Hello! So I want to ask you all for help because I have no clue how to handle this. In June I was talking a walk with my lab Bismo. We have this neighbour with this very aggressive shitzu dog that lives in a yard surrounded by a fence so normally I would think it was safe walking past their house, it never was a problem before. This dog has some serious issues as he has attacked my other dog in the past. He also is considered by the whole neighbourhood to be troublesome as he barks very intense and angerily at every passing dog, chases them along the fence. Bismo has had a bit of problem with barking dogs for a while, but I tried distracting him with candy as I walked past them. What I didn't know was that someone had not shutten the gate to the fence properly so this dog somehow managed to open it. Out of nowhere we got attacked, it happened all so fast, I was way too busy to try to handle the small dog so I didnt pay much attention to how Bismo reacted. We both got bitten and ever since then Bismo has a big problem with small, barking, dogs. I should mention that my dog is only a year old so he hasn't had any experience like this before. Normally he loved everyone and everything, he wouldn't hurt a fly. Now, everytime we meet a small barking dog he gets crazy scared and jumps, pulling the leash, barking, as if he is trying to attack. Never seen him like this, not sure if it should be interpreted as aggression? I don't know what to do because I can't avoid small barking dogs and this happens everytime, it's impossible to calm him down. People get scared and think he is aggressive. Do you all have any suggestions for what I should do? Thanks!
Hi I’m very sorry this has happened to you both, how horrible, scary and wrong. The other dog has issues. Your dog is still so young and is obviously shaken up by this. Poor Bismo and you of course. He is scared and I think over time he will become less jumpy. I know it’s not the answer and you are doing all the right things. I wouldn’t interpret it as aggression he is scared and every right too. What happened was so wrong. Have either of you sustained injuries & of course mental scars take time to heal. Have you approached the owner/s of the other dog? You need to tell others around you what has happened so they understand tt
It really would best to arrange a session with a qualified, positive reinforcement behaviourist who can assess Bismo and advise on the best method to modify his behaviour - there an,'re several ways of approaching the problem. Not possible to advise on the most appropriate for your circumstances without seeing the behaviour. Ok is possible tgat Bismo is reacting to fear and trying to prevent small dogs approaching by being big and fierce. The problem is the more he gets to practice the behaviour the firmer rooted it becomes, and there is a risk that it becomes more generalisdd to other dogs and does become true aggression.
My lab is almost 2 and is very scared of little dogs because he was lunged at/attacked so many times by them when he was younger. Now if he is off leash he will totally avoid them but if the approach him he freezes. The other day 3 Pomeranians ran at him barking and he tucked his tail and had his hackles up terrified. I’m not sure how to change him either? He is a very cautious dog now and once he realizes the dogs are nice he starts wagging his tail!
Yes, it is very unfortunate, thank you. It is a shame because he really is a dog that has never had any behavioral issues other than being an "overexcited pup". For instance, I have only heard him growl once in his life, and that was when he was like 3 months old. I have never seen any fear in him become "physical". Before this event he use to have this very reactive behaviour towards dogs that barked at him, which was different since he barked and whimpered with a wagging tail, showing signs of excitement and playfulness when jumping and pulling the leash. Now he doesn't wag the tail and he doesn't whimper, he sorta "screams" panicky and "growl-bark" very loud. Haven't been able to read his face because I can only see him from behind and above. I hope he becomes less jumpy and it is very understandable indeed that he behaves this way, I just don't want him to even have to feel like this in the first place. It's also very difficult holding him because he is a big fella. I'm glad it isn't aggression atleast I hope it won't develop further. Our injuries wasn't "big" as the attacker was a very small dog. We still managed to get blood drawn but only very small wounds. The owner of the dog isn't really an understanding person, she sorta turned it around and made her dog the victim since he is a small dog. We've also had feuds with her before, so I rather avoid her from now on. Yes, I think a lot of people know this because rumours tend to spread very fast and almost every person that lives here has a dog But those who does not know get scared of him
I see. Well it makes sence to let someone take a look at it, someone who's knowledgable and uses positive methods Yeah, that frightens me a bit because I really don't want him to become aggressive and having to live in fear. I am not sure exactly what he is trying to accomplish as he doesn't try to run away from these dogs, he lungs at them. It looks like he is trying to attack but I am not sure? I haven't been able to read his face because I am always behind him.
