Lady kicked my dog :(

heartbreak_star

katy721 wrote: »

I don't think I would ever kick a dog!

Fixed those typos for you hun...

HBS x

chucknorris

StudioBeau wrote: »

Although, out of choice, if I knew my dog would not be worse of, I would much rather punch the owner!

If you kicked my dog you would certainly get the chance mate, because I would certainly be trying to kick the sh*t out of you.

prowla

Dogs having a sniff is like people shaking hands and saying hello.
Kicking a dog for that is ignorant and stupid.
I would suggest a report to the Police and/or RSPCA.

purple.sarah

StudioBeau wrote: »

I agree she over reacted but you should not let your dogs go over and sniff other on lead dogs without asking the owner first.

My dog is incredibly scared of german shepherds, huskies, anything with a fluffy, wide head basically as he was attacked by a german shepherd a few years back. If someone let their german shepherd sniff my dog I would tell them not to, if they let their GSD sniff my dog again, I would kick the dog. I have kicked dogs in the face (only dogs offlead running up to my onlead dog to be fair) and I will kick more dogs in the face if their owners can't keep them under control. I believe she reacted too quickly but I would do the same thing after the second sniff to be honest.

My dog is so scared he freezes, loses all control of his bowels and can not walk properly after one of these dogs approaches him, not snaps, growls, barks, etc, just approaches and gets within 6 inches of him, he is so wobbly and scared, this lasts hours before he calms down. I do avoid small paths, etc because of this and he is walked at stupid o'clock in the morning most days (like today, he got walked at 6:20am) because of this, but obviously occasionally someone will be out at a random time and there is nothing I can do.

You need to not only think about the temperament of YOUR dog but the temperament of the other dog. My dog has never even growled at another dog, so you would have no way of knowing what would happen to him unless you asked, which as soon as you saw the other dog you should have called ahead to ask if the dog was okay with large dogs, if it was friendly and is it okay if they meet face to face.

And yes, if your dog often goes to sniff other dogs and you have to walk on small paths, use a head collar to control your dogs head. There are ways to control your dog fully and if you have to walk down those small paths you need to find better ways to do so.

Kicking the other dog is far more likely to escalate the situation, not control it! How would you react if someone kicked you in the face? Probably defensively! If you lash out at other dogs don't you think your aggressive reaction could be fueling your dog's fear? If the pack leader is in attack mode there must be a big threat! I agree people should try and avoid their dog sniffing other on lead dogs but accidents happen and it is a bit much for you to say people should control their dogs when you can't even control your own behaviour! You are going to get in trouble for kicking dogs, there isn't a law that says they have to be on a lead but there are laws against animal cruelty!

chucknorris

purple.sarah wrote: »

Kicking the other dog is far more likely to escalate the situation, not control it! How would you react if someone kicked you in the face? Probably defensively! If you lash out at other dogs don't you think your aggressive reaction could be fueling your dog's fear? If the pack leader is in attack mode there must be a big threat! I agree people should try and avoid their dog sniffing other on lead dogs but accidents happen and it is a bit much for you to say people should control their dogs when you can't even control your own behaviour! You are going to get in trouble for kicking dogs, there isn't a law that says they have to be on a lead but there are laws against animal cruelty!

It would sure escalate things if he kicked my dog, my dog is too gentle to do anything about it, but I wouldn't stand for it.

krlyr

StudioBeau wrote: »

As I said to the OP, call ahead, I do that every single time also. Unfortunately, there are times when a dog pops round a corner, comes out of a front door, etc and there is no warning, those are the situations where I can do nothing.

I think people need to take responsibility themselves too though. OP is not the one who had the problem passing by a dog, nor was she concerned about her dog. The other person involved seemed to have the issue - whether it was a phobia herself or concern for her dog, she should have been the one to call ahead.
I have a dog who's fine and a dog who's not. I will, most of the time, call out with the latter (unless I'm spinning on my toes to get away from the situation) unless I'm not particularly concerned about the situation (e.g. plenty of room to cross the road, my dog isn't anxious, owner of the other dog is not going to move towards me and cause a reaction in my dog, etc)
If I'm out with my other dog, I will rarely say anything. Why would I when I am confident she will not do anything untoward? I may, perhaps, shout out that she's friendly if people look wary and have stopped moving/moved to avoid us, because she is kept on a lead (not due to aggression but her desire to chase squirrels and rabbits), but I feel it's a bit unrealistic to expect an owner of a friendly, unreactive dog to check with every dog owner they meet that there is no problem. I would assume that the other dog is friendly, unless told otherwise. Otherwise you could say that OP should be shouting out every time they pass a cyclist, "Don't worry, he won't chase your bike!" or a jogger, "Don't worry, he won't bite your ankles!", or even just ever other human being they pass, "Don't worry, he's friendly!". I don't think there's a need for a warning when there's nothing to warn about, I am happy to assume that no comment and no action (stopping, changing directions, etc) means that their dog is friendly and/or that the person is happy to pass by you in that narrow pathway.

