Need advice re: aggressive dog out walking

Hi guys

I'm looking for advice as I anticipate an issue occurring and I want to know what to do when it happens.

I've an Akita and he is always on the leash with me. He's a very mellow dog and is not aggressive towards other dogs at all. Basically, if other dogs bark at him, he just stands there looking at them not bothered/intimidated and then goes on about his business. He doesn't even chase cats when he sees them, literally doesn't care about other animals, he just keeps to himself all the time in his typical, arrogant Akita manner...

There's a white samoyed dog that is constantly aggressive to my guy when he sees him. The Samoyed is a neutered male, think he's a year and a half old, my guy is a male (not neutered) and 11 months old. We've bumped into each other a handful of times now, the first time they checked each other out and then this dog started growling at my dog and showing his teeth so I took my dog away. The Samoyed is always off the leash (which is perfectly fine) but I'm getting concerned about this now.

Last week, my dog was on his leash and we were walking on one of the narrow paths and we saw the samoyed, the owner saw us and put the Samoyed on the leash (good job owner!!!!) , as we walked by each other, the Samoyed lunged at my dog and really went for it. I managed to get my dog out of there after about 10 seconds of action. No damage done thankfully (was not play fighting, I know what it's like when two akitas wrestle and play), this was full on aggression. The owner started going on about how her dog never does this and then said "I think having dogs on a lead makes them more aggressive" - I'm a mellow dog owner and I love all dogs so I picked up on it that she was being defensive and probably embarrassed about the actions of her dog so I just kept walking and said no big deal, they're just being dogs ignoring the dig she may have been having at me as my dog is always on a lead.

Then just yesterday, went on our daily walk as we do, the owner saw us, she ran over to her dog to put a lead on him, at this stage her dog hadn't seen us so we kept walking around the loop. We then bumped into the Samoyed about 10 minutes later, myself and my girlfriend saw him, he was off the lead and about 200 metres in front of his owner, he sprinted over to us growling and showing his teeth and started being extremely aggressive towards my dog once again. The owner shouted "stand in front of him and he won't do anything to you" so my girlfriend stood in front of the Samoyed stopping him from getting at our dog. The Samoyed continued to be aggressive, I remained really mellow and calm and held my dog back as the Samoyed constantly tried finding a way to get at my dog. The owner came running behind to get her dog, and grabbed him and her dog nearly bit her as he didn't realise it was her, she didn't apologise to us, she just grabbed her dog and continued on with him. I was about to say something but decided not to as I didn't want to make a big deal out of it.

So this is where I am. I know I'm going to see this dog and the owner again, we seem to be on the same walking time and due to the age of both dogs, they're going to be in the vicinity around each other for a very long time. I anticipate this dog will attack my dog in the future. He absolutely hates my dog for whatever reason and is aggressive to my dog.

I'm basically looking for general advice on the situation. What do I do if her dog attacks my dog? How do I approach this in the best scenario for all parties? I don't think the owner can control her dog...

DamagedTrax

if the owner wont recognise the problem then all you can do is either change your walk or carry a big stick with you to defend your dog if you need to.

unless there's a specific 'on lead' rule where you are walking, there's not much else you can do.

girl in the striped socks

Her dog sounds like he would really benefit from proper training or obidience classes. How you slip this into conversation without insulting her is going to be impossible.
However if she hasn't full control over her dog then he shouldn't be off the lead, especially as he's being aggressive. The next time it happens I'd just suggest she go to a trainer or obidience classes as her dog would benefit from it. If feasible I would offer to introduce your dog into the training as a test or distraction so she can practice with her dog.
She could cut the nose off you, she could agree with you.
But it's not acceptable for other dogs & people to be terrorised by an off lead dog.

tk123

TBH I'd give her one more chance - if she just took him on like that it sounds like she was probably mortified/shaken by what happened? Is your guy muzzled? The only reason I ask is that my guy is afraid of some muzzles - he growled at another dog last week for the first time ever - a friendly off lead staffy wearing a wire muzzle - he wanted to play with my guy but he was terrified of the muzzle and didn't want anything to do with the other dog.

