Bad Experiences With Your Dog

[mixeduppup]

I know quite a few dogs that are reactive just because their owners are.

how can you determine this?

I know them personally

[Alison03]

I'm so sorry to hear you've had a bad experience, I know how it feels. My dog is non reactive and very easy going, we've been rushed by dogs and she's been knocked over and pinned down, I shout now and grab the offending dogs by the skin and hair on their backs to haul them off if I think she's going to get hurt, I give them "a thousand years of my evolution".

Don't be hard on yourself. Have a cuppa and a Chocolate biscuit : )

Alison03 you sound like a total bad*ss in the best way and I need to take a leaf from your book :laugh: I definitely need to work on my confidence when we're out and about, I am small and I hate confrontation with strangers. I have been good with just calling Hank away from potentially bad situations but I guess I didn't react quickly enough this time. All I could muster up was a surprised "hey!" and I gave them both an evil look as they walked away. Now I am going to do that annoying thing where I stew all day over everything I could've said to those 2 arseholes

A cuppa is a very good idea I think!

You'll get there, I'm small too and all I want is peace in my time, I hate confrontation but I don't shrink from it anymore, if someone goes out of their way to spoil my day, I'm going bounce it right back at them. Inconsiderate, irresponsible people do my head in and bring out my more assertive side.

When you see something going pear shaped, dogs charging towards you for instance, just take a deep breath and yell, "Hey stop", better to use a deep tone like a man, dogs, horses, adults and kids respond better to that. The noise also attracts attention. You'll get passed the embarrassment factor eventually.

I've had dog owners snap leads onto their dogs at the sight of me, I've got small person syndrome and I don't care.

:-))

[Alison03]

Don't be hard on yourself. Have a cuppa and a Chocolate biscuit : )

A cuppa is a very good idea I think!

Don't forget the chocolate biscuit. But, if you don't want it, I'll take it. :)

The chocolate biscuit is the important part, it's the cure for everything. :-))

[Staffyluv]

Have a whole packet of chocolate biscuits. I have a reactive dog who will bite so I have learned what is known as "the voice of god" or in my words getting the big girl panties on. Stand in front. get your really biggest, deepest voice and command them to go away. It's scary so you can practice at home but you get used to it and its surprisingly effective. You were taken by surprise today but unfortunately there are so many irresponsible owners that its going to happen again.

Totally agree - learn to be assertive with oncoming dogs. Stand in front of your dog and growl a big, mean 'no, get' and mean it..

I have had more success with this than anything else.

It is going to happen again and again because so many people think it is OK for their dogs to be uncontrolled off lead and to approach other dogs - it's the world we live in as dog owners.

The key is to act like it wasn't a big deal as Hank will look to you for the appropriate way to behave. So a dog roughed him up and bit him on the leg, to you it's horrible and to him it's something he's already forgotten about so don't remind him. :)

I also agree with MUP - dogs live in the now, just move him away as soon as you can, as calmly as you can and go home if 'you' need to. He would probably have been fine in a couple of minutes and sniffing around again.

[Alison03]

I know quite a few dogs that are reactive just because their owners are.

It is possible to be loud and assertive without your dog getting distressed, I click my fingers at my dog, which means "stay and wait", she just stands and waits for me to say "OK". If I see a dog coming at speed towards us that's what I do, before the shouting starts. It works for her she's not reactive at all even after some of my epic productions.

It is bad doggie manners to rush at another dog, it's usually done by dominant dogs or goofy puppies. Some owners thinks it normal dog behavior but it's really not.

[Guest hankodie]

ugh What awful ignorant and inconsiderate owners Hankodie

Poor Hank, sounds like it was a pretty scary moment for him.

As others have said, I think the best thing you can do is go back to that spot and also get him to have more good interactions with appropriate dogs. I think if you'll do this he'll be fine :)

Thansk raineth :) I think I will take him again in the next couple of days. We love going to that spot, we were there yesterday and it was a beautiful day, we set up a picnic spot and Hank chilled out and watched the ducks go past. There was the occaisonial dog but all were on leads with polite owners. It would be a shame if he associated that spot with scary things

Should i just do some training or try to play some games in that spot next time maybe?

[Guest hankodie]

What assholes I can and will have a big go at anyone who messes with my dogs.

Hopefully hank is ok, I'm not sure where in NSW you are, but I have 3 older dogs who're all great with younger dogs if you need someone to interact with :)

That's so kind of you LMSW, thanks so much for the offer. I'm an hour outside of Sydney so it's probably too far but if it isn't I'll PM you! :)

[Loving my Oldies]

I know quite a few dogs that are reactive just because their owners are.

how can you determine this?

