Today we've come home from staying a couple of nights with mg parents on holiday in Weymouth. We went for a walk from the campsite down to the beach. On the way we had to pass through a park, lots of children playing and running around with bikes, scooters, footballs and other dogs. She was pretty good, didn't react to anything and was quite happy to walk past all these distractions and things that usually cause her to bark. Until we met an offload Weimaraner. The first thing he did was bounce up to Penny, right in her face, which is one of the things that unnerves her, so straight away she was on edge. Then he paused and they had a bit of a sniff to say hello which was fine. Then he figured out she was a girl and attempted to hump her. Penny was having none of that and it terrified her to naturally she has a snarl and air snap to tell him to get away. He retaliates, and it turns into a slanging match between the two dogs. Penny is on lead the whole time and is trying to hide behind me but the Weimaraner is off lead and just keeps following her round me in circles trying to mount her and then having a go at her when she tells him off and tries to get away. He gets momentarily distracted when his owner calls him and we get chance to move away whilst my mum explains to the owner that Penny is nervous and in training. The owner hasn't yet put the dog back on lead so he follows us and chaos ensues once again. The owner follows and calls the dog halfheartedly, expecting him to come running. Obviously it doesn't happen. By this time Penny is getting really distressed and I'm worried she's actually going to bite this other dog, but because the owner isn't in control of him he just follows us while I'm trying to move away. I realise I'm going to have to grab the guys dog because otherwise he just isn't going to get him under control, so I stand still and try to catch the dog while they're rushing around me. The owner comes over and just crouches down next to us, petting Penny telling her it's ok, and just saying to his dog 'ollie stop, ollie come' Eventually the guy manages to get the dog away and I quickly walk away before he can lose control of the dog again. I was so upset uh the situation which has probably set Penny back months in her socialising, and she had been doing so well recently. I can't beleive how little control this guy had over his dog, and why he didn't just come over and take hold of the dog and put it back on the lead... He just pansied around, fussing more about reassuring my dog, than controlling his own. I was fuming, and on the verge of tears. I can't beleive we had such a bad experience.
Re: Set back Oh Lauren, I am so very sorry for you and poor Penny she must have been so anxious . I really hope this doesn't set your socialisation training back too much if at all. Another example of poor etiquette and respect around other dogs. Are you both OK now? x
Re: Set back :'( not good. Hopefully tomorrow will be better for you both x Some owners don't see their dogs behaviour ever being a problem unfortunately there will always be a few out there
Re: Set back That's totally rubbish, what a truly useless owner. I'm absolutely mortified if Riley even puts his nose over another dogs back. It's really not hard to tell when they're gearing up to mount another dog - we have stern words! I know it's upsetting for you but do as you have been, try not to dwell for both your sakes and continue to positively socialise wherever you can. Hopefully the good memories will come flooding back and you'll both be ok.
Re: Set back Oh what a bad time you have both had. i do hope a happy time tomorrow will set things right
Re: Set back Lauren, try to focus on tomorrows forum meet up where Penny will get to meet lovely dogs and responsible owners and I bet all will be just fine . Have a lovely day and let us know how you get on xx
Re: Set back Much sympathy. Charlie hates, hates, hates, dogs that hump. When a horrible experience happens, I have a process I go through. I ask myself what I need to learn from it, ie what would I do differently next time, then I ask myself: have I captured all of the lessons? If yes, I dismiss it, and don't think about it again. It does work, I do change my behaviour and act more like I wish next time. (I'm not suggesting you did anything wrong, just a way to deal with the horrible feelings bad interactions leave).
Re: Set back Oh Lauren I definitely know how you feel. I'm afraid I'm no longer as nice as I used to be with dog owners like that. My old lab was attacked I don't know how many times by loose dogs that had apparently 'never done it before' and apologies we're few and far between. Now because Scott and Scout are so reactive I make sure the owner is under no illusion as to what I think of their lack of control of their loose dog. . In a very firm but polite manner which I think has more effect than shouting. Although inside im screaming. I'm sure the wonderful experience penny will have tomorrow with the forum dogs will help make up for todays upset. Have a lovely day.
Re: Set back Hoping that tomorrow makes up for today Lauren , have fun and try to put this nasty experience behind you , its not easy I know , so sorry for your upset
Re: Set back So sorry you and Penny had a bad experience The other owner sounds totally clueless and inconsiderate. You will both recover from the setback - the lovely forum walk will be a good antidote.
Re: Set back Thank you everyone. It was a really upsetting experience for me as I was pretty much powerless to do anything about the situation as I was trying to juggle Penny and grab the other dog at the same time which obviously doesn't work!! I don't think any dogs like being humped but Penny particularly because of her hips - my Rally trainer (a behaviourist I've worked with for a few years and respect) thinks that some of her reactivity to other dogs may be defensive because she's worried about them jumping on her and causing pain, which makes sense as she is more reactive to dogs that show her the most attention eg. When they pull on their leads towards her or, like this Weimaraner, put their paws on her or jump on her. This, by far, isn't the only reason for her behaviour but it's one of the many small things that contribute to it. This incident was at the beginning of our walk so we had another six miles of sunshine, beach, swimming in the sea, and passing other dogs without an issue to make up for it. Apart from that one occurrence, we had a lovely day. I'm glad we are having the meet tomorrow as it will give her opportunity for some positive socialising soon after the bad experience to hopefully reduce the negative effect today might have on her.
Re: Set back Yes, it will definitely help Makes sense that Penny is warning other dogs not to jump on her because it has been painful for her in the past. A lot of dogs just plain don't like it and they don't like being rushed at either - it is fair enough that they should object to that.
Re: Set back I hope you've had a lovely day today Lauren and I'm sorry you had such an upsetting encounter yesterday x
Re: Set back Thanks all Yes we had a lovely time this morning and it was a great socialisation opportunity for Penny. I think she found the first ten minutes or so a bit too much - when everyone had first been let off and there was that initial burst of excitement, so I put her back on lead for a bit and everything calmed down so she was better. She even had a little play with Pongo!! She did have a bark and a telling off at a couple of the dogs that seemed to pester her a bit too much for her liking, but on the whole I was quite pleased with how she responded to the situation.
Re: Set back Oh poor Penny and you! I know what you mean about dogs jumping on her and the concern for her hips with Willow having bad hips. It's good to hear that you both had a good day after that encounter anyway and the day did sound lovely with the sunshine. I walk my two on the beach daily also and must admit I still tend to be a bit naive about dogs being on/off leads. I have always believed that if a dog cannot be controlled (or is dangerous to others) it should be kept on a lead, if it can be trusted then it should be off lead. Thankfully we have never had a problem but when I see a dog coming on a lead, mine go on leads also as with two, they tend to back each other up and mount an ambush (not aggressively in any way but that said other dogs don't know that until they've arrived at him/her). I have learned a lot from this forum especially when it comes to walking and leads and how other dogs may be in training or anxious. Now, if I see other dogs are off lead, I keep mine off too, Willow can be boisterous (11 mths) but she usually runs up to them and turns to run straight back again leaving Jack on his own ;D I also don't want her being anxious around other dogs. My biggest worry is children - the dogs seem to think they are strange looking 2 legged dogs as they are the same size and want to go play - so kids mean leads at all times Hope this doesn't set Penny back too much and she can enjoy her beach as much as she can. Shell, Willow & Jack
