYC and New Jersey locals - that smell. Did this have a life before in local lore? (more inside, Jack Bauer stuff) The impact of the smell and the apparent unknown nature of it sort of rings false. If there was a swamp big enough to do that in winter why didn't it ever do it in summer and then be a known source of such a one of a kind odor. Nobody is saying the odor was "that NJ smell" like everyone knows about it. The point being - if the smell is NOT from the "swamp" then isn't this a perfect way to test the impact of a real gas attack in metro NYC and the spread pattern of the release of another gas has maybe been tested? All it takes to disprove that is a couple facts about this "swamp". Is this idea of the swamp making, for the first time, an odor to do this needs a little more than some report that it is true, who lives near this place and does the thing exist? I sure hope it does.

Tiger mascot mauls 2nd baseman... or does it?

indiebass — Wed, 12 Jul 2006 16:39:05 -0800

Am I Crazy-filter: Did the Detroit Tigers used to have an actual Tiger as a mascot AND do they not have one now because it mauled a player? My friends and I were sitting around watching the All-Star Game last night, and someone mentioned that the Yankees used to have a bald eagle that would fly around during the 7th inning stretch, but they got rid of it because it attacked Jeter. I mentioned that the Tigers used to have a real tiger, but they had to get rid of it because it attacked an infielder, and that footage was used in the Naked Gun on the "blooper reel". They told me I was crazy, but I remember reading that or hearing the story SOMEwhere at some point. My Google-Fu cannot find any mention of the attack, but I couldn't have just made it up. AskMe, help me please! I've had taunting e-mails all day asking for the proof. Does anyone out there at least also remember this?

Deaths as a result of opening plastic packages.

Sonic_Molson — Thu, 15 Jun 2006 18:08:47 -0800

Help me win a bet against my girlfriend. Relates to deaths while opening those pesky plastic packages. I'm looking for examples of people who died while opening plastic packages.

Yeah, I know it sounds a little crazy. Today I was opening some bike lights that were in a hard plastic package, I was actually frustrated to be seeing the instructions on the back on how to install the batteries and wondering "Well where is the instructions to open the package?!" I ended up using a knife and nearly cutting myself (as usual). With 6.5 billion people on the planet I'm sure that at least one has accidently stabbed themselves to death while tearing these packages open.

The types of packages I am thinking of are the type that mp3 players often come in, or other small but valuable items (ram, tools)

The best sample picture I could find of one is here, not even one of the really tough plastic packages that I experienced today; http://www.ocmodshop.com/zalman7000acu/ZALMAN_BOX_BACK.jpg

I got $5 on this :-) I'll split the profit.

Hackers Dictionary

TheFeatheredMullet — Tue, 21 Feb 2006 08:23:02 -0800

Questions about the 'Hacker Dictionary'...... So,
I am told that one of the true hacker's secrets is his/her dictionary of words to be used in a dictionary attack on an encrypted password. Since most folks can get a complete dictionary of words in their /usr/share/dict/words directory, what is it about the hackers one that is so special? What sort of words and combos do they have that the average joe could not get?
I assume that they simply run a script that converts most of the words into some sort of 1337 speak or something. Is there anything else? If not, why are these lists so prized and traded?

self-defense against tweens

hellbient — Tue, 20 Sep 2005 11:02:53 -0800

Five or more 11-12 year-old boys approach and surround you in a threatening way. How do you handle it? If they choose to attack, then what?

Cat attack!

jrossi4r — Mon, 19 Sep 2005 18:41:30 -0800

Why does my cat hate my legs? My indoor/outdoor, neutered, one year old cat regularly attacks me. Specifically, he hides until I walk by and then rips the hell out of my legs. This isn't playful behavior--his ears fold back and he draws blood. I've talked to the vet about it and she basically laughed it off as his "personality."

I'm the one who feeds him, combs him and lets him in and out every day, yet I'm the only one he attacks like this. What is going on? And more important, how do I get it to stop?

Linux partition superblocks destroyed. Suggestions?

rkent — Tue, 07 Jun 2005 14:01:24 -0800

Our linux server got invaded and the intruder scrambled the superblocks, probably to cover his tracks. Not realizing what had happened, we (gulp) cycled the machine without first attempting any backups. Do we have any options? The filesystems that we're concerned with are ext2 partitions. I guess I just can't think of the right keywords to google for this; the pages I get are generally far too simple ("the superblock is...") to be useful. What are our options for rebuilding this disk, if possible? Not expecting detailed instructions, but rather (hopefully) good website references.

Cat attacking baby

hautenegro — Thu, 12 May 2005 23:12:52 -0800

Ugh, this is driving me CRAZY. Any idea where I can find that awesome video of the declawed cat attacking the baby (with the drumbeat soundtrack)? I wish ask.metafilter included giving readers cupcakes for their answers.