Dangerous dog behaviour....solution?

Hoof_Hearted

Still up on that horse.

Read this about those "gentle giants":

"Local news reports have differed in their accounts of the dog attack, but four Newfoundland dogs were being walked on Monday, July 25.

There, it has been reported, at least two of the dogs pulled away from the person walking them and attacked a black Labrador. The Labrador, an 11-year-old named Roxy, died from the injuries she sustained, after being rushed to an animal hospital by her owner."

and this:

"The fate of two young Newfoundland dogs will be determined by early fall, as a court hearing for an application to destroy the dogs brought forth by the Comox Valley Regional District concluded. The CVRD is claiming a small Jack Russell terrier belonging to the Manseau's next-door neighbor was dragged through a wire fence by their dogs, and received serious injuries to the throat and back."

My dog is not remotely aggressive unless attacked. He has never bitten anybody or any other animal, even when he is under attack (he just snarls and barks). He is very friendly with all other dogs and people. He is often off the lead, chasing his ball. He is not a danger to other dogs.

I reserve the right to do whatever is necessary if my dog is attacked. In fact the Newfoundland's owner did much more with the lead than I did with the ballthrower.

Homophobic, get real. My closest friends are two gay guys.

I presume you have a handbag dog that has never been attacked, otherwise you would know the feeling of having something that you love being in danger of serious injury.

I guess you want to pick an argument and it worked.

No more advice, thanks, but I am grateful for the other sensible responses.

valk_scot

Take your dog to a different park?

3v3

Hoof_Hearted wrote: »

Still up on that horse.

Read this about those "gentle giants":

"Local news reports have differed in their accounts of the dog attack, but four Newfoundland dogs were being walked on Monday, July 25.

There, it has been reported, at least two of the dogs pulled away from the person walking them and attacked a black Labrador. The Labrador, an 11-year-old named Roxy, died from the injuries she sustained, after being rushed to an animal hospital by her owner."

and this:

"The fate of two young Newfoundland dogs will be determined by early fall, as a court hearing for an application to destroy the dogs brought forth by the Comox Valley Regional District concluded. The CVRD is claiming a small Jack Russell terrier belonging to the Manseau's next-door neighbor was dragged through a wire fence by their dogs, and received serious injuries to the throat and back."

My dog is not remotely aggressive unless attacked. He has never bitten anybody or any other animal, even when he is under attack (he just snarls and barks). He is very friendly with all other dogs and people. He is often off the lead, chasing his ball. He is not a danger to other dogs.

I reserve the right to do whatever is necessary if my dog is attacked. In fact the Newfoundland's owner did much more with the lead than I did with the ballthrower.

Homophobic, get real. My closest friends are two gay guys.

I presume you have a handbag dog that has never been attacked, otherwise you would know the feeling of having something that you love being in danger of serious injury.

I guess you want to pick an argument and it worked.

No more advice, thanks, but I am grateful for the other sensible responses.

You were the one who raised the issue of gender You did so by stating your dog was "hetrosexual" ... plus "... "My dog was not injured, just shaken up but with his rear end intact"... why mention it? Totally irrelevant. But, homophobic twaddle, nonetheless.

You can assume what you like about the kind of dog I have - doesn't make you right.

Pick an argument? Nope, presenting an alternative point of view; neither am I going to patronise you by saying "there, there; poor you!" when clearly there are things you could do which would improve the situation; nor will I condone your cruelty to a dog! Forums are not about people agreeing with what you do/say; they are a place where anyone is free to exchange points of view: mine differ from yours; I don't believe in being cruel to my pets, let alone showing blatant cruel to someone elses and then posting that you were on a public forum!

Legally, you do NOT possess the right to reserve the right to do what YOU think is necessary to someone else's dog; most especially while the owner is present! Your dog was not under control either And, if you were wise, you would look that up (instead of sitting on your own high horse) Again, that is all part and parcel of being a responsible dog owner (it's called knowing your legal boundaries )

Your quotes are meaningless; they have no bearing on the incident you describe.

But, before you go too far down the route you are taking, let me ask you this: how would *you* feel if someone (with a smaller dog) began whacking *your* dog with a ball thrower, when your dog is being nothing more than boisterously playful? You think that would acceptable? Even when your dog has not injured the other dog? That's still acceptable to you?

Being a dog owner isn't just about knowing our own dog; it's about being aware of the whole spectrum of dog behaviours they may encounter and how to deal with those too.

