Simply Grand

She's solved the problem by putting Boris behind a gate when she "has" to tell Wallis off? So Wallis does something he shouldn't, she goes and gets Boris, puts him behind a gate then goes back and tells Wallis off, when he's probably long forgotten whatever it was he did In the meantime, Boris is behind the gate getting increasingly frustrated because he's "overprotective" but can't get to what he wants to "protect", so if he manages to get through the gate the attack will be even worse!!

Go Astro, keep fighting!

I've had that too, Riley and Saxon were in the small section of the park by themselves while I was in the other part (just separated by chainlink fence) with Quinn who,was playing with the only other dog there, a puppy. Riley can be mean to puppies which is why he was separated, then another couple arrived with their small dog and a young puppy. I was on my way over to get Sax and Riley as the new arrivals went to walk into the section where they were (either not noticing or not caring that there was no person in with them). I called out "hang on, I'll just get them", girl looks at me then keeps going towards the gate, I called out again for her to hang on, still didn't stop, I eventually said quite firmly "just wait while I get them out". It was for her puppy's sake, not my dogs, although I don't want Riley rehearsing bad behaviour, but obviously some people are not only unaware themselves but they don't listen to people actually telling them things to keep their dogs safe! I've also yelled across the park to someone to call their large Malamute off a small Border Collie, the Mal was standing right over the BC while she lay flat on her back, she trid a couple of times to get up and slink away but the Mal followed and she immediately rolled over again. I watched the BC's owner watch on without saying anything and the Mal's owner obliviously chat to someone else before I decided I couldn't let it go anymore and called out (very politely :) ). People often ask on here why I still go to dog parks and I've said before, like HW I am aware of the risk however I choose to accept them for the benefits, my dogs are fairly robust and confident with other dogs and I've learnt what to look out for in other dogs and owners. Most importantly my dogs have more value in me and treats than anything else so they tend to stick close and have great recall so I can keep them away from trouble.

But LG, I think that's the point HW is making, already you and she have different ideas on what is "acceptable" in an off leash dog area, and you are both dog savvy. Everyone else using the area will have their own ideas too and many of them are likely to have less knowledge and have given less thought to dog behaviour and what others might be comfortable with than those of us here. So defining acceptable and sensible to everyone's satisfaction is pretty impossible. Coupled with that is the fact that many people don't follow rules that are in place anyway, through ignorance, laziness, arrogance, whatever. Absolutely we should say something when someone endangers other people or dogs, and it's great if people point it out when people have broken one of the rules that are in place but trying to get people to change what they do based on one's own opinion of what is right is an uphill battle. And I think the other, more important point is that we risk out own dogs if we go around expecting that everyone else will do the right thing. However much they shouldn't, there are plenty of people out there who will continue to do stupid, rude, dangerous, inconsiderate things (Btw LG I know you wouldn't go around risking your dogs, or anyone else's!)

Oh rascal like HW says, there's no point beating yourself up, it was a mistake. There's every chance he'll pull through, he's getting the treatment he needs. Sending positive thoughts.

Aargh, look at him! So gorgeous :) I'd say eyes shut but also dog and baby shampoos are non-stingy... Plus dogs are adorably weird :laugh:

Quinn's good like that too, she'll do a big loud bark if she hears something unusual in the yard and she'll jump and bark at a door or fence if a person is on the other side. She only wants to get to them to give them a bit tongue kiss in the mouth but I think it would be a bit intimidating for someone who didn't know her well. Seeing as I live alone also I'm quite happy for her to do it :)

Ah, DOL can be a challenge, along with the rest of the "dog world". You seem to be doing fine, carry on with the training you have booked, keep asking questions and take on board what works for you :)

Yes, and the breeder is the one who hasn't done the right thing, not you. It is also not an insurmountable issue. I'd suggest a good puppy school and /or puppy obedience class with a good trainer with behavioural experience would be really helpful in providing good controlled socialisation and advice on some of the issues that may arise as a result of early separation from mum and litter.

Saxon has just confirmed something I thought I'd noticed recently, he seems to be quite concerned about the upset people on the Allianz insurance ad where they say/yell "Aaaaaaaaaaa" He starts making little "myeh myeh" whimpery worried noises :laugh: I thought maybe it was just a coincidence a couple of times but he's just done it again... while continuing to chew a rawhide bone, hehehe.

