My puppy was attacked and I'm afraid

anon71

My puppy (small breed) was attacked at the weekend by a Staffie. Harnessed,off its lead and not muzzled. My husband and I spent about a minute trying to free her from the dogs jaws with no help from the dogs owners. Thankfully she is fine. 2 things though: the level of violence we had to use to free our dog has upset both of us greatly. Instinct just kicked in and we just did what we had to do. But it was sickening. Also although she has been walked every day since either by my husband or by us both, I'm afraid to walk her on my own.

Any thoughts on how to overcome this.

maggiepip

How awful for you. Thankfully your dog is OK, but I can imagine how upsetting it was. An experience like that must be dreadful . I'd report the incident to the dog warden, even if you don't know who the owner of the dog is.
I would just keep going out with your dog daily. Incidents like this do not happen often. Try to remember that. If you start missing walks your fear will grow.

Go with your husband for the moment, and hopefully , soon enough you'll be OK with just yourself and your dog.
Stick to areas youre more familliar with too. Sorry I can't be more helpful. As the days pass the shock will subside. Just keep remembering what happened is not the norm.

anon71

maggiepip wrote: »

How awful for you. Thankfully your dog is OK, but I can imagine how upsetting it was. An experience like that must be dreadful . I'd report the incident to the dog warden, even if you don't know who the owner of the dog is.
I would just keep going out with your dog daily. Incidents like this do not happen often. Try to remember that. If you start missing walks your fear will grow.

Go with your husband for the moment, and hopefully , soon enough you'll be OK with just yourself and your dog.
Stick to areas youre more familliar with too. Sorry I can't be more helpful. As the days pass the shock will subside. Just keep remembering what happened is not the norm.

We did report it but we didn't have names or anything. We weren't in our own area when it happened and I won't ever go there again. It's just my husband struggled so much to free her, I know if I had been on my own she would have been seriously hurt or killed. I wouldn't have had the strength to free her. It's horrific to even think about it. She's doing fantastic though and we will still walk her but even this evening a puppy Lab was having a look and I nearly scooped our little one up out of fear. I'm glad she's not fearful, bad enough that I am. One thing is that she squeals unbelievably loudly with excitement when she sees another dog. We usually let her meet the other dog and have a little conversation but she goes crazy again then when we move on. I'm pretty sure the noise at the weekend attracted the other dog. Not that it excuses what happened, but we don't know how to train her out of it.

Dubl07

anon71 wrote: »

One thing is that she squeals unbelievably loudly with excitement when she sees another dog. We usually let her meet the other dog and have a little conversation but she goes crazy again then when we move on. I'm pretty sure the noise at the weekend attracted the other dog. Not that it excuses what happened, but we don't know how to train her out of it.

That sounds awful, OP. Have you considered puppy socialisation sessions and/or training? They were a great help to us - the trainers admit that a lot of the training is of the humans rather than the dogs. It gave me a lot more confidence and information.

anon71

Dubl07 wrote: »

That sounds awful, OP. Have you considered puppy socialisation sessions and/or training? They were a great help to us - the trainers admit that a lot of the training is of the humans rather than the dogs. It gave me a lot more information, confidence and information.

My vet reccommended socialization classes but they don't run them regularly. I might look outside the area as well.

George Michael

i think staffies have to be muzzled and controlled.

anon71

George Michael wrote: »

i think staffies have to be muzzled and controlled.

They do. Muzzled at all times and there are restrictions on lead length as well.

dashoonage

anon71 wrote: »

They do. Muzzled at all times and there are restrictions on lead length as well.

2m lead length for a restricted breed. Least thats what it is for my akita. I never understand people who dont obey these laws. I love my dog to bits but at the end of the day she is an animal capable of killing...if you cant understand and respect this fact then you shouldnt get the dog.

