Hi, Tonight Finn has been bitten by a great Dane. We were walking and Finn was on leash. Then we encountered a young couple walking with a Dane, no leash on. I asked if he was reliable so that I could unleash Finn. They said he was. One minute they played, then the Dane got nasty and took Finn in his mouth and shook him like his prey. I couldn't set Finn free, luckily the male owner got him. We went to the vet. He has a wound in his neck. Wound is cleaned and he got painkillers, antibiotics, and he has to take them for a week. He is sleeping now, still bleeding a bit. I have to rinse out the wound. It is rather deep. Finn was rather hyperactive because of all the stress. I was and am still in shock. Afraid to go out with Finn..... Annemarie
Poor Finn and poor you. What a horrible thing to happen. It's very lucky that the great Dane's owner managed to free Finn and you were able to take hime to the vet. I hope Finn's wound heals quickly and you both manage to get over the shock.
How dreadful. You poor thing, and Finn. Charlie, my beautiful gentle boy, was attacked a few months ago and his behaviour changed as a result. I was devastated. I called in behaviourists and spent a long time trying to recover things - he did mostly go back to how he was, but is still a bit nervous around other dogs until he sees they are friendly. I protect him a lot now, and avoid the chance of any dog being aggressive towards him. I never trust an owner to say how their dog is - I meet very few that can accurately assess their dogs, most owners say their dogs are friendly even when they are blatantly obviously unsocialised nightmares - but my dog only interacts with dogs I know are friendly or have assessed that they are for myself.
Oh no, so sorry to hear that. That must have been incredibly scary to watch I hope Finn heals quickly
Poor Finn, and so sorry for you too. I hope he heals quickly and that you can both regain confidence.
The vet examined him thoroughly. He couldn't find anything else wrong. When I am in doubt and if he start showing other discomforts, I may ring him this weekend.
How awful for you both . I hope Finn recovers quickly and you manage to get out with him soon. I am the same as JulieT - I am very wary of dogs I don't know and err on the side of caution after Harley was attacked several times. If I see any collie breed I put her on lead straight away to remove her from getting defensive (I realised I had a problem when she growled at a collie when we walked past it one day after the attacks). We have met one really nice collie several times now and they actually sniffed each other for a few seconds with no growling and I left it at a positive point. It will take time for you to feel more relaxed, but I will be honest and say I am more cautious when out somewhere new or if lots of dogs I don't know are around. I try and keep Harleys attention on me and keep it fun so she usually ignores most dogs. I hope Finn recovers quickly and sending you a hug x
Oh poor boy! I hope you are both okay. Sounds awful I know a couple of great Danes, they are gentle giants. Just goes to show you can't be sure of any dog. I guess you got to balance the risks and benefits. Hoping you are both feeling better come the morning x
Oh Annemarie what a terrible thing to happen to poor Finn and you. I am so sorry for you both. I hope you soon regain confidence to take Finn out again. Maybe you could get someone to go out with you and Finn until you do. Sending you both hugs xx
I'm so sorry, how horrible. I can imagine that you are really shaken up and angry. Unfortunately I too have learned to avoid interaction with any dog that I and my dog do not know or that I haven't already observed interacting in a normal happy way with other dogs. Strangers will always tell you that their dog is fine and too often it is not.
So sorry Annemarie. Poor Finn and poor you, just devastating to have one's dog attacked. I agree with @Cath to have someone join you on your first few walks so that you regain confidence. Just awful to have your walks ruined like that.
Hi, First I want to thank everyone for the sweet comments and good advice about encountering "strangers". Normally I am very careful. I should have listened to my inner feeling that warned me not to let them play. But Finn was on lead, their dog wasn't. I thought it not fair on Finn, and felt that if something happens,Finn was able to flee....well now I know how mistaken I was. Finn was this morning his normal self. He was happy to see me. As I am alone this weekend I let him out on lead. When I saw a dog coming in the distance I turned around, not wanting him or myself having to put through an encounter with a dog we don't know. I am staying in our house in the woods.... Finn let me cleanse the wound. I have to rinse it out with NaCl 0,9%. I got a little bottle and syringe and have to put the syringe into the wound. I was under the impression he liked it! I give him crate rest until this afternoon. I don't think he has any other discomfort of being shooked as a prey (vertebrae)!
Poor Finn, what a big fright for both of you. I hope Finn isn't going to be mentally scarred by this, it's important you get together with known friendly dogs as soon as possible. He is such a gently boy for letting you cleanse his wound.
Good boy, Finn. He must sense that you're helping his wound to heal. Do try to walk him with a 'safe' known dog as soon as you can, with perhaps some off lead play somewhere too if possible.
Oh that's really horrible ,so glad to read he seems himself this morning,He sounds like he's being a very good patient for you. I hope you can get some nice interactions for him with some friendly dogs x
I am so sorry this has happened to you both. I tend to be different from most people and do not encourage my dogs to play with other dogs and they don't seem to be the worse for it. When we go out, we are together as a pack (me and my two dogs), we do retrieves, go to interesting places for dogs to hunt and be dogs, we don't need anyone else We do walk at the weekend with another dog, they don't play but do things together. I don't mean every time you see a dog, you clutch yours to you away from them so that he sees it as something to be frightened of! He can still see other dogs and if it is friend, walk with them.
