Sick Of Big Dogs Stalking My Swf What Can I Do?

[Lady Flying Furball]

Sigh. Someone turns to DOL for help and it turns to small dog bashing. My dogs are small and very well behaved. They don't run up to any dogs without my permission. My boy has been stalked, charged, picked up and flung into the air by a dobe - it wasn't herding or play drive, it was prey drive. He was on his lead and we were minding our own business.

I agree. I am sick of small dog bashing on this forum. Frankly this "small dog syndrome" is a way of pathologising small dog's tendencies to make BIG noises as a defense. Big dogs generally do not do this because they are not so small (yes this is a generalisation but I hope you get what I am trying to say). As a small dog owner I need to be aware that other dogs may see my dog as a fluffy rabbit so I need to take precautions. If some people don;t like small dogs and their barky natures just avoid them. No one says you have to like it but it works... Other dogs generally back=off with the barking...and I am not talking about extreme behaviour here though...good owner control always!

[chichihuahua]

My 3kg dog has many behavioral issues, most of them resulting from being constantly rushed and bowled over by larger dogs. It's a constant work of process. As a result of all these negative experiences, he is immensely frightened of strange big breeds and will bark at or be very defensive out of fear. Instead of enjoying our walks together, I have to be constantly on alert and I can only take him to the dog park when it's empty during the afternoon. It's not easy.

So for every one of you big dog owners on here who have complained about SWF - just remember the shoe also fits on the other foot. And also remember that a lot of the problems a SWF might have, in terms of barking at bigger breeds etc, probably are a result of being rushed by them in the past. There's been numerous instances in the past where I've walked past a house ON LEAD and had a huge boisterous lab run out suddenly and start crowding my dog. And also, because he's only 3kgs, even the regular maltese type breeds are larger then him.

I don't care what anyone else says, it is much more easier for a smaller dog to have a terrifying experience with dogs rushing up to them then a larger breed. Hence why most small dogs seem to have common issues. I also think it's easier to socialize a large breed then a small breed. My dog is fine with similar sizes to himself but like I said, he is very nervous around strange big dogs and probably like the majority of other SWF owners, I avoid the situation which doesn't help his socialization. It's HARD to socialize a dog - it's not like I can just approach random people on the street and ask them to have their dog in a sit position while I spend 15 minutes working on my own. And when I see a big breed coming towards us in the street on lead, I will cross the road because frankly, I don't want to take the chance that something would happen and my dog might get hurt. I've had too many terrible experiences in the past. These sorts of issues and fears are something that big breed owners generally don't have to worry about.

Edited June 18, 2010 by chichihuahua

[Loving my Oldies]

My 3kg dog has many behavioral issues, most of them resulting from being constantly rushed and bowled over by larger dogs. It's a constant work of process. As a result of all these negative experiences, he is immensely frightened of strange big breeds and will bark at or be very defensive out of fear. Instead of enjoying our walks together, I have to be constantly on alert and I can only take him to the dog park when it's empty during the afternoon. It's not easy.

So for every one of you big dog owners on here who have complained about SWF - just remember the shoe also fits on the other foot. And also remember that a lot of the problems a SWF might have, in terms of barking at bigger breeds etc, probably are a result of being rushed by them in the past. There's been numerous instances in the past where I've walked past a house ON LEAD and had a huge boisterous lab run out suddenly and start crowding my dog. And also, because he's only 3kgs, even the regular maltese type breeds are larger then him.

I don't care what anyone else says, it is much more easier for a smaller dog to have a terrifying experience with dogs rushing up to them then a larger breed. Hence why most small dogs seem to have common issues. I also think it's easier to socialize a large breed then a small breed. My dog is fine with similar sizes to himself but like I said, he is very nervous around strange big dogs and probably like the majority of other SWF owners, I avoid the situation which doesn't help his socialization. It's HARD to socialize a dog - it's not like I can just approach random people on the street and ask them to have their dog in a sit position while I spend 15 minutes working on my own. And when I see a big breed coming towards us in the street on lead, I will cross the road because frankly, I don't want to take the chance that something would happen and my dog might get hurt. I've had too many terrible experiences in the past. These sorts of issues and fears are something that big breed owners generally don't have to worry about.

Well said, Chichihuahua

[Sayreovi]

My 3kg dog has many behavioral issues, most of them resulting from being constantly rushed and bowled over by larger dogs. It's a constant work of process. As a result of all these negative experiences, he is immensely frightened of strange big breeds and will bark at or be very defensive out of fear. Instead of enjoying our walks together, I have to be constantly on alert and I can only take him to the dog park when it's empty during the afternoon. It's not easy.

So for every one of you big dog owners on here who have complained about SWF - just remember the shoe also fits on the other foot. And also remember that a lot of the problems a SWF might have, in terms of barking at bigger breeds etc, probably are a result of being rushed by them in the past. There's been numerous instances in the past where I've walked past a house ON LEAD and had a huge boisterous lab run out suddenly and start crowding my dog. And also, because he's only 3kgs, even the regular maltese type breeds are larger then him.

I don't care what anyone else says, it is much more easier for a smaller dog to have a terrifying experience with dogs rushing up to them then a larger breed. Hence why most small dogs seem to have common issues. I also think it's easier to socialize a large breed then a small breed. My dog is fine with similar sizes to himself but like I said, he is very nervous around strange big dogs and probably like the majority of other SWF owners, I avoid the situation which doesn't help his socialization. It's HARD to socialize a dog - it's not like I can just approach random people on the street and ask them to have their dog in a sit position while I spend 15 minutes working on my own. And when I see a big breed coming towards us in the street on lead, I will cross the road because frankly, I don't want to take the chance that something would happen and my dog might get hurt. I've had too many terrible experiences in the past. These sorts of issues and fears are something that big breed owners generally don't have to worry about.