OP stick with it. As someone else said this isnt the norm. For one reckless owner there are a hundred good owners. Dont let the one owner ruin walkies with your madra.

tk123

My dogs often have terriers trying to attack them both on and off lead. The important thing is that your dog isn't hurt - you just need to get on with it and make sure both you and your dog are socialised as much as possible so you both don't end up with a fear that's going to impact your enjoyment of walks.

hardCopy

Try to keep walking him OP, we missed a lot of walks around the 10 month mark due to a combination of behavioural issues, illness, neutering and another illness. A year later we're still trying to work through Mo's leash reactivity.

busymum1

Always bring a stick with you (ideally wooden with a solid top that you can use to separate fighting dogs) when walking a puppy or small dog on your own.. I've had to hit a dog really hard on the head to get them to let go..I wouldn't have been able to hit that hard myself.. I'm not a believer in hitting dogs and hopefully you'll never need it but if another dog has your puppy in your mouth all bets are off.. Plus it gives you distance between fighting dogs and you're much less likely to get bitten..Puppy classes are a great idea..HTH

idnkph

For yourself op it's like riding a bike. You need to get out and over come your anxiety about it.
Try short walks first then extend them the more you get comfortable.
But push yourself a little bit out of your comfort zone each time.
You will soon overcome it.
Your puppy will feel your anxiety and get its own behaviours and insecurities that way do its best for you and pup and get out there.
As others have said try socialising classes. Pity you didn't get names of the offending owners.

anon71

So I bit the bullet and took her for a walk on my own this afternoon. It was fine, we met several dogs none of which tried to eat her. She still makes loads of noise when she sees them so we will book her into socialisation classes. It will make the walks more pleasant for everyone.
She's a fantastic pup, no fear at all. I was just so worried for her. But I have a stick with me now, nothing too extreme but just in case... I don't ever want to hear or see what happenend last wknd again.
Thanks for all the replies.

anon71

idnkph wrote: »

Pity you didn't get names of the offending owners.

TBH at the time it didn't even occur to us to ask. We were about a mile away from our car and we just wanted to get her away as soon as possible. But I don't think names would have been forthcoming, one of them said it had never happened before and another said it had. So I don't think they would have been jumping to offer information.

12Phase

I get a bit fed up with this thing in Ireland of letting dogs off leads.

I had some kind of lab cross chase me in a park recently and knock me over. The owner came over saying he "was only playing". I cut my knees, tore my T-shirt and also broke my sun glasses in the incident.

I'm all for being nice to dogs, but there are people out there who don't seem to care that parks and public spaces are uses by other people and other dogs (on leads).

borderlinemeath

12Phase wrote: »

I get a bit fed up with this thing in Ireland of letting dogs off leads.

Not every owner who walks their dog off lead lets them run amok. Mine won't go near anybody on their walks, they're far too interested in birds and smells, and they meet plenty of people and dogs as it is. The problem is dogs that are undersocialised. They can get so overexcited when off lead that they ignore all calls to come back to their owner.

It's a vicious circle in Ireland, there's so few facilities for dogs to socialise and get confident with other dogs (and people) that when they do get the opportunity, they (like children) get overexcited and over exuberant. A lot of dogs if they are kept on lead and perhaps have a bad experience with another dog can suffer from leash reactivity afterwards, most people won't do anything about it, in fact a hell of a lot of small dog owners excuse it as "small dog behaviour". I'd much rather meet a well behaved, well socialised off lead dog than a leashed dog acting aggressively.

I had some kind of lab cross chase me in a park recently and knock me over. The owner came over saying he "was only playing". I cut my knees, tore my T-shirt and also broke my sun glasses in the incident.

I'm all for being nice to dogs, but there are people out there who don't seem to care that parks and public spaces are uses by other people and other dogs (on leads).

The law states that dogs must be under effectual control. So they don't have to be on lead, but the owner must be in control, ie by a verbal command. With that said, some parks and local councils have bye laws stating leash controls so they must be adhered to in accordance to the particular area.

TBH, if the lab was chasing you, you must have run away from him. Easy to say from my point of view but it's not the right thing to do. Stand your ground, hands by your side, turn your back if possible, and the dog that is running towards you should stop and probably sniff you. If you shriek/squeal/throw your hands in the air/run away, tbh almost every dog will view this as a game. But still, if the owners were unable to control the dog then you have every cause for complaint. I hope they reimbursed you for your sunglasses and T-shirt.

12Phase

Yeah, obviously my fault?!?

Wow

Nope they didn't. The guy just told me "ah you'll be grand" and legged it.

Dubl07

12Phase wrote: »

Yeah, obviously my fault?!?

