Poor Sam got attacked by a young Springer this afternoon :'( We were in a local field doing some training , Sam was loving it, so was I for that matter , sun shining , perfect . There is a public footpath through this field and I saw a young woman with a toddler and this Springer coming through the gate at one end . Sam is very sociable with other dogs but when in retrieiving mode, he will ignore them completely , I knew that he had seen to dog but he carried on searching for his dummy in the undergrowth . The Springer saw Sam and immediately lay down , waiting for Sam to come back to me with the dummy which he did and at this, the dog pounced , snarling and snapping like a thing possessed, trying to get the dummy from Sam . The owner called out " Its alright, she isnt being nasty , she wants to play " Oh yes ? So , snapping and snarling is play ? I dont think so and I called out to her to call her dog off immediately , which eventually she did but still insisting that her dog didnt usually behave like this, usually wanted to play , I`m afraid she got a piece of my mind. Poor Sam was really upset , it couldnt have happened at a worse time because I am working hard on his delivery which had slipped but now improving . I sat with him for a few minutes, he is such a sensitive dog and clearly very upset indeed , shaking like a leaf. Back home I have bathed his chin with hibiscrub where the damned dog bit him , thankfully not deep, he also has a sort of graze on his front leg, possibly from the other dogs claws as it tried to get his dummy out of his mouth as he lay on the ground in submission, but bless him, he wasnt giving his dummy up for all the tea in China . The worrying thing was that clearly the dog was totally out of control and I cant believe that it hasnt shown these tendancies before either . I know Sam is big but he isnt brave at all , sort of makes it worse :'(
Re: I very rarely lose my temper but ...... Poor Sam, and poor you Kate. It is horrid when your dog gets bitten - tends to bring out the Mother Tiger in us! Do hope he is ok, especially as he is such a love. I always try to tell myself that if you have dogs, especially male dogs, they are without a doubt going to get into a scrap or get bitten at some point in their lives... Try not to get too upset Kate, as that will make it worse for Sam. Just do the 'poor old Sam, what a nasty dog, never mind you're not badly hurt, let's play a nice game and forget about it' just as you would with a child, I'm sure that'll be better for him than making him even more worried by fussing over him too much... But goodness, I understand the fury you are feeling!
Re: I very rarely lose my temper but ...... I'm totally with you, Riley's had a similar experience and is pretty nervy on a first meeting with springers especially. It makes my blood boil when people don't take quick action and sort their dogs out. We met two springers the other day and I've never seen Riley's tail so firmly clamped. Luckily they were nice and just wanted a sniff and say hello. I hope Sam meets some nice dogs too soon and puts this horrible experience out of his mind
Re: I very rarely lose my temper but ...... Poor you and Sam, I hope you are both OK. Irresponsible dog owner again but good for you for giving the owner a piece of your mind. Sending Sam lots of love and cuddles. Helen, Hattie & Charlie xxx
Re: I very rarely lose my temper but ...... Look at the positive side, Kate, that dummy really means something to Sam if he is prepared to hang on to it even when challenged in an aggressive fashion. Had it been my Murffi he would have said 'You want it mate, here have it!!' And then he would have legged it.
Re: I very rarely lose my temper but ...... [quote author=heidrun link=topic=1598.msg11472#msg11472 date=1369753822] Look at the positive side, Kate, that dummy really means something to Sam if he is prepared to hang on to it even when challenged in an aggressive fashion. Had it been my Murffi he would have said 'You want it mate, here have it!!' And then he would have legged it. [/quote] Oh that really made me laugh Heidrun , and you`re right, what chance does a Springer have if Sam wont even gie the dummy to me ;D ;D ;D No , I didnt baby him too much Karen ( just a bit ) but he did need a cuddle :-[ :-[
Re: I very rarely lose my temper but ...... What a horrible experience and I have to say I'm the same as you it would have made my blood boil. I was down the field the other day doing some training with a dummy when some completely out of control enormous chocolate labrador hurtled 200m across the field, shoulder charged and bowled over Tarka who was returning to me with the dummy in her mouth, made off with it and proceeded to rip it to shreds while the owner sauntered up and said something on the lines of "Oh, you shouldn't have let him take that (???) I can't get anything back off him" then sauntered off. At least my two girls weren't injured in the process, just shaken up a bit, poor Sam.
