A Big Dog Attacked My Toy Poodle X

[Simply Grand]

The other day I was at the dog park with Saxon, my little poodle x who is about 5kgs. A big dog I didn't know entered the park, greeted the other dogs in there with sniffs then came over, sniffed noses with Sax and did the circle to sniff butts. She then bit Saxon on the back of the leg (hard enough to leave a bruise). Saxon yelped in pain then ran away trying to get to me. The big dog chased him, pounced and grabbed Saxon around the torso (he ended up with swelling, bruising and a graze on either side of his torso where this big dog grabbed him, as well as on his back leg where she bit him the first time). 

 The dogs were right at me at that stage so somehow I managed to grab Sax by the harness and hold him up over my head while the dog jumped at me trying to get him and its owner jumped around squealing and trying to catch their dog, which had no collar on. Saxon has a sound temperament and is well socialized and trained so he didn't react towards the other dog but instead remained calm and tried his best to come straight to me after the first bite then stayed focused on me until I could lift him right up and get him out of the situation.

The owner of the big dog responded to all of this by saying "oh she's never done that, nothing has ever run away from her before!" and then "she's never been a good dog, she doesn't listen to me, she's just stupid". No apology, not even is he ok. He could have been killed. 

It's happened to me so many times and I'm so frustrated and sick of big dog owners who excuse their dog's behaviour towards small dogs by saying "oh she'll chase if something runs from her", "he thinks it's a toy that's why he's grabbing at it", "it's the squealing and running, it makes him chase".

I should be able to take my dog to a park where dogs are required to be under effective control without him being attacked when he's behaving in a totally appropriate manner!! 

Edited November 9, 2013 by Simply Grand

[Cosmolo]

Yes, you should be able to. Unfortunately it seems in many places you can't. I hope your dog is okay.

Begs the same questions as in the other thread- how do we make all dog owners understand when their dog has a problem and that they need to do something about it.

[Tazar]

I am not sure if it was a dog park or not but places with lots of dogs are accidents waiting to happen. Take Sax to a place where other dogs are not. I have GSD's 3 of them and would never take them to a dog park, they run off lead at places I will not run into other dogs, and if I do see another dog by chance, they have a great recall so I just put them on a lead till we pass.

Dog parks = danger for both big and little dogs, unless you know the dogs frequenting at the time you go there.

[Salukifan]

I should be able to take my dog to a park where dogs are required to be under effective control without him being attacked when he's behaving in a totally appropriate manner!!

Yes you should. But in reality this is a real risk of parks. Half the reason some dogs are there is because their owners can't walk them or catch them outside fencing.

Either stick to the ones with a big dog and a small dog section or go when they are deserted. That's life for a small dog owner who values their dog's safety.

Count your blessings. if the dog had really meant business, Saxon's outcome would have been far worse. Has he seen a vet?

Edited November 8, 2013 by Haredown Whippets

[bertie]

Is this a parody of the other thread?

[sandgrubber]

Yes, you should be able to. Unfortunately it seems in many places you can't. I hope your dog is okay.

Begs the same questions as in the other thread- how do we make all dog owners understand when their dog has a problem and that they need to do something about it.

Answer, unfortunately, is we can't "make all dog owners understand when their dog has a problem and that they need to do something about it" . We don't run the circus, and our actions must be governed by reality as much as by the law. K9 utopia isn't going to show up any time soon.

The best we can do is convince a few errant dog owners to seek help. And that's easier for big dog owners, who are targets for the law, than small dog owners, whose transgressions are largely ignored by the system.

[Salukifan]

Is this a parody of the other thread?

My guess is it soon will be.

[bertie]

:laugh: Just thought it may have started as an intentional one. Ok.

[Tazar]

Dogs are not meant to all hang out and run and play together.... not directed at Simply Grand but so many people think that dogs need to do this.

They do not, they need to socialise within their pack, be it the kids, the rabbit or the cat.

Taking a dog to the dog park is putting it in harms way as there is always an idiot with a dog aggressive dog who thinks that it is his or her right to run their dog off lead because the sign says so. (Not saying all dog aggressive dog owners do this or are irresponsible).

[Guest donatella]

I think they need to make every dog park 50/50 split so everyone can play fairly. I don't go to dog parks unless we're the only ones there moreso to the fact that even in play with others it's too rough and not matched. Glad Saxon is okay! In the few times I've been to a dog park heavily occupied they've been nothing but trouble.

[airlock]

unfortunately i can relate, it looks like all you can really do is keep a good eye out and make sure you avoid any situation that could turn bad.

i'll be keeping my pup away from off leash areas as owners simply won't accept responsibility for what their dog may do or take any action to prevent it.

[persephone]

It is a shame that dogs are 'encouraged'/forced to engage with each other .

I hope you find somewhere nicer to let your boy run safely.

[Guest Clover]

Thats the risk you take when you go to dog parks/ off lead areas. Not everyone is tuned in to their dogs and know how to control them.

[koalathebear]

Simply Grand - I'm really sorry to hear about Saxon. Poor little guy - I hope he's all right and not overly traumatised by the experience.

It might end up being a parody of the other thread but I suspect it will just turn into one of the umpteen Dog Park = Evil threads :laugh:

I'm one of the very few on DOL who enjoys going to the dog park with our dogs. We've been taking our dogs every week for years and never had any problems. There are certain parks we do not go to for different reasons - usually owner reasons rather than dog-reasons but we like the park in Casey on a Sunday morning and have never had any incidents. We have our three dogs between the two of us (husband and me). We don't stay if there are more than 6-8 dogs and we put our dogs on leash when new dogs come in and size up every new dog that comes in quite carefully as we decide if we're going to stay or leave.

