My Dog could have been attacked

[SamoyedLover]

Hi everyone,

 

The other day I was taking my dog to a dog park nearby, my dog is a 5 month old samoyed, so he still hasn't learned his manners but the other dogs usually tolerate him and are all friendly. This time there was a pitbull there, and I know this breed is misunderstood, but I am always cautious when dealing with them and Jack Russels, only because he has had bad experiences with them.

 

At first they were playing nicely and then my puppy put his paw on the pitfalls face and before I could blink the pitbull had him pinned to the ground and was growling. The owner quickly pulled her dog off mine and everything went back to normal. Then, my dog went up to the dog and licked its face and was pinned down again. Another dog came to protect my dog, (another samoyed), as they have a good relationship, but  I have heard some horror stories of dog attacks so I quickly picked up my dog and took him away, The owner swore her dog has never acted like that before, but I was a bit shaken up. My dog didn't seem to mind, as he continued playing and the pitbull went home.

 

I hate judging dogs by breeds, but I couldn't help wondering if this is common In pitbulls and if anyone has had a similar experience. If I see a pitbull again, should I take my dog away or did I do the right thing in the situation, should I have left on the first attack?

 

Any feedback or comments would be appreciated ❤️

[_PL_]

More recall training before off-leash. If you can't call your pup back to you it will happen again.

 

On both occasions your dog got in the pittie's face and it could have ended badly simply because of the strength/size difference. 

 

Pinning a pup to the ground for bad behaviour is not exclusive to breed. It's a dog thing. 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 26, 2019 by Powerlegs
left a very important word out

[persephone]

13 minutes ago, Powerlegs said:

On both occasions your dog got in the pittie's face and it could have ended badly simply because of the strength/size difference. 

 

Pinning a pup to the ground for bad behaviour is not exclusive to breed. It's a dog thing. 

Dogs do NOT have to be friendly to every bouncy annoying pup ...or every dog, for that matter . 

There was no 'attack' ..luckily, the other dog was very restrained , and was merely showing your pup some manners. 

if you are interested ..there is some good reading to be had in the following links. 

CLICK HERE
CLICK HERE
CLICK HERE 

 

[Lhok]

A couple of things that could also have been in play is that your pup is a Spitz breed, so they generally can be read wrong by other dogs based soley on their appearance than other types. Their upright posture, chest puffed out, curly tail and front pointing ears, and they stand often on their toes can be read by other dogs as confrontational. Having owned a couple of Spitz breeds and non Spitz breeds some dogs were just generally wary of my Spitz breeds upon meeting that with other types of dog.

Another thing with Spitz's (I might be corrected for saying this) but I have noticed their play style is very paw driven they will boop things with their paws and that to other dogs is quite rude. So mix that in with a generally happy go lucky pup that hasn't really been corrected and you get what you saw. Another dog that wasn't willing to interact with what they saw as a rude/confrontational dog. I don't think it is an attack more a learning experience for your pup that not every dog they will meet will want to play and that is fine. The thing is that you need to learn how to read the other dogs reactions and step in so both dogs can relax and have fun.

--Lhok

[Dogsfevr]

Sounds like the adult dog had enough of your pups behaviour and gave it a educated warning .

 

More concerning though is you didn’t respect what went on and allowed your dog  to go and invade this dogs space again .

 

this has not thing to do with the breed 

 

[SamoyedLover]

Thank you to everyone for your replies, I really appreciate the feedback. 

 

This morning we returned to the dog park and our pup tried to snatch the ball from a border collie and was pinned down and growled at again. 

 

 Everyone was correct, this had nothing to do with the pitbull breed, but my pups behaviour.

 

I have decided it was an irresponsible move to put my pup and other dogs in that position, so I am going to enrol him in dog training so he can learn his manners, and return to the dog park when we trust him to come when called and respect the other dogs. 

[_PL_]

Sounds like a good plan

 

I forgot to say 

[Loving my Oldies]

1 hour ago, SamoyedLover said:

Thank you to everyone for your replies, I really appreciate the feedback. 

 

This morning we returned to the dog park and our pup tried to snatch the ball from a border collie and was pinned down and growled at again. 

 

 Everyone was correct, this had nothing to do with the pitbull breed, but my pups behaviour.

 

I have decided it was an irresponsible move to put my pup and other dogs in that position, so I am going to enrol him in dog training so he can learn his manners, and return to the dog park when we trust him to come when called and respect the other dogs. 

Brilliant reaction to what has happened.  As I am not experienced with large breeds, I didn’t comment but did have thoughts LOL.  And my first thoughts were that your pup was just being taught some manners.  