Agree with the advice already given. Just wanted to say though, geez some people are irresponsible jerks! What the hell does the guy mean he can't do anything about his 10 week old puppies rushing at people on the street?!? And your dog should get over it, I suppose the car that runs his puppies over should get over it too

+1

* posts picture of Riley and says "not this"...*

Georgina, I think you've reacted as well as you could in a very difficult situation. Sounds like you are being sensible in what you will do in the future, and you've taken varying advice on board graciously. Good on you and best wishes going forward with your girl :)

The OP is really on the other side of the coin to the people Steve's blog seems to be aimed at. It reminds me of something I often think about though - as much as owners who let their smaller dogs behave aggressively towards larger dogs need to stop allowing or excusing it, owners of the bigger dogs subjected to it would be wise to step in and protect their dogs from it, not just leave them to take it because they look like they can handle it. It can't be pleasant for them and the risk is that eventually they will get sick of it and retaliate, when it could have been avoided by keeping them out of those situations. That isn't aimed at you personally Georgina, I don't know if it was even a factor in the incident you had, or aimed at anyone in particular, just something I wanted to mention.

I'd say she's redirecting her frustration at the dogs being there coupled with not being able to get to them onto her teddy. Dogs frequently shake and "kill" their toys in play without it ever translating into aggression towards other dogs so that could just be what she does with Teddy and doesn't have any other way of using him to get out her frustration, however I'd say there's a strong possibility that if she got into that state and was then able to get to a dog small enough to grab she would do the same thing.

Plenty of dogs don't like rude behaviour or even just unexpected behavior, and will tell off dogs that demonstrate it, and many will guard balls in dog parks but as HW said grabbing by the neck and shaking is not a normal telling off behaviour, so if it was a telling off it was a highly inappropriate and dangerous one.

^ This, absolutely. Whatever the reason it happened your girl could easily have killed the other dog. Without having seen exactly what happened I don't think anyone here can make an assessment. I'm really sorry this has happened, it doesn't make her a bad dog but I do think you have to be very careful from now on.

It sounds like she's conflicted. I think it would be helpful for her in general to to learn that she doesn't get to make those decisions, it's up to you who she does and doesn't get to meet and under what circumstances. If she learns that she should be looking to you for a decision on basically everything in her life it will take pressure off her and also allow you to make sure she only has positive experiences. It doesn't mean she'll never get to talk to another dog again but if you can control her experiences and get her looking to you all the time you can eliminate those negative interactions which are stressful and risky for her, and also a bit unfair on the other dogs.

Agree that a good behaviourist who can see what's actually going on and give you a plan of action is your best bet. It sounds to me like, as has been said, she doesn't want to be around or interact with these other dogs and she is telling them and you this as loudly as she can, she then gets a correction from you, which confirms in her mind that bad things happen when other dogs are around. I would work on building positive associations with other dogs - keep her at a distance where she doesn't react to them and give her lots of yummy food when she looks at them. You can very gradually move closer but if you get to the point where she starts reacting you've gone too far so move back again. Work on getting her to look at the dog then look to you for her yummy treat. The aim is not to reward her for not reacting so much as to create a positive association in her mind, other dog = something good. You could do this with friends who have calm dogs that will basically ignore her while she is learning, or outside a fenced dog park where the other dogs can't get to her, although you want lots of distance so they aren't standing at the fence staring or barking at her. I would be avoiding having her meet other dogs until she starts to have a better association with them as every time she meets one and has to stay there while she's reacting it's reinforcing her negative association. If you do come across other dogs outside of training sessions I would be catching her before she starts to react and quickly turning and heading off in the other direction.

Amax, I think your views are coloured by your extensive experience with dogs of a particular "type" and application ie. those suited or potentially suited to protection type work. I don't know that you can extrapolate that to all dogs in all situations. I don't know if there is research but I'm sure there is plenty of anecdotal evidence of dogs that growl during play, including tug, where it is not a sign of fear at losing the item but rather a response to the arousal of play.

Mine do it too, just watch me. I didn't realise it until my sister commented, she said "they do look at you alot" and I wasn't sure if she meant they look at me alot or if they look at the generic "you" as in any person that's interacting with them but she did mean me. Since then I've noticed they do do it frequently, especially in the car, I'll turn around to the back seat an there are three faces just looking back at me. I do think it's what Rosetta said, and I think it's a good sign that you have an attentive dog and should help with training etc :) ETA - except for Stan, his is definitely a give me food face :laugh:

Poor man

I'm told the attacker/dog owner is a tent embassy resident, don't know about the other man but it does see likely.

Go Nova, my favourite show is The Simpsons too! My dogs however are immune to it coz I watch it so much. However they all definitely watch the flat screen tvs. I've mentioned before about the RSPCA ad where the animals all walk across the screen, they've all reacted to that by following them across the screen and checking around the side for where they've gone. They react to animals on screen, especially dogs and cats, Saxon will also react to horses, cows, donkeys etc which sets the others off.