I think if you see people often enough, you can get the vibes from the people as well.

[raineth]

ugh What awful ignorant and inconsiderate owners Hankodie

Poor Hank, sounds like it was a pretty scary moment for him.

As others have said, I think the best thing you can do is go back to that spot and also get him to have more good interactions with appropriate dogs. I think if you'll do this he'll be fine :)

Thansk raineth :) I think I will take him again in the next couple of days. We love going to that spot, we were there yesterday and it was a beautiful day, we set up a picnic spot and Hank chilled out and watched the ducks go past. There was the occaisonial dog but all were on leads with polite owners. It would be a shame if he associated that spot with scary things

Should i just do some training or try to play some games in that spot next time maybe?

I think you don't necessarily need to do that. If it's not normally a place where you'd do that, then I wouldn't necessarily do it unless he's obviously worried :) But yes do make it a nice pleasant experience for him :)

I'm sure he'll be fine, especially if you follow the incident up with some positive experiences in that area and in with other dogs :)

[minimax]

How long is your lead if Hank was that far away from you that you couldn't get to him?

[persephone]

The key is to act like it wasn't a big deal as Hank will look to you for the appropriate way to behave. So a dog roughed him up and bit him on the leg, to you it's horrible and to him it's something he's already forgotten about so don't remind him. :)

zakly! :) not all dogs love other dogs ..and often dogs/puppies will get bowled over/growled at or nipped. It's what dogs do.

If he has a wound..get it treated ..but you didn't mention blood or limping or anything ....

There are bites, and there are nips and there are 'corrections'/show off bites ...

The dogs should not have been off-lead - but just by your description , it seems these two were reminding hank he is a new boy, a youngster, and it's THEIR turf.

Scary? Yes.

Were you more upset than puppy? DEFINITELY! ;)

Puppy pee'd . yep .. that 's what puppies do to show they are little & submitting .....often I find that after a puppy rolls over & pees , then the other dog/s will have a proper sniff .. then seem to say .."Oh" "OK Squirt..no hard feelings ..just Don't come here again"

[Guest hankodie]

How long is your lead if Hank was that far away from you that you couldn't get to him?

Not long at all, maybe 1.2 meters. I didn't word my original post very well, when I wrote "call him towards me" I meant that in situations like these I usually call him to my knee so that we can pass the offleash dog and I can position myself in the middle but this time around I had no time to react and he was on the end of the lead having a sniff when they approached.

Edited October 7, 2013 by hankodie

[OSoSwift]

He will most likely be fine, you will remember it for a lot longer. Take him around safe dogs as suggested and yes learn to imbrace your innner tough guy.

Stand infront of him and yell it/say it like you mean it, look and say it like you mean it and most dogs will back off, if not that is what your feet are for, or if long enough the end of your lead. It is also amazing what you can pick up and throw when your dogs life depends on it!

[Guest hankodie]

The key is to act like it wasn't a big deal as Hank will look to you for the appropriate way to behave. So a dog roughed him up and bit him on the leg, to you it's horrible and to him it's something he's already forgotten about so don't remind him. :)

zakly! :) not all dogs love other dogs ..and often dogs/puppies will get bowled over/growled at or nipped. It's what dogs do.

If he has a wound..get it treated ..but you didn't mention blood or limping or anything ....

There are bites, and there are nips and there are 'corrections'/show off bites ...

The dogs should not have been off-lead - but just by your description , it seems these two were reminding hank he is a new boy, a youngster, and it's THEIR turf.

Scary? Yes.

Were you more upset than puppy? DEFINITELY! ;)

Puppy pee'd . yep .. that 's what puppies do to show they are little & submitting .....often I find that after a puppy rolls over & pees , then the other dog/s will have a proper sniff .. then seem to say .."Oh" "OK Squirt..no hard feelings ..just Don't come here again"

Thanks Persphone Good to know it's somewhat normal behaviour, it still broke my heart though!

No wound, the younger dog (who looked only a couple of months older than Hank) just gave him a "show-off" nip as you said.

[SkySoaringMagpie]

A piece of advice that has stood this particular control freak perfectionist in good stead:

You can predict and manage a lot, but you cannot predict and manage everything. At various stages in your dog's life, things are going to happen that you would prefer had not happened. The best thing you can do in those situations is lead by example, it may have annoyed you, worried you or freaked you out but you have to cue the reaction you want your dog to have and put your own baggage on the back burner. Sorry about the mutilated metaphor, but hopefully you know what I mean.

