Why does my dog get attacked so much?
Discussion
I really don't know what it is about my dog (Belgian Shepherd) but she seems to offend a lot of other dogs. She never goes looking for trouble and will actively stay away from other dogs when she is off her lead. This morning was the first time in months I have seen her approach another dog, a little spaniel pup and they just had a quick sniff then went on their way.
A number of times she has had dogs who are apparently well behaved just come running up to her baring teeth growling and barking when she is doing nothing more than standing or running around usually with a ball in her mouth not even paying the other dog any attention.
This is different breeds going for her too. Doberman, collie, spaniel, dalmatians (4 of them have gone for her) and latest one was a bloody st bernard. This one was by far the worst as I was walking along the path with my dog on her lead on the other side of the road is a woman approaching with a westie and st bernard. All was well no barking, growling etc my dog was even looking up at me as we were doing some heelwork. St bernard comes flying over the road bringing woman with it, luckily it's an old road that has been pedestrianised so no cars and just bundles onto my dog barking and snapping at her.
I am now caught up with my dog on a lead and stuck the other side of a st bernard and attached fat woman. I decided the best course of action was to let go of the lead so Summer could get out of there which she did. Unfortunately the st bernard then yanked itself free of its owner and chased Summer off down the road about 50yards then stopped, Summer didn't. She ran all the way back to the car park (about 200 yards away) I got there as fast as my legs would go to find her stood at the back of my car tail between her legs shaking.
Since this happened she has been rather short with other dogs she does not know. If they are calm she lets them come up for a sniff for a sec or two then she will carry on her way, if the other dog then follows her and shoves itself in her face again she has a bark and snap at it. Not a sustained attack she has not done any harm to anything but it is a very definite f
k off.
She did this to a boxer the other day and for the first time the owner blamed Summer for it and not their dog for bothering her. Summer was by my side off lead and his dog was off lead about 20 yards from him. He had seen Summer give his dog a first warning then let it come back.
I am not an inconsiderate owner, I know my dogs annoying habits and do my best to stop them, eg she likes to chase anything so if we are out and I see a bike or jogger the she comes straight back to me and either goes on her lead or is distracted long enough for them to pass in the distance.
I'm just not sure what to do about this as even if I put her on a lead when another dog is around other owners don't seem to care and will let their dog come and be an obvious problem safe in the knowledge I have hold of mine.
Just the other day we were out, Summer was off lead and playing happily in a stream and another doberman turns up with no owner in tow and starts to bother Summer. She comes out of the stream and back to me and I am then holding onto her harness. A few secs later the dobermans owner appears about 80yards away. By which point the doberman is really bothering Summer jumping at her and barking, in a playful way I must say but it is upsetting Summer somewhat who is barking back and baring teeth. The owner just slowly ambles along not even calling his dog away and then when he eventually reaches us put it on a lead and carried on and Summer ran straight back to the stream.
Sorry this is all a bit of a ramble. Just after advice on what other people would do. She is not an actively aggressive dog and she loves to chase her ball so I feel a muzzle would be unfair. I dont mind calling her in and keeping hold of her while another dog comes to bother her but I feel if anything this may make her worse so would rather not do it. I don't know how to go about letting her know most other dogs are safe and friendly. She goes to a large class once a week and none of the dogs there bother her and she does not bother them.
How could I train her to be a bit less short tempered?
A number of times she has had dogs who are apparently well behaved just come running up to her baring teeth growling and barking when she is doing nothing more than standing or running around usually with a ball in her mouth not even paying the other dog any attention.
This is different breeds going for her too. Doberman, collie, spaniel, dalmatians (4 of them have gone for her) and latest one was a bloody st bernard. This one was by far the worst as I was walking along the path with my dog on her lead on the other side of the road is a woman approaching with a westie and st bernard. All was well no barking, growling etc my dog was even looking up at me as we were doing some heelwork. St bernard comes flying over the road bringing woman with it, luckily it's an old road that has been pedestrianised so no cars and just bundles onto my dog barking and snapping at her.
I am now caught up with my dog on a lead and stuck the other side of a st bernard and attached fat woman. I decided the best course of action was to let go of the lead so Summer could get out of there which she did. Unfortunately the st bernard then yanked itself free of its owner and chased Summer off down the road about 50yards then stopped, Summer didn't. She ran all the way back to the car park (about 200 yards away) I got there as fast as my legs would go to find her stood at the back of my car tail between her legs shaking.
