Puppy Attacked On Holiday.. Any Advice?

[Kobi'sDaisy]

Hey all, we had a very scary experience yesterday.. our 6 month old was rushed and attacked my a escaped dog yesterday! He is thankfully OK, but as it was a first dog attack on my first dog I thought I would put it out there and see if I could have done anything differently (although when it happens so fast who can think?!).

I had read a bit about dogs attacking for future reference and had applied a bit of it when it all went down.

So here is the situation:

We have gone on holiday and after a massive drive arrived at our family's place where we would be leaving puppy the next day. Out for a walk with OH's sister when this large dog comes rushing out of an open gate straight across the road full bolt towards us. I tried to get in front of Kobi and sternly told the dog to "Back Off" which he didn't and got around me and tried to latch onto Kobi. The next bit is a bit blurred but i managed to get the dog off Kobi and pin in down while yelling for the owner.To top it off Kobi had gotten out of his collar and ran onto the road and i had to stop a car while i calmed him enough to come back to me!

I know we we're both very lucky to come out of it with no puncture's and i only have a few cuts and bruises from the concrete as went down trying to defend. I know i did wrong grabbing the other dog by the collar as it could have easily gone for me, but as i said wasn't really thinking once the "fight or flight" kicked in.

So.. any tips for next time? I know people have mentioned kicking the dog which i probably should have done straight up. I am quite a small gal and am always nervous I wont be able to stop it next time

Kobi perked up back at the house, although we had to walk home and was on alert the whole time and quite scared. Unfortunately we then had to leave a few hours later (first time away from us) so i'm really hoping he will be OK, mentally, with it all. The advice on just acting normal and watching him a little closer in normal doggy play seems like what we will do. Any other tips to try and avoid him becoming fearful with other dogs, especially ones in the front yards of houses?

Sorry about the long post, needed to get it off my chest, most frightening moment of my life!

[Keira&Phoenix]

I am so sorry to hear you and your pup had to go through this.

I know what you mean everything just happens in the biggest blur and by the time the adrenaline stops pumping it is hard to remember what exactly happened.

I think the main thing is Kobi clearly saw that you tried to protect him that is important. The fact he came out with no scratches/bites because you acted quickly is also very good.

The only thing you could have done differently is to get behind the dog and grab it by the back legs and lift as high as you can and walk backwards, even if the dog hasn't gotten hold of your dog this will stop the attacking dog from getting to yours and from being able to turn on you. I have used this technique in a situation where a dog has latched onto another dogs face and it worked very well. The dog that was attacked came out with very minor puncture wounds and no rips or tears.

As you said keep an eye on his interactions with other dogs and make sure he is calm. When you do take him for walks after this make sure they are fun and give him lots of rewards, if you see another dog in a yard and he ignores or doesn't react make sure you give him treats/praise/pats which ever is your preferred method of reward. Also try not to be hyper vigilant, tense, anxious etc during walks as this will transfer to the dog and make Kobi anxious also.

I hope you and your dog are both ok, I know it is scary but you did a great job. Unfortunately with the amount of idiot owners out there it is possible you may be faced with this or a similar situation again in the future, at least you know what to do, try to feel confident in the fact you have dealt with this situation.

Edited July 3, 2011 by Keira&Phoenix

[Oskar & Zsa Zsa]

That is a frightening thing to happen. I may not have reacted as calmly as you had. I think considering you did extremely well to keep a large lab off Kobi. I hope someone speaks to the owner of the dog? that shouldn't be allowed to happen!

[poodlefan]

1. Report the incident. That sounded like a pretty serious dog and you did well to get Kobi out of it as you did.

2. Just make sure to socialise Kobi as soon as you can with dogs you know will behave appropriately.

Its scarey when it happens, isn't it.

[tlc]

What Poodlefan said!

Sorry I have to totally disagree with K&P method of extracting the attacking dog, this can result in the other dog having serious injuries, I have seen this done and the side of the dog being attacked was ripped apart because the attacking dog had latched on. You will get lots of responses here on the best way to intervene, I think you have to judge the situation as it happens.

Get your pup amonst other dogs ASAP and on future walk try to be calm and collected so puppy gets positive vibes off you, if he is reacting passing houses ignore and move on and treat when he is calm.

[Kobi'sDaisy]

Thanks so much everyone for your advice and letting me know I did OK, I cant stop looking back to find things I could have done differently but overall I think it was all pretty good. I am going to report it, need to find the address and i am going to put it in writing to the local council in the town.

