so my little dog was attacked badly some months ago with vetinary care for weeks, stitches the lot.,,my dog is still petrified of ANY dog months later.. and still dog owners think its more than ok to let their dogs run wild and not even appoligise when their dog runs up to mine and tries to bite its head off literally ! not many owners own a lead in my park (how many leads to i have to buy !they are off lead around the the openings to the park areas…and childrens swings play areas theres plenty of woodland areas in our park to let the dog off lead…. a few years back there was a sign saying “dogs must be on leash”… now its gone all softly softly and there are no rules to leash a dog in certain areas… i truely think kids play areas/swings area dogs shud be on lead (its ok the owners saying oh my dogs fine he wont hurt a flea… dogs minds change within seconds…

I’m sure all the selfish dog owners will be along shortly to tell you to ‘chill out’. 🙄 😉

chill out !!!!! ? when its your dog thats screaming in fear i can tell you this is not a happy thing to go through…its clearly upsetting for my dog and myself !

Let you dog off its lead also.

Dogs feel restricted when on a lead, and so will act differently and also IMO dogs not on leads act differently to dogs on leads.

For example; riding on Saturday with my dog (sporting cocker) and we went past a large Rottweiler (on a lead). My dog stopped to sniff at him/her, and within in flash they’re both at each others throats. No idea why?

Take your dog somewhere else?

You can’t exercise a dog on a lead properly anyway. They need to run about, jump in water, fetch sticks etc.

elaine, he wasn’t telling you to chill out.

b r is dead right, let your dog off its lead and don’t pick it up. It makes any problems much worse.

Elaine – sorry wasn’t telling you to chill out, it just seems to be the attitude of many dog owners that if you don’t like being harassed by out of control dogs then you are uptight.

For example; riding on Saturday with my dog (sporting cocker) and we went past a large Rottweiler (on a lead). My dog stopped to sniff at him/her, and within in flash they’re both at each others throats. No idea why?

Was your dog on a lead?

If the park isn’t safe and the authorities aren’t bothered about enforcing their policies I think it’s time to move on.

One thing I was told when I was younger and we had a family dog, was that if our dog was attacked we should let go of the lead so that it can defend itself.

I can remember walking our dog and seeing an alsation charging towards us from about 100 yds away, with it’s owner shouting at it to come back. It attacked our dog, who fought back and got away with a few scratches until the owner walked up and pulled him off saying ‘sorry he’s a bit boisterous’.

I understand your concern, it was frightening (especially considering I was about 15 at the time) and I immediately had visions of our dog being ripped to shreds.

My wife wants a sausage dog, but with the amount of chavs in our area walking staffs I can’t see it lasting very long. I wonder if that’s why people buy big dogs so that they can be confident it’s not going to be torn to shreds when it comes to walkies.

ive taken my dog away from a small park already so i dont bump into my dogs attacker….i go to the main park now, but clearly my dog is unsettled when faced with situations…. i have him on two or three leads joined together and he jumps up for sticks and runs round in big circles (i can walk also whilst he is running in circles (ive trained him to do this (lol)…. hes happy enuff on his own (he doesnt like any dogs anymore and ive tried many ‘ceasar milan’ stuff with him, but like i said other dogs make him very nervous… he,s protecting me too much in his own way as well.

Dogs fight sometimes, it’s just what they do

heard this before somewhere

however i like the way you managed to thread “wont someone please think of the children” into your poor rant.

2 or 3 leads joined together! i can help you there, email me and i will post you a 10m tracking line free of charge.

Dogs fight sometimes, it’s just what they do

I’m guessing you’ve wrote that to get a reaction,either that or you’re incredibly dumb….

I’m guessing you’ve wrote that to get a reaction,either that or you’re incredibly dumb….

But its true! Dogs do fight – even the nicest family pets can turn on other dogs if the mood takes them.

They’re pack animals…they give off vibes that you aren’t aware of but other dogs are. Perhaps sniffing another dogs a$$ is a dominating action so the other dog is within it’s rights to turn round and give it a nip. In fact, whenever my dog was sniffed it did look a bit sheepish like it was thinking ‘ok, i don’t like it but I’ll let you have a good sniff anyway’.

Sheepdogs (family pets rather than working dogs) will round up groups of children in the park nipping at their heels. This will identify the dog as temperamental, and unsuitable to be around children. But from the dogs perspective, the children were all standing around in a messy fashion and needed to be rounded up.

When we first got him our dog was lovely when Dad was at home, but it used to go for us children and my Mum when he was out. He wasn’t inherently violent, he was just trying to understand his position in the ‘pack’. We took him to the vet and he said he should be put down, instead my Mum took him to that dog trainer who used to be on TV (Barbara Woodhouse). She suggested a dog training plan and also cutting his balls off, after a while he was the nicest family dog you could get.

Big harsh that your Dad had has his balls cut off Hamish!

hehe..yeah. I think that’s why he started to behave himself, it wasn’t a hormonal thing, he was just worried we’d cut something else off.

haha…just re-read your post. Yes, Dad behaved himself from then on.

Dogs off-lead next to children’s swings? Mm, that’s a smart combination for all concerned.

its ok the owners saying oh my dogs fine he wont hurt a flea

Assuming that to be correct, you’ve still got the problem of dogs using a play area as a toilet, and conversely the risk of the dogs getting brained by the swings.

theres plenty of woodland areas in our park to let the dog off lead

Take your dog there then?

My dog is one of the “won’t hurt a flea” types, but put her on a lead and she can be aggressive with other dogs (for a wimp).