You choose of behaviour, in a public park (which, by the way, isn't the sole preserve for dogs ) where children, and other members of the public, have access and displayed aggressive behaviour towards a dog and then compounded that with confrontational behaviour towards its owner. Do you consider yourself a role model? Or, upon reflection, do you think you could learn something from this about yourself?

There is a big difference between an "argument" and a "discussion". I'm more than happy to discuss these issues; I didn't resort to being impolite and telling you to "keep your trap shut"

krlyr

3v3 wrote: »

Your dog was not injured. BOTH dogs should have been on a lead! You have a history of FOUR previous occasions where you have had an issue; yet, you still think you do not need to lead your dog? It works both ways

You asked for advice? My advice is: reschedule your walks, keep your dog on a lead that way, you don't have to resort to whacking someone elses dog, being confrontational towards a fellow dog owner (with little empathy!) or fearing your dog might be rogered in the rear end It is the *only* way to have control over your own dog.

Why does OP have to keep their dog on-lead? Ignoring all other aspects of the post/the bickering going on, OP's dog has done nothing wrong. Someone else's dog has run across a park to bother her dog. Keeping the dog on-lead would not prevent this (I should know, my dogs have to stay on-lead the majority of the time for various reasons) and could actually make the situation worse - dogs often have a fight or flight response to unsociable behaviour and being on-lead can cause further tension and make a dog more likely to respond with self-defense/aggression than if they were off-lead and able to try to remove themselves from the situation.

OP was close enough to hit the dog with the ballthrower, their dog was not running riot all over the park, they were presumably at a fairly close proximity. The only fault of OP's dog really is reacting to this dog's unwelcome behaviour - and to be honest, if neither dog was injured and the 'fight' was stopped simply by the Newfoundland's owner grabbing their dog, I doubt there was serious intention there - I have been in the position of having to separate true dog fights and they would not stop that easily.

Even as someone who does not often get the opportunity to make use of parks, etc. for off-lead use, I would hate to see the UK go in the direction of the US, where dogs have to remain on-lead and are only allowed off in dog parks which have their own rules.

Welshwoofs

Op - out of interest, why is your dog intact? Are you planning to breed from him? If you're not, I'd get him done because from what I've observed, the interactions between intact and neuteured dogs can be a little 'odd'....and I'm not talking about the cliche of the intact dog being more aggressive either.

To be honest; from what you've described there hasn't been an 'attack'. A mounting is not the same as the Newfie attacking your dog. It is a dominance thing and your dog is standing his ground - they'll sort it out one way or the other.

Now I own a giant breed, a deal bigger than a Newfie, and an intact Bassett has taken a fancy to him and will literally trot his eenie weenie flabby legs 3x round the local park in hot pursuit of mine. He can't shag him....he's about 2ft too short for that and I simply leave them to sort it out themselves.

I would actually let things play out - your dog won't be hurt by being mounted by a giant breed - dogs aren't made of bone china. Let them stand-off and settle the battle of who's top dog - you've not got aggression in either of those breeds so I doubt it's going to end up in an almighty fight...probably just a bit of hackle raising, fangs out, snarling and the odd snap.

If you really can't handle seeing it through - then take one of those small houseplant sprayers out with you that has water in...that's far preferable to beating the Newfie with your ball chucker.

boingsaidzebedee

The only person at fault here is the owner of the Newfoundland who is not able to control their dog.I have had friends with the breed and whilst generally lovely creatures if they decide to take off then they do just that.Useless shouting at them.Ever seen a 14 stone man pulled off his feet and dragged behind the Newfoundland because that happens.
Seems the advice for the op is to place themselves between the two dogs,brace themselves and think of England.Not really too helpful.
The first response to the post was good advice then it went downhill.

Welshwoofs

boingsaidzebedee wrote: »

Seems the advice for the op is to place themselves between the two dogs,brace themselves and think of England.Not really too helpful.
The first response to the post was good advice then it went downhill.

Whereas you have given absolutely no advice whatsoever? Yup...that's sure to be helpful

Hoof_Hearted

Thanks, Welshwoofs. We will breed from him which is why he still has his bits.

I agree, that it is not an attack as such to start off with, but when my dog perceives this giant on his back, he wants him off and they they are aggressive to each other. I really can't let them sort it out as the other dog is huge. I can see a dislocated hip or broken rib if I just leave them. What is bigger and heavier than a Newfoundland? I can only think of a Saint Bernard.

