Puppy Attacked By Off Leash Dalmation

[raeviel]

Hi guys,

My 4.5 month old mini schnauzer, Brodie was attacked by a Dalmation last night. Brodie was on a leash but the Dalmation was not. As a result she's lost half of her left ear, but our biggest concern is that she's timid and tense at the moment. Granted it was only 24 hours ago and she was probably still groggy from the vets anaesthetic . Still the attack was so vicious (an unwarranted!!!) and she's so young to go through so much.

Does anyone have any 'rehabilitation' ideas on how to get her back on track to being her sociable, chirpy, confident self ASAP? We'll do anything!

Edit: And I guess this is a warning to any puppy owners walking their small dogs in a dog park. After chatting to friends and workmates about what happened it would appear this is not a rare event at all. I had no idea it was so common for larger dogs to snap without warning...

Edited September 11, 2008 by raeviel

[Sam&Saki]

Oh dear I'm so sorry this happened to your pup, how horrendous :D

No advice but lotsa *hugs* for both of you! x

[huski]

Oh the poor little love :D

Edit: And I guess this is a warning to any puppy owners walking their small dogs in a dog park. After chatting to friends and workmates about what happened it would appear this is not a rare event at all. I had no idea it was so common for larger dogs to snap without warning...

It's not just large dogs that can snap without warning - any size dog is capable of dog on dog aggression. There are two mini foxies at my local park that are savage little things and will go any dog regardless of its size.

Do you have any friends with friendly dogs that you can socialise Brodie with? Especially friends with larger, friendly dogs so that she doesn't develop a fear of bigger dogs?

[Sam&Saki]

Hmmm I left my comment before I saw your edit.

I have to disagree, my dogs have been attacked by small and toy dogs many many times but rarely/never by large dogs.

Please don't let this horrible experience make you prejudiced against larger dogs.

Put the blame where it belongs - on irresponsible dog owners! x

[Bjelkier]

Oh dear thats terrible! Your poor little one!

I don't really know what to say in regards to rehab for her, sorry.

I can say however that it does happen, I've been charged by a Newf, in my own home no less and it is scary, thankfully Mistral wasn't hurt, A Newf would have made short work of him if she had caught him.

I really hope your baby gets better soon and that you can get her happy being around other dogs again.

[raeviel]

You guys are right. It's not just big dogs that attack, dogs of all sizes do.

[Aubrey]

You guys are right. It's not just big dogs that attack, dogs of all sizes do.

Were you in a dog park where the dog was allowed to be off leash, or were you walking in the street with your MS and the Dalmation just attacked? Dogs by nature can be dominant or agressive, it is the dog more than the owner, but the owner should be in control, or have the dog on a leash.

I know there are leash laws that can give out fines, restrict dogs to private property etc etc, was the dalmation registered and did you get the tag numbers?

We've introduced Aubrey to large and small dogs when on leash as well as dog parks, and she has been pretty good. Now she stays away from the larger dogs that she thinks might bowl her over, but she often plays with a Standard Schnauzer we see at the dog park regularly! However, if we see other agressive dogs with poorly behaved owners, we move Aubrey to another side of the park and practice call back, or we leave the park all together... not worth the risk, as unfortunately you found out.

Hope your MS recovers, they are pretty hardy and confident little things :D

[Paganman]

Dogs by nature can be dominant or agressive, it is the dog more than the owner,

I dunno about this I reckon quite often its the owner.

This is one of the reasons why lots of people dont go to dog parks to many moron owners and untrained dogs

[raeviel]

You guys are right. It's not just big dogs that attack, dogs of all sizes do.

Were you in a dog park where the dog was allowed to be off leash, or were you walking in the street with your MS and the Dalmation just attacked? Dogs by nature can be dominant or agressive, it is the dog more than the owner, but the owner should be in control, or have the dog on a leash.

I know there are leash laws that can give out fines, restrict dogs to private property etc etc, was the dalmation registered and did you get the tag numbers?

We've introduced Aubrey to large and small dogs when on leash as well as dog parks, and she has been pretty good. Now she stays away from the larger dogs that she thinks might bowl her over, but she often plays with a Standard Schnauzer we see at the dog park regularly! However, if we see other agressive dogs with poorly behaved owners, we move Aubrey to another side of the park and practice call back, or we leave the park all together... not worth the risk, as unfortunately you found out.

Hope your MS recovers, they are pretty hardy and confident little things :D

I take Brodie for an off leash run in a nearby enclosed running track where there are no other dogs, then I put her on her lead and we go for a jog through this off leash park as its green, open and on the way home. I usually jog right through and she doesn't socialise with other dogs but I saw a friend of mine so stopped to chat. He has a small terrier which was playfighting with Brodie, I think the Dalmation galloped over and decided to join in, albeit way too aggressively. Oh man it kills me just talking about it!!

The Dalmation owner was just mortified, I went to her house as she drove us swiftly to the vets. I have her card and all her details. She said her dog had displayed some weird behavioural changes since it started medication and swore that she'd be restricted to a leash from now on. I don't feel like pressing further action. My gut feeling is that it'll be dealt with. I estimate this lady is dishing out at least $700 thus far for Brodie's vet bills so she's probably learned a valuable lesson...

