Whippetsmum

There have been several posts lately that describe people being approached by dogs that have been aggressive/they percieve as potentially aggressive. Some situations turned out well, while others have been less fortunate. My question is, If you and your dog are approached by a dog that seems to be aggressive, or you fear may be aggressive, are there any basic strategies or rules of thumb that will lead to a more positive outcome? I am more interested in terms of the dogs behaviour, than dealing with the owner ie: what I should do with my dog, how I respond to the dog eg: body language. In my case I only walk my dog on a leash and go to leashed areas. So far I have always been lucky to avoid unaccompanied dogs; and so far because there has been an owner in the vicinity, I ask the owner of the dog to leash him or her, or call their dog. One owner did complain that calling to her would set her dog off, (she was 50m away and her dog was within 5m of me), luckily she was wrong on that occasion. I always stand still and bring my dog in beside me on a shorter (not tight) leash until the approaching dog is under control, or I get a feeling on how my dog is responding, as he seems more fluent in dog body language than I am. Some people mention getting between the 2 dogs and making an authoritative stance, some people mention carrying a stick, others picking up their dog. Are any of these strategies likley to backfire, is there anything behaviour wise that will inflame a dog, or is it not possible to generalise. I'm sorry if this seems too "newbie" but I am genuinely interested, and apologise if this has been covered eleswhere, I tried a search, if anyone has links to previous topics that would be great.

Just an update, I spoke to my mother again this morning, and told her that while I would try my best with her dog. I have also made it clear that, if the dog causes any problems, I would be boarding him. I told her that I had posted questions on the dealing with her dog during his stay, and have been given good sound advice from the forum which I will try and hopefully, any problems will be short in duration. My Aunt is not sure if/ how long/ or when she is house sitting, so I have asked for this to be clarified asap, as I want to know exactly how long he is her, (does council need to know of a dog is holidaying with me?) She is bringing his vaccination certificate and council registration papers in case of boarding. She is also updating his "holiday contact" on his chipped info, just in case he gets out while he is here (unlikley but I thought I'd cover all bases). I have asked her to use sound to wake the dog, and find out what works before he lands on us, and she was quite pleased with the idea. I also mentioned crates, which she has never considered, but is now interested in. Having possibly taught one old proverbial a new trick maybe there is hope for the furred one too. Thanks for all the support and advice.

Our council picks up dogs from all over Sydney. I checked their website for after hours animal problems, & as it's out of hours (on weekends and public holidays), you ring the local police who ask council to impound the animals. Obvipusly I wouldn't call the police lightly, eg: not if it was just a stray, but deifinately for an aggressive or otherwise a dangerous. Just call the local station, tell them that the dog is aggressive to your animals or however you would like to present this, and hopefully they'll try and come out. I would also explain that the big dog is a traffic hazard, as if someone swerves to avoid him the car might end up in your yard. Good luck

Thanks for all the replies, Some of you are very perceptive, "strange" is often a word I think of with my mother's logic! Mum knows that I find her dog difficult to put up with the whining, weeing and snapping, but when he's asleep he can be nice, so long as you don't get close. Poodlefan, any idea how much Brandy can I give a 6kg dog? Or should I be taking the Brandy? I do realise that her claim of having no boarding kennels near her is not at all likely, she has other issues, probably the cost of the stay. I have already told that I'd need his vaccination certificate, and his vet contact, mainly because I want a back up plan if all else fails, and I have told her that I wouldn't put up with his bad behaviour. She probably suspects that I'll probably board him for some of the time. I'll ask her to begin using sound to wake him, so that he has time to adjust to the strategy, it does seem like a startle reflex. And I will find out about crates, I remember someone at work said they had one their dog outgrew. I am hoping that mum being away might help some of teh behaviours. I think mum encourages some of the behaviour by acknowledging him when he whines and barks, she calls out to him, which probably seems to him like she's barking too. 7 weeks is an eternity, so I am hoping that my aunt will stay at the house and have him for a few weeks in familiar surroundings, then if he stays with us until he wears out his wlecome, he can go to a kennel for a few weeks, But I am hoping that I can do something with his behaviour in the time he is here.