It'd be interesting to see if it's 'just your dog' he does it to maybe because he's intact or if he's really an ar$e and does it to all of the other dogs!!

girl in the striped socks

tk123 wrote: »

TBH I'd give her one more chance - if she just took him on like that it sounds like she was probably mortified/shaken by what happened? Is your guy muzzled? The only reason I ask is that my guy is afraid of some muzzles - he growled at another dog last week for the first time ever - a friendly off lead staffy wearing a wire muzzle - he wanted to play with my guy but he was terrified of the muzzle and didn't want anything to do with the other dog.

It'd be interesting to see if it's 'just your dog' he does it to maybe because he's intact or if he's really an ar$e and does it to all of the other dogs!!

Good point, I just assumed it was all dogs.
Why does your dog react to the muzzle? Or should I ask why do you think he reacts to the muzzle? He can't really tell you if you ask him

DBB

tk123 wrote: »

It'd be interesting to see if it's 'just your dog' he does it to maybe because he's intact or if he's really an ar$e and does it to all of the other dogs!!

I think this is a very salient point... it's my bet that the Samoyed has "history" with other dogs, which the owner is aware of, hence her precautionary actions of getting him back on lead around you.
Two young males, meeting each other on-lead out on walks can cause a lot of frustration for one or both dogs, and they can, in future, become quite aggressive towards the specific dogs they've developed such a frustrative* relationship with. Unfortunately for the Sammie owner, this can eventually generalise onto all dogs.
It is good that the Sammie owner is aware of the problem and does, in fairness to her, try to manage it where possible... how often do we read posts here where other owners don't make any effort to even acknowledge that their dog is causing a problem, let alone try to stop it from happening?!
I would imagine, by her latest reaction, that she's mortified, and I'd imagine she's finding it hard to understand why her dog is good with some and not with others. She could really do with seeking some good, professional advice and help with her Sammie before this gets worse.
If/when you do meet her again, I'd be inclined to thank her for trying to control her dog, but that these off-lead attacks/assaults are getting out of hand. After all, whilst your Akita may be putting up with it now, it's a lot to ask him to put up with, and you don't want to be teaching him that Samoyeds/white dogs/any dogs at all, are bad news. You can also tell her, calmly and friendly-like, that it is possible to get help for this behaviour, and the sooner she addresses it, the better, as it can be extremely habit-forming and difficult to deal with if the dog gets to practise it a lot.
I'd also be inclined to avoid her dog as much as you can, purely to protect your lad from being subjected to the Sammie's tirades. If you see her coming with her dog on-lead, cross the road and give your fella some distance from the Sammie, so that he doesn't have to walk headlong into him. If you see the dog off-lead a distance away, turn around and go away until the Sammie is gone. It's not worth it to expose your fella to the Sammie's behaviour, it could cause you problems in the long run.
Good luck with it!

*Is frustrative a word? Or did I just make it up?

angeline

Her dog is more than likely aggressive to other dogs too. She is aware of this and the fact of the matter is that she is legally obliged to keep her dog on a leash and under control. Not doing so is an offence under the Control of Dogs Act. While this isn't always feasible, it is a must for a dog with aggressive tendencies. You do not want to wait for your dog to be attacked by this dog. You could contact the dog warden if it came to it. This dog clearly needs to be kept under control and could take a dislike to a child next.

ISDW

angeline wrote: »

Her dog is more than likely aggressive to other dogs too. She is aware of this and the fact of the matter is that she is legally obliged to keep her dog on a leash and under control. Not doing so is an offence under the Control of Dogs Act. While this isn't always feasible, it is a must for a dog with aggressive tendencies. You do not want to wait for your dog to be attacked by this dog. You could contact the dog warden if it came to it. This dog clearly needs to be kept under control and could take a dislike to a child next.

