After owning a Flat Coat Retreiver for 12 years, my parents old dog sadly had to be put down 2 years ago after developing a tumour. My folks then decided to get another dog, and managed to find a near identical Flat Coat Retreiver from a rescue charity, and picked up Mack, aged 18months, in October last year:

The new dog was collected from the old owners house, where he was one of 5 large dogs living in a small terraced house with only a small back yard. The owner was getting rid of Mack, as Macks dad fought with him on several occasions.

Mack quickly settled in to my parents house, and enjoys having free run of their garden, 3 decent walks a day, plenty of friendly interaction with lots of other local dogs on his walks etc.

We have all noticed that the new dogs eyesight is quite poor – to the extent that he can barely chase a tennis ball in the air, and is hopeless at finding his toys when hidden in the garden etc.

On Sunday my dad was walking him on the local field and he was playing with 4 other dogs who he meets most days, when all of a sudden he savaged a small terrier, grabbed it by the neck and was shaking it from side to side (as gun dogs do when they catch birds / prey etc) (my dad described the dog as only being about 10cm high by 15cm long). The other dog survived but needed surgery at the vets. My parents felt really bad, and are obviously paying for the vets bills, and are now seriously worried about what to do with the dog, as we have a very young baby and the consequences of the dog doing something to our baby when we visit dont bare thinking about.

I think that my parents dog may have mistaken the terrier for a rabbit, and thought it was fair game, but theres no way of telling why it happended.

It looks like Mack is going to be given up to a rescue centre, but as a last resort my parents are meeting an ex-police dog trainer for some advice, but its not looking good for Mack.

Does anybody else have any experience of anything similar happening, or any sensible advice to offer?

A muzzle would seem the obvious short term answer whilst other options are look at.

I’d never trust the dog not to do the same with another small animal (including a baby) in the future.

Already in place since Monday.

I’d maybe speak to the vet and see if it could be eyesight connected and he reacted instinctively when he saw the terrier if slightly spooked or something.
Short term solution would be muzzle and good insurance.

Hope the little fella gets sorted, he’s a handsome looking dog.

as far as the baby is concerned seeing as how you dont own the dog it cant be a massive issue can it? Hell I dont trust my own dog with our 1 year old and she’s never shown any sign of aggression towards him but she’s a dog and he’s a baby so they dont get left together and he’s not allowed near the dog without one of us in very close attendance. Re-homing the dog seems a little quick.

I have two Staffordshire bull terriers, one (the bitch) will try and savage any dog she sees, but both are THE friendliest dogs you will ever meet with people.

See has done it ever since the male was a puppy, I think at first she was being protective, she just never gave up.

We have a five and a two year old, I have never worried about either of the dogs with them. The kids can do anything they like and they don’t mind one bit. They sit on them, wrestle them you name it.

I would never think about giving her up because of that, I just keep her on a lead, where all dogs should be in public.

one (the bitch) will try and savage any dog she sees, but both ate THE friendliest dogs you will ever meet.

You’ve still got time to edit. 😉

EDIT: phew!

😆

Can you confirm the eyesite thing? That might be fixable but if the eye sight is fine? Not sure though – surely another dog smells different to a rabbit / pheasant?

Have you tried Flat coat retriever society

And this might be where you got him from but just in case…

Flat coat rescue

They are wonderful animals and I’ve known plenty who were great but that doesn’t help you I’m afraid.

I suspect it was something to do with the dog feeling threatened, especially with several dogs playing about and getting into it’s space.

My sister has a small wiry terrier that was fine with other dogs until a certain incident; they don’t really know what.
She used to interact with other dogs no problem, but now seems to get very threatened by other dogs and even if they come over all friendly and tail wagging she will react badly.
They have taken her to a dog behaviourist who thinks she must have had a traumatic event that she s struggling to get over. My sister’s in-laws have got about 30 dogs and she reckons that it was some kind of run in with them….