Obviously, how we deal with the owner varies, have a talk, educate them report them etc, we deal with that later. How should you deal with the dogs at the time? I am interested to know what the correct thing to do is with a dog barrelling towards you? Should you bring your dog closer, pick it up etc? Should you stand still or keep on with where you were going? If the dog circles, do you turn to keep it in fornt of you? Does it change if it's more than one dog, it always seems much more threatening from a human perspective? Any ideas about what is least likely to cause the situation to worsen, is waving a stick actually going to help? Telling the oncoming dog "No", or "Stay" hasn't worked in my experience, which surprises me when all the owners claim their dog is an obedience genius......."It's OK, he's friendly, he's done obedience" Seriously, any tips on handling these situations from a dog behaviour point of view?

Help!!!!! My mother is travelling OS for around 7 weeks and has assumed that her dog will be staying with us. Initially, the arrangement was for a couple of weeks, with my aunt house sitting and having the dog for the balance. It now seems likley that the dog is staying with us for nearly the whole time. The dog's stayed previously, but for only a night or two, and only with my mother staying. My dog and her's do get along, however, my mum has different ideas on what behaviours to tolerate. There are 3 issues that I am concerned about: 1 Mum has "warned " me that I should not try and wake her dog if he is asleep as he will snap and growl. I bring my dog in of an evening and her's will expect the same too, the difference is that her dog needs to be put out of a night, so at some stage he will need to be woken! When I've been at mum's and gotten near the dog when he's asleep he even wakes and snaps. 2 Mum's dog is a barker, and mine isn't usually, I am worried that he will learn this behaviour from mum's dog. 3 Mum's dog constantly whimpers and whines to be let in, and I can't let him in because he urinates on everything when he's at my place. The noise drives me insane. Is there any chance that some firm boundaries for a few weeks will resolve this dog's behaviours, or am I doomed to 7 weeks of misery? Mum's dog is 10 years old and very spoilt. He has some basic skills such as sit and wait, and will come when called, but he is apallaling on a lead. Mum has said that there aren't any boarding kennels near her but I suspect that she's being cheap. I do have the option of putting him in boarding near my place if his behaviour gets too bad, but I would have to cover the costs, and never mention it to her! This option is now seeming very tempting. (PS Don't tell)

Really glad that you and Rosie are OK. Recently the entire suburb (possibly state) that I live in has been declared leash free, how did I miss that memo? Maybe the on leash rule doesn't apply to everyone? I'll have to ring council and ask how much the "exemption" would cost (Yes I am being sarcastic!)

The question is, if you are supervising your dog or dogs, can you also genuinely supervise the children in your care, will there be a second adult to help if needed? ( I don't know you, your children or pooch, so I'm not making any judegements, just asking questions) You are still responsible for your children's and dog's behaviour in an off leash area, the same as if you were walking on leash. In making a decision, consider: Do you have a strategies in place for the unexpected, say for when one child has fallen over and your pooch is being approached by a dog you don't know very well? What happens if you need to change a nappy and pick up droppings at the same time? How well do you trust the others using the off leash area, is it a park where people do watch their dogs, or one where the dogs are let off and left to their own devices? I think that you should go a couple of times on your own, observe the etiquette of the park, and think about any situations that may arise for you or other owners and then consider how you would deal with things managing the children at the same time. Your decision will be influenced by the temperament of all the dogs in the park, and the way that your children behave around dogs that they don't know.

Like a few others who have replied, I'd love my dog to be able to have fun with other dogs, it would be great for his confidence, and for mine. More importantly, if I am honest, would be a measure of whether I've done "enough" for him, if he socialises well etc. For me, the problem seems to be finding the well socialised dogs and their owners so that we can learn from them in safety. I have been to the off leash parks, where one bad apple or two (human and canine) spoil it for me, it doesn't match the ideal of happy frolicking dogs, when there's a lot of growling and posturing (human and canine) . There are also quite a few horror stories about people abusing off leash areas- anyone else read about the Pug in Urban Animal? My sister lives inner Sydney and there have been a few attacks in the off leash areas near her.

My boy used to mark my shoes when we were at the off leash park, he did it a couple of times. I think he meant it as "this is my human", he marks his own bed when my mum brings her dog over(male shitzu x maltese). Then he refuses to sleep in it (don't blame hime), but at least the little fluff ball can't sleep there either. My mother's dog marks everything when my dog visits, his water bowl, toys, you name it, he "labels" it. Do girls mark as well? I can't remember my girl doing this at all.