Since this happened she has been rather short with other dogs she does not know. If they are calm she lets them come up for a sniff for a sec or two then she will carry on her way, if the other dog then follows her and shoves itself in her face again she has a bark and snap at it. Not a sustained attack she has not done any harm to anything but it is a very definite f
k off.She did this to a boxer the other day and for the first time the owner blamed Summer for it and not their dog for bothering her. Summer was by my side off lead and his dog was off lead about 20 yards from him. He had seen Summer give his dog a first warning then let it come back.
I am not an inconsiderate owner, I know my dogs annoying habits and do my best to stop them, eg she likes to chase anything so if we are out and I see a bike or jogger the she comes straight back to me and either goes on her lead or is distracted long enough for them to pass in the distance.
I'm just not sure what to do about this as even if I put her on a lead when another dog is around other owners don't seem to care and will let their dog come and be an obvious problem safe in the knowledge I have hold of mine.
Just the other day we were out, Summer was off lead and playing happily in a stream and another doberman turns up with no owner in tow and starts to bother Summer. She comes out of the stream and back to me and I am then holding onto her harness. A few secs later the dobermans owner appears about 80yards away. By which point the doberman is really bothering Summer jumping at her and barking, in a playful way I must say but it is upsetting Summer somewhat who is barking back and baring teeth. The owner just slowly ambles along not even calling his dog away and then when he eventually reaches us put it on a lead and carried on and Summer ran straight back to the stream.
Sorry this is all a bit of a ramble. Just after advice on what other people would do. She is not an actively aggressive dog and she loves to chase her ball so I feel a muzzle would be unfair. I dont mind calling her in and keeping hold of her while another dog comes to bother her but I feel if anything this may make her worse so would rather not do it. I don't know how to go about letting her know most other dogs are safe and friendly. She goes to a large class once a week and none of the dogs there bother her and she does not bother them.
How could I train her to be a bit less short tempered?
Some dogs don't give out great body language - lack of calming signals, etc. This can tip other dogs over the edge, for example, when greeting her. It could be that.
Is she black? There is 'black dog syndrome'. Something about not being able to see the dog's eyes properly so again not being able to read them very well. Most problems are with dogs that have docked tails and squashed faces as their breeding makes them unable to convey calming signals as well as other dogs. BSDs are normally OK though.
As far as the law goes - if your dog is on lead, you are absolutely NOT in the wrong. Your dog is deemed to be under control.
My girl is great with other dogs, but will not tolerate a rude dog barging up to her. As far as I'm concerned, that's fair enough. She will tell them to bog off, but not hurt them at all. Have a look at this concerning rude dogs: http://flyingdogpress.com/content/view/42/70/
It is an unwritten rule that if there is an onlead dog, you should not allow your dog to bowl up to it. It could be onlead for any number of reasons - old, infirm, no recall, dog aggressive, etc. Sadly some people seem to ignore this.
My boy wears a muzzle as he is very damaged. I don't believe he will actually do any harm, but understand that sometimes when he shouts and charges (not that he does that really now, or I'd keep him onlead) he can look scary. When people see him onlead and muzzled they give us a wide berth!
From what you have said, it doesn't seem that you or your dog are doing anything wrong. I would be concerned though that if she keeps getting attacked by other dogs then she may turn defensive and become fear aggressive. I tend to avoid the numpties as far as I can, which may involve giving them a very wide berth or even turning around and going the other way. I don't want to put my boy in a position where he feels the need to defend himself.
Have we seen a pic? I have a soft spot for BSDs
Is she black? There is 'black dog syndrome'. Something about not being able to see the dog's eyes properly so again not being able to read them very well. Most problems are with dogs that have docked tails and squashed faces as their breeding makes them unable to convey calming signals as well as other dogs. BSDs are normally OK though.
As far as the law goes - if your dog is on lead, you are absolutely NOT in the wrong. Your dog is deemed to be under control.
My girl is great with other dogs, but will not tolerate a rude dog barging up to her. As far as I'm concerned, that's fair enough. She will tell them to bog off, but not hurt them at all. Have a look at this concerning rude dogs: http://flyingdogpress.com/content/view/42/70/
It is an unwritten rule that if there is an onlead dog, you should not allow your dog to bowl up to it. It could be onlead for any number of reasons - old, infirm, no recall, dog aggressive, etc. Sadly some people seem to ignore this.
