Got attacked at the park today

Took Chiquito to the off leash play area near my house today, it is huge but pretty quiet there on a Sunday and I thought we could do a little recall practice. Walked through the gate, sat on the bench to change over his lead and a golden retriever came bounding out of the wooded area at the back of the park, followed by a girl screaming and chasing after him - I heard 'Be care ..' before the dog ran into us at full speed.

Apparently the GR was 'only' two and doesn't do greetings or little dogs well .. the girl chasing him was 10, alone and without a lead. I was rather thankful that a young guy who was there grabbed the GR and put his dogs lead on it - I've ended up with a black eye, skin missing and a bite, and Chiquito has been bitten on the neck and hurt his leg and eye, but I think it could have been worse if there wasn't someone else there.

The vet says that Chiquito's okay and I just need to keep the eye, leg and neck clean but I am worried about him. I have never seen him behave the way he did today after the dog grabbed him, even after the GR was away from him he was barking madly with his back up against the fence, he bit me when I tried to check his back, kept weeing and when we did get home he went into his kennel instead of coming inside and hasn't come out since.

I presume he behaved the way he did because he was scared, and presume him hiding in the kennel is something to do with being scared as well, but I just want to know if there is something I should be doing to help settle him? Should I at least get him out of the kennel and bring him inside or should I just leave him be?

Omg

Have you reported this dog to the police? And what kind of parent lets their 10yo take a big do out alone!!

As for the poor dear I would just let him be. He's feeling a bit down. It will be hard but treat him as if nothing has happened as you can place human emotions onto him and end up praising him for feeling scared. Keep an eye physically of course but just don't mollycoddle or "comfort" him even though you really want to!

OMG what a horrible experience for you both!

Id leave poor Chiquito in his kennel and let him come out in his own time. Comforting him is praising him for his behaviour. Id make a fuss of him when he comes indoors, lots of treats and play to cheer him up!

I hope your both feeling better soon ><

Thanks Hayley and Kita. I did let him be when he went in the kennel and made it clear he wasn't coming out, but wondered if it was the wrong thing to do since he is still curled up out there in the cold and dark tonight.

And yes, it is hard to not love him a little at the moment, he just looks so sad

The worst part about it is if it was the other way around and he attacked the GR and 10 year old you'd hear nothing but "blah blah dangerous animal blah blah shouldn't let a staffy off a lead"

Ugh, people. Does just sounds like he's had a bit of a fright though, he got attacked and then you went over to look at his back while he was still thinking he had to defend himself, I hope he feels better soon!

Poor little Chiquito! That would've been horrible for both of you and it sounds like he was absolutely terrified. I hope you both recover quickly. Did you report it to the rangers or not worry about it?

OMG that's awful, you must be quite shook up after an experience like that, hugs to both of you >< I hope you both feel better and heal up soon ><

aurora wrote:Poor little Chiquito! That would've been horrible for both of you and it sounds like he was absolutely terrified. I hope you both recover quickly. Did you report it to the rangers or not worry about it?

Thanks

The council has been informed, the guy who grabbed the dog phoned them and gave the rego number of the car that came and picked up the dog and child. I have to fill out a statement apparently, but will talk to them tomorrow (as much as it scared me, I don't like the idea that something could happen to the dog because of me).

Hayley wrote:Omg

Have you reported this dog to the police? And what kind of parent lets their 10yo take a big do out alone!!

I missed this post Hayley - as above, the council have been phoned as they deal with dog attacks here. As for the parents of the little girl, I have no idea what they were thinking ... I am not big, but I was definitely taller and heavier than her and it just bowled me over.

Aww >< for you both.. It sounds like a horrible day out.. Just give him his space and when he does come out and rejoin you in the house don't fuss him too much just try toi act as naturally as possible.. Poor baby

I understand the feeling but it's good that it's been reported. I think it's more likely that the owners will just be given a warning if it's the first time something like this has happened/been reported with this dog.
It does make one wonder about the quality of home life that both the little girl and the gr experience... Poor kid.

Poor Chiquito, luckily he wasn't hurt too bad and he's fine-ish, but could of been worse.
It does my head in when I see little kids when big dogs, actually doesn't matter if its big or not, I think it's stupid that little kids walk dogs by themselfs without a older person. They can not control the dog, if it pulls them they will go with the dog, if there's a fight they can not stop it... It annoys me so much!!
I see so many kids in my area just going to the fields where most dogs go with their dogs without their parents, I just walk away when I see them and always shout to them to put their dogs on the lead while I walk past if I have to walk past them.
As for your dog being scared its natural, I recommend you finding someone with a golden retriever that's friendly and walk with them so your dogs sees that they're not bad and will not hurt him, try socialise him as much as possible now because if you don't its most likely that he will end up fearful aggresive.

I got my dog when he was one and he's fearful aggressive, we think he might of been attacked while he was with his old owner, since his owner had another aggressive staffy, probably got attacked by his other staffy... We been working with him and he's a bit better but I never let him of the lead at a dog park, he would attack every single dog there without a doubt and its basically impossible to get him of a dog as he's attacked one and would not let go for 5 minutes and when he did he would try to get the dog again but we grabbed him before he had the chance to attack again.