I had heard that you can grab a dogs hind legs and walk backwards and in a circle to help break it up but as it happened so fast i never had a chance to implement what i wanted to do in that situation!

Unfortunately we are not back there for another few days but it seems he is going well with family there. We will do our best when walking him and socialising him over the next few weeks, looking forward to getting him back home into his usual environment and doggy friends.

Now i'm just scared its going to be two dogs next time.. no idea how to handle that one, almost want to take a stick with me!!

thanks again everyone, it is very good to know i did some good things and i'm so thankful everyone is OK

[dancinbcs]

Thanks so much everyone for your advice and letting me know I did OK, I cant stop looking back to find things I could have done differently but overall I think it was all pretty good. I am going to report it, need to find the address and i am going to put it in writing to the local council in the town.

I had heard that you can grab a dogs hind legs and walk backwards and in a circle to help break it up but as it happened so fast i never had a chance to implement what i wanted to do in that situation!

Unfortunately we are not back there for another few days but it seems he is going well with family there. We will do our best when walking him and socialising him over the next few weeks, looking forward to getting him back home into his usual environment and doggy friends.

Now i'm just scared its going to be two dogs next time.. no idea how to handle that one, almost want to take a stick with me!!

thanks again everyone, it is very good to know i did some good things and i'm so thankful everyone is OK

A stick will sometimes put dogs on the defensive. Better to carry a large automatic opening umbrella or a stockwhip. You want something to deter the dog with before it gets to your dog. I carry a short stockwhip and know how to crack it safely. My dogs are trained to stand next to me while I crack the whip but the noise is usually enough to deter most dogs from continuing to run at mine. If they keep coming a good whack across the face usually works. I usually don't walk anywhere near houses and make sure I walk in areas with a clear view in most directions. Have had far to many dogs attacked on walks over the years to ever risk walking anywhere near loose dogs again. It really has taken a lot of the joy out of owning dogs. As a child, I walked my dog for miles and only ever had trouble with the Scottie that lived round the corner. He was small enough to kick so could prevent him from latching on but other than that there were no dog agressive dogs around anywhere. Now almost everyone with a dog in my area has Staffies, Amstaffs and Pitbulls and crosses of these breeds and none of them are trained. Definitely not a safe area to walk a dog.

[cornell]

I really feel for you as I know that this can be a horrific experience.

Just a thought... has Kobi been desexed? I have read that having your dog desexed can help the way other dogs react to him.

Have other forum members found this to be true? Was your dog desexed when it was attacked?

I also wonder what is the best way to handle the situation.

Has anyone been attacked themselves by a strange dog while breaking up a dog fight?

Also how did you heal from the experience? Humans seem to have a tougher time over this as they are fully aware of the potential of the situation and are aware that it could happen again at any time.

Wishing you lots of healing energy and I hope that you continue to get lots of wise advice.

[erinonthefarm]

I really feel for you as I know that this can be a horrific experience.

Just a thought... has Kobi been desexed? I have read that having your dog desexed can help the way other dogs react to him.

Have other forum members found this to be true? Was your dog desexed when it was attacked?

I also wonder what is the best way to handle the situation.

Has anyone been attacked themselves by a strange dog while breaking up a dog fight?

Also how did you heal from the experience? Humans seem to have a tougher time over this as they are fully aware of the potential of the situation and are aware that it could happen again at any time.

Wishing you lots of healing energy and I hope that you continue to get lots of wise advice.

I had my nine month old Dobermann attacked by another male dog two weeks ago. He has since been desexed as was planned, but I have been wondering if it will help prevent future attacks. He has been fine with a number of female dogs after his attack, but so far hasn't met another male since.

My husband was with me when our dog was attacked and basically choked the other dog off ours. I feel quite traumatised by the experience however our dog was quite unconcerned, even a little excited by the whole thing.

I was most dissapointed to see same dog off lead out walking again, I haven't taken our dog for a walk near our house since, only in other places where I know this dog won't be

[fainty_girl]

I hope your pup is alright!

A while ago another dog went for my dog Tilly at the park. We had just arrived there and kept Tilly on the lead to walk through to the next area of the park (not something I normally did, my dad just suggested it that time). This other dog that would easily have been twice the size of Tilly and a whole heap stronger and it went straight for Tilly while the owner of the dog just stood by and watched. My dad gave this dog a strong kick to its side and this was enough to get the dog away from Tilly. We kept on walking along after that and this dog came over towards us a few minutes later and my dad used a very gruff voice and basically told the dog where to go and it went away from us then and didn't come near us again.