My boy wears a muzzle as he is very damaged. I don't believe he will actually do any harm, but understand that sometimes when he shouts and charges (not that he does that really now, or I'd keep him onlead) he can look scary. When people see him onlead and muzzled they give us a wide berth!
From what you have said, it doesn't seem that you or your dog are doing anything wrong. I would be concerned though that if she keeps getting attacked by other dogs then she may turn defensive and become fear aggressive. I tend to avoid the numpties as far as I can, which may involve giving them a very wide berth or even turning around and going the other way. I don't want to put my boy in a position where he feels the need to defend himself.
Have we seen a pic? I have a soft spot for BSDs
It probably has very little to do with your dog, and a lot to do with other dogs being out of control.
I had the same issues with my German Shepherd when she was young and she developed a fear of other dogs. She used to play nicely as a youngster, but after about 2 years old and through no fault of her own, I had to stop letting her off the lead as it was just asking for trouble
.
I now have a new lab puppy that attracts constant attention not just from people but from other dogs both on and off lead. Including a massive dog that dragged the 10 year old girl holding it across a field (while her parents stood and chatted), and when it reached the pup became very tense and tried to dominate/stand on top of him. I could barely hold it back myself.
Very few dog owners are in control IMO...
I had the same issues with my German Shepherd when she was young and she developed a fear of other dogs. She used to play nicely as a youngster, but after about 2 years old and through no fault of her own, I had to stop letting her off the lead as it was just asking for trouble
.I now have a new lab puppy that attracts constant attention not just from people but from other dogs both on and off lead. Including a massive dog that dragged the 10 year old girl holding it across a field (while her parents stood and chatted), and when it reached the pup became very tense and tried to dominate/stand on top of him. I could barely hold it back myself.
Very few dog owners are in control IMO...
Here is Summer,
maybe it is the eyes. Typically today she has been good as gold, 2 huskies came upto her and chased her and she just remained calm, stuck her tail between her legs so seemed a bit scared but stuck with me and moved on with no trouble, then we got to a field and 2 dogs of unknown type, looked like gun dogs that sort of thing but again 2 of them harassing us and again she did nothing. Then right at the end of the walk a 5 month old pup came up to her and they had a little play, Summer was not even upset when it jumped on her head.
maybe it is the eyes. Typically today she has been good as gold, 2 huskies came upto her and chased her and she just remained calm, stuck her tail between her legs so seemed a bit scared but stuck with me and moved on with no trouble, then we got to a field and 2 dogs of unknown type, looked like gun dogs that sort of thing but again 2 of them harassing us and again she did nothing. Then right at the end of the walk a 5 month old pup came up to her and they had a little play, Summer was not even upset when it jumped on her head.
What a gorgeous girl!
It really does depend on the approaches made by the other dog IME. Even my insecure, sometimes fear aggressive boy will be all happy and playful with a dog he's never met before if the right signals are given out. Sometimes they are so subtle we miss them, although I can instantly tell from his body language how he is feeling about the other dog.
My girl will happily play with another dog, but will still feel overwhelmed when approached in the wrong way and either run off with her tail shoved between her legs or give the other dog a right telling off. She is entitled to do that.
It really does depend on the approaches made by the other dog IME. Even my insecure, sometimes fear aggressive boy will be all happy and playful with a dog he's never met before if the right signals are given out. Sometimes they are so subtle we miss them, although I can instantly tell from his body language how he is feeling about the other dog.
My girl will happily play with another dog, but will still feel overwhelmed when approached in the wrong way and either run off with her tail shoved between her legs or give the other dog a right telling off. She is entitled to do that.
All of the ones that have gone for her have just come steaming in growling, barking teeth out.
If they approach slowly and there is an introduction it is usually ok, if the other dog gets a bit boisterous or overly intrusive Summer will bark/snap at them then carry on her way. She does not get into a proper fight just shocks the other dog a bit so she can get some room, all over in <1 sec.
None of the owners have said their dogs are usually aggressive. 2 of the dalmatians wear muzzels so guess they are a bit unpredictable.
Funnily enough there is a chap I see when walking her every morning who has a dog that has lost an eye, every time a dog comes near him he puts it on a lead as he says his dog is not very good with others yet his dog and Summer will normally just trot on by each other or on rare occasions stop and have a quick nose to nose sniff, wag their tails and be on their way.