Aww, I am sorry It's really so bad that it happens in the first place, especially with such young dogs. You get to have your dog loose? In Sweden it is actually illegal to have dogs loose in summertime, even if you are walking in a forest or somewhere very distant. It is a good thing that he atleast doesn't lunge or attack them which seems to be the case with Bismo so even if I could have him off leash I am not sure I would. That's good atleast, when your dog realize that they are nice!
It’s such a shame all your hard work has been undone just a bit by someone else. You sound like a great person/owner and doing everything right. It’s going to take time and patience and I hope things improve. Just come on the forum I’m sure there is support here for you too. Do you walk him in just a lead? I am now using a halti and my dog too is very big and strong and it’s helped so much. He walks much better most of the time anyway lol. Doesn’t matter the size it shouldn’t have happened and the owner is very wrong and should take more responsibility and even reporting if things get worse. That’s wrong for other dogs to be scared of him that’s like bullying
Briefly he is trying to make the other dog go away by being big and ferocious. Sort of I'm bigger, meaner/scarier than you so go away. Although the behaviour is most likely rooted in fear each time he practices the behaviour it becomes more reinforced and can tip into true aggression. Don't worry aboyt his face, his whole body will be giving signals - tail, ears, coat, body not just his face.
Thank you! You sound like a good person as well Yes it is very hard and much work, but hopefully I still have the foundation left that I spent so much time building on. It is required to use a leash here where I live (sweden) so i can not let him roam loose. I use an ati-pull harness which you connect the leash at the front so when the dog pull, they get more resistance as they pull against their own chest. I am going to change leash though, to an elastic one. So when the dog suddenly lunge at something the movement wont get as harsh, I get a lot of backpain so yeah labs are so strong. Unfortunally people have a bias towards bigger dogs. I use to have a small one as well and I've noticed big difference in how people percieve and tolerate big dogs. They have less tolerance towards bigger dogs unfortunally, I've seen so many small dogs get away with things that big dogs would get so much trouble for. I got reported to the police because Bismo once jumped on a neighbour (actually the owner to the dog that bit me) because he wanted to play with her.This wouldn't happen if he were a small dog I've had a lot of trouble with that one lady, ugh.
Yes they get to be off leash on “open space” if they have a voice and sight tag which basically means they will come back when called!
I’m sorry to hear that your dog has had such a bad experience. It might be useful to have some professional advice to overcome this if you have to walk past that particular house, particularly as you have to walk him everywhere on a lead and have back pain. Meanwhile, it may help to have a warning flash for his lead or harness, eg ‘Reactive dog - I need space’, so that other people give you space to cope if he reacts.
Oh I am, thank you lol. I’m just me and I like to think I’m a good person. Yes you do and that will always continue as this is the person and owner you want to be. Well done. Sweden, very nice. I didn’t know that. I suppose it’s a good idea as you have total control over your dog and not too many worries. In the Uk we can have them off lead on footpaths/fields but I don’t seem to have a good recall so I have bought an extendable lead which is helping but I’ve lost my confidence since coming back off holiday. The change of leash sounds good, worth a go. I have tried making him wait when he pulls, a harness he pulled even more, the halti worked really well and now I use halti and extendable lead. I’m beginning to see that, I’ve always been a bit selfish and think oh he won’t do no harm which he wouldn’t intentionally but he is a big dog, super friendly and jumps up and people quite rightly don’t like it. Plus people with smaller dogs you just don’t know how or if they are going to react and if owners are rude I find that hard. I just want to go out for walks and enjoy them. Well you know she isn’t that important
All of our Labs have been a little suspicious of small dogs. Tilly was bitten by a Boston Bull Terrier who just ran across a parking lot and bit her out of the blue. None of our labs seemed to have suffered much from the encounters with small dogs, they just are more friendly to larger dogs. Small dogs often just seem more aggressive and less friendly, probably because they are afraid of much larger dogs. The one exception is that our first Lab, Ginger, was bitten by a neighbors GSD and she actively hated all GSDs from then on.