tango

Very true, I have a German short haired Pointer, who at the moment we are doing a lot of work with as she is dominant nervous dog . If out off lead and she meets another dog there is about a 30 per cent chance she will react. But confined areas like alley ways are always an issue. Saying that i have worked with a fantastic trainer who had all of his pack and my dog sitting in a alley way calm submissive, that was because he was in charge of the situation and had got all the dogs relaxed. Watching him i could repeat that in a 'real life' situation, but the trouble is you are dealing with people, and that you can't control as well as dogs.....

krlyr

tango wrote: »

Very true, I have a German short haired Pointer, who at the moment we are doing a lot of work with as she is dominant nervous dog . If out off lead and she meets another dog there is about a 30 per cent chance she will react. But confined areas like alley ways are always an issue. Saying that i have worked with a fantastic trainer who had all of his pack and my dog sitting in a alley way calm submissive, that was because he was in charge of the situation and had got all the dogs relaxed. Watching him i could repeat that in a 'real life' situation, but the trouble is you are dealing with people, and that you can't control as well as dogs.....

Sorry to go off-topic but "dominant nervous", "calm submissive" etc. scream Cesar Milan/"pack leader" type training and I really do not agree with this kind of theory. My reactive dog is reactive because he is afraid, I know this as he is actually fine with many dogs in many situations (e.g. off-lead, when carefully introduced, with dogs he knows well, etc.) but will spook and hide behind me if a dog gets too boisterous with him, has completely shut down from fear when approached by a dog (tiny little JRT - mine is a GSD!) when he was "trapped" on-lead, etc.
While I agree that our feelings can often reflect on a dog's behaviour, I do not feel that dominant or submissive behaviour comes into it. You walk into a dark "haunted house" with a friend or two who are trembling from fear, shrieking at every cobweb they brush against, etc., you are likely to feel afraid too. Your friends walk in calmly, push the cobwebs out of their way and go make themselves comfy on the sofa, you may be a bit cautious but you're likely to feel a lot more confident. Were you being submissive in the first instance? Are you being dominated in the second? I would not say so, you are just feeding off the general vibes from your friends. The trainer's calm behaviour and calm dogs may have helped brush off some confident on to your dog, whereas your nerves in anticipation of a reaction may increase her nerves.
Equally, though, it may be a case of "flooding" - your dog was put with multiple dogs despite being reactive around other dogs. Say you've had a bad experience with young teenagers, and you get into an elevator passing one single young teen who tries to intimidate you on his way out. On their own, and knowing you are heading in opposite directions, you may have the confidence to shout back at him in defence. If you approached the same elevator, got on to find 5 young teens standing in there and going to the next floor, are you going to start shouting at them? No, chances are you'll stand in the furthest corner and keep quiet until your stop, in an attempt not to antagonise the situation. Dogs are similar, if they're overwhelmed with their trigger, they will often surpress their reaction.
I would advise a much less overwhelming method of desensitizing your dog to other dogs, e.g. an introduction to one stooge dog at a time, always keep a dog under threshold and not flooded - just like us, they will learn much more effectively when relaxed!
http://www.theotherendoftheleash.com/dog-dog-reactivity-treatment-summary
http://www.theotherendoftheleash.com/dog-dog-reactivity-ii-the-basics

tango

Thanks have pm'd you

Stephb1986_2

I'm sort of confused here I thought a dog sniffing another dog is purely natural and shouldn't you be worried if they didn't sniff each other that they've lost their sense of smell?

Just because a dog sniffs another dog doesn't mean it's going to attack it.

Say these dogs were people so the OP's dog (call him Bill as a child) so Bill has looked at this other persons child (call him Fred) so Bill has looked at Fred so it's ok for Freds mum to smack Bill because he dared look at Fred.

That is ludicrous!!! You can't go round hitting people/animals because they've dared look in your direction.

Steph xx