Effects Of Meeting Agressive Dogs?

[PoppyDog]

Over the weekend Poppy and I went to stay with my cousins on the coast. My cousins have 2 JRT X's and two small children aged 4 and 2. So the new environment and people and small children was all very exciting for Pop's! She was so well behaved and so beautiful with the children. Made me very proud! Hehe!

We also met with some friends of ours who have 2 BC's that are 2 years old and a 6 year old and 8 year old. We took the dogs (Poppy and the 2 BC's) and went to the beach for a big walk. It was great. Poppy sniffed "Hello" to lots of different dogs. None of them reacted badly to her and she didn't react badly to any. It was interesting to see a Sibe/Husky sniff her all friendly like and then a minute later get its heckles up at on of the BC's. I wonder why dogs react differently to others. Hmmm...

Anyway back to my cousins and their two JRT X's. One they got as a young pup. He was well socialised, went to puppy preschool and obedience and was a great little dog. Then they got number 2. He was adopted by them at 10 months of age and from what my cousins could gather he was basically ignored for the first 10 months of his life. His owners didn't have time for him and thats why they rehomed him.

So he was always a bit more agressive towards other dogs but since my cousins have moved to the coastal hinterland they admit the doggies haven't been socialised as much as they were when they lived in the city.

So we tried to introduce Poppy to them 1 at a time. On leash of course. It was horrible. I've never seen a dog do that and I've never seen Poppy so afraid. She was hiding behind my legs as the JRT X pulled on the leash so hard that his collar was almost choking him. He also made the "I want to rip your throat out" noise and little yappy barks. The second JRT did the same thing.

Later when my cousin went into the laundry to feed them Poppy whimpered and ran under my chair!

I almost didn't start this thread for fear of being told I did something wrong by exposing Poppy to this but I want to know if this experience could have or will have any negative effect on her? It's the ONLY negative experience she has had with other dogs and he positive ones are plentiful!

Thanks in advance.

[lanabanana]

That's a good question.

I once had a dog who when young was attacked by a certain breed of dog when he was young, and forever after, he always got aggressive if he saw that particular breed and would attempt to attack them first.

He was awesome with all other dogs, just not that breed. So I would say he was definitely affected but all dogs ar edifferent so it may not affect all.

[Skye GSD]

We currently have extended family as house guests and they have brought their 5 yr old miniature fox terrier (Holly) with them.

She is the cutest little thing but very much a lap dog and terribly spoilt. The problem we have is that she wants to kill my dog :D - Skye is a 14 mth old GSD so cannot understand why this stupid little thing continually attacks her through the ranch slider - baring her teeth.

Skye will ignore most of the time but I don't fancy having to prise Holly from her mouth if she decides to retaliate for the bad manners being displayed.

We have had to keep them apart for most of the time but I have now decided enough is enough and this is Skye's house so she is not going to be relegated to outside just because the house guest does not like her.

Skye can also be reactive to other dogs so I don't want this to create a problem with small dogs as to date she has been great with them so Holly is now relegated to the bedroom when I feel it is time for Skye to enjoy our company inside.

You cannot force dogs to be friends just because the humans are and I for one would rather take precautions and avoid the vet bills at all cost.

[wuffles]

My Ava is 9 months old and she has met all kinds of dogs. She's been told off for being too boisterous and annoying many, many times. She's met a few that have taken a dislike to her (but she has never been hurt). After each encounter with a dog, whether it be friendly, unfriendly, indifferent... she modifies her behaviour and I can see her little brain ticking away. She has learned that not all dogs want to play with her and for her, this has been a good thing. She hasn't shown any signs of aggression to any other dogs (touch wood).

All dogs are different, but that's just my experience. I would make sure you keep socialising her with known, friendly dogs so that she has more positive experiences :D

[PoppyDog]

Hmm, interesting. You could tell Poppy was VERY confused by the whole situation. She lay on the ground and did the whole submissive thing and then when this JRT X came for her again she scuttled away, tail between her legs, to hide behind me. And you could tell she was thinking WTF is this dog doing. I did nothing!

I think knowing that these dogs were in the laundry made her anxious. She slept like a log on Sat night. RIGHT next to me. Like up next to my head. She usually sleeps in her own bed or at the feet of our bed.

