Attacking?

My 6 month old dog was attacked in the park 2 week's back he use to run up to dog's and play with them, but now he just lie's on his back and crawls around the dog and run's away when he get's past the dog. will he grow out of it? and people are telling me his temperament will change? will it?... i really do hope not he is a lovely dog! and he normally goes out with my nan's dog but now when he see's my nan's dog go near me he snap's, bark's + growls then goes for him. Will he ever grow out of it?
Please help me i am worried sick about him x

He is nervous because of the attack. The rolling on his back is submissive behaviour. I would advise not randomly letting interact with dogs. Keep his interactions to dogs you know are well socialized so he will regain some confidence and have a chance to be socialized.

Agree with J, he needs his confidence around other dogs rebuilding a little, so avoid boisterous strangers and try to seek out playfull freinds for him if poss

jstaff wrote:He is nervous because of the attack. The rolling on his back is submissive behaviour. I would advise not randomly letting interact with dogs. Keep his interactions to dogs you know are well socialized so he will regain some confidence and have a chance to be socialized.

Thanks for the advice but he know's my nan's dog very very well he has been going out with him since he was 15 weeks, yet he still is very very angry around him when i walk into the room. If the dog come's near me he goes to bit the dog and bark's it is very hard knowing that the only dog he use to be happy with he now will not let him come near me, my mum said it is because i was the one who cryed in to him after the attack stopped but am not too sure? I am his owner + he just does not like any dog's by me

That does sound like he is either jealous of the other dog or an attempt to protect you. He could be picking up on any nervous energy you have and reacting to that as well.

Have you tried walking the two of them together?

he has never done that before so i do think it might be a attempt to protect me.

I have walked them together but not since the attack, i don't feel nervous around him with dog's but i don't really take his lead no more i let my mum do that because other wise he bark's at dog's but if my mum take's the lead he is fine with other dog's.

Does his temper change? because i met a woman with a boxer in the park the other day and she said her boxer had been attacked 5 time's + that's why her dog isn't aloud off the lead without a muzzle on because you could see this dog wanted to attack my dog but she had it on the lead + told it to stop stairing out my dog and it looked away.

I would hate for his temper to change because he is a lovely playful little boy!

If he is acting differently when your mom is walking him it could be that he is acting out a bit and has hit the teenage phase. He may feel as if he can get away with more things if you are walking him.

Are you involved in his training and feeding routine?

I do train him but my mum feed's him as she love's to be a part of his life too.

I feel sometime's he hate's me because he attacked me about a month ago in the park, he wanted to lie down for a bit so i sat on the bench and he just jumped up about 5 minutes later and hung off my hand biting it, i tryed to tell him to stop but he just wouldn't listen and he just barked and barked at me as he let my hand go and i just got up and walked away from him but made sure the whole time he was near me as i was really angry he did this and didn't know why. I just thought it was because i didn't really pay attention to him but the next day he did the same in the house and started biting me and barking with his tail straight up in the air.

I think he's picking up some nervousness from you & reacting to it.

Whenever you see another dog, try taking deep breaths & keep yourself as calm as possible. Talk quietly & confidently to your dog & walk straight past the other dog, preferably with a loose lead so he can see you're not bothered. It might take a few attempts, but don't give up!

That's not him hating you at all. That is simply his way of trying to play and he was also likely teething at that age and could still be. When he does do just like you did and turn around and ignore him.

I think he may think of you as a bit of a playmate. I used to rough play with mine alot and because of work I wasn't too involved in walking, training or feeding routines so she saw me as a playmate and wouldn't listen when I would tell her to do something. Once I became consistantely involved with training, feeding and walking things turned around.

kirsty-marley-1 wrote:I feel sometime's he hate's me because he attacked me about a month ago in the park, he wanted to lie down for a bit so i sat on the bench and he just jumped up about 5 minutes later and hung off my hand biting it, i tryed to tell him to stop but he just wouldn't listen and he just barked and barked at me as he let my hand go and i just got up and walked away from him but made sure the whole time he was near me as i was really angry he did this and didn't know why. I just thought it was because i didn't really pay attention to him but the next day he did the same in the house and started biting me and barking with his tail straight up in the air.

He doesn't hate you! Dogs don't think that way! He's pushing the boundaries & getting away with it. He may also have still been teething.

Step up the training, start to feed him occasionally yourself, but before you put his food down tell him to sit & wait for, say, 10 seconds before you let him have it. Don't let him get away with anything you don't want him to do, even once. He's a bit like a teenage hooligan (no offense! ) and needs to be reigned in a little. Firm but fair, with plenty of exercise (mental & physical) & love will do the trick.

Here's a link on body language that should help you out a bit.

http://staffy-bull-terrier.co.uk/dogbodylanguage.html

My boyfriend play fight's with marley but i think it could be a little confusing for him in the house am living in, because there is me and mum who love and play with him and there is also my brother and my mums boyfriend who shout at him for going near them.

i wish i could make it better for him, he listen's to me when i tell him to do something it's just when we are out he take's a weird turn and bite's alot but i do ignore him when he does that and walk away from him because if that was a baby he was playing with like that, it would not be good.

