Scary dog.

[kateincornwall]

I used to take Sam to a local farmers field as a youngster , for socialisation and play . At the time , there were about 5/8 of us with our dogs who all knew one another, it was grand but slowly , others from outside our village got wind of it and sadly it became a free for all with many of the dogs running riot . Around this time , the farmer decided to stop all access as many were abusing his kindness , which was an awful shame , but I had already decided to give it a miss , there were simply too many dogs , many of them not under any kind of control , and fighting had broken out more than once , once too many times for me . It was a shame, but I truly don't like these free for all type sessions , just as I wasn't ever very keen on puppy parties for the same reason . I did the same as Jen , preferring to walk on our own but in places where there would be other under control dogs around , it just takes away a risk x

 

[Leanne]

Bad day today, went for a walk to a local country park... Mas was hellish, lunging at every dog we saw and then spotted a staffy from across the field and went ballistic. Barking, jumping up etc. Dragging me on the lead.

Didn’t try and run over but was very over aroused by the sight. We walked away and then spent a good 10 minutes sitting on the field doing lots of games and praising him for staying ‘with me’ and eventually he seemed to snap out of it.

I’m fretting a bit tbh. Being attacked by 2 dogs in the space of 5 days isn’t going to have given him a fat lot of confidence is it?

 

[Beanwood]

Agree with @snowbunny and @Heidrun, will even go so far and say, ( Severnside side walks aside... ) are group walks doing anything for our dogs? I have become quite reclusive with ours lately. The gang have their playmates and that's it. I have actually become quite boorish to other dog walkers, no matter how determined they are!

I also think young adolescent dogs are a target for some neutered dogs, what the mechanism for this is I am not entirely (pun not intended) sure. Probably testosterone has something to do with it.

Really hope Maz is OK, poor wee lad

 

[Leanne]

I think I was just doing what I thought was right, making sure he was well socialised at a young age.
Ironic really that I have a 12yo dog who rarely if ever plays with any other dog and he’s just fine.

Really upset and angry about it right now. He really loved playing with the other dogs and was charging around having a whale of a time and now I’ve potentially given him an issue just because someone can’t keep their dog on a lead.

 

[Jen]

Please try not to worry too much, I’m sure Mas will be fine. He’s probably just over excited from playing with so many dogs yesterday!

As I’ve said, Stanley has been picked on loads and he’s fine. He’s just not interested in some dog breeds anymore - if he sees another lab for example he always looks at me to see if I’m going to let him play with his “please mam” eyes. If he sees a sighthound or a collie he doesn’t even bother asking because he’s had a few bad experiences with them so he’s just like I won’t even bother.

 

[Leanne]

Thanks Jen! I think we are going to have a few ‘boring’ walks for the next few days!

 

[Boogie]

I agree with @Jen - there’s every chance he will be just fine.

I’ll never forget the day Keir was grabbed and held onto by his whole muzzle by a big Staffie - and having to walk to the vets with his blood dripping onto the pavement.

But he forgot it totally and was still able to go to Big School. I remain traumatised and give staffies a very wide berth. Not the dogs’ fault, I know, but the way they have been bred to grab and hold scares me.

.

 

[Leanne]

You would all be proud of me today! Took Mas for a walk and he lunged at another dog, we immediately walked in the opposite direction and the bloody owner walks his dog up and goes oh let them play.



I very politely said no thank you, he’s in training... he then starts saying I will make him dog sensitive by not letting him play

So I not so politely told him to bog off and walked Mas off and had some great playtime with him whilst keeping the other dog in eyesight so he was able to keep a positive association.

 

[SwampDonkey]

I find to much ott play stresses young dogs. I am considered to be a bit of a "very particular" dog mum in my dog walking circle.
If I do let them play I call them out and either leave or put them on lead if it become over a certain level of excitement. I watch closely and if I see an escalation in the dogs out my dogs come. Uncontrolled play results in injuries and all the dog learns is when I see other dogs I can go crazy and don't have to listen. I know it sounds mean but my dogs have play have fun have friends but I'm careful, really careful. Turid rugaas had some interesting things to say about dog play and overstimulated dogs, On talking terms with dogs might be worth a read.

 

[Leanne]

I honestly have no idea what is up with the pup but now even Leo (whose 12!!!) is trying to mount him.

It’s like someone dumped hormones all over the poor little bugger.

 

[SwampDonkey]

I think he maybe he's turning into a adolescent testosterone pumping station. Your baby is growing up

 

[Leanne]

Ok but I don’t like it.
Turn it OFF!

 

[Lab_adore]

We find that if Maxx doesn't get any dog interaction at all he is much naughtier at home. He lives and breathes to play with other dogs and we don't like it but there is nothing we can do except always be vigilant and control the play as much as possible. Maxx is a total pest and does not understand any signals from other dogs that they don't want to play. It's a real worry to be honest.

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

Catching up on this thread and sending you sympathy. Personally I don't think you should feel like you've done anything wrong at all by trying to socialise Mas. As @SwampDonkey said, you will learn to know what to watch out for and walk away from a touchy situation.

I also agree that 15 dogs off leash and the one staff on lead was a bad situation for all, but especially for the staffie. It set him up to do exactly what he did. It makes it no less scary to you and Mas, but if he wanted to actually hurt Mas, he would have done so and you certainly wouldn't have been able to pull him off. He walked away like nothing had happened because to him it hadn't. Of course to you, it was terrifying.

I had a bad problem with Brogan when he was younger in that he was what I called a 'puppy roller'. It was always the same kind of dog that he would target: adolescent large breed. Just like Mas. He'd spot the other dog at a distance, run at him and knock him over like a bowling pin. He didn't do the other behaviour of holding the dog down, he'd 'only' hit and run. As you can imagine, that was scary enough for the owners of the other dog!

I was too stupid at the beginning to realise what he was doing, but wised up and learned to keep a very close eye on him so he wouldn't do it. But he wanted to for quite a while...there was something absolutely irresistible about that type of dog (adolescent large breed). Mas will grow out of being such a magnet, don't give up hope.

In the meantime, if you get in a situation where the little hairs on the back of your neck go up (or your tinfoil hat starts pinging - whatever works for you), just get out of there. Don't stop socialising, but walk away on the occasions where it doesn't feel right.

 

[Joy]

If your trainer has a calm adult dog, you could ask him/her to spend a bit of time parallel walking with Mas and then politely greeting and walking away. I would expect the trainer to be willing to offer something like this for free as it was in his/her class that the Staffie went for Mas.

 

[Leanne]

No issues at all at training yesterday and we bumped into half a dozen dogs on tonight’s walk and he was impeccably behaved.

I’m inclined to think it was the stress of the attack and now he’s calmed down all is well in his little head

 

[Boogie]

 

[Leanne]

Oh ffs! Poor little bugger had a dog go for him again!

I’m tempted to start spraying aftershave or something on him.. this is getting ridiculous! He was next to me playing with his ball... dog came out of nowhere and ran up to him and went for him! Owner was hugely apologetic and totally bewildered, he had been done last week and she’s worried that it’s now a behavioural change in him!

 

[SwampDonkey]

Was Spidey ok are you ?

 

[Leanne]

Yup! Seemed fine - I’m just totally bewildered by it all!