Met a woman the other morning who gave me a warning her little terrier was bad with other dogs. As we were approaching it was on a lead, Summer was off lead but as the other dog was barking she gave it a wide berth.
Summer generally likes to keep herself to herself.
If they approach slowly and there is an introduction it is usually ok, if the other dog gets a bit boisterous or overly intrusive Summer will bark/snap at them then carry on her way. She does not get into a proper fight just shocks the other dog a bit so she can get some room, all over in <1 sec.
None of the owners have said their dogs are usually aggressive. 2 of the dalmatians wear muzzels so guess they are a bit unpredictable.
Funnily enough there is a chap I see when walking her every morning who has a dog that has lost an eye, every time a dog comes near him he puts it on a lead as he says his dog is not very good with others yet his dog and Summer will normally just trot on by each other or on rare occasions stop and have a quick nose to nose sniff, wag their tails and be on their way.
Met a woman the other morning who gave me a warning her little terrier was bad with other dogs. As we were approaching it was on a lead, Summer was off lead but as the other dog was barking she gave it a wide berth.
Summer generally likes to keep herself to herself.
Will, my two have a real problem with big fluffy shapes, especially dark shapes, I think they would bark at your dog. They bark furiously at a vluffy Samoyed they see regularly and do this from the other side of the road despite never having had a bad experience with that dog, neither does the Samoyed give off any bad dog body language. I have seen other dogs bark like mad at her too. Then they turn a blind eye to a honey lab type a few doors down but they hate black dogs just like Bex mentioned.
I am sure it is to do with shape, fluff and dark colours, I have a neighbour with long hair who wears hippy dresses (female) and they go beserk when she bends over to say hi because her hair falls forward. My sister's husband has long dreadlocks and they bark at him when he bends over and they see his hair fall forward. They don't like billowy skirts or anything big and flappy.
What would your dog look like with a poodle clip?
I am sure it is to do with shape, fluff and dark colours, I have a neighbour with long hair who wears hippy dresses (female) and they go beserk when she bends over to say hi because her hair falls forward. My sister's husband has long dreadlocks and they bark at him when he bends over and they see his hair fall forward. They don't like billowy skirts or anything big and flappy.
What would your dog look like with a poodle clip?
Since having my dog for just under two years I now believe there are quite a few irresposible dog owners about. For some reason large dogs seem to really like mine mainly due to her looking like a pup even though she's fully grown, they tend to crowd her and she really doesn't like it, sometimes causing her to go for the other dogs face, thankfully she hasn't made contact yet.
And to the point... When you are out and you see another dog which could be an issue do you get tense? I really believe dogs are very sensitive to this and it really helps if you can breathe out and relax.
A couple of times recently I have had to get hold of a large dog as it's worrying mine, I don't know if mine picks up on the fact that I wouldn't let a dog hurt her or not, but she does seem to keep calm most of the time.
And to the point... When you are out and you see another dog which could be an issue do you get tense? I really believe dogs are very sensitive to this and it really helps if you can breathe out and relax.
A couple of times recently I have had to get hold of a large dog as it's worrying mine, I don't know if mine picks up on the fact that I wouldn't let a dog hurt her or not, but she does seem to keep calm most of the time.
TrophyMax said:
And to the point... When you are out and you see another dog which could be an issue do you get tense? I really believe dogs are very sensitive to this and it really helps if you can breathe out and relax.
One of my Dachshunds is absolutely terrified of other dogs. When they crowd him he will run away as fast as his little legs can carry him, despite me calling him and calling him. Very scary. The behaviourist who has worked with him has shown how you can avoid this, using clicker training helps, also to practise your reaction when you see other dogs - we have a routine which is rather like a children's entertainer "Oh hello, here's another dog, say hello, and we get past as quickly as we can without rushing" (even though we don't let him get close enough to greet) but he has to see/hear that everyone else is really happy to see another dog. He also gets rewarded with chicken, ham or cheese, so he focuses on me not the other dog, It is working slowly. When he sees other dogs now he usually looks straight at me for his treat. It's about creating a positive association rather than negative. Takes ages though!When dogs approach you there are postures/ways you can focus on your dog and block out other dogs, use one knee up and your shoulder forward with elbow on knee to create a screen, then focus totally on your dog, don't even look at the owner or dog. Most other owners will see what you are trying to do - not all (and yes, some are utterly ignorant). However it's the same as road users or anything in life.