Its not the law that the dog must be on a leash, under effective control yes, on leash, no.

Op as you have a dog on the rb list, your dog should be muzzled - stupid law but if the sammy continues to be aggressive and your dog eventually has enough and tells it off, you could get into trouble - sorry if your dog does wear a muzzle, i couldnt see if you answered the question earlier. Maybe muzzle your dog when walking in the areas that you usually meet the sammy just to be on the safe side.

JustAThought

I'd have a word with her.
If your both in the same area & walking circut this needs to be discussed & aired before there is a serious incident with either dog or you/GF getting injured.

You could bring up your GF having to block your lrleashed dog from her out if control unleaded one as a start; totally unacceptable.

Which of the pair are restricted breed dogs ; both ?

ISDW

JustAThought wrote: »

Which of the pair are restricted breed dogs ; both ?

Just the ops dog, samoyeds arent on the list.

tk123

girl in the striped socks wrote: »

Why does your dog react to the muzzle? Or should I ask why do you think he reacts to the muzzle? He can't really tell you if you ask him

He's had some bad experiences with muzzles . That said he'll happily wear a plastic basket one when needed because he knows he'll get a treat before and after lol

ISDW

Thanks for all the replies everyone. Hypothetically speaking, what would happen if the Samoyed bit my dog? What happens the Samoyed and/or owner then?

I've had a thought about this and because my guy is a RB dog, he's already at a disadvantage in the eyes of the law so if this unleashed Samoyed does one more thing like this, I'm going to report her to the dog warden as I'm actually getting nervous thinking about walking my dog now.

If I reported her to the dog warden, what happens? Is there a set process? Do I need to take a video of this dog being aggressive because I will if I have to.

ISDW wrote: »

Op as you have a dog on the rb list, your dog should be muzzled - stupid law but if the sammy continues to be aggressive and your dog eventually has enough and tells it off, you could get into trouble - sorry if your dog does wear a muzzle, i couldnt see if you answered the question earlier. Maybe muzzle your dog when walking in the areas that you usually meet the sammy just to be on the safe side.

Yeah my guy is always on a lead and muzzled simply because it's the law. I'm terrified he'll be bitten by this dog and won't be able to defend himself as is muzzled.

JustAThought

It's s terrible thing that you are afraid although your dog is not in the wrong .

If I were you I'd have a Frank word with the owner first . Then I'd ring the Warden & discuss it with them.

It will put you in a better position. Should there be am incident ; and will give the warden something to earn their keep and to do that way pre-empt a problem rather than something after the event.

I'd guess if you spoke to the owner you might have more of a chance of changing her behaviour as you are both " equal" dig people. Might be worth a chance....

Sound of Silence

Personally I feel that you should take a softly softly approach to this whole issue.

Unless you feel that you would be unable to control your own dog in the event of another fight, I wouldn't advise you to start contacting the Dog Warden or any other official body about the Samoyed's behaviour, as it's pretty likely that nothing will actually happen and instead you'll just end up creating friction.

The best approach is to simply talk to the owner the next time it happens. You don't need to be very direct, just point out that they're dog doesn't seem to get on with other dogs, and that perhaps they should enter it into some behavioural training course so that maybe it could have some more positive experiences with other dogs.

From the way you described the events, it seems as if the owner is quite embarrassed by the whole situation, but somehow feels incapable of dealing with it appropriately. Now, if he or she was completely incapable of showing any sort of regret, then maybe you would have a problem.

ShaShaBear

Its a tough situation to be in, but being a dog owner on the complete opposite side of the fence, I can say the owner you are dealing with doesn't have a very healthy attitude towards the situation.

My collie is very, very aggressive toward other dogs, no-one's fault but my own (next to no socialisation). But I would never even dream of letting Shadow walk off-lead. His recall is terrible when he gets fixated on something else and like you mentioned earlier, unless he hadn't already seen the other dog, we would have no hope of getting a lead back on him.