Thanks for all the suggestions. Whilst the eyesight issue may have contributed, we suspect there was some other underlying reason.

Sweaman2 – yes, I think that is where they got him from, and they are waiting for one of the staff to get back to them to discuss what they could do next.

flow – Member
I have two Staffordshire bull terriers, one (the bitch) will try and savage any dog she sees, but both are THE friendliest dogs you will ever meet with people.

If any dog ever seriously attacked mine I would do anything to stop it including breaking it’s neck without hesitation. (sorry to the OP for being so blunt but I will protect my dog no matter what)

I just keep her on a lead, where all dogs should be in public.

That is complete and utter rubbish and makes my blood boil.

Back to the OP: do everything you can to rectify it and investigate all psychological and medical reasons. Not sure about the eyesight hypothesis but also get it’s joints checked – especially hips as it could be in pain. Fingers crossed something can be done. But if it comes down to it then you may have to do what you are fearing 🙁 Speak to the charities who know the breed before making any decisions though.

Huxley still manages to kill rabbits while wearing his basket muzzle. Basket for exercise, softy muzzle for the vet and when meeting new people. (In his defence he no longer needs the softy to meet people or the vet).

Did I say I let my dog attack other dogs, no!

If my dog did happen to attack yours and you tried to break its neck, I would break yours.

Dogs should be on leads in public, its not rubbish, its common sense.

If my dog did happen to attack yours and you tried to break its neck, I would break yours.

Don’t be soft. If a bigger dog attacked yours, what would you do? And would you then say “fair do” if the bigger dog’s owner decided to try and murder you?

😕

Dog thread.

Around a dozen posts.

A threat to break someone’s neck.

You gotta love STW. 😀

Dog ownership is a very emotive topic.

I grew up with all sorts of dogs. A Labrador and jack Russell savaged (and killed) a golden retriever puppy we had. Both dogs were put down.

I’m mindful that I was also bitten as a child by one of our apparently child friendly dogs.

TBH, if your parents are that bothered, I’d have it put down.

Flat coated retrievers are retrievers, they have a soft bite for bringing back prey etc. I don’t think the dog thought that the smaller one was a rabbit and even if it did, it’s not a sight hound so shaking it to break it’s neck is completely out of character for this breed.

There are more complex issues here. Take him to the vet’s first and get him checked over. A muzzle is a good idea when he is being exercised. Talk to a good dog behavior specialist. We got one when our 7yr old lab destroyed our hall and landing and removed half of our kitchen units in 45mins. Turned out she was protecting us from something which she thought was a threat. Turned out to be the dehumidifier beeping every 30 secs when it needed emptying. Needless to say it did it when we were out!

Ignore all of the daft type of comments, my dogs bigger than your dog. If your dog bites my dog I’ll bite your dog!

Dont get the dog put to down, listen to inbred456, dogs are like people, you just need to find out the problem, you wouldnt have a human put dowm.

Adil.

Inbred456 +1

Just a point – was the small terrier one of the usual dogs it meets? Is it possible the terrier had a ‘nip’ before it was attacked?

It does need investigated before your parents take any drastic steps as it seems unusual that it should ‘turn’ for no apparent reason after behaving well for over a year.

Dogs should be under control at all times, but that doesn’t necessarily mean on a lead.
If I didn’t trust my dog to behave he’d be on a lead all the time.
As for the OP’s problem, I’d be worried everytime the dog was off lead, don’t think I’d trust it fully again. Would I have it put down? No I don’t think I would, but he’d be on the lead from now on.

Good luck.

terriers are mouthy **** who cant back up their verbal. just like alot of the off-duty-im-mighty-then-though on here! my dog is a big soppy lab cross who killed alot of sheep before i trained her, as all of my dogs, she dosent know what a lead is…

If my dog did happen to attack yours and you tried to break its neck, I would break yours.