Poor little man!! That's terrible I do hope he isn't phased by what happened. Sending hugs his way

Aww hugs for you & chiquito I hope you both recover soon, what an awful experience for you both.

Your fella will be fine, just a bit shaken but keep socialising as normal.

Eventually it is going to be law that all dogs have to be on lead in a public area, I for one can't wait. I know that may be unpopular and I know there are some very responsible owners with off lead dogs. But cases like this prove that the bad out weighs the good.

Nearly every walk I have is ruined by some out of control off lead dog. It's immensely frustrating

Thanks all.

He is still in the kennel but came out to see what i was up to when I closed the garage so that is encouraging. Poor little mite just looks so sad though.

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MatLogan wrote:Your fella will be fine, just a bit shaken but keep socialising as normal.

Eventually it is going to be law that all dogs have to be on lead in a public area, I for one can't wait. I know that may be unpopular and I know there are some very responsible owners with off lead dogs. But cases like this prove that the bad out weighs the good.

Nearly every walk I have is ruined by some out of control off lead dog. It's immensely frustrating

Thanks Mat - it was only our second visit to the dog park, and I must admit I am a little wary of going back again.

It is actually illegal here to be off leash anywhere other than a fenced leash free area, which is where we were today when this happened. I am sure there should be some law against little tiny people taking dogs there alone though.

Oh I didn't know that. That would be absolutely bliss!!

But further to the reason that dog shouldn't have been there, if they knew it doesn't greet well it should be on lead and kept from causing trouble to responsible people trying to enjoy their day with their dog.

Don't be wary, just go on as normal. As time goes on it gets really easy to work out which owners/dogs will cause trouble and it gets easier to avoid them.

Wow, horrible for you and Chiquito he'll be fine though, his kennel's just his safe little area, so he'll come out in his own time. And him biting you was probably just because he didn't want you touching him if he's hurt. Hope you both heal up soon.

That's disgusting I mean, I won't blame the girl because she's only young, but still irresponsible by all accounts for her to be allowed out with him when she obviously can't control him.

That must have been awful for you both. He looked so forlorn on the pic

Bless him. Hopefully being reported will be a wake up call for the owners...could have been so much worse x

Omg. I'm speechless

I hope u both recover quickly. I bet he's feeling a bit bewildered at the mo. best thing IMO u can do is keep everything as normal as possible - he will pick up on any anxiety of urs.

I'd prolly give him a filled kong to chew on to chill him out x

Unfortunately if the dog is out of control and the owners don't care then it needs taken off them!

poor boy and you too,hope you both heal soon ><

Just read this - what a horrible thing to happen. Poor Kell, and poor little pup. He does look shell-shocked in your photo.

I do hope you can both put this behind you, heal fast (both physically and emotionally) and can soon enjoy walks in your off-leash area again.

Big >< to both of you.

Chiquito decided to sleep in his kennel last night but is bright as a button this morning. I look a little worse for wear, but will live I am sure.

Having slept on it I am feeling a little less upset than I was yesterday, and admit that Chiquito being cheerful this morning has made me feel better - I do still feel guilty for having not 'protected' him better yesterday, but you live and learn I guess and we will definitely spend more time watching before we go through the gate next time.

Thanks all for your advice (and hugs), appreciated

So glad to hear he is feeling better this morning

Poor boy, I would make sure you get lots and lots of positive association with other dogs in ASAP. Its idiots like this and unprovoked attacks that ruin staffords and make them DA for life. Make me so angry as this is exactly what happened with my Tali and I can't trust her with new dogs any more. Poor pup, you did the right thing though just keep acting like everything is normal and stick to your routine. Try and find some friendly dogs to go to the dog park with and let him have a good run and play. xx

Kell wrote:

MatLogan wrote:Your fella will be fine, just a bit shaken but keep socialising as normal.

Eventually it is going to be law that all dogs have to be on lead in a public area, I for one can't wait. I know that may be unpopular and I know there are some very responsible owners with off lead dogs. But cases like this prove that the bad out weighs the good.

Nearly every walk I have is ruined by some out of control off lead dog. It's immensely frustrating

Thanks Mat - it was only our second visit to the dog park, and I must admit I am a little wary of going back again.

It is actually illegal here to be off leash anywhere other than a fenced leash free area, which is where we were today when this happened. I am sure there should be some law against little tiny people taking dogs there alone though.

Oh I wish it was illegal here in VIC too! Maxi got attacked the other day as well when we were just out jogging, not as serious as yours though!

Missed this yesterday but glad he is feeling better. It can be very traumatic for them but try to go to the dog park when he is better and make sure he has a good experience so that he doesn't get ruined from it. If you have a friend you know gets on with him try to meet there and walk together first before letting them play. Hope it all goes back to normal soon!

Hi Kell, I hope he's feeling better. After Kenny got attacked, his behaviour was different too. It really upset me to see him this way. my advice would be dont fuss him, let him come to terms with it, and he will.
Kenny got back to his own self soon enough, but in all honesty, he's not as "dog friendly" as he used to be.
Please report this dog, next time it could be worse. People a quick to condem our breed.
I totally, 100% blame the owner of the attacking dog, because of his stupidity, i now have a dog that snarls if he see's a dog of the same size/breed that tried it on with him. And people look at me as if to say "Devil dog owner".
xxx