Yes, we can all tell you that the owners of those other dogs were numpties, but numpties will always be with us. As you get more experience, you will become more confident dealing with a wider range of "gee, I wish that hadn't happened" situations.

[Brandiandwe]

As the 'fortunate' owner of a leash reactive dog I regularly have bad experiences with others. Given that the reactive one is also high prey and a dominant bitch, and because other people seem to have a penchant for idiocy, and because one of my others is happy to follow the lead of the reactive one while the third watches confused, I'm better than I'd like to be at dealing with this. The mantra I keep repeating is that I can only control my own dogs, not those of others. And I can only take responsibility for myself.

I can say that you get much better at not beating yourself up. I've also found that carrying awesome treats which are used every time we see another dog (so dog = treat) has resulted in vastly improved interactions.

But I'm also excellent at thinking up brilliant put downs three or four hours later and, on the spot, am usually reduced to screaming a variation of 'Would you mind awfully leasing and or controlling your dog? Mine seem to be becoming somewhat agitated and are not always friendly with other dogs, cute though yours is.'

[Guest]

"don't worry, millions of years of evolution, your dog will be fine!" then they left.

Millions of years of evolution and these dogs still think they need to bully others, not to mention the owners also thinking that's OK behaviour.

Sounds like the whole family needs a few more years of evolution to catch up to the rest of us :p

haha, that is exactly what I was thinking... Spot on!

[Guest]

I'm so sorry to hear you've had a bad experience, I know how it feels. My dog is non reactive and very easy going, we've been rushed by dogs and she's been knocked over and pinned down, I shout now and grab the offending dogs by the skin and hair on their backs to haul them off if I think she's going to get hurt, I give them "a thousand years of my evolution".

Don't be hard on yourself. Have a cuppa and a Chocolate biscuit : )

Alison03 you sound like a total bad*ss in the best way and I need to take a leaf from your book :laugh: I definitely need to work on my confidence when we're out and about, I am small and I hate confrontation with strangers. I have been good with just calling Hank away from potentially bad situations but I guess I didn't react quickly enough this time. All I could muster up was a surprised "hey!" and I gave them both an evil look as they walked away. Now I am going to do that annoying thing where I stew all day over everything I could've said to those 2 arseholes

A cuppa is a very good idea I think!

and don't forget the biscuit! The Chocolate biscuit!!!

[Guest Maeby Fünke]

Oh poor Hank. I just had to pick up my Pug and give him a cuddle. That brought tears to your my eyes. Please don't blame yourself. Like Alison said, these things happen, and next time you *will* be ready. People can be such arseholes

eta

I just saw Persephone's post. Thanks for explaining about the pee'ing. That is very helpful to know :)

Edited October 7, 2013 by Maeby Fünke

[Guest hankodie]

You can predict and manage a lot, but you cannot predict and manage everything. At various stages in your dog's life, things are going to happen that you would prefer had not happened. The best thing you can do in those situations is lead by example, it may have annoyed you, worried you or freaked you out but you have to cue the reaction you want your dog to have and put your own baggage on the back burner. Sorry about the mutilated metaphor, but hopefully you know what I mean.

The mantra I keep repeating is that I can only control my own dogs, not those of others. And I can only take responsibility for myself.

Very good pieces of advice, thank you :) I think I need to work on remembering this when I come across stressful situations, I tend to forget everything I know!

A cuppa is a very good idea I think!

and don't forget the biscuit! The Chocolate biscuit!!!

I'm afraid I skipped the chocolate biscuit and went straight to a pint of chocolate ice cream :laugh:

Oh poor Hank. I just had to pick up my Pug and give him a cuddle. That brought tears to your my eyes. Please don't blame yourself. Like Alison said, these things happen, and next time you *will* be ready. People can be such arseholes

eta

I just saw Persephone's post. Thanks for explaining about the pee'ing. That is very helpful to know :)

Thanks Maeby, I realised last night that half the reason he was probably so scared was because he's never been approached like that by bigger dogs, his frenchie sister is smaller than him and all the dogs at obedience class are puppies or his size & smaller. He doesn't know he's going to be a big boy himself! I keep getting teary just remembering the look on his face I still feel like I let him down. He is nothing but a gentleman when greeting other dogs so I hope that doesn't change.

He's happy as ever this morning though, eating his breakfast out of a kong, tail thumping happily on the ground. Safe to say I think he's forgiven me. Dogs are amazing like that!