Lola attacked by several dogs now I can't stop cryng

Re: Lola attacked by several dogs now I can't stop cryng

[quote author=editor link=topic=5119.msg64312#msg64312 date=1396010540]
So sorry to hear about your horrid experience.

I have a slightly different approach to socialising puppies. I only let my small puppies meet strange, older, dogs in a pre-arranged way. I set up these encounters with friends etc. My own feeling is that the risk to the puppy of being attacked and made fearful, is too great to do what Julie does.

Though I appreciate that this works out fine for most people, and is probably essential for someone that has to exercise their dog in a busy London park. But I have come across several instances now, of puppies that have been traumatised through a rough or aggressive encounter with an older dog.

I personally don't think that puppies need a vast number of encounters with strange dogs to be well socialised. I think regular encounters are important, but probably not 'thousands'. All this is of course just opinion. No-one really knows for sure

I also don't want my dogs to be playful with strange dogs that they meet out in public once they are past the six month or so stage. So at that point I start to teach them to sit quietly as other dogs walk past and to ignore other dogs. We tend to reserve 'playing' for at home in the garden, or in a friends garden. The reason for this in my case, is because my dogs are intended as working dogs and interacting with other dogs on a shoot day would be inappropriate. But, it is also a useful management strategy for many young labradors, which can become excessively interested in other dogs if allowed to 'free play' with every dog they meet. This is what some trainers mean when they talk about 'over-socialised' puppies.
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Lola wants to be able to meet everyone and everything and sits to be greeted (Otherwise I will ask them not to fuss her till I get her to sit) but sadly we didn't get much choice on this encounter :'( today was the first time (other than at my mum's and my brother's) that she met more than one at once. If it wasn't for the one who bit her I think it would of gone well. Like I said the lab bounced over and said hello before the other one snapped. But as soon as he heard that yelp it was like someone flicked a switch and he went straight for the throat

 

Re: Lola attacked by several dogs now I can't stop cryng

[quote author=editor link=topic=5119.msg64312#msg64312 date=1396010540]
I personally don't think that puppies need a vast number of encounters with strange dogs to be well socialised. I think regular encounters are important, but probably not 'thousands'. All this is of course just opinion. No-one really knows for sure
[/quote]

Really? I spent billions of hours doing this!

I took the Ian Dunbar puppy book very literally - although some of it was pretty impossible. Even when Charlie was 5 months old the instructions were still to meet 3 unfamiliar dogs a day (we managed that, but struggled with the 25 people in fancy dress before the age of 10 weeks until I hit upon the junior medics fancy dress pup crawl). :

Oh well, as a result Charlie is (or was) very well socialised, that's for sure. I hope anyway it pays off to get us through the period where contact with other dogs just stopped when he was injured. :'( So worried about that now.

 

Re: Lola attacked by several dogs now I can't stop cryng

Charlie is a beautiful, resilient boy and he will be fine Julie. You've laid such good groundwork it will all come back

 

Re: Lola attacked by several dogs now I can't stop cryng

I am so sorry poor Lola has been through this and you too

I agree with Pippa that pre-arranged meetings are far better, I did that with Hattie, I would arrange to meet a friend and her dog in a field/paddock then go for a walk, also she got to socialise a bit at puppy classes and then controlled meet & greets at obedience classes. I still also regularly walk with people I know. I hope that's why Hattie does not bound up to every strange dog we meet on our walks.

Charlie has suffered a bit on the socialising side due to his constant on lead walks, but on a long line he is fine except for 3 very large male reactive dogs but I think we will get there.

I hope you and Lola are OK after your fright x

 

Re: Lola attacked by several dogs now I can't stop cryng

[quote author=charlie link=topic=5119.msg64327#msg64327 date=1396015682]
I hope that's why Hattie does not bound up to every strange dog we meet on our walks.
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It seems to be the absolute opposite with my Charlie. When he got to meet loads of dogs, he could take them or leave them - no big deal and pretty much a perfect recall away from them, and didn't bound up until told "go play". Restricting his interactions with other dogs, however, has made him desperate to get to them.

 

Re: Lola attacked by several dogs now I can't stop cryng

You are not the first person to find it impossible. I think the Dunbar book is very useful but I suspect that his recommendations for socialisation are not ones that many 'puppy parents' manage to complete in their entirety.

It sounds as though you have done an amazing job with Charlie, and I'm sure you won't have any problems in that respect due to his confinement.

I think that is maybe a short term thing. I find that if older puppies are consistently restricted from playing with strange dogs in public places, they eventually accept that it is 'not going to happen' and become less interested/aroused/excited at the prospect of other dogs.

 

Re: Lola attacked by several dogs now I can't stop cryng

I failed to stop Riley self-rewarding on this point so I have resigned myself to have a very sociable dog and am working on only greeting when released :

 

Re: Lola attacked by several dogs now I can't stop cryng

It's must be such a different way of training living in London, the fact that you have no option but to meet soooo many dogs. In the country you really have to set up meetings to socialise your dogs as some days I don't see a soul on my walks.

David's been pretty lucky with Charlie meeting Mark and Woody about 3/4 times a week and at the weekends he gets to meets Amca the Cocker Spaniel who Charlie really likes but really it's not enough and lord alone knows I have tried to organise walks with Charlie but as I have said before most people are not interested in helping us or their own dogs come to that so we hope for the best but luckyily for us Charlie is far more interested in people than other dogs.

