I took Harley to Snuff Mills this afternoon. Bumped into Benson and Casper (he is a real cutie ). We let the dogs play whilst I chatted to Marcus and Kate (Beanwood and Benson's-dad). All really positive they played really well together 10 minutes later, me and Harley were walking down the hill towards the river, seen 2 boxers (I think). They were off lead and came and said hi to Harley. One tried to mount her so she told him off, 2 seconds later they both turned on her, chased her, pinned her down, all had hackles up and they were baring their teeth and snapping at her. I ran over to intervene and shouted at the owners to get them off as Harley was yelping like mad. The women ambled over whilst I shoved one dog off and put myself over Harley. The man stayed where he was. The owner said 'they're only playing, they do play a bit rough'. I lost it at this and told her where to go before I reported them. Harley got out from user me and ran away. She wouldn't come near me for over 10 mins ;( Luckily she wasn't bit, but she was very shaken as was I. I am so frustrated that other owners think that behaviour is acceptable!! Sorry for the rant but I am still sooooo angry. It ruined our walk as we went home not long after
Re: Horrendous walk ;( Nightmare Ternaya,thank goodness neither of you were hurt ,I'd have been really scared by that !I think you handled it really well .....I don't think Harley could have been upset with you...I think she was probably just shaken up generally .I don't understand how some people can be the way they are....it's dangerous,if you've got 2 dogs that play rough,you need to be managing their interactions carefully when they are meeting new dogs....it's totally irresponsible to do otherwise,it must have been lovely meeting Forum friends,I'm so sorry it ended as it did xxx
Re: Horrendous walk ;( oh poor Harley . I hate it when that kind of thing happens...not sure if the Boxers were playing or bullying, but whatever they should have picked up on Harleys reaction and stopped...I had an incident about nine months ago when my two were playing really really rough with a dog pal, who also plays rough, a younger dog appeared out of nowhere and tried to join in and it all got out of control quite quickly, the young dog just wasnt up for what was going on. Brodick and their dog pal backed off when they saw the young dog wasnt happy, but cuillin was too hyped up and didnt until I yelled Enough and was verging on bullying as it was very clear the other dog wasnt happy...agree that u need to supervise rough players really carefully, now I dont let my two play rough unless I can see for miles and there are no other dogs around. If it was bullying rather than rough play then the owner of the boxers sounds like she really needs to manage things better....hope Harley is ok and you are feeling a bit better..
Re: Horrendous walk ;( [quote author=debsie link=topic=8233.msg116340#msg116340 date=1413136234] oh poor Harley . I hate it when that kind of thing happens...not sure if the Boxers were playing or bullying, but whatever they should have picked up on Harleys reaction and stopped... [/quote] This, exactly this. And if the dogs didn't stop, the owner should have stopped them immediately. How anyone can think such roughhousing is 'just play' I do not understand.
Re: Horrendous walk ;( So scary when this happens and frustrating too. I'm always a bit wary in a situation where you have two (or more) dogs who know each other and your dog is the odd man out. A switch to pack mentality can happen so very quickly, especially if there is rough play involved. Glad Harley is okay, hopefully she won't be too put off other dogs as a result.
Re: Horrendous walk ;( Oh Ternaya, I am really sorry to read this, we had such a wonderful time! We were both thrilled to bump into you, and so chuffed they all played so well, made our day! We were chatting afterwards on how well Harley looked, she was so very sweet with Casper, being a rescue we are always watching and monitoring interactions with other dogs very carefully. Casper is a confident and assertive dog, so very different to Benson. I know you are shaken up, just wish we were around a bit longer, and could've helped out. There are just some very uneducated dog owners out there, it is so frustrating! I have even considered carrying around one of those dog sprays...can't remember what they are called though? The are not harmful, but make some sort of hissing sound that dogs that dogs find unpleasant. Will have to google later on Hugs to Harley from Benson and Casper xx
Re: Horrendous walk ;( This is the corrector spray, I haven't used it, however some of the reviews reference some situations similar to what you unfortunately experienced. It would be useful to hear opinions/experience from any board members here? Not a behaviour modifier I would want to use but would consider if a situation looked like it might escalate into serious aggression. http://reviews.petco.com/3554/10994...-of-animals-pet-corrector-reviews/reviews.htm
Re: Horrendous walk ;( Pongo is furious and says he would have protected the lovely Harley at all costs if he'd been there. Lots and lots of very gentle licks to Harley and he hopes he'll see her on the 18th....
Re: Horrendous walk ;( How awful. Sounds like much more than rough play to me. Rude dogs and ignorant owners. I hope you and Harley are feeling less shaken now - that kind of experience certainly throws you for a while.
Re: Horrendous walk ;( I am feeling a bit calmer now, but am still seething from it all. It was definitely not rough play! Harley can be rough with next doors lab, but nowhere near like what happened today. It was Harley's yelping and her struggling to get up that was horrendous Harley seems to be ok, she was very placid when we got home and went and led on her bed which is unusual for her. We have given her lots of hugs from everyone x It was lovely to see Benson and Casper they are fab and Harley loved them both I will have a look into that spray, just incase something like this happens again. Harley knows if Pongo, Benson or Casper were there they would of protected her. She sends them all big licks and will be there next weekend
Re: Horrendous walk ;( I know how you feel. I have had "words" (which I'm afraid were somewhat strong and a bit shouty on my part) this week with the owner of a large male black lab that turned Charlie on his back, and the owner of two clearly predatory sighthounds "that were only playing". When Charlie put himself behind me, I thought they were going to have a go at me. "Only playing" my foot. I do not let Charlie approach 2 plus dogs that are together unless I know them - I've observed far too much undesirable behaviour from dogs that are operating in "packs". Also hasten to add, I know loads of lovely 2s and 3s, but I'm wary of strange ones.
