Advice For Helping Puppy Recover From Dog Attack

[kittikat]

thommomac

Have just caught up with this horrible news about Sid !!!

From memory you are not far from me...when you feel he his better from his ordeal ...the boyz & I can come to you

for on lead socialisation - if that helps as per suggestions...anything to help him with his recovery ...Just pm me

Please let us know how he is going

Sending you healing Frenchy vibes ........

;) ;)

[percyk]

im so sorry to read this...i know what you are going through

over the many years of dog ownership we have had a few of our pups attacked...not to the point of ripped skin but certainly it spooked them

two definitely were affected and now that i know a lot more id definitely be getting the dog assessed quickly by a behaviourist or at least be phoning around for advice

my two boys became very wary of dogs ...one..a spaniel would bark at any dog approaching but wouldnt engage in any aggressive behaviour...it was a sharpei that went for him when he was about 20 weeks old...walking on a lead and the sharpei was off lead and out of control

the other was humped by a lab and didnt like labs from that point on

our senior girl here was attacked at dog training as a pup and she is also wary of big dogs...never plays with them but is fine with little dogs

i know of a small dog that was mauled by an anatolian in an offleash area but he went on to be fine with other dogs...well at least he paid them no mind...he became very overweight anyway and would just sit with his owners afterwards but never displayed fear or aggression that were obvious

i do so hope your precious pup recovers...this is such an awful time for you...be strong and have faith...it may be rocky at times but hopefully the vet will do a great job

will be thinking of you

[Frodo's mum]

oh no I'm soooooo sorry to hear about Sid....sending you all big ;) and wishing Sid a speedy recovery ...please let us know how he is.

another reason i don't like off leash parks.....or there should be a section for smaller dogs at least

[SammieS]

I was only thinking the other day that we haven't heard from you in ages, and now I'm so sorry to hear about Sid and words can't describe how sad I am that Sid had to experience this. We have just got home from a local dog park where I am so thankful that the big dogs are all very polite and its a well controlled environment, if something seem weird (all dogs barking, forming in groups) we leave.

I also want to send you healing Frenchy vibes and please keep us updated in the Frenchie Thread...

[traciemc]

So sorry to hear this happened to Sid, what a terrible thing for you all.

Huey sends his love and healing frenchy vibes for a quick recovery

[thommomac]

Hi everyone

Thank you so much for all the supportive and helpful replies, it has really helped us. We have reported the attack to the council and the local ranger is investigating. The person who was walking the dog is very angry at us for reporting it, which made my blood boil as it just shows she has no idea how serious it is and it has reinforced we are doing the right thing.

I can't believe how many of you have had similar experiences, it's quite scary, I had never heard of this happening to anyone else before.

We are going to give our trainer who we did obedience with a call to organize some sessions and talk through how we can help Sid recover psychologically and we'll follow her advice. As many of you pointed out, a huge part of it is going to be us being able to relax and not make it a big deal for him. He is very jumpy at the moment and barking alot which he has never done before. So sad.

Physically he is slowly getting better, he's very up and down, obviously still in quite a bit of pain and only wants to lie on my lap and have cuddles. he was already a bit spoilt so I have to watch it and not smother him, it's so hard when I look into those innocent brown eyes and think that we nearly lost him.

I only wish we had understood how dangerous off lead parks could be - I now realize how naiive I was to think that because we knew everyone and their dogs it was ok. I thought we were doing the right thing socialising him and he seemed to have such a good time. Unless our dog trainer has strong advice to the contrary I think we will only let him play with other small dogs that we know and no more off lead parks with other dogs.

Thanks also to the lovely frenchie thread for their support and offers of help (KK09).

Thanks so much again and hugs to all your lovely dogs.

Sid says thanks and sends big puppy licks!

[Oliversmum]

Poor little Sid. Wishing him a speedy recovery.

[wootaanddawn]

You need to take photos of him after his surgery. so you can insist on the owners paying the bills, even though at the moment this is a secondary thought for you, it needs to nr requested sooner or later. your photos will assist to validate the expense should you need to take it to court.

You need to report the dog/incident, so that it does not happen to another luvly puppy.

You then need to concentrate on the re habilitation of your beautiful Sid. take it slowly and let the healing be your first priority, then later when you need to keep him quite you need a good sized crate, this will help.

then you will be spending time on taking him out for recovery. good luck and please keep us informed of his recover. lots of luv and kisses to Sid.

