Hi everyone. This site was very helpful as we learned a lot in preparing our puppy for his arrival. Unfortunately our first post is about him getting bit at the dog park today... We have a 15 week old male chocolate lab. We've taken him to the park a handful of times now. He seems to love interacting with other dogs. We usually follow close enough behind him to make sure he isnt eating anything off the ground that he shouldn't be. Anyway, earlier today a mixed breed dog (maybe 65-70 lbs) was chewing on a tennis ball. Our pup was close by and went toward the dog and it basically snapped and bit him very hard. Our puppy was crying for a solid ten seconds or so after they broke apart so we were of course really scared. He had two cuts on his face, one on his nose and another below his mouth. We took him to the vet just in case and they cleaned it up and gave us some antibiotics. Thankfully no stitches. Our main concern is how this will impact him moving forward. I guess no two dogs are alike and their responses may be different but we are nervous that he'll be fearful and/or aggressive with other dogs from now on. Anyone have a similar experience? Our pup loves playing with a friends dog, so we were thinking getting them together asap might be a good thing. However he was sedated in order to clean his cuts so he probably won't be back to himself until tomorrow. Thanks for reading and any input!
Hi and welcome to the forum. It's really important that you don't let this incident put you off allowing your puppy to mix with other dogs. In fact, I would say that you should try to engineer some positive encounters as soon as possible - do you know anybody with puppies or well mannered dogs that you can meet with? You don't want your puppy to think that all encounters will be like this one. Where are you based?
So sorry to hear about this. What did the other owners do? I agree with the above advice about getting in some really positive dog play dates to help reassure him ASAP. Hope he is ok
We spoke to a friend and they gave us the same advice - get him around a dog that he is comfortable with as soon as possible. At the moment the pup is asleep from the sedative so I doubt he'll be moving around much today. We are just north of atlanta.
The park we go to is really nice however some owners do not pay a second of attention to what their dog is doing. It was honestly crazy when he got bit, and the sound of our puppy crying was really scary. We literally scooped him up and got out of there as quickly as we could. Looking back we were debating what we shouldve done. Probably shouldve found the owner....
Owners of biting dogs are often not very receptive to feedback.... Don't feel bad about not trying to find the owner. Your first reaction was to make sure your pup was ok and to comfort him and that was exactly the right thing to do.
I'm sorry this happened to you, it must have been very scary. It's absolutely not ok for another dog up do this to your puppy, so you are justifiably upset, especially since your boy was injured, even if only superficially. I hope I give you some comfort with the next bit; when I brought my latest puppy home, my two older dogs hated her. My boy, a cuddly love bug went for her a couple of times. It was horrible, she screamed and was scared. But, she did what puppies do, he backed off and, other than one muzzle snip (which was actually an accident during play at a later date), she was unscathed. More than that, she was never put off trying to make friends and now, they are all firm family. Now, I'm not saying to not worry; some pups are more resilient than others, but take his lead and see how things go. It may be that it needs some care and support or it may be that your puppy has already forgotten it.
Thanks for all the input. We were definitely scared and I think he was too. The wounds are thankfully just superficial. More concerned about future dog interaction but we'll make sure he is enjoying himself and bounces back!
Did you see it happen from the beginning? It is possible that the other dog gave off some signals that he was not happy with your pup being that close to his ball. Most dogs pick up on these signs, but a pup may not understand yet. Of course the other dog may just be generally unfriendly and attack with no warning.
We did. It all happened so fast, it was one of those things you look bacK and it was so fast but at the same time it was like slow motion. We saw the dog sneering angrily as our dog got close. We even said something like "Rory come here!" Because we could see the dog wasnt happy. We took a couple steps closer to steer him away and then... Split second later he snapped. Good news is although he's a bit out of it from the sedative he chowed down on his dinner at normal speed
So sorry to hear - awful when your dog gets bitten. Snowie got nipped twice as a pup for going up to a dog that was resource guarding. First time was in our own garden. His hero, an old dog from down the road came into our garden and took one of Snowie's chew bones. Snowie was so excited to see him that he ran up to him, and got such a shock to be nipped for doing that. Ran straight to me. Still has a tiny scar on his snout. Annoyed me no end at the time, but in hindsight I now understand the dynamics. Another time at the park, a grumpy small terrier had his ball and was chewing on it. Snowie went to lie opposite him to play. Got too close and got a nip on his nose, took ages to properly heal up. We both learned about other dogs that resource guard. To this day Snowie will never take another dog's ball unless all signs say he can. He is very confident though and was unaffected in that regard; he just learned to read other dogs. We were lucky that our local park was generally full of friendly dogs, so we went every day when he was a pup. Best of luck getting over this incident. You may find it's harder for you than for your pup!
Just wanted to say I'm sorry this happened to you and you and Rory are feeling better now. This is for me so true. Especially when my dog was an adult, we got attacked a couple of times and while he would be fine 10 minutes later, I'd never walk that same route or go to that park again. Definitely more my issue than his. My dog got attacked by a golden retriever (a GR attacks a Rottweiler, how's that for stereotype reversal?!) at about the same age as Rory. It did rattle him pretty badly, I'm not going to lie. Later he did develop on-leash dog aggression, but I don't think it was from that incident, particularly as he was always VERY good with other dogs off leash. Eventually the on-leash thing extinguished as well, so no long-term affects of getting attacked as a pup.
Bramble was attacked by a pack of collies when she was around 6/7 months old (there is a thread about it here somewhere..) she was bitten on the face and still has the scar. The owner has had a warning now from the dog warden since so I don't seen them in this particular quiet walking location. Bramble is absolutely fine with other dogs, typical adolescent labrador with a tendency to being over friendly Although the advice is to ensure a lot of positive experiences after an attack, and absolutely the right advice , I wouldn't personally rush into it, now this is just my own opinion, based on having a very reactive dog. I have found taking things really, really slow after a difficult encounter really helps. Some dogs experience subtle residual anxiety symptoms regarding the altercation that may not be obvious. So popping round to the dog park, sitting on a bench and giving lots of praise to your pup but not actually going in (stage 1) then popping in on a long line when its really quiet (stage 2) then a gentle play date with a friends dog (stage 3) or something like that...you get the idea though This process helps build a positive pattern, and confidence in your dog, plus it's a less stressful approach for you.
Thanks this is all helpful and encouraging. I'm sure he'll be fine. As mentioned, probably tougher on us than our pup
Poor little Rory, I am so sorry You have had great advice and lots to think about how to deal with Rory to help overcome any anxiety he may have, he may be totally fine as pups do vary a lot. I hope he and you will be ok. xxx