Wow

Nope they didn't. The guy just told me "ah you'll be grand" and legged it.

Obviously not your fault but good advice in case it happens again. It's always awful in the moment and easy to advise others or even yourself afterwards. Now that you've some new information, practice with a friend's dog and try it out. Ignoring them works in most cases.

And yeah, that owner was a pillock. Did you report the incident?

borderlinemeath

12Phase wrote: »

Yeah, obviously my fault?!?

Wow

Nope they didn't. The guy just told me "ah you'll be grand" and legged it.

Jeez, I tried to explain nicely how it might have ended differently if you didn't let the dog chase you, but you still managed to take offence.

I never said it was your fault, I said you had every cause to complain as the owners didn't have the dog under control.

Some people will find an argument anywhere.

anon71

Dubl07 wrote: »

Obviously not your fault but good advice in case it happens again. It's always awful in the moment and easy to advise others or even yourself afterwards. Now that you've some new information, practice with a friend's dog and try it out. Ignoring them works in most cases.

And yeah, that owner was a pillock. Did you report the incident?

What exactly do you want the poster to practice? I'm a bit confused.

I'm the original poster and while my situation was completely different, I often run in my local park. I would expect I could do so without having to cope with a dog knocking me to the ground.

Esel

anon71 wrote: »

What exactly do you want the poster to practice? I'm a bit confused.

I'm the original poster and while my situation was completely different, I often run in my local park. I would expect I could do so without having to cope with a dog knocking me to the ground.

The advice given by borderlinemeath above.

hardCopy

Esel wrote: »

The advice given by borderlinemeath above.

To be fair, it's not good enough as a dog owner to expect people to stop and turn their back so your dog will behave. If you can't recall your dog away from a jogger they shouldn't be off lead.

There are plenty of ways to exercise your dog while you work on recall. Off leash in a dog park, on a recall line or just in a remote area. Even once they're reliable off leash you should still call them to you when you see something that you think they might chase.

I know from experience that my dog will chase joggers so we move away from the path when we see one coming and stay on leash if the park is busy with runners. He's chased joggers before, they were terrified and I was mortified, how can they be expected to know that he just wants a sniff and a pet?

Dubl07

hardCopy wrote: »

To be fair, it's not good enough as a dog owner to expect people to stop and turn their back so your dog will behave. If you can't recall your dog away from a jogger they shouldn't be off lead.

There are plenty of ways to exercise your dog while you work on recall. Off leash in a dog park, on a recall line or just in a remote area. Even once they're reliable off leash you should still call them to you when you see something that you think they might chase.

I know from experience that my dog will chase joggers so we move away from the path when we see one coming and stay on leash if the park is busy with runners. He's chased joggers before, they were terrified and I was mortified, how can they be expected to know that he just wants a sniff and a pet?

I don't let my dog off lead in the park (I have a long line) but I was still glad to know there are ways to minimise the antics of a dog belonging to someone less responsible. I don't expect other people to turn their back on my dog but if they do encounter an off-lead dog that is over enthusiastic or bad mannered, running away will prolong an encounter. That's not in the best interests of any of the parties involved.

anon71

Just an aside; on the day the incident occurred, I would estimate that about 90% of the dogs we met were with owners but unleashed. It's not an area where there are any cars.
We normally walk in a built up area so most dogs are leashed.
We've only been walking with our pup a few times outside of our own area but I was surprised by how many dogs were unleashed.
I don't know what the law is regarding that. I know there are specific regulations relating to certain breeds and that individual County Councils etc. can have their own bye-laws.

anon71

dashoonage wrote: »

2m lead length for a restricted breed. Least thats what it is for my akita.

I never knew Akitas were a restricted breed. Do they have to be muzzled as well? I know 3 people who own them and I know that at least 2 of them walk them unleashed and none of them are muzzled. Gorgeous dogs.

Cherry Blossom

Owners are required to have effective control of their dogs. If you call your dog and it comes to you, that is effective control. Only restricted breeds have to be muzzled and on a lead. I have yet to meet a muzzled rb while out and about with the exception of an ex-neighbours dogs who were all poorly socialised, 'angry' dogs. The worst of the three was not an RB so of course he didn't bother with leads and muzzles on it.