Horrible, horrible walk :(

Honestly, think that may have been the worst walk I've ever been on with Biscuit. Haven't seen her in such a mess since I first adopted her Took her to the nature reserve where she gets her usual day to day walk as I haven't got the car at the moment to go somewhere more adventurous and it's usually really quiet there - generally see 1 other lady walking who knows Biscuit's nervous and keeps her dogs on a lead.

Walked up through the first field and into the lane way and was greeted by 6 off lead dogs - 3 labs, a collie, a spaniel and a terrier. Owner was nowhere to be seen and Biscuit had gotten herself into a state by this point lying on the floor completely frozen and refusing to move. I saw a bloke in the field and shouted to him to call his dogs off.. he slowly walked down to us as if he didn't have a care in the world and then went on the tell me that "I don't know how dogs work" and some other bullsh*t and refused to call his dogs off.. Biscuit had started to alarm bark by this point and really panicking, she was on her lead but not muzzled as it's usually so quiet up there, and as she's always under my control I don't see the need for one as she's never followed through with aggression. I completely lost it with him by this point and cannot repeat what I said on a family friendly forum.. He then decided he might call his dogs off and I reminded him that it's against the law to have dogs out of control in a public place.. which he chuckled at but hadn't realised that he had wondered off and left 3 of his dogs behind. By this point Biscuit just couldn't cope any more and I ended up sat on the floor in the mud with her while these other 3 dogs just stood staring at her. He came back with his tail between his legs saying he wasn't trying to be an idiot, which I told him was exactly what he is, and then went to try and stroke her!!!! She of course flew at him and then he decided he would take the rest of his dogs and leave. I'm so proud of the control that she did manage to keep up until the end, but it's very lucky that I'm not in the cop shop right now being done for GBH.

Praying this hasn't set her training back as we've been working so hard the last few months and gotten further than I ever thought we could. So so gutted Luckily we ran into a lovely lady just after who had seen what happened and made sure we were okay (obviously in tears by this point!!) she had her gorgeous, and well behaved staffie on a lead about 10 feet away who's also terrified of people and other dogs and her and Biscuit even managed a little wag at eachother and really calmed down after about 10 minutes. So thankful for decent owners, but out of control dogs (and owners) are the bane of my life!!!

Aww poor you and biscuit, its is ruddy annoying to say the least people are so ignorant and irresponsible. Hope it doesn't affect her too much ><

What an absolute moron There are some stupid irrisponsible owners out there! It must have been so stressful for you both

Hugs from me and Shéara ><

how awful for you both, i'm fed up at shouting at the same people to put their dogs on leads in the park

I think quite a lot of us can appreciate how you are feeling right now, I know we have been there with Rocky too.

Do you know any very calm dogs she could have a walk with tomorrow ? I'm sure she will be fine and it hasn't put you both back too far.

Poor biccy what an idiot, who can honestly control 6 dogs out off leash. Im glad you gave him a piece of your mind!!!

Aww no, huge hugs for you and biscuit. what is wrong with some people how on earth can he think it was acceptable.

Oh I do sympathise with you.. If you're anything like me my heart rate goes bonkers and I get very nervous, when folk have no consideration of other dog walkers.. I get my mobi out now and tend to film idiots.. Not easy when you are trying to control the situation I know but, it might just come in handy one of these days. Hope you and biscuit are feeling better soon.x

Ah poor biscuit, and poor you. unfortunately some people will always think they know best...i too would have probably said a few choice words. Lets hope she is ok on her next walk, and hopefully meeting the other staffie, even from a distance helped her as well

You get some muppets out and about, thankfully the majority of people seem ok though

Oh no. I hope you and biscuit have recovered. Unfortunately some dog owners have got their heads stuck where the sun doesn't shine, and don't seem to care that their dogs actions can really affect other dogs!
Deez is always being sniffed, harassed and barked at and he, mostly keeps his cool, but it's really stressful for me!!

what an utter eejit!

ahh poor you and biscuit >< ,i hope it does'nt set her back to much,some people

Aw, I am really sorry you had to go through that. What an idiot. Hopefully nothing bad comes of it and Biscuit really did a good job holding back so long.

What a total idiot and horrible experience for you both, some people just don't have a clue

Hope you're both OK now ><

Poor little Bikkie - and poor you for feeling her distress.

Chances are that Biscuit will have forgotten all about this by tomorrow, I do hope so. A nice calm walk on her own, or better yet with a nice calm dog as Kathy suggests, would be ideal.