I have heard that a dog on a lead is more likley to fight another dog. The reasoning is that the owner tends to tense up holding the lead when another dog comes bounding over to sniff etc. The dog senses this tensing and interprets it as the owner is under threat and so the dog goes into ‘defend my pack leader’ and gets more agressive. So while the dog running over initiates the contact the dog on the lead initiates the aggression.
FWIW if I walk my dogs in areas where there are other dogs off the lead I always have some ground pepper in a tub. Throw that in the faces of fighting dogs and they soon stop.

I’m guessing you’ve wrote that to get a reaction,either that or you’re incredibly dumb….

But its true! Dogs do fight – even the nicest family pets can turn on other dogs if the mood takes them.

I know they do,mine does that’s why I keep him on a lead.But some people seem to think it’s ok that they fight,which what I was replying to…

Sounds like you need to go back to training classes, to build yours and your dogs confidence up again. If your dog is screaming, then it is probably doing it to defend you and itself, it feels it needs to protect you, I’m not going to go into all of it, I think I could probably write an Essay on it.
I recently re-trained a friends dog with a similar problem, took about 2 weeks and a further month of the owner de-sensitising the dog.

Highly recommend the Citizenship Awards if you haven’t done them already, imo people shouldn’t own a dog if they aren’t prepared to take these lessons/awards.

I have heard that a dog on a lead is more likley to fight another dog. The reasoning is that the owner tends to tense up holding the lead…

Magowen, oh so true! Which is why you always want a loose lead with a dog.

I live on the coast… certain parts of the beach are used by hundreds and hundreds of dog walkers every day of the year.. all off the leash and all seemingly enjoying each others company..

Off the lead is key.

Mine hates being sniffed by another while he is on the lead. Let them off and they will all sort themselves out. Its only hangbags.

liking the idea of the children herding sheepdog. Where can I get one?

Go to your local kids’ playground and ask about the “dogging” available there. You’ll soon be pointed in the right direction I’m sure.

(-:

man up woman, its no wonder your dogs such a wimp

Keeping your dog away from other dogs is the worst thing you can do in this situation

😆 @a_a

May I strongly recommend the book The Dog Listener. It helps you understand your dog’s way of thinking and so how to have a happy well-adjusted dog. Five pounds of your money you won’t regret spending.

get your dog one of those sid snott spiky leather neck collars. that’ll learn the other dogs to keep away m8.

an attacked dog never forgets….hes a timid whippet as it is…now his mind has been changed by the ferocious attack (doesnt trust any dog now…
the stitches took months to heal (infact the vets had to unstitch him at one point cos it didnt heal….in the end we had to let it scab over with him wearing a dof t-shirt fro months to keep the wound clean… as whippets dont have much furry fur (his never really grew back…he has a scar with alot less fur now…. i DONT want him attacked agin which is why i use an extended lead now…
anagallis_arvensis (man up – ? 👿

Do you have other doggy friends who your dog can hang out with to get him back on form and get used to being around other dogs again?

My dog has been used for this purpose a few times, offering robust and healthy play but also knowing when not to step over the line and being sensitive to other dogs insecurities. The last thing you want to do is allow him to become de-socialised. More dogs not less dogs is the answer for your pooch.

[edit] – Also, if he is a whippet you really need to get him off the lead, them dogs are born to run run run!

I can walk my springer off a lead anywhere – including along footpaths (which i dont do regularly- but can do) he comes back when told to to my feet and stays on command.

However I have had issues with other peoples dog running up to him and nearly jumping on him to play – sometimes from large distances too – he takes offence and greets them with a little growl which their owner takes offence at – as if its my dogs fault – he was minding his own business.

My dog is the behaved & trained one who is only interested in his tennis ball but because another is out of control they look at me as if its my fault.

I dont think its fair to say keep them on a leader all the time though – how can a springer get the right exercise on a leader all its walks.

i,ll try that …my hubbys mate has an older dog (he bigger than my dog so yeah i must try to socialise him agin …he is sooo timid but puts up a ‘front’ at the same time…

Ours was a springer…we couldn’t keep him on the lead at all times so had to take him places where he could run around to his hearts content and jump in any river/lake/sea/pond/puddle he comes across.

He had a few arguments with other dogs but never anything serious, he was a big dog (I think cutting his balls off messed up his hormones and he grew big).

Before him my parents adopted an adult dog from an aunt, he was an absolute nightmare…running off after other dogs, not doing what he was told. He ended up going to a local dog breeder as she said she could control him – he probably spent the rest of his days as the canine equivalent of Hugh Hefner.

If you want to keep him on the lead, get one of those extending leads.

If your dog pulls a lot on the lead, get a halti.

If you want to keep him on the lead, get one of those extending leads.

I have always had a bit of a problem with those leads. When the dog is on the lead, he should behave like it, when he is not, he is free to do as he chooses within reason. The boundaries of each are very important.

Surely those extending leads just train the dog to pull against the resistance?

I guess so…I’ve never used them, just thought it would be better than joining 3 leads together as elaine anne has done.

Our first dog (the naughty one) had one, but I was too young to use it…now I remember my Dad coming home with a groove in one of his fingers because he grabbed the rope on the extending lead and it burnt through his finger as it ran through his hand. I think I take back my advice to get one now I’ve remembered that.

I have not read all the thread but one point is that dogs do not have to be on a lead at all times. They have to be under control at all times and in scotland at least under close control if livestock are present.

If you haven’t trained your dog properly and it needs to be on a lead to be under control then it must be on a lead at all times. However if your dog is properly trained then its fine not to be on a lead. It must come when called or freeze on command tho