I just don't know...

[GSDhandler]

your poor pup.

QUOTE (Aubrey @ 11th Sep 2008 - 11:38 AM) *

Dogs by nature can be dominant or agressive, it is the dog more than the owner,

i also disagree. some dogs that would be "aggressive by nature" are absolute teddy bears because they have good owners, who can control thier dogs.

as for recovery probably start slowly reintroducing her to familiar other dogs. mine had to be introduced to dogs smaller than her to get her out of it. try not to encourage fear behavoir, and show her that you are her pack leader and you are going to protect her.

also if it starts to get really prolonged see a proffesional.

sorry for the spelling. am in a rush. will fix it later.

[Diva]

I've found dog parks great but I hook up with a set of people that all arrange to come at roughly the same time on a regular basis, the numbers vary esp from weekends to weekdays but it's a reliable, informal group - new people are invited to join but are pulled up if their dogs are too rough.

I'm glad the Dally's owner is facing up to her responsibilities, many don't. For rehab I'd suggest keeping socialisation to dogs you and she are familiar with and know are safe, then branching out with caution - but a key thing is not to act stressed when meeting other dogs, your dog will bounce back much more quickly if you handle it with confidence. Even if you have to fake the confidence at first!

[TerraNik]

Gosh I am so sorry this happened to your little one. I would be beside myself if that happened to me!! :D I hope she recovers well.

[Dogsfevr]

I wouldnt be rushing in .Time & patience is the way to go & not makinga big deal of it,Your handling skills now will make or break what happens.

I dont go to dog parks either.To many Idiots,people who let there dogs off leash but dont come when called or trained in any fashion to be off leash(which breaks the rules anyway)

[CP*]

My small dog had a similar experience at a young age and she has also been attacked since. I went to a vet behaviourist so here is some of the advice I got.

A rule of thumb is dogs need 10 really positive interactions with other dogs for each bad one. But it is better to stick with interactions with small dogs for a while or medium sized, older friendly dog. Also, if the dogs don't know each other let them spend too long with each other as you don't want her stress levels getting too high - just a meet and greet until she gets her confidence back. I also walked my bitch shorter distances for some time to a fairly deserted area where we played ball (she is a ball freak now). The idea being that walks did not expose her to high levels of stress for long periods and they had a purpose - to do something fun.

Nowadays I am very wary of large dogs off lead around my girl, I know some are fine but it is the smaller dogs who get the worst of it - they weigh so little.

I have also found now my girl barks a lot at other dogs when she is with me. Apparently this is common for dogs attacked at a young age and they only do it with people they are confident will protect them. I think my girl worked out that she only ever gets attacked and set on when she isn't barking.

Good luck

PS - my girl just loves mini schnauzers - the most beautiful natures so I hope yours recovers well.

PPS - I also ended up getting my girl desexed as the vet said she would be less likely to be attacked if she was not entire - and this had been true. So no ribbons in her future but safer for her.

[Kyra]

I just wanted to say I'm sorry to hear about your little dog and I hope she recovers well. Poor little girl. Hugs to you both.

[cavNrott]

You guys are right. It's not just big dogs that attack, dogs of all sizes do.

Dogs by nature can be dominant or agressive, it is the dog more than the owner, but the owner should be in control, or have the dog on a leash.

That (bolded) would be the most uneducated statement I've read in a while. It is the owner who needs to be in control which makes it 'the owner more than the dog'.

Well trained dominant dogs can do very well playing with others in an off leash park as long as the owner is trained and knows when to call off their dog. My submissive Rottweiler played with many dominant large dogs in the off leash park and was only ever set upon by a little, untrained cross bred fluffy. She came to me with this fluffy thing attached to her neck so I could remove it from her. A bite from my dog and that dog would have been history.

[astonnolan]

It's awful to hear about this attack. I hope Brodie gets well soon.

[TrinaJ]

Hope little Brody is okay, how awful for you both.

[Bellatrix]

Oh poor love That is such a horrible thing to happen This really angers me though!!

When I was walking Lucy the other day, this large dog (couldnt tell yout the breed even if i guessed) Was running towards her and i am sooo thankful I picked her up in time!! My partner shooed the dog away eventually but the owner was nowhere to be seen! how irresponsible!! Hope your pup is going to be ok!

[raeviel]

Update: Brodie had her wound stitched, then bandaged for several days as it's now healing nicely though she has a bucket on her head for a week.

Thankfully her socialisation has no suffered at all. She is still super excited to see dogs of all shapes and sizes! In fact, I have noticed that her enthusiasm is completely overwhelming to the point where she cannot recognise when a dog she is leaping on is getting freaked out.

Several dogs have growled at her since the accident and she just continues to play- unabated. Though she was not behaving like this when the initial incident occurred with the dalmation, it's a bit of a worry that she doesn't know when to back off!!!

Here's a pic of her damaged ear. Thanks for all the well-wishes!