I've got a bit of a problem with Max, let me explain:
Max was attacked by a dog at the beach and instead of defending himself, he just bolted! It's really frustrating me because I’d like to teach my dog how to stand up for himself!!!!!! How do I do that??? The last time I was out with a friend and her dog (his name's Fox). At one point, there was a dog and its owner who wanted the dogs to "get to know each other" and the owner's dog started growling at Max. Max (who was off-lead) just ran for it! He did come back later, though. But when the other dog growled at Fox, Fox stood his ground by growling back at the other dog.
I wish my dog would act "dominant" too.
Why doesn't he react when a dog growls at him or attacks him?
Thanks 😊
Translated from French
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Hi @Mydogs, mine got attacked by an old ***** that was outside a garage right in the middle of the street this weekend. I whacked her with the lead so she’d leave him alone and she let go. He defended himself but didn't manage to grab that nasty dog, which is a pity—she would’ve deserved it, sorry to say. And the owner didn't even apologise, she just smiled at me... Since then, I’ve been using a studded collar—not a prong collar, I should point out—so if some stupid dog tries to grab him by the neck, it’ll wreck its teeth. Then this afternoon, yet another attack from an old *****; she went full pelt at mine. The guy was calling his mutt back but it didn't give a toss what its owner said. I grabbed my iron chain and she took a hit; she yelped and ran off with her owner chasing after her lol. My dog didn't have to defend himself this time because I sorted it quickly. It used to be just the idiots I had to deal with, now I’ve got their dogs to put up with as well. I’m fed up with this town. Thank God for my chain—no one’s attacking my dog without getting a whack from it.
A studded collar?
Never heard of that.
Can you get them in pet shops?
Hi @Mydogs, mine got attacked by an old ***** that was outside a garage right in the middle of the street this weekend. I whacked her with the lead to get her to leave him alone and she let go. He tried to defend himself but didn't manage to grab that nasty creature—shame really, she deserved it. Sorry for saying that, but the owner didn't even apologise and just stood there smiling at me... Since then, I’ve put a studded collar on him—not a prong collar, I should clarify—so if any stupid dog tries to grab him by the neck, it'll wreck its teeth. And then today, yet another attack from another old *****; she went full pelt for mine. The guy was calling his mutt back but it didn't give a toss what its master was saying. I grabbed my iron chain and gave her a whack; she yelped and ran off with her owner chasing after her lol. My dog didn't have to defend himself this time as I dealt with it quickly. I used to just have to deal with the idiots, but now I’ve got their dogs to put up with too. I’m fed up to the back teeth with this town. Thank God for my chain—no one is attacking my dog again without getting a whack.
Sigh...
Hi @Mydogs, mine got attacked by an old ***** that was out the front of a garage right in the middle of the street this weekend. I gave her a whack with the lead to get her to leave him alone and she let go. He defended himself but didn't manage to get a hold of that nasty dog, which is a shame really as she deserved it—sorry to say that. And the owner didn't even apologise, she just stood there smirking at me... Since then, I've put a studded collar on him (not a prong one, I should point out); if some brainless dog tries to grab him by the neck, it’ll smash its teeth in.
And then this afternoon, yet another attack from an old *****! She went full pelt at mine. The guy was calling his mutt back but it couldn't care less what its master was saying. I grabbed my iron chain and she got a whack; she yelped and ran off with her owner running after her lol. For this attack, my dog didn't even have to defend himself because I handled it quickly.
I used to just have the idiots to deal with, but now I’ve got their dogs to put up with too. I'm fed up with this town. Thank god for my chain—nobody’s attacking my dog again without getting a taste of it.
Hi everyone, this morning at the beach, a dog with no owner in sight came up to us. The dog was wearing a collar and a flea collar, so I figured his owner must be somewhere nearby and that there was no need to worry... They played for about 10 minutes, but then my dog tried to get him to play again (it was a bit rough) and I think the other one had had enough. All of a sudden, he bared his teeth and looked ready to attack, so to protect my dog I shouted "no!" and he ran off.
When my dog got attacked, I managed to break it up by shouting loudly at the other one.
Odin was on his lead and was circling around me, and the other dog was doing the same. At one point, I found myself caught between the two of them, with my dog behind me. So I raised my arm right up and yelled "get lost!" at the other dog as loud as I could. He turned tail and went back where he’d come from.