Thank you krlyr. My dog is ball mad and is only interested in his ball in the mornings. He has never gone up to the other dog as he is apprehensive about him. He gets loads of exercise off the lead and I never have to worry about him with other dogs or people (except this one). It would be a shame to have to keep him on the lead. I would prefer him to run away but that's obviously not in his head.

krlyr

Welshwoofs wrote: »

I would actually let things play out - your dog won't be hurt by being mounted by a giant breed - dogs aren't made of bone china. Let them stand-off and settle the battle of who's top dog - you've not got aggression in either of those breeds so I doubt it's going to end up in an almighty fight...probably just a bit of hackle raising, fangs out, snarling and the odd snap.

I'm sorry but I'd have to disagree. Regardless of breed, individual dogs can display unwanted behaviour. Individual dogs will have a varying range of social skills as well.
OP's dog has responded on multiple occasions with "aggression" - obviously without seeing, I don't know exactly what he displayed but it is not like OP's dog just stood there (often a dog that refuses to 'fight back' will be pestered by another dog because it fails to show clear signs of its discomfort) and the Newfoundland has not got the hint. Whether the OP's dog is not displaying clear enough body language, or the Newfoundland is not interpreting it correctly, the issue here is that this person's dog is continuosly bothering OP's dog and it should not be up to OP or her dog to sort this issue out. A fight doesn't have to result in physical injury to cause lasting damage either - my GSD has fear reactivity and was accosted by a Jack Russell in a country park in the past - people will laugh at the idea of a JRT "attacking" a GSD, I'm sure, but while no physical injuries were inflicted, my poor dog was absolutely terrified at the time (he's been like this since I adopted him from a rescue, so no idea where the fear stems from, but it is obviously quite ingrained). I was just trying to enjoy a quiet countrypark walk with my dogs, and my dog had to go through all that stress because someone couldn't be bothered to keep their dog on-lead knowing it fails to recall at the sight of other dogs (I'd seen them since, to know it wasn't a one off - thankfully they spotted me first and grabbed the dog on the repeat occasions). Repeated negative interactions with this Newfoundland may cause the OP longterm problems with her dog behaviourally, which is totally unfair when it sounds like she's got a dog with a fairly sound temperament, and has presumably done her work to socialise him to ensure this.

Plus while the Newfoundland may not be showing true aggression at the moment, an issue like this could escalate with a mix of frustration of not having body language listened to, potential injury (my two are pretty evenly matched in size, get along fantastically, but even they occasionally catch each other a bit too hard or in the wrong spot during a play fight), or perhaps the Newfoundland picking the wrong day to harrass OP's dog (if OP's dog was sick or injured, and not feeling very tolerant, for example). What if the OP's dog had a health issue like hip dysplasia or spinal problems? A large dog mounting it could cause serious, potentially even fatal problems to a dog with a health problem.

Everyone should have the right to take their dog to a public space and not be harrassed. Whether their dog is on-lead, or under control off-lead (OP's dog was not harrassing any other dogs, just minding its own business playing ball from the sound of it), friendly or not, neutered or entire.
OK, OP hitting the Newfoundland was not ideal but many people have done this in a panic. A ball flinger is unlikely to have done much harm to a dog the size of a Newfoundland and the dog should not have been harrassing OP's dog in the first place. I wouldn't hit a dog on purpose but I can't say I wouldn't do what it took to prevent my dog getting injured in a scrap, and I wouldn't hate someone who did the same to my dogs if I ever failed to prevent them getting in a situation like that.
The Newfoundland's owner needs to take responsibility for her dog. It would be a shame for the dog to be stuck on-lead all of its like for the sake of not bumping into one dog, and I can see a longline being a very difficult solution for a dog of this size, but they need to do something - cooperate with OP in terms of sharing the area, see a behaviourist to try to tackle this behaviour, avoid the area completly, or whatever.

boingsaidzebedee

Not offering any advice except don't offer any yourself unless you've been in the same circumstance.
I have--the bigger dog will grasp the dog beneath with their forelegs and the bearing down of their weight crushes the smaller dog to the ground.Don't say the smaller dog can run away because it cannot.
How would you feel if someone 6 times your weight climbed on you--just think a little.
In the circumstances you do what you have to to protect your own dog which is probably screaming at this time as mine was.
All you can reasonably do is limit your response to whatever force is required.Wait till it happens to you then come back and tell us that stern words were all that were needed.