[megan_]

Wishing Sid the best. There are some great off leash parks, and some nightmare ones. Can I ask which park this happened at?

[spottychick]

awww poor baby looks so sad! Sending lots of healing vibes and spotty-dog kisses!

[poodlefan]

Sorry to hear about the attack.

You did the right thing reporting it. First goal should be that the dog that attacked yours NEVER sets foot in an offleash park again. With the attitude the owner of that dog was displaying, only council involvement will achieve that goal.

These sorts of things happen more often than a lot of folk realise.

[vernie]

i am reallly sorry to hear about poor sid

please report the attack - you never know who else may have been attacked in the past.

Even if they are unemployed, it's no excuse not to take responsibility for their dog's actions- whatever they can afoord to contribute will help.

i would hate to ever be in that situation and it makes me upset thinking that some poor little doggy has been hurt over someone else's negligence.

pats to you little sid.

[mortonplace]

Aww poor young man Sid l hope he recovers soon.

l think it will take time for him to want to trust another dog again.

Do you own another dog?

ld try him with a puppy once ready and like others have said get pro advice also.

Thats so sad as Frenchies really dont forget things fast

Poor little mite l hope he gets well soon fingers crossed for him, you and your hubby that would have been horifying

[Bilbo Baggins]

dancinbcs I am sorry that some of your post is unaccepatable.

I suggest that you attend Kepala and discover how dogs of all sizes can get on.

Big and small dogs can interact, BUT the owners must be responsible.

The attacking dog obviously did not have responsible owners.

I belive the best bet would go though your original trainer to help the wee lad develop his trust in other dogs again.

Hope he recovers quickly.

[thommomac]

Wishing Sid the best. There are some great off leash parks, and some nightmare ones. Can I ask which park this happened at?

Hey Megan

We take Sid to Princes Park (North Carlton), Edinborough Gardens (Fitzroy North) and Fleming Park (Brunwick East). This happened at Fleming Park. I'd love to know your thoughts on the great off leash parks in Melbourne?

Thanks

[Joel]

Don't let your dog play with the Staffy again. Once there has been a fight the friendship will never be the same again.

I tend to disagree. A lot of people on here have said that you shouldn't let your dog play with the staffy again, but I think that this will only hurt your dog further. If Sid doesn't have a chance to get over it (which dogs are really good at), then of course you're going to end up with behavioral problems. Its the same for people who get attacked by dogs. When do you ever hear of someone giving advice to someone whos been bitten by a dog, saying "you should never be around them again"? Having said that, I wouldn't do it at a dog park and I would be supervising the whole thing. From the sounds of it, the Sid and the Staffy got on well before the incident - theres no reason why they can't still. I know that my Dachshund used to fight with my Grandma's Fox Terrier (we lived at her house) occasionally (they couldn't figure out between them where their place was in the pack -_-) and sometimes it would be brutal, but afterwards, they were better friends than ever - very sorry indeed.

Personally, I would be reporting it (which you have ) just so theres a record of it (in case it happens again (or on a number of occasions)). At the end of the day, it's hard for anyone here to really say whos fault it was - we weren't there. For all we know, it was Sid's (im not saying that it was, im just illustrating our inability to judge whether any of the dogs involved are 'vicious' because none of us (including you) were there). That said, I wouldn't be going back to the dog park. I personally feel that they are an environment fraught with danger. There are just too many people who take their dogs there who haven't had the slightest bit of training and so many who have just had their dogs inside (or stuck outside) for weeks, not seeing anybody, only to be released into a zoo of hyperactive, dominant, anxious dogs. And people wonder why theres problems It's a shame, because unless you own a huge backyard or a farm, then dog parks are generally the only places you're allowed to have your dog off lead. That means if you live in a little flat, then either you brave the dog park, go in the middle of the night when nobody's there, or your dog has to be stuck on the end of a lead for its whole life outside.

What I suggest is to get your trainer to give you a hand re-socializing Sid again. Maybe invite the Staffy owner (along with the Staffy obviously) to a training session where they can be around other well balanced dogs and be supervised and see how that goes. If they dont want to come, then so be it.

Anyway, it's good to hear that Sid is ok and getting better. I hope he's back in action soon I hate seeing (or hearing about) dogs being hurt Make sure to post a pic when he's all better and running around playing like a puppy should

P.S. Wouldn't it be great if people had to pass a test with their dogs to be allowed to go to dog parks? I think it would solve most of the problems regarding unsocial behavior.

Edited August 3, 2010 by Joel