Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2012 12:11 pm Post subject: Attacked again - Advice Please
I was hoping for some of your wonderful LF advice.
Harley was attacked for the second time in 3 months last night, two puncture wounds to his neck and shoulder and a hefty bill for a trip to the emergency vets, he's now on rest for a day or so and some medication for the wounds !
So the question is: How do I go about trying to act positively when around other dogs and not think this is going to happen again?
And also how to stop H thinking that all / most / some dogs are going to go for him?
I can't believe that this has happened again! Gutted in fact! I am hoping that it wont affect him but obviously can't be sure.
Unfortunately some dogs just seem to have "beat me up" written on their foreheads - Jed is one of them, he was bumbling along happily with a bottle in his mouth when we were down at my brothers when a dog decided to go for him. This has happened so many times now that when he sees a strange dog the same size or bigger he puffs up and tries to look "hard" - not going over to it or intiatng anythng but on guard (we had been walking about half an hour with the dog the other week!)
Have you got any dogwalking friends who you can take Harley out with asap - and once his wound have healed let him have a chase and play with them so he does not start to think every dog will go for him? If he is ok with loud noises get one of those alarms where you can press the button and it makes an awful noise.... I know it is not ideal for general everyday living but if a dog is genuinely going for him it could break the moment..... (yes people, I know there are other ways but having a dog who has been attacked lot of times you CAN tell the difference between rough and tumble and the real thing - and if it helps Harley avoid being wary of attacks the way Jed sadly is it is worth trying)
As Gerogina said, some dogs must give off 'softie' vibes - Fin is one of them!! He's forever getting beaten up, but he's such a wimp he just makes himself small and slinks away. We've only ever really had a proper issue with one particular dog, but we try to walk Fin at times when we know this dog won't be around.
As already said, its probably best to get him out playing with some his friends as soon as possible.
I have organised a meeting with a good friend of mine, hopefully for tomorrow if Harley is ok.
I just need to be prepared as we have several group training sessions organised for the near future and I am also looking at running him in working test this summer. I didn't just want to sort of throw him in the deep end though.
awwww poor Harley,its not fair at all.My Ted is a big softie and has been attacked once,i was absolutely devestated and was shaking like a leaf,it really is awful.Ted legged it to the car,so i went and got him and carried on the walk with lots of praise,i then took him back the next day with no fussing ata ll and to my surprise he just got on with it,hope Harley can get over this,im sure you'll get some better advice soon too x
I think the key is for you to be comfortable with the dogs he is going to have around him for a while - dogs that you both trust, that bring out the playful side of him or dogs that he is comfortable sharing his space with AND THAT YOU ARE TOO.
Have some offlead fun with them, do some walking on leads with them, even head back through the area of the attack with their support. I think both humans and dogs are stronger with someone alongside to relax them at times. Luna's had a couple of years being 'funny' about travelling in the car after an accident. Before the accident she was fine with travelling, would be curious, playful etc etc.After the accident she would tolerate driving around and even sleep and relax but wasn't enjoying it as she used too... 6 months after Tucker has been alongside her enjoying his travelling, being nosy out the window etc and instead of Luna lying down waiting for the journey to be over, Luna is now sat alongside having a nosy with him! He's done more to help her over whatever was bothering her than I had managed alone - just by being him!!!
I hope that you can both get over this nasty incident - as these incidents occur well away from the 'training' environment I would hope that Harley stays relaxed there.
I hope those nasty puncture wounds heal up without problem. Let us know how you both go xx
My Lottie was badly bitten 2 years ago by a GSD and I made sure I took her to see my friend who had the softest GSD in the universe. She was fine with Todd,who has since gone to the bridge,and is fine with all other dogs but she hates GSD's still and runs a mile if she spots one.
The advice to socialise him with lots of other friendly dogs is great and what I would also recommend. Hope your poor Harley is soon well and it never happens again.
Poor boy! I hope the wounds heal quickly
I had a similar thing a couple of months ago with Lux, he was lunged at and had a couple of puncture wounds on his neck and this was while walking on leash past another dog also on leash it's very hard to stay calm in these situations, I am very aware now of other dogs body language Since then I purposely walked the same direction on the next two days just to make sure he was fine with it He was cautious the first day then the next day no problem at all
I hope that Harley recovers quickly x
Brilliant advice on this thread, as usual. You ask how you can go about acting positively around other dogs and the only thing I would add to the advice already given is that when I was trying to build my own self confidence up regarding unknown dogs being around Barney I started walking with a stick. This helped me feel stronger so I was more relaxed which of course Barney picked up on. I don't know if this would work for you?
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it's very hard to stay calm in these situations, I am very aware now of other dogs body language Since then 
I purposely walked the same direction on the next two days just to make sure he was fine with it 
He was cautious the first day then the next day no problem at all 