I think next time I will stay with our friends with the BC's. They were so calm and happy together. Ususally Poppy goes inot crazy play mode and doesn't stop but she was very chilled with these two BC's and while they did have play they also seemed relaxed together. :D

[ESCS]

We have a dog who has fear aggression issues with other dogs when on a lead. He has been very anxious when we go for walks and has been since he came to live with us even with socialisation at puppy pre-school, weekly attendance at day care etc. We have been working with a trainer to address these issues and he has come a long way. Unfortunately, we had an incident a couple of weeks ago where an aggressive dog escaped his owner and yard as we were passing by and leapt first at me and then our dog, snarling and growling the whole time. Luckily he was muzzled and there were no injuries but it absolutely terrified our dog. It would have been his worse fears coming true (being attacked by a much bigger dog when he is on lead and can't escape). I really did not believe that he would get over this incident but with advise and support from our trainer, he has been able to move on from this incident although he was incredibly fearful and anxious the first few days after the attack. Our trainer had told me that our dog would take his lead from me and that I had to work hard to ensure strong leadership. She said that if I remained calm, confident and relaxed, he will respond to this. She also recommended going for walks during quiet times for a while as well as organising play dates and walks with calm friendly dogs. This has helped and he has regained his confidence to the point we can walk past the house where the attack occurred without any signs of stress from him. While he is still a reactive dog, he is now at least back to where he was before the dog incident.

I don't know much about dog behaviour being reasonably new to owning a dog but this was our experience. I hope Poppy recovers from her bad experience quickly.

[corvus]

I think it depends on the age of the dog, their temperament, their experiences with dogs to date and the experiences they have from this point on.

To me, the most important thing is that if my dogs attempt to control the situation in a non-aggressive manner they should be successful. This is because my dogs are very well socialised and quite confident. If they become extremely submissive if confronted with an aggressive dog it is because that is the best way they know to avoid trouble in this particular situation. The trouble seems to be coming at them full ball, so they ramp up the submissive signals to match the intensity of the situation. My chief concern would be to make sure this does what they want it to do, which is to protect them. 99% of the time it naturally does just that. That's why it's their first reaction when they are afraid they will get attacked, and for younger dogs (under 2 years) it tends to be exaggerated.

If one of my dogs behaved the way Poppy did, I would take them away from the other dogs and then just let them be wherever they wanted to be. They will learn that there's no need to be worried about the dogs in the laundry if nothing bad happens to them. I think it would be unusual for something like this to affect my dogs long term. Like wuffles' Ava, they get snapped at and just shrug it off. They shrug it off because they need only retreat and they have successfully controlled the situation in that the dog is no longer coming after them.

[greytpets]

I have 2 small dogs, a male JRX & a female mixed breed of similar size. They are both feral when meeting other dogs on lead but are friendly when off lead. The female will only approach other small breed dogs off lead as she isn't that confident with larger dogs but the male will approach anything regardless of size.

At home when large dogs vist the female will growl at first but once she realises they are okay she is okay. Their motto is that attack is the best form of defense

Perhaps if you'd taken all 3 dogs to a neutral area & had the little dogs off lead the meeting might have gone differently? I don't know these little dogs but poor manners on lead when meeting other dogs is rather common with small dogs (as just about any dog owner can tell you ). I try to avoid encounters as much as possible but my dogs really aren't that aggressive just noisey.

[juice]

Where did you introduce them? On their turf?

Always a good rule, meet on nuetral territory, go for a walk, keep a bit apart, walk relaxed and chatty, and gradually move closer , keep moving all the time.

Always works for me, everyone comes home pooped and walk in the yard together.

[PoppyDog]

I think that all her great experiences with other dogs will hopefully over ride this one!

It's interesting that someone else said they could see their dogs brain ticking over as they thought about how to react to the actions of the other dog. I really saw this in Poppy too!

A bit later she went and chased one of their chickens! Naughty Poppy! But came straight back to me when I called her! Good Poppy! My cousins joked that she was getting her own back as the chickens were the same colour and similar size as one of their dogs.

I wouldn't be comfortable having all three dogs off leash. I just wouldn't. So I think they are just 2 doggies that aren't going to be playmates for Poppy!