Have you tried having everyone sit down and discuss the rules for the pup as well as the training methods that will be used. It may not always be pratical to do so but it is very helpfull in training the pup.

If they have different rules for different people they can get confused.

I shall try it, i hope it work's because he needs a stable life! and i love him to bit's i don't want anyone to be nasty or harmful to him!

kirsty-marley-1 wrote:My 6 month old dog was attacked in the park 2 week's back he use to run up to dog's and play with them, but now he just lie's on his back and crawls around the dog and run's away when he get's past the dog. will he grow out of it? and people are telling me his temperament will change? will it?... i really do hope not he is a lovely dog! and he normally goes out with my nan's dog but now when he see's my nan's dog go near me he snap's, bark's + growls then goes for him. Will he ever grow out of it?
Please help me i am worried sick about him x

Unfortunately this has happened at the start of his second fear period, I am not attacking you when I say this just saying it so you can understand what should and should not have been done and it may help others when they get pups.

You should never let a pup or adult dog run up to another dog, a lot of dogs don't like it and some will attack as they feel threatened but that is in the past now, you need to look forward not backwards. No it won't go away on its own but you can help him get better.

The attack has made your pup frightened of other dogs including your nan's, it will take a long time to turn him round and a lot of work. He needs to feel safe and until he does he won't change.

As times goes on you will need to change what you are doing with him so that he can move forward but for the time being he needs to be kept away from other dogs so his stress levels go right down. A stressed dog can't learn because his brain has shut down. Once his stress levels are down you can start to work with him by keeping him at a distance from other dogs were he doesn't react, in his case roll over onto his back and crawls round. If he starts to do that he is too close to the other dog. You will find that the distance from the other dog will be quite a long way at first but as he gains confidence this will get closer and closer.

Teach him to "Watch me", this will be a big help once he is a bit further on. I stand in front of my dog so he can see round and through my legs but my legs are a barrier between him and the other dog. I put my dog in a sit and do "Watch me" for as long as as it takes for the other dog to get past then I just walk on as if nothing has happened.

Gradually you build up on this until your dog is fine with other dogs again, some dogs never get right but will improve a lot, others you can turn round completely but never be in a rush and take one day at a time.

Thank's for the help. i will try the "watch me" and hope for the best! thank's ever so much.

Could you actually help me with marley listening to me? I call him back when he run's off and if there is no dog in sight he will come back but if there is he completely ignores me and run's over to the dog?.

kirsty-marley-1 wrote:Thank's for the help. i will try the "watch me" and hope for the best! thank's ever so much.

Could you actually help me with marley listening to me? I call him back when he run's off and if there is no dog in sight he will come back but if there is he completely ignores me and run's over to the dog?.

Try putting him on a long line - you can get some reasonably priced ones from ebay, about 60' long. Let it trail, but make sure it stays within reach. Every so often call him & if he doesn't return immediately pick the line up & real him in! Don't wait for there to be a dog around, though - call him from time to time so that it becomes second nature with him, an immediate response even if there are dogs around.

Thank you so much!, I am very happy you can all help, i do hope marley will respond to that, but as am only 18 and still a teenager everyone think's my dog is use to fight and breed which i hate, i would never ever! do that he is like my baby!. I wish people would stop looking at me like am dirt, because he has a scar on his lip now where furr has came off from the dog ripping him off the floor by his lip, so everyone think's i have done it too him. + i get people shouting at me saying he should be on a lead even when he isn't doing nothing and just walking past.

I can tell you how I teach my dogs recall, you may need to adapt it to suit you and your dog but the basics will be the same.



To have a good recall with your dog you need to have good recall in your house and garden before working outside in various places. It is very important to set our dogs up to succeed with recall, there is nothing worse than trying to call our dogs back and them not coming.

First decide on a word to use for recall, this can be any word but one not in constant use generally. If you have a word for recall and you dog ignores it, use another, it is easier to teach a dog to a new word than to change his idea of the present word.

Never call more than once, we have all see dogs that come on the second or third call, have you every wondered why? The owner has taught the dog to come on the second or third call by continuing to call, the dog has learnt that he doesn’t have to come at first call, this isn’t good enough for me.

Never call your dog when you know he won’t come, that is teaching him to ignore you, again we don’t want this. This is very hard to do but worth the effort as you dog soon learns that you only call once.

If your dog has his head down a rabbit hole or investigating something he won’t hear you when you call so no point in calling, his mind is on something else. Think of a child watching a good cartoon on the tv and you ask them to tidy their bedrooms.

I use a long line clipped to a harness, I don’t let my dog get to the end of the long line so he never learns how long it is, this is handy when I add another long line. I call him back from various distances and give lots and lots of praise, I go overboard with the praise.