Re: I very rarely lose my temper but ...... A rotten experience, Kate. Poor Sam, but he's probably put it behind him already (but not forgotten - they have very good memories). Respect! re the dummy. Like Heidrun's Murfi, Lady would have dropped the dummy and legged it too.
Re: I very rarely lose my temper but ...... :'( oh no poor you and sam, that is my biggest fear,i feel when i am out and about with him, i have no control , he just seems to run to any dog and wants to play, :-[ might be is age only being a baby, i dont seem to be able to call him back, i have got to run to him and grab hold of him, i am doing my best but he just ignores me :'(
Re: I very rarely lose my temper but ...... Oh Lynne, dont lose heart , we all go through those times when they act like hooligans , I certainly did but we have dogs who arent aggressive, thats the difference . Have you bought Pippas book Total Recall Lynne ? I really would urge you to get it and work your way slowly through it with Jasper , its everso easy to follow , even for a first time owner like you , dont get upset x
Re: I very rarely lose my temper but ...... my heart went out for you and sam, was thinking how would i handle him if that happened to him, :-\ with having a fear of dogs, think i would just fall to the ground helpless :'( how are you and sam now ?
Re: I very rarely lose my temper but ...... We`re fine Lynne thank you , Sam has had an extra sardine with his tea for being brave(ish) and I shall just have to force myself to have a large glass of something alcoholic , purely for the shock of course
Re: I very rarely lose my temper but ...... sorry did not answer you about the book, you reminded me , so just been on line and ordered it, should be here thurs fri, thanks for the reminder , oh yes a stiff drink does the trick, awh poor sam
Re: I very rarely lose my temper but ...... So glad you and Sam have recovered from your ordeal Kate. Yes shock always a good excuse for Sardines and a drink or three ;D Lynne, when Pippa's book arrives it will cover "Calling away from dogs", I am very nearly on that exercise. As Kate said just work your way through slowly and you will be amazed at the progress you and Jasper make, even my naughty Charlie has improved so much and you will become a better owner too. Good luck Helen xx
Re: I very rarely lose my temper but ...... oh i am getting excited, glad kate reminded me, as my son was buying this for me : never arrived, thats a 23 year old for you, es doing well in the house, well i think he is but i have nothing to compare with normally when he sees another dog he will run to play, keeps an eye on us to see we still in eye view, was out with him sunday with my daughter and grandson, he went off to another dog, and for the life of me i think he would have just followed them home, he never looked over once to see where we was :-[
Re: I very rarely lose my temper but ...... The book really will make a difference Lynne , Helens Charlie has shown a huge improvement since reading through it , Helen I mean, not Charlie Sam went through a phase of following people too , but once you start working on a solid recall , your confidence will grow and so will Jaspers , keep the faith
Re: I very rarely lose my temper but ...... So sorry to hear about what happened. You were totally within your rights to go off your brain at that lady. A lot of people are too spineless to take responsibility and apologise for the negative actions of their dogs.
Re: I very rarely lose my temper but ...... Poor things - you and Sam....... hope you are feeling better now - I took the liberty of having an extra glass of wine tonight on your behalf ;D (book club you understand!) Interestingly, when we were out earlier, Lilly was firmly "told off" by a mummy GSD on our post-agility walk. She likes to "steal" balls and start a chase - this wasn't in the GSD's master-plan however The rest of the walk was oddly subdued - off lead and very close to us - everytime they crossed near, Lilly was clearly deferential. Really interesting to watch the doggy dynamics in varying groups. Still can't work them out though : Fascinating, dogs, aren't they? jac
Re: I very rarely lose my temper but ...... It is interesting. Pops was 'told off' very firmly by an older bitch at training last week. Poppy was being a bit boisterous and 'in your face' for this dog, who suddenly snapped and her and knocked her onto the floor. No real harm done, but a chastened Poppy was a lot quieter for a while!!!