Ihope you are a big lad then cos after the dog I would come for you as the irresponsible owner

*Swoon*

You lot are mental. Dog threads are always pretty aggressive but for goodness sake!

Dogs should be on a lead unless you are 100% sure that it will always obey without a blink. Given the attitude of some dog owners on here, it seems that they would struggle with being told what to do, never mind the dog they have ‘trained’….

For the record, most dogs, if minded, would make a pretty decent show of putting any unarmed human off the idea of breaking their necks….

What would Barbara Woodhouse say eh?

You lot are mental. Dog threads are always pretty aggressive but for goodness sake!

Couldn’t agree more.

OP, were you given the reason why the handsome, 18 month old Mack was at the rescue centre? previous issues?

My dad got a border collie from a rescue centre which turned out to be aggressive around children, asked the centre a few questions and turned out this was why he’d been given up.

Someone’s already compared dogs and humans, I will not as I see them as trainable meat and wouldn’t be too fussed about having one put down if there was a good reason, but generally there will be a trigger to this sort of behaviour (has he been around small dogs previously?) so my suggestion would be muzzle and observe

Dogs with nobs. Hang on it’s the other way round

terriers are mouthy **** who cant back up their verbal.

kala 005 por kala y simon, en Flickr
Yeah, right. 😆

All dogs should be shot and put in a nice stir fry, hateful things

All dogs should be shot and put in a nice stir fry, hateful things

Have you ever thought about talking to someone about your feelings?
😛

Dogs are pack animals even when domesticated. By the sounds of it Mack was threatening his own fathers (even though he wouldn’t be alpha dog in the pack) position in the pack in it’s previous home hence the conflict. It has now moved into your parents home and now sees itself as alpha dog which should be your dads position. Your dad needs show dominance over Mack in his home not by beating the dog or anything but simple things like if he barks at anything then your dad should push the dogs head to the floor whilst firmly saying no, always eating before the feeding the dog. I know it sounds bizarre but try it and you will see rapid results but if you leave it too long you could end up with a real problem dog.

[
I didn’t say I let my dog attack other dogs, maybe you should go back to school and learn to read.

I suppose you are one of them people who walk around town with your dog off the lead, nothing gets on my tits more.

VERY LOUD NOISES!!!!!

Public Order Act 1986
[F14A Intentional harassment, alarm or distress.

(1)A person is guilty of an offence if, with intent to cause a person harassment, alarm or distress, he—

(a)uses threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour, or disorderly behaviour, or

(b)displays any writing, sign or other visible representation which is threatening, abusive or insulting,

thereby causing that or another person harassment, alarm or distress.
(2)An offence under this section may be committed in a public or a private place, except that no offence is committed where the words or behaviour are used, or the writing, sign or other visible representation is displayed, by a person inside a dwelling and the person who is harassed, alarmed or distressed is also inside that or another dwelling.

(3)It is a defence for the accused to prove—

(a)that he was inside a dwelling and had no reason to believe that the words or behaviour used, or the writing, sign or other visible representation displayed, would be heard or seen by a person outside that or any other dwelling, or

(b)that his conduct was reasonable.

(4)A constable may arrest without warrant anyone he reasonably suspects is committing an offence under this section.

(5)A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or both.]

STuE, whats your point?

I didn’t say I let my dog attack other dogs, maybe you should go back to school and learn to read.

I suppose you are one of them people who walk around town with your dog off the lead, nothing gets on my tits more.

How do you know that it would attack other dogs? Does your dog ever get to run around? My dog is on a lead when in town, then in the park/woods/beach it gets taken off the lead to do as it pleases. This is normal behaviour.

My dog walks round the town with his lead off. He’ll sit and wait outside shops without his lead. When I take him his walk round the fields / through the woods / at the beach / wherever, I don’t even take a lead with me.

Why? Because I trained him and am aware of his capabilities and limitations. Flow – why does it boil your urine to see dogs off their leads?