While I don't own a small breed, I agree.

Small dog owners IMO are faced with more problems when walking then their dogs then the rest of us. Never knowing if that large dog over there might rush over and kill your dog (unintentionally or not) would be extremely stressful on both owner and dog.

I really want a Papillon but not sure how I would go raising such a small dog. Poor thing would never walked by itself, I would always have one of my others with it just in case we are rushed the dog rushing may go for the larger dog instead. Obviously not ideal but I would rather deal with a few bite marks than a dead dog.

Edited June 19, 2010 by tollersowned

[Sayreovi]

I think it is a sad day for dogdom when someone with a dog they describe as well socialised and minding its own business is unable to be taken for an outing to an offleash park or beach.

That day has come and gone.. a long time ago.

I think the behaviour I find the most objectionable is that those owners who express concern for the safety of their dogs are somehow held to be "over protective" or the inference is given that if the dog can't cope, there's something wrong with the dog or its upbringing.

Advice like "don't pick your dog up" neglects to face the reality that a dog on lead, on the ground is a sitting duck for aggression. It can't fight and it can't flee. My advice is if you can't pick your dog up, let the leash go and give your poor dog a chance to defend itself.

Arr no, poodlefan, lol. Letting the leash go and hoping that one's dog has a chance of running away and having more of a chance of defending itself, imo, is not giving the dog a chance at all. If the dog that is let loose happens to be a swf and the aggressor is a larger dog....what chance will the swf stand of running away?

Actually, PF said if you can't pick it up let the leash go.....you can easily pick up a swf!

Don't care what anyone says, if you feel your dog is threatened and you can pick it up, do it! I did it too my dogs when they were puppies.

[Crisovar]

People who let their dogs meet and greet strange dogs uninvited shit me, I don't understand the need for all this doggy play group stuff wherever dogs happen to be. If I have my small dogs out and about I don't want large dogs in their faces no matter what their intentions, and "he is only being friendly" shits me too. Many of the same people wouldn't do it if I had my big dogs with me instead.

Some people with large friendly dogs need to learn to respect the personal of space of others, be it on the street in the park or in the Vets waiting room.

[chichihuahua]

While I don't own a small breed, I agree.

Small dog owners IMO are faced with more problems when walking then their dogs then the rest of us. Never knowing if that large dog over there might rush over and kill your dog (unintentionally or not) would be extremely stressful on both owner and dog.

I really want a Papillon but not sure how I would go raising such a small dog. Poor thing would never walked by itself, I would always have one of my others with it just in case we are rushed the dog rushing may go for the larger dog instead. Obviously not ideal but I would rather deal with a few bite marks than a dead dog.

It's not just because I'm frightened that my dog might get killed, it's more that when pretty much every dog we encounter is bigger and towers over him, it's hardly ever a good experience for him. Most of the time when we take our walks we come across friendly larger breeds who might just want to say hi but he gets scared anyway. I generally avoid and cross the road. When you're only 3kgs big and there's a lab's head that's as big as you are, trying to get a sniff of you it's very daunting. My dog never reacts well, he always pulls his head away and tries to get away from them which is quite hard as he's normally on lead and the other dogs tend to just move and still follow him.

The only way my dog ever feels comfortable with a larger breed is in a more non-confrontational situation, where he gets time to slowly sniff/ get to know the other dog. Once that's done then he's fine, but on walks when two strange dogs meet face-to-face, it's extremely difficult.

So really, bottom line is that I think SWF owners have a catch-22 sort of thing. Their dogs normally experience a bad encounter with a larger breed which results in them prone to acting aggressive back out of fear. And socialization is great in theory but under the normal, everyday settings extremely difficult to conduct since a) random owners on the street will not be overly willing to give you 15 mins of their time and b) your dog is already stressed/fearful. Hence why I'm guessing most SWF owners just avoid and their dog's issues are never really corrected. I'm guilty of doing that. I don't have $200 to pay for a behaviorist to come every week. I try and manage the best way that I can but I'm also aware that while I'm keeping my dog safe, it's not necessarily helping him in the long run.

I think generally everyone (especially big breed owners) assumes that owners of SWFs who have "small dog syndrome" don't care, or they're just "bad owners". I don't think this is true. It's just unbelievable tricky to socialize a dog that's so small, the fear is ingrained with practically every single dog you may encounter. Many owners like myself probably just feel a bit helpless.

Edited June 19, 2010 by chichihuahua

[corvus]

You could try to set up a park with membership like they do in the States. Some of them have keycard entry. If someone's dog plays up they can always get their membership revoked.

Incidentally, it's adaptive for people to have a negative judgement bias in these cases. I make mistakes where I think it won't be all right and then it is, but I have never judged it would be okay and it wasn't. I have learnt to watch my dogs. They have better judgement about other dogs than I do, because they are dogs. They have taught me that most of the time when I freak out actually nothing bad is going to happen. It's hard to trust them, and I won't until they are socially mature, but then it's worth it. I learn when to freak out and when not to.

ETA there's a lady that brings 3 Chis to our dog park. They don't want to play with my dogs, but they will come over and greet. They seem to quite enjoy the park. It's big and unfenced, so if they don't want to interact with other dogs they generally don't have to. I doubt they will ever be confident playing with bigger dogs, but one of Erik's best pals is a little SWF that started out hating the dog park. He now tears around like a maniac and doesn't even mind if Kivi joins Erik in chasing him around at high speed. He gets rolled sometimes and just bounces to his feet and keeps going. I am in awe of him. He is the most confident little dog I've ever seen, and when his owners told me they got him from the pound and he started out terrified of other dogs my jaw dropped. I've known small dogs that were raised with large dogs that are quite confident with strange big dogs as well.

Edited June 19, 2010 by corvus