MadisonC

Thank you all for these suggestions, I will look into each and every one of your ideas as I really want to help Ace, I just didn't know where to start. Thanks again.

Thank you for your concern. Ace is really doing quite well. The vet is very surprised that he didn't need surgery, though he has a large seroma that she is monitoring and will need to drain when he goes back in a few days time. Even a couple of days after it happened, he was trying to run and jump around like his usual self and it has been a nightmare trying to keep him calm as he is so active. That sounds so awful. Some dogs are just unpredictable and unfortunately not all pet owners are responsible. I hope she is okay!

Thank you. I live in south-east Melbourne. The owners of the other dog have been fantastic, they have paid all of Ace's vet bills and they also made the decision to have their dog put down. It's just a long recovery for my puppy unfortunately.

Hi there, I was just hoping for some advice regarding my 9 month old Border Collie puppy, Ace. I'll try to give as much detail as I can. He was unfortunately attacked by an American Staffy two weeks ago. The dog jumped the fence whilst we were coming home from our daily walk (they live at the top of our court). The dog came from behind and bit his left shoulder, causing a tear in the muscle with a very deep puncture, alongside multiple other punctures on top and underneath the leg. Ace is okay and recovering well (a very active pup is hard to keep quiet!). The attack was unprovoked and unexpected. We spoke with the vet about how to support Ace with recovering psychologically. She suggested getting him back out there to socialise and build up his confidence again, but to be aware that his behaviour towards unknown dogs may change. Ace is more than happy to be back walking, albeit short walks whilst he is still mending. He does not care about walking past the house which the dog came from. He is very relaxed on his walks, until he sees another dog. He immediately growls, barks and tries to jump at the other dog. It seems to be quite aggressive behaviour which we never saw before - he was always happy to go up to any dog and say hello or play. I understand why he has changed, I just don't know how to help him and I don't want to leave it too long before trying to correct his behaviour. Whenever I see another dog coming, I make Ace sit off the footpath where he can still see the dog and kneel next to him and try to keep him calm. He lives with two other border collies and is fine with them, and he also still loves our neighbour's dog. He is also very unsure of some people - though this started about a month before the attack (8 months old). Even people he has met before and been very happy to see, the next day he might bark and try to jump at the person. Even if they reach out a hand for him to sniff, he pulls away as if he does not want them to touch him. Sometimes it takes a very long time to get him to stop barking/lunging at others. When we are sitting in the car, he has barked at people crossing the road, in nearby shops or someone off in the distance. This behaviour has continued since the attack. There are other unknown people that he will happily walk straight up to for a pat so I really can't pick who he is going to be wary of. It was mentioned by a friend that this behaviour could be age related and due to him not yet being desexed (we were told to wait until he was 12 months old) and that he is being protective of his family. What can I do to help him with this? Any advice or ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.