So a good kick to the side worked in that situation, but had I been by myself I wouldn't have been able to give this dog such a good kick like my dad had!

[Mumsie]

I am sorry you and your dog had to go through this, sudden dog attacks are very scary.

What concerned me was that your dog slipped its lead, possibly consider buying a halter style to prevent escaping from the lead in the future.

[dancinbcs]

I am sorry you and your dog had to go through this, sudden dog attacks are very scary.

What concerned me was that your dog slipped its lead, possibly consider buying a halter style to prevent escaping from the lead in the future.

Dogs can slip halters very easily and should always be used with a collar and second lead for this reason. A martingale collar is a better idea to avoid the dog slipping it's head out.

[MissMaddy]

What a scary thing to happen. My last GSD was attacked by an escaped dog (she commonly escaped from home according to the locals) while her son watched on while we were away on holidays with her. She actually got my girl on her back (although I'd say she probably submitted pretty quickly), and then started dragging her across the car park. We were sitting outside at a general store, and there were about 3-4 people there who all came to help. I tried kicking the other bitch, with absolutely no affect. It wasn't until a chair was broken over her head (she was hit with it twice) that she released enough to get my girl out. Once they were separated, the other dogs took off. My girl had some dog agression after that, which was basically hackling up and growling at approaching dogs. Luckily, she never took it further (I'd say as she wasn't at a critical period helped this a lot too), and I knew some local people (once home) with friendly dogs, and she never developed full on dog agression. She did, however, develop separation anxiety following, and I can only assume it was because I wasn't able to protect her, I'm not sure what else caused it (although she did have it very mildly prior).

My only suggestion (and sorry I haven't read all the responses to know if it's been suggested), apart from getting your dog to the vet if you haven't already, is to find another, VERY calm adult dog to introduce your pup to asap. He needs to know other dogs aren't scary and won't all attack him. The sooner he is around calm, non intimidating dogs the better.

ETA- and we did report this attack to the ranger, and saw our vet straight away for a report to back up our claim against the council. This was before the dangerous dog laws (14 years ago) I think, and as there was no "broken" skin on my girl, I don't know what happened to the other dog. My girl did have a graze on her shoulder, but luckily she had enough fur around her neck that no other damage was done.

Edited July 6, 2011 by MissMaddy

[Kobi'sDaisy]

Thanks again everyone for the good advice. Glad to say we picked up Kobi a few days ago and he is now home and perfectly normal! Our walk to the dog park was fine yesterday and we have a usual group that goes down there and he was very happy to be back with his doggy friends. Think I was more worried than he was and carefully watched all interactions but all was good! I'll still be watching for a while (always watch, but more so) to make sure all is good, even had dogs running after him which i thought might freak him out as the other dog charged from the other side of the road.

He hasn't been de-sexed as we wanted to wait until he was 12 months old, although hearing that entire dogs are more likely to be attacked is food for thought.

We are just happy to get home and back to normality!

We are reporting it, although with no actual damage to me or the dog not sure what will happen, but at least they will be aware.

Thanks again for the advice and support and it never happens again.

[B-Q]

How scary.

My boy Buster is DA from being bullied and bossed around by loose dogs as a puppy, he's come a long way but he's never going to be dog friendly outside the yard. For this reason I always have him contained or oneleash when out of the yard. I just couldnt' face either him starting a fight with a bigger dog or hurting/mentally scarring someone elses dog. When I used to run with him I would often have to pass a house with 2-3 kelpies that would come out and circle us, thankfully they never took it any further and soon leanred to keep a good distance after a few loud roars from me, water squirted to the face and rocks thrown at them.

Now with Quinn I am extremely careful, even with extensive socialisation she is an incredibly timid dog with other dogs.My area is pretty good for loose dogs, I've only ever run into 3, one was an overly friendly amstaff that freaked her out a bit and followed us home so I ran Quinn in, took him down to the vet, he had a chip and they got him home, havn't seen him since. The other 2 belonged to a council worker working down near my road, 2 over friendly, no manners staffy mixes tore across the road, didn't back off when I yelled at them and I ended up with one them pinned to the ground by their neck. Finally the owner noticed, roared at them for 2 minutes and they eventually went back to him, my sister was with me so while I took Quinn home she went over the road and gave him a serve, told him if she saw them again she was calling the council. I'm just so glad I had Quinn not Buster or we would have been breaking up a 3 dog brawl.

I think the best things I learnt with Buster is how to be scary, most dogs do back off to a "NO!" or "GET HOME!" but its terrifying when they don't and I'm thankful everyday that Quinn is light enough to be picked up easily.