I come across a LOT of owners that let their dogs roam off-lead and Ive often had to change direction or end a walk completely due to this.

Just last week in the park my restrained dog was attacked by two terriers who were not on a lead. Shadow got a nasty bite on the nose and the owner's response was that if MY dog couldn't mind his manners, he should wear a muzzle. No offense to anyone, I can see why some people need to use them, but under no circumstances am I going to take my dog's only form of defense off him when there are dogs like that roaming free. I do the responsible thing, try to distract him with his squeaky, and walk away. If the dog following persists, I'll risk my foot before I risk my dog's face.

Definitely have words with the other owner about your concerns before your dog gets hurt.

JustAThought

Just A mention: I was out walking my ( big) dog, on lead, a while back & we were circled & stalked by an off lead dog : owner a dot on the horizon. It jumped onto my dogs back and mauled her. Vets bill : 260. I was left with an injured dog, badly shocked & a(nother) frantic trip to the vets with bleeding & distressed dog: who had been on the lead . What would I have done if it had been worse injuries to my dog ; or if I had been savaged? There is little enough you can do then. You have the opportunity now; don't wait until it is too late. And dint let yourself or your innocent dog be a victim because you have a well behaved RB dog; and someone elses dog is savage & out of her control; as well as off lead when it clearly should be muzzled itself & not let free to terrorise you, your GF or your dog.

Act now before there is a serious attack on people or pet. You will long regret it after

Good luck

frogstar

ShaShaBear wrote: »

Just last week in the park my restrained dog was attacked by two terriers who were not on a lead. Shadow got a nasty bite on the nose and the owner's response was that if MY dog couldn't mind his manners, he should wear a muzzle. No offense to anyone, I can see why some people need to use them, but under no circumstances am I going to take my dog's only form of defense off him when there are dogs like that roaming free. I do the responsible thing, try to distract him with his squeaky, and walk away. If the dog following persists, I'll risk my foot before I risk my dog's face.

Definitely have words with the other owner about your concerns before your dog gets hurt.

Oh this annoys me. I have a collie cross and she is also aggressive. Not with all dogs, mainly smaller ones and one or two she has just taken a dislike to.

Because I know this, she is on lead when we meet other dogs. We are lucky we do our walk very early am so beach is empty so she is off lead. Last week a woman with a buggy, two small spaniels with her five year old child holding one and he came over to me (his dog was on lead mind but child was like five!). I said to the mother "sorry, my dog is not good with other dogs, do you mind asking your son to move his dog". She was like "ah they are fine!

Right, Ive warned you mrs! If my dog snaps don't give out.

I try to walk in opp direction of other dogs. I'm a bit more relaxed now if a dog comes over to me. Before I would think " bad owner" if a dog snaps but sometimes a dog can just take a dislike. I think in your case,maybe dog doesn't like muzzles.

I try to read owners actions. If I'm walking and see someone putting their dog on lead, I think they would like me to do the same

KingIsabella

Was out with a friend last ight in a popular enough dofg walkin area! A rottweiler off the lead and not muzzled came over, wasn't too worried as i tend to not judge a dog until it does something worth judging as my own is a bit weary of other dogs herself. But he started sizing up and growling at my own dog and my friends dog, the owner ran over, grabbed him by the collar and gave him an unmerciful dig. And i mean a dig that would've knocked me clean out panned on the floor.

Wonder why there are aggressive dogs out there :mad:

deandean

There are two Samoyeds around here, in fairness they are almost always on the lead but they are bad-tempered dogs, they'll have a go at most other dogs given a chance.

Our dog is almost always on a lead, after several encounters our dog just ignores them and the Samoyeds leave us alone now.

In your case I see the main problem as the Samoyed owner not being in control of her agressive dog. I'd be saying to the owner that her dog is likely to get a few belts of a big stick it is is an off-lead threat to your dog; she really needs to have it on a lead.

Hope it works out OK.