I am sure your Charlie will be just fine when he gets to socialise with other dogs again Julie, try not to worry until you need to. x

 

Re: Lola attacked by several dogs now I can't stop cryng

I am so sorry that poor Lola had this horrible experience, glad no physical harm done, at least. This whole thing can be tricky to manage, as you can see by the varying replies. You are doing a good job with her, the important thing is to not let his knock you back too much so that YOU are fearful when strange dogs approach....our dogs pick up so much from us!

Maybe some good, controlled "meets" for the next little while with dogs you know are friendly, just to get everyone's confidence back? And then venturing out again into the wild world, so to speak?

Just a suggestion, not sure how easy that is for you. I know it's hard (basically impossible) for me to set up "play dates" with other dogs for Simba.... I don't know anyone with a dog right now!! Crazy but true! So we go to the dog park and hope to find "friendlies" there....not always successful, either.

 

Re: Lola attacked by several dogs now I can't stop cryng

Lisa, have you thought about some sort of indoors obedience class for Simba at least that way he would get controlled meets/greets with other dogs and he could learn some new skills, not sure if it's possible but just a thought ???

 

Re: Lola attacked by several dogs now I can't stop cryng

[quote author=charlie link=topic=5119.msg64339#msg64339 date=1396016549]
It's must be such a different way of training living in London, the fact that you have no option but to meet soooo many dogs. In the country you really have to set up meetings to socialise your dogs as some days I don't see a soul on my walks.
[/quote]

The quietest walk we do (late evening, local streets) would still involve passing 4 or 5 groups of people, many cars, seeing 2 or 3 dogs - usually on the other side of the road though at that time of night we wouldn't have to walk passed them on the same side - and lots of foxes cheekily sat on top of walls and behind railings that walk slooowly away as we approach....

I just don't know. After 4 months of no doggy interactions, Charlie isn't much good at coping with other dogs (he is not aggressive, just wants to play). I'll have to have a think about whether allowing him interactions will return his "I can take them or leave them, would rather play with my dummy" previous attitude towards other dogs, or I can somehow turn the period of no interaction to my advantage.

 

Re: Lola attacked by several dogs now I can't stop cryng

You have time to think of how you want to proceed with Charlie's interaction with dogs Julie which has it's advantages The period of no interaction could give you a dog that is
totally focussed on you and he won't be that bothered anyway which sounds pretty good to me :-\

 

Re: Lola attacked by several dogs now I can't stop cryng

Poor Lola Im so sorry that happened to her. My girl is horrendous with puppies, cant abide them and gives them a severe telling off and shouting at for merely existing. I never let her near them, though puppies seem completely obsessed by her and ignore brodick who is happy to play and make straight for cuillin and fling themselves at her despite her body language being plain as plain can be that they arent welcome....on the odd occassion she does manage to tell them how much she dislikes them in her presence i always apologise profusely to owners, interestingly though those puppies she used to be most horrible to are now older and her good buddies so what looks horrible to me obviously didnt make a lasting impact on the puppies....agree about being careful with puppy socialisation. I though cuillin was safely esconsed in the puppy nursery at her day care centre, only to find out when she was about five months old and i asked what age she would go in with the Big Dogs that she had been running with the very big packs of older dogs there ( often about thirty to forty dogs hooning around) from thirteen weeks old as she was ' confident enough' . Im fairly certain that this kind of socialisation at that age has contributed to if not caused her dog fear issues now...controlled greetings and play with well behaved older dogs would have been preferable and i would be sooooo much more selective about where i took my pups when wee now...

 

Re: Lola attacked by several dogs now I can't stop cryng

Just wanted to say I am sorry you and Lola had a bit of a rough morning, and hope you are both feeling a bit better this afternoon
xx

 

Re: Lola attacked by several dogs now I can't stop cryng

So very sorry for this awful experience , please dont let it put you off letting Lola off lead , work on recall in the home and garden , then maybe have her on a long training line ? Chin up , tomorrow is another day , hug your little girl x

 

Re: Lola attacked by several dogs now I can't stop cryng

Just parted her fur cause she flinched a little when she was fussed and there is a bit of bruising :'(

My poor little princess.

@debsie - I would have gladly accepted a simple sorry but instead got a laugh! I dread to think how it could of panned out if I had my 3 year old son with me

@Charlie - Luckily where I live it is a small town with the best of both worlds. A nice town centre with plenty of people and then big open fields. If I wanted I could easily choose the isolated route and avoid people and dogs or give her chance to meet and great.

Unfortunately I don't know many people around here. We moved less than a year ago more than 60 miles from everyone we know and those I do know don't have dogs except for the one who doesn't like other dogs. I keep telling my friend she needs to get a boy to call Charlie as in Charlie and Lola the kids programme lol

 

Re: Lola attacked by several dogs now I can't stop cryng

I know just how you feel, when Benson was around the same age, or maybe a bit older we had a similar experience. It was absolutely awful, and yes like you I was incredibly tearful and angry at the other dog owners indifferent response, I now think it was the owners being defensive about their own dogs ill manners, and feel a bit sorry for their dogs.
I hope your beautiful pup Lola is OK..I am sure she is, and what a lucky girl she is to have such a caring owner like you

 

Re: Lola attacked by several dogs now I can't stop cryng

Lola is more than happy now. Every time I would start blubbering again she would come and nudge me as if to say "Stop crying mummy I'm fine!!!" She is such an affectionate little girl she's had lots of treats and belly rubs ;D.

I don't think she was being defensive just ignorant.

Wish all the people and dogs we met out and about were as lovely as those on here

 

Re: Lola attacked by several dogs now I can't stop cryng

Hope you are feeling a bit better now and better still tomorrow morning

 

Re: Lola attacked by several dogs now I can't stop cryng

Just checking to see if link works. It's Lola after rolling around in the wet grass lol