 

May you and your pup have many very happy years together.   

 

 

 

[persephone]

Good response you will both learn lots

[Rebanne]

if you see the pitbull again you might like to tell the owner what you have learnt, share the knowledge

[Tassie]

1 hour ago, Rebanne said:

if you see the pitbull again you might like to tell the owner what you have learnt, share the knowledge

This!  And thank the owner for her control over her dog.   She would probably have been quite concerned about her dog's reaction to puppy rudeness from a Spitz breed (agree with the comments of other dogs difficulties in reading them … my BC just assumes they are looking for trouble because of the piercing eyes and the tail carriage.)

 

And kudos for you for thinking this through and realising there are some solutions.   (Having said that ..I'm another who avoids dog parks with random dogs like the plague. ) 

[Dogsfevr]

I would also suggest if you truly want to be a dog park owner then go & spend time each week without dog & watch what is going on learn to read the other dogs .Make it your sole job to pay attention to what is going on & how the other dogs view it  & when you should know its time to go ,time to step in & take control

I like most don't go to parks

[Two Best Dogs!]

Enrolling in a school and getting him practice with pre-checked quality dogs is a good move It is not fair to let strange dogs "teach" your puppy - as you cannot ever know if that dog actually has the skills to teach a puppy correctly or will cause an escalation or injury. It is up to you to redirect your dog if he is bothering a dog...or if someone has brought a dog who is not suitable to the park and you need to avoid it.

 

While working on your obedience, you could probably ask around for play dates with dogs of a similar age. Playing with one or two puppies at a time is much easier to practice listening to you than a full scale park visit

[karen15]

All good advice above, but even after you've been to training and go back to park, if you feel uncomfortable about a dog, take your dog home.

 

My staffy was the friendliest dog. Loved every one. One dog park we went to, this stunning red pointer type dog would come. I never liked how it's body language was with my dog, so it would arrive and we'd leave. I was talking to another regular and they said the red dog started lots of fights. So I was reading it right and leaving was the best option.

[Loving my Oldies]

2 hours ago, karen15 said:

All good advice above, but even after you've been to training and go back to park, if you feel uncomfortable about a dog, take your dog home.

 

My staffy was the friendliest dog. Loved every one. One dog park we went to, this stunning red pointer type dog would come. I never liked how it's body language was with my dog, so it would arrive and we'd leave. I was talking to another regular and they said the red dog started lots of fights. So I was reading it right and leaving was the best option.

This is very upsetting.  If councils/council rangers did their jobs properly, you would be able to report, someone would come to assess the situation and, in this case, the dog would be banned from the park.  Off leash dog parks seems to me to be a microcosm of life:  the many pay for the crimes of all sorts (from the heinous to the plain nasty) of the few.  

 

[Malamum]

On 4/26/2019 at 8:49 PM, Lhok said:

A couple of things that could also have been in play is that your pup is a Spitz breed, so they generally can be read wrong by other dogs based soley on their appearance than other types. Their upright posture, chest puffed out, curly tail and front pointing ears, and they stand often on their toes can be read by other dogs as confrontational. Having owned a couple of Spitz breeds and non Spitz breeds some dogs were just generally wary of my Spitz breeds upon meeting that with other types of dog.

Another thing with Spitz's (I might be corrected for saying this) but I have noticed their play style is very paw driven they will boop things with their paws and that to other dogs is quite rude. So mix that in with a generally happy go lucky pup that hasn't really been corrected and you get what you saw. Another dog that wasn't willing to interact with what they saw as a rude/confrontational dog. I don't think it is an attack more a learning experience for your pup that not every dog they will meet will want to play and that is fine. The thing is that you need to learn how to read the other dogs reactions and step in so both dogs can relax and have fun.

--Lhok

Lhok, my experience with Malamutes was everything you have said.   Other dogs always seemed to take exception to them, even from the other side of the street and I believe it was because of all the things you said.  Their natural relaxed attributes make them look like they are posturing when they are actually not.   Another thing is their fluffiness, it probably looks to other dogs like they have their hackles raised. 

 

You are also spot on about them being paw driven.  We used to joke that our dogs thought they were bears as they would whack you with their paw if they wanted something and on quite a few occasions, if rushed by an off-leash dog our males first reaction was to swipe them across the head with his paw.   They were so easy to teach shake and high five to as it was something that just came so naturally to them.

 

Now that we have a Lab the difference in body language is like chalk and cheese. 

Edited May 15, 2019 by Malamum