Re: Horrendous walk ;( What a horrid experience! Sounds very much like one I posted about a while ago (I don't remember where!) that happened to me and Molly, when she was much younger and very "soft". Ignorant owners who ranted about me not knowing anything about dog behaviors, then the man ended up attacking me! Slammed me in the chest so hard I flew backwards and landed on my tailbone on ice-packed ground. Very scary episode. I'm so glad you and Harley are both okay! You do have to protect your dog, but also be careful with psycho people. That spray sounds like a good idea - maybe for the people, too!
Re: Horrendous walk ;( [quote author=JulieT link=topic=8233.msg116374#msg116374 date=1413154508] I do not let Charlie approach 2 plus dogs that are together unless I know them - I've observed far too much undesirable behaviour from dogs that are operating in "packs". Also hasten to add, I know loads of lovely 2s and 3s, but I'm wary of strange ones. [/quote] Guide Dogs often meet up for get togethers and free runs, but we only ever let two run free together at a time. The nicest of dogs can 'switch' if in pack mode - so we don't risk it. If they get a 'rush' from behaving like that they may look for it again.
Re: Horrendous walk ;( [quote author=Boogie link=topic=8233.msg116387#msg116387 date=1413183550] [quote author=JulieT link=topic=8233.msg116374#msg116374 date=1413154508] I do not let Charlie approach 2 plus dogs that are together unless I know them - I've observed far too much undesirable behaviour from dogs that are operating in "packs". Also hasten to add, I know loads of lovely 2s and 3s, but I'm wary of strange ones. [/quote] Guide Dogs often meet up for get togethers and free runs, but we only ever let two run free together at a time. The nicest of dogs can 'switch' if in pack mode - so we don't risk it. If they get a 'rush' from behaving like that they may look for it again. [/quote] I think that's interesting. I've had problems with a few dogs (that live together) recently - they seem to act very differently from single dogs. Dogs approaching in pairs have very different body language from a dog approaching alone - it's quite striking, I think.
Re: Horrendous walk ;( I've decided, after sleeping on it, that I'm not going to walk Harley there on my own again. I have had 3 incidents there over the past year (one ended up with Harley being bit and needed staples on her leg). I'm going to find other walks locally. I will be more wary of groups of dogs, especially if I don't know them. I have brilliant experiences of the SW forum walks where we all let the dogs off and they all behave brilliantly.
Re: Horrendous walk ;( I don't blame you - we meet loads of lovely dogs, but sadly too many that are aggressive. I'm very protective of Charlie these days. I do have to go to some lengths to make sure he meets enough strange dogs (don't want to isolate him), but thankfully classes, training and arranged outings meet most of our dog to dog interaction needs, and apart from that we stick to saying hello to younger dogs and bitches.
Re: Horrendous walk ;( [quote author=Naya link=topic=8233.msg116394#msg116394 date=1413185162] I have brilliant experiences of the SW forum walks where we all let the dogs off and they all behave brilliantly. [/quote] Maybe its because we have a stronger focus on understanding and training our dogs than some dog owners? Holly and I had an incident at the start of the year when she was rolled and nipped by another dog that was "just playing". Its one of the few occasions when I've reverted to anglo-saxon when explaining something to another dog owner. Ever since then Holly's been very cautious about approaching strange dogs. She either sticks close to my heel or lies down in a non-threatening way to let them approach her.
Re: Horrendous walk ;( yes the ' packing up' thing is one to watch out for. Happens quite a lot with a group of dogs in my local park who have all grown up together from puppies and the owners meet up at same time every night for a gang rammy...there have been a few ' pack chasing the outsider away' incidents, when a stranger dog has gone up for a game...one I witnessed from afar when the dog being chased got a real fright and ended up running out of the park onto nearby roads which was horrid, thankfully the owners got there quick. All the dogs are lovely dogs individually, but that pack mentality thing can get out of hand quite quickly...we have a keep ourselves to ourselves policy now, avoid groups of dogs ( cuilli is scared of them anyway) and a quick hello to stranger dogs and move on. They have their dog pals and we keep to them in terms of socialising now...
Re: Horrendous walk ;( Ternaya we have some lovely quiet walks close by here, one of them Wapley Common, is my favourite. They have just created a new woodland pathway there, it is not huge but great combination of a little woodland and the choice of fields, 2 which are usually very quiet I might bump into the odd dog there The pack behaviour is interesting, met a pack today, and what I found fascinating is the different response to them from both Casper and Benson. Benson a bit nervous, and stayed by me after a bit of bullying when 2 of the pack peeled off to investigate Benson. Benson knows these dogs ( Bensons dad normally takes the early morning walk ) and his behaviour changed instantly when he spotted them. Casper however was an entirely different kettle of fish! Like a bat out of hell he sorted out the two dogs bothering Benson, when I say sorted he just went over to them, stood stiff legged staring at them and they wandered off. Benson then was able to recall back to me where he sat quietly by my side watching. Casper wasn't quite finished, he literally barrelled over to the main group, ostensibly to say hello, but it looked like he was saying "Puppies go and play with your sticks now!" ;D ;D Casper is not an aggressive dog in any shape or form, but I get the impression that dogs just don't mess with him, being older he is very self assured, and I think used to dealing with other dogs.
Re: Horrendous walk ;( Good boy Casper, that sounds very appropriate. I definitely think that there is something in dogs being confident, able to "handle" themselves, and get out of trouble, for sure. Charlie is coming along in this - he will give a "polite" back off growl now if another dog puts a paw on him or something like that, it's that kind of thing I like to see. Hopefully, he'll continue to grow.