TrophyMax said:
And to the point... When you are out and you see another dog which could be an issue do you get tense? I really believe dogs are very sensitive to this and it really helps if you can breathe out and relax.
I have heard this from a trainer too. I stay relaxed with her around other dogs. I get nervous when another dog starts chasing mine as I know she does not like that and will be about to let the other dog know it, which then makes me look like the one with a bad dog. It really depends how the other dog treats mine. She met 2 this morning. one was a collie which walked up to Summer in a kind of stalking manner, which got Summers hair up and she stood still, they shared a sniff for 1 sec then Summer ran away from the other dog back to me. The other dog was a labradorish thing which stopped about 10ft away from Summer and just stood wagging its tail. Summer dropped her ball walked up to it wagging her tail and they had a good sniff at each other for about 10 sec then sprinted away from each other.
I'm following this thread with interest. Sadly, we seem to be on the other side. Riley cannot stand a dog she doesn't know running up to her while she's out playing. She barks, growls and chases them off. However, the chasing has now become boxing. She has categorically never hurt another dog or been hurt herself, she just does not want to play, ever.
We've got a session with a local trainer being booked as I speak, I just don't know how to respond to her. It's completely unacceptable, but I cannot walk her on a lead, it would take 4 hours a day and she'd hate it. If I muzzle her, she cannot play fetch (which is what she lives for). I'm actually pretty upset about this. I don't want her hurting another dog, but I also don't want her punished for not wanting other dogs barging up to her. She's entitled to not want to play. Argh! She's curled up in a soggy ball next to me right now, cute as anything, butter wouldn't melt. How can
I be mad at her?
We've got a session with a local trainer being booked as I speak, I just don't know how to respond to her. It's completely unacceptable, but I cannot walk her on a lead, it would take 4 hours a day and she'd hate it. If I muzzle her, she cannot play fetch (which is what she lives for). I'm actually pretty upset about this. I don't want her hurting another dog, but I also don't want her punished for not wanting other dogs barging up to her. She's entitled to not want to play. Argh! She's curled up in a soggy ball next to me right now, cute as anything, butter wouldn't melt. How can
I be mad at her?
jenpot said:
I'm following this thread with interest. Sadly, we seem to be on the other side. Riley cannot stand a dog she doesn't know running up to her while she's out playing. She barks, growls and chases them off. However, the chasing has now become boxing. She has categorically never hurt another dog or been hurt herself, she just does not want to play, ever.
We've got a session with a local trainer being booked as I speak, I just don't know how to respond to her. It's completely unacceptable, but I cannot walk her on a lead, it would take 4 hours a day and she'd hate it. If I muzzle her, she cannot play fetch (which is what she lives for). I'm actually pretty upset about this. I don't want her hurting another dog, but I also don't want her punished for not wanting other dogs barging up to her. She's entitled to not want to play. Argh! She's curled up in a soggy ball next to me right now, cute as anything, butter wouldn't melt. How can
I be mad at her?
Sounds like me. When Summer is playing with a ball she just does not want to know about anything else. I got a behaviourist to give Summer the once over but she would not do any of the bad things she does with her or her dogs, typical.We've got a session with a local trainer being booked as I speak, I just don't know how to respond to her. It's completely unacceptable, but I cannot walk her on a lead, it would take 4 hours a day and she'd hate it. If I muzzle her, she cannot play fetch (which is what she lives for). I'm actually pretty upset about this. I don't want her hurting another dog, but I also don't want her punished for not wanting other dogs barging up to her. She's entitled to not want to play. Argh! She's curled up in a soggy ball next to me right now, cute as anything, butter wouldn't melt. How can
I be mad at her?
it's late and I've been out (drinking).
I do agree but Riley has to accept other dogs, we live in the city centre. She might not like them, but she had to learn to ignore or deal with them. There are a million dogs who will run up to her and I probably have to watch her more closely, but I can't constantly watch whats happening. Will report back once George (behaviousalist) see's her.
I do agree but Riley has to accept other dogs, we live in the city centre. She might not like them, but she had to learn to ignore or deal with them. There are a million dogs who will run up to her and I probably have to watch her more closely, but I can't constantly watch whats happening. Will report back once George (behaviousalist) see's her.
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