Big >< to you both

Aww poor Biscuit ><

Poor you & Biscuit! You've done so well with her over the last few months, and I'm sure it won't set her back. She trusts you now & she'll put it behind her I'm sure.

Poor Biscuit Poor you as well! ><

It's awful that there are some completely ignorant people out there who just don't care.

Aw man thank you so much, just come on to read all of these comments you guys are awesome ><

Was a little worried that I was in the wrong and hate losing my temper but she's totally my responsibility to look after and it felt really out of my control. Been such a rubbish week, feel like an emotional wreck and can't believe I cried in public lol! She's been a little bit clingy this evening on her walk but will try again in the morning, unfortunately I don't really know anybody here still at the moment so a calm dog walk would be a no go but would have been great if we could! Fingers crossed she'll be back to normal tomorrow

As soon as you start feeling better, she will feel better.

When you said she flew at him do you mean she tried to attack him?

As for the rest of it... it sounds much less bad to me than you might be worried it is. She was nervous, naturally you then got nervous too. Yes, losing your temper is rubbish but we all do that sometimes and you won't next time.

What would you have done differently?

I'm sure Biscuit is going to be fine. Dogs live in the moment, and I'm sure she sensed your agitation too.

I can understand you are shaken but it will pass and don't be so hard on yourself! We all have bad days. Have you had a bad week in general? That sometimes doesn't help.

Thanks Biscuit isn't your standard dog.. she was a cruelty case from the RSPCA and very fearful and aggressive when I started working with her. She wouldn't even let me into her kennel for weeks and took a long time to trust me fully. Her main fears are men and dogs, but I have been working with her for the past 2 years (and adopted her 1 year ago) and she's finally at a stage where she can walk past men/dogs at a distance and not react, but too less than 10 metres and she will react to keep them away from her. She can meet some men without any serious troubles now but is still generally fearful, so yeah, when I say flew at him she didn't try to bite him necessarily but showed aggression to keep him away from her. Have had a rubbish week, but her reactions weren't out of the ordinary for her, she's just very sensitive and gets set back so easily, but will be out first thing tomorrow in the same place and see how things go

Aww I'm sorry you had such a tough time on your walk, what a fool - I do hope it doesn't affect her training, what advice I can give would be not to dwell on it with her and give her as I am sure you will positive experiences in the next few days. Cuddles for biscuit

what advice I can give would be not to dwell on it with her

I agree with above.

You've also been working with her for two years. Of course there are going to be set backs. Do you think your own reaction plays into hers? That's the only other thing I try and think about when similar happens to me. Does she know it is unacceptable to behave in this way or is there something you can do to instantly divert her? I'm just wondering about how best to settle a dog who is alarmed.

I think it is good that you are going back to the same area rather than avoiding it. You are implicitly saying to her: "It was a one off. I trust you to sort this out with me. We're not going to be superstitious about it and today we're going to have lots of fun." Also, do you get opportunities to socialise biscuit with other dogs in a controlled environment? Just so that she can practice.

I think it is great that you have taken her on. God knows what would have happened if you hadn't. You always knew it would be tough and the incident the other day is par for the course. What you have already achieved is fantastic.

Finally - I love Ian Dunbar, he is apparently the godfather of positive dog training, or something.

Here are some links to videos where he discusses dog aggression. I haven't watched them (but have some of his books) - but they might be helpful.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ian+dunbar+dog+aggression&oq=ian+dunbar+dog+aggression&gs_l=youtube.3..0.1046.4366.0.4609.25.13.0.12.12.0.167.1060.10j3.13.0...0.0...1ac.1.11.youtube.mkwY2OydODI

There are probably other books out there that might give you more nitty gritty on this situation. Perhaps look through the reviews on them on Amazon.com (not co.uk as there are many more reviews on the American version).

what a clown....these people make my blood boil

What an irresponsible guy! First off it is impossible for 1 human being to control 6 dogs OFF LEAD at a public place! Secondly as soon as he saw you were not okay with his dogs being off lead he should have immediately put them back on lead and given you and your dog space! I seriously cannot stand people like this! On a positive note, I think what you've done with Biscuit is wonderful! Rescuing a dog is an amazing thing! I give you so much credit for taking on this responsibility! It sounds like you are truly doing a great job with her! Try to just move on and let this unfortunate incident go. The quicker you move on from it the quicker she will forget it!