My dogs have played with all number of bull breed mixes, including pit bulls, GSDs, other working breeds, whippets, oodles, GSPs, setters, labs, GRs, malamutes, huskies, pugs, jugs and small white fluffies and so on ...

Here's Hoover and our foster dog Juniper earlier this week running with a fluffy at the dog park. We did suggest that the owner might want to take her dog into the small dog pen as our Kelpies do sometimes like to herd the fluffies, but she insisted that he liked running with the bigger dogs and as you can see they were fine together - he just couldn't keep up with the Kelpies :laugh:

Bad luck can happen anywhere and the only two times any of my dogs has ever been attacked was during an agility class - once by a Ridgeback and once by a Border Collie. I'm more nervous encountering off-lead dogs on walks than I am at the dog park because at the dog park, we are prepared and just leave if we don't like how a dog is behaving. If I'm out on a walk, all I can do is change direction and hope the offlead dog doesn't chase after us.

ETA. I hadn't seen this the first time:

Half the reason some dogs are there is because their owners can't walk them or catch them outside fencing.

Our dogs are fine being walked. Each one takes turns at being Canine Runner 5 when I am doing Zombies, Run and they have all learned to walk on a loose leash. The only times when they can go nuts and run around like crazies is at the beach or at the dog park. We generally keep them on leash at other times although if I have one dog with me, I'll sometimes let them have a little bit of controlled off leash time at the local ovals.

Edited November 8, 2013 by koalathebear

[Loving my Oldies]

Half the reason some dogs are there is because their owners can't walk them or catch them outside fencing.

I didn't see that survey. Perhaps you could point me to it; it would be good to read.

Frankly, I would love to take my dogs to an off leash park simply for their enjoyment and enrichment. To race around, smelling other doggy smells is the joy of most dogs' lives. And, although I haven't done a survey, I would be happy to bet that most people take their dogs to parks for those reasons.

The last time I took one of my dogs to an off leash park was when I was waiting for my car to be repaired. It was a small park and in the middle of a working day, so not many people. We spent about and hour there and I don't she lifted her head once. I was worried her nose might fall off - she had the best time.

[Salukifan]

Half the reason some dogs are there is because their owners can't walk them or catch them outside fencing.

I didn't see that survey. Perhaps you could point me to it; it would be good to read.

Frankly, I would love to take my dogs to an off leash park simply for their enjoyment and enrichment. To race around, smelling other doggy smells is the joy of most dogs' lives. And, although I haven't done a survey, I would be happy to bet that most people take their dogs to parks for those reasons.

The last time I took one of my dogs to an off leash park was when I was waiting for my car to be repaired. It was a small park and in the middle of a working day, so not many people. We spent about and hour there and I don't she lifted her head once. I was worried her nose might fall off - she had the best time.

What part of that statement requires survey results to back it up.? I didn't give a number of dogs that fell into that category and I made it based on anecdote and observation. Some dogs simply have no trained recall. Others pull like trains. I'm sure you've met a few in each category. They're hardly rare. I see it for myself walking past the fenced dog parks at the lakes here.

There are plenty of leash free spaces around here that are not fenced dog parks. Perhaps I'm lucky. I know my dogs prefer to exercise without interference from other dogs. With Whippets, its safer for both them and other dogs to avoid high speed collisions.

Edited November 8, 2013 by Haredown Whippets

[Simply Grand]

Do people think, dog and owner behaviour and interaction wise, that there is a discernible difference between a fenced off leash dog park and an on leash pet event where dogs will be in close proximity to unknown dogs and people in an enclosed unfamiliar space?

[Salukifan]

Do people think, dog and owner behaviour and interaction wise, that there is a discernible difference between a fenced off leash dog park and an on leash pet event where dogs will be in close proximity to unknown dogs and people in an enclosed unfamiliar space?

Yes. In an onlead event, you're unlikely to get prey driven chasing (which I think you experienced) or pack formation. People should have more control over their dogs.

A leash stops a lot of undesirable behaviour if people stay out of leash distance from one another.

Edited November 8, 2013 by Haredown Whippets

[Staffyluv]

I am sorry for what happend to your little one.. Sadly there are so many that go to parks who have no idea..

I am like KTB. I take Zig to the local leash free (fenced) park for a run and socialisation. We go twice a week most weeks. It is also a great place to practice his recall and has helped me no end to get his recall to a level that is very good now.

We tend to hang with the same group and I often leave if an unknown dog turns up..

Our park is also divided, so half for littles and pups and the other side is free for all dogs to use.

If the big dog side gets busy and there is no one or just a couple of small dogs we know in the other side, then we will venture into the small dog side. Zig is friends with a couple of Malts and a poodle that frequent the park (there was also a few Poms but they haven't been there in ages).

So many people have no idea about dogs and their body language (not that I am that attuned to it either) but I know when a dog enters all stiff and then stands over the other dogs, that I don't want to be there..

The other thing that annoys me is when people bring their dogs and then sit down and have their own social experience and don't watch their dogs..

Edited November 8, 2013 by Staffyluv

[Dame Aussie]

Do people think, dog and owner behaviour and interaction wise, that there is a discernible difference between a fenced off leash dog park and an on leash pet event where dogs will be in close proximity to unknown dogs and people in an enclosed unfamiliar space?

Definitely. Off lead and on lead are two completely different scenarios. I'm glad Saxon is ok.