loveleroy

Busy roads are your friend. Only the seriously stupid will walk a dog offlead along one. I must live around the seriousley stupid as thought i would be safe on a main road but we got attacked by a rotweiller off leash and everyapday i see ahole owners walking with no lead. There is an idiot around the corner whom takes a hunting dog (and hes firing it up and training it for it) off lead through the streets and to our local playground where kids are playing. i hear you when you say nowhere is safe anymore.

Ditto to this. Putting yourself and your dog in an uncontrolled environment is not (IMO) what your fear nor what your dog needs. Build your confidence by working with your dog in an environment where you know nothing bad is going to occur. what environment would this be considering i cant walk around my area or even the next three suburbs ive tried but encountered irresponible owners with dogs off lead in the streets or parks. With the leash free cage area i will wait till there are only owners with other working dogs and non macho breeds and theres never a problem and the dogs have a ball and get called back to thier owners every 90seconds. sorry but this will piss some people off but i have never encountered a staffy or staffy mix breed dog that hasnt showed aggression to other dogs down there and they terrify me the most so will always avoid them.

i dont think it was intentional and there was no sound and no aggression, he does sometimes play bite if he gets revved up but can calm him and distract him very easily, he only just turned one. hes very good with my toddler and young child. i would want him to be able to defend himself so i wouldnt dream of muzzling him, it would also make others think hes visciuos which is so far from the truth, i wont be taking him to the school anymore as all the kids just wanted to pat him and tease him and when visitors are at my house i put him in the pool area. i prob will get a behaviorist/trainer but i dont think that is a huge issue and i may have overexaggerated it.

there is often a trainer in there and only 6-7 dogs at a time, my dogs great at recall and most that go in there are sensible owners with non aggressive dogs, just like people i guess dogs dont have to like each other all the time and the owners and trainers are quick to pull up any dog showing aggression. thanks for your concern but i feel better about going in there than walking on the street in my area! plus im doing it for my dog as he really needs to let looose and have socialisation and exert his energy.

Well after all the responses it seemed pretty unanimous (however you spell it!) that I should keep my dog and persevere with training. I had my parents look after my kids today and took him to my local dog training where I was going from when he was 6 months but I was missing heaps of weeks cause of difficulty juggling the kids. It took all my courage to go in the big off leash cage area with him and was nervous of some staffy x looking dogs but spoke to the owner and explained my fears and then an almighty fight broke out right at my feet with two dogs and then others wanted to join in, I just bolted and called my dog which luckily hes pretty well trained and came with me. I was petrified again but then did my class and went back in the off leash area with other working dogs and all was fine. So Im going to try and get a trainer here to maybe work with us so he's not chasing the kids and cat through the windows and obsessing over them and that will make me more confident with him around my kids. A neighbour brings her dog over for a play and I kick the ball each time I go out in the backyard for him for while and will build a bit of an obstacle course. Im also trying to get to the dog training park each week and try and organise babysitters after school to walk him in a better suburb. I realise I have to get over my fear so placing myself in the off leash cage is the first step and Im sure I will start to lose the fear that every dog is going to attack. Thanks all for your well meaning support and information.

Wow so many responses! Thanks for your time. I appear to have overstated his bad behaviour though, he is not bad at all. Yes, he does like to goad the cat into running away from him and chases him alot but then the cat comes back for more and even lies in his bed with him, they are friends. He hasnt wanted to chase cats or other dogs when we have been out walking and even if he has snuck out the front whilst we are putting bins out he hasnt crossed the road to go after the neighbours cat. He has never bitten or attempted any aggression with my children (nor was there any aggression or intent with the one that accidently got bitten in the school). I have taken his food away from him from a young age and my children have fed him, he steps away from his bowl or bone if my children step outside or near him. He is a very smart boy and very keen to please, if I tell him to leave he will 99% of the time do as he's told, sometimes the temptation is too great. He entertains himself alot with toys and balls etc and he just gets very excited when my children run around in the house and he's outside looking in - he's certainly not out of control and is mostly just puppy age behavour. I know the problem lies in myself and my fears and anxiety, i thought it might be a better life for him to be with someone whom could take him to agility and be able to walk and play with him lots. I wasnt suggesting he be around young children or on a farm as such and would disclose all the info and thoroughly screen people. However after all your replies I might seek help for myself and carry an umbrella or stick in order to feel safer when walking him and make more effort to go to dog training each week.

Dogs off lead and ignorant owners whom think their dogs are excluded from the 'dogs on lead' rules are making my life unbearable. We were attacked on a main road path with a rottweiler running away from its owner 300m back down the road to maul my dog and when I kicked at it it went for me also, im now terrified. A couple of weeks after that I was outside my home throwing my dog a ball in the vacant house lot when a staffy came flying out of nowhere with its owner chasing it i promptly told my dog to go out the back and he did but the staffy followed onto my property growling and being aggressive. We have a high number of staffy's and bull arab type dogs around my area and noone walks them on a lead even though they are pretty renowned for not liking other dogs and being aggressive. I have not reported the attack as fear of retribution and also in the last instance my dog was off lead but technically on my private property. I would like the council to have a presence here and notify all dog owners of the need to be on lead or hefty fines will be dished out, Im going to carry an umbrella or stick and possibly some spray and will have no hesitation in using it against any dog that rushes at me or my dog.

I was quite willing to pay a trainer or behaviourist but my main problem is my fear of walking him and now his obsessive need to chase as a result of me not walking him - no ammount of training is going to break his natural instinct of whats been bred into him and im feeling very guilty for trying to bring a working dog into a family home. so thats why i think its best to rehome him to a place with no kids and where he can use his working dog background and be happy. hes always been very gentle with my one year old but does have the hearding instinct and as a young pup nipped holes in my kids clothes when they would run and tease him, he grew out of that and even chewing shoes. the kid at school got in his face (on lead) while he was intently watching the ball, i dont think he meant to connect but....

and for all those suggesting training - thanks, but he or i doesnt have any problems with training, hes a wonderful dog very intelligent its other dogs that are MY problem and the councils inability to enforce law.

thanks for the replys and suggestions. i had a border collie x for 8 years before this one and have done lots of research on the breed. i believed we we were able to provide a good home at the time we got him. i was taking him for 6-7klm walks/runs most days however the attack has ruined this. in my neighbourhood the amount of agressive dogs with ignorant owners is unbelievable. i try to take him to training each week but its been difficult juggling the kids. Unfortunately he also bit a child at school that got in between him staring at kids playing with a ball. i will never have anither dog as i cant bring myself to walk them or exercise out of our home. We all love this dog so much and i know he is our responsibility but i cant help feeling that it would be nicer for him to have a better home where he has lots of room to run.

i have a beautiful one year old pure border collie whom that we got at 9 weeks. we have a very young family and i find it difficult to get time to really give him a good walk. sevearal weeks ago we were attacked and mauled by a rottweiller off lead on main road, this has terrified me and i suffer anxiety problems now and every time i go out we meet anither bogan with thier viscious dogs off lead. I have gotten to the point where i think it might be best to rehome my boy to a rural property as he loves to chase things, never leaves the cat alone and is obsessed with the kids moving around in the house that he throws himself against the window. im so angry that the actions of other irresponsible dog owners and the lack of council control are making me give my dog up.