Mind you, it all depends on the situation; you just have to react and do what you can. There’s no instruction manual for breaking up a dog fight.
Sometimes though, the best thing is to try and anticipate it. I’ve had to send dogs packing when they come charging towards us with no owner in sight. For instance, sometimes in the woods I can hear the owners on a different path, miles away and out of sight, and the dog just appears out of nowhere. I just tell them to clear off.
I honestly don't see why anyone would find it frustrating to have a dog that avoids a scrap or is submissive.
Odin was once attacked by a dog that lunged at him with its teeth bared. I was actually so proud of him for running away and circling around me (we were in town and he was on the lead). I’d much rather that than have him fight back! Especially considering his size; if he did defend himself, he’d do some real damage.
It’s the same with the dachshunds—Odin just backs down; he's definitely not the boss. And that’s absolutely fine by me.
He’s three and a half now and I’ve only seen him properly "angry" and in defensive mode once. To be honest, I’d much prefer it if he just ran away! 😅
Actually, when he did lose his temper, it was to protect "his" dachshunds from the neighbour's dog. There wasn't any real danger as the other dog was behind a fence, but Odin thought there was. You really shouldn't mess with his dachshunds; it's amazing how my big softie can turn into a total machine!
In my view, a dog that’s sound in the head and well-socialised is one that avoids unnecessary violence.
Until a few days ago, I was convinced my dog was permanently submissive. If another dog, no matter how small, starts acting aggressive, Phô bolts with his tail between his legs, showing every possible calming signal.
It was a bit frustrating for me; I used to think it wasn't necessarily a good thing for him to be so incapable of standing his ground.
But I didn't let it bother me too much... he’s a big bulldog, and given all the prejudices against them, deep down it’s "easier" knowing he’d never overstep the mark! ^^
Never mind if he’s a bit of a pushover!
Then, a few days ago, a terrier aggressively went for him. At first, Phô backed off, showing he didn’t want a scrap and trying to use signals to show it was pointless, but the other dog was looking for a fight even more!
Phô eventually had enough and, for the first time, asserted himself in a split second—just enough to show the other dog that he wasn't going to win and that the nonsense was over!
Anyway, I now reckon that plenty of "submissive" dogs actually have more common sense than others—chill dogs who are better at reading and handling tense situations.
When we're on an unfamiliar path, my dogs (who are off-lead) are expected to stay behind me. (Whereas on a familiar walk, they can be 10 or 15 metres ahead because I know there won't be any nasty surprises.)
I'll call them back if I spot a dog I don't know; usually, I stop and pull over to the side, and the dogs know they have to stay behind me or right by my side in that position. It’s best to wait a few seconds after a dog has passed before moving again: it happened to me once, I’d moved well out of the way with my dogs to let some walkers with their dogs pass. They didn’t even look at us; I thought I could carry on with the walk and then—bam!—one of the two dogs, which hadn't paid us any attention at all, turned around and lunged at one of mine. I certainly hadn't seen that coming...
My softie of an Australian Shepherd always avoids confrontation when faced with a more assertive dog. Except when it comes to defending me or another dog. He always lets me handle the situation, or he lets my spaniel play the "fun police" while he keeps himself well out of the way. Aside from a few exceptions. And you know, it’s much more manageable having a dog that isn't very reactive than one that's over-reactive.
Yes, it’s true that it’s better to have a non-reactive dog than a reactive one.
In my opinion, "letting your dog off the lead" is the worst possible advice and probably the one that will have the biggest repercussions down the line. Your dog will pick up on so much. They'll see you're scared and that you aren't able to protect them, so they'll think it's up to them to defend themselves. It’s the perfect recipe for making them reactive or even aggressive the next time around. Without even questioning whether the other dog is charging out of excitement, play or aggression, I think the right thing to do is to step in and calm the situation down. Even if it’s not your dog, a loud, firm "stop" or "no" works almost every time. @Dundeemaya, I’m more than surprised. You say you’ve got your dangerous dog handling certificate and they’re telling you to let the dog go? Don’t tell me that’s actually what they taught you!
OK thanks, but I thought letting your dog off the lead gave them more freedom and was better for them. That’s why I taught him to walk off-lead and worked on his recall.