I try to get my dog looking at me at first before asking for him to recall, this is so I know he has heard and I can encourage him back with my body language as well. If my dog isn’t looking at me I can try several things, high squeal, rustle a bag that normally has nice things in, start to walk the other way and saying “This way”, bounce a ball, anything will do to get my dog’s attention. I have been known to lie down on wet grass. I can then give the command for him to come back to me.

As my dog improves I stop getting his attention first and still expect him to come back to me immediately unless his head is down a rabbit hole etc.

Once my dog is doing well and coming every time I introduce a whistle, I give the command and whistle, it doesn’t take my dog long to associate the whistle as come and I continue to use both.

This doesn’t really take that long, it just looks like it takes a long time.

Once my dog is 100% recall on a long line I add another and carry on setting him up to recall every time but start to use the whistle more. The whistle travels a lot more than our voices so is very handy for recall.

I will often add another long line depending on were I am and how busy it is.

Once my dog is 100% recall I then drop my end and let my dog trail the line still working on the recall. If everything goes well I take a line off , work some more before taking the last line off.

I take my dogs away a lot and don’t know what the countryside is like, in these situations I will still put a long line on my dogs but let them trail behind. My dogs are used to this and don’t think anything about it.

When teaching recall to our dogs we also have to take into account our dog’s breed and what they were bred to do. Some dogs like Labradors are bred to obey us, others like Terriers are bred to think for themselves, it is up to us as owners to find something that our dog will come back for. This can be treats, praise, play, toys etc some dogs we have to mix these to keep them interested.

I also teach my dogs to recall to a whistle as well but get them used to the voice first.

Thank you very much i shall try the recall! It sound's very useful! aswell as helpful if the situation ever happens again i can get him back as when i tryed to call him last time because the woman was trying to keep her dog's back and he just wouldn't listen but she didn't tell me they were vicious i thought she was just one of they's people who hate staffie's so she was trying to get it back but after the attack and i got the greyhound off my staff puppy she then pulled out a muzzle and muzzled the dog! But two men came down and said she had warned them about the greyhound so i didn't really understand why she didn't warn me!

It sounds like he is trying to push a few boundaries with you but take it back to basics, work on recall in/at home until he does 'watch' and respond on command. I am working with Ledger at the moment, and after I gave him a bit too much freedom we went back to staying on lead and have built up again where at the moment he is only off for short periods when I have clear sight of anyone entering the park for us 'close' is come here for a biscuit and he is also reacting to a whistle but sometimes silence also works. If you keep calling especially if he goes out of sight he knows you are still close, I have also been running and hiding behind a tree when he is distracted and he is now looking for me alot more and will rush straight back if he thinks im leaving him

You should never let him run up to another dog if they are on the lead, there is a reason the dog is on the lead and many are dog aggressive.

I used to have a dog that if a strange dog ran up to him he would have a panic attack and later in the day a seizure, he had been attacked so many times in the past by off lead, supposed to be friendly dogs. I have to admit, when a loose dog runs up to me now I don't take prisoners, they ruined one dog I am not letting that happen to another.

Cyril baby wrote:You should never let him run up to another dog if they are on the lead, there is a reason the dog is on the lead and many are dog aggressive.

I'd go one stage further & say never let your dog run up to another dog even if they are off lead - always speak to the owner of the other dog first! Just plain politeness.

This might help you to understand what we mean by a long line...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/30ft-Long-Softex-Training-Tracking-Recall-Dog-Leads-/390281291705?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Dogs&var=&hash=item5ade93e7b9

If you're buying a harness, go for one that is padded (or fleece lined) if possible so that it doesn't rub his skin/fur.

I never ment to let my dog run up to the greyhound, he was over the other side of the park with my mum and mum said she sent him back over but i was with my nan who is quite a good age aswell so i was trying to make sure she was ok and my dog flew past me right to this woman's but as i was getting there i just thought to myself omg he is dead because he was so still in this dog's mouth then he pulled his head up to look at me so i bolted over to help him and all the greyhound dog owner did was scream (which was not so helpful as i started to panic and cry) but i grabbed my dog and kept it still so the greyhound could not rag marley no more, but someone came to run and kick the dog so i shouted stop! because i didn't want to hurt the other dog i just wanted it away and also if that dog got inflicted in pain it would inflict more pain into my marley...

I have now a harness and its padded with swade thank god! so now i can control his body and he has barely been off the lead since the attack the only time he is aloud off is when there are no dog's in sight but once there is a dog he is pulled back and told to sit while i get his lead back on him

That Greyhound does need reporting to the Dog Warden, Greyhounds are capable of killing dogs, ex racers, which most are, are trained to chase and kill. If you adopt a dog from Greyhound Gap you agree to have the dog muzzled when out, if you don't they can take the dog back.

There was a case a few years ago when a Greyhound used to play with a Poodle, one day the Grey turned and killed the Poodle.