Bad lock jaw experience advice needed

Hi All,
We are a family with three children and very experienced with dogs, on Tuesday we adopted Meg a 2 (nearly 3) year old staffy. Meg has been an absolute pleasure, great with the children, walking well on and off the lead, great with other dogs we have encountered and loves fetching her ball! She doesn't like cats, which we knew and experienced on Wednesday when we encountered a cat on our walk, Meg made an awful noise but did nothing else, despite the cat scratching her face!
Any how, after a fab walk this morning for two hours where she was off the lead, chasing a ball, playing etc, we then went on our second walk this afternoon to our local park (10 mins away) Meg ran over to another dogs ball ( think it was a pug cross) I called her back, she came but got distracted and ran over again, I asked her to leave, which she did but the little dog bit her, Meg turned and locked on to the dog, the other dog was still biting Meg. The other owner was trying to pull them apart, her dog let go-Meg didn't but was bleeding. Then the owner and other dog owners starting hitting Meg with their metal leads- I was getting upset and stressed, Meg was not letting go and I did not know what to do, but was also upset they were hitting her! I managed to get her off by pushing her face to the ground. The other dog was fine, she must have had a tight but not a deep grip, Meg however had scratches and lumps were the leads had hit her :-( I was shaking, my daughter and one of my sons in tears! The other owner didn't ask if Meg was ok,
I asked if her dog was and apologised, now I'm cross I did as she was defending herself, but what scared me was that I couldn't get her off! We left immediately and went to the vet. Meg needed antibiotics and cream, the vet said Meg was not in the wrong and that unfortunately if a dog goes for them they will lock jaw. I can't help but worry that Meg is now going to be known as that dangerous Staff, which is so unfair as she is pleasure, typical that this is our local park. Also, do I now keep her on a lead all the time in case a dog bites her again? Can I not play ball with her? If she has done that to a dog would she do it to a person? I don't think so as apshe is a joy with the kids! Despite them hassling her etc, she is fab, doesn't bother at all! I'm now worried and £60 down and it was the other bloody dog! Help me x

Oh no what a worrying experience! First, dog/human aggression is not transferable so this is not a guarantee that she would do this to a human, no. To be fair, if a dog ran up and tried to steal my dogs ball she would probably go for them aswell - what meg did was very bad doggy manners and the pug may well have been quite protective of his ball! Dogs shouldn't be running up to other dogs without prior permission - especially when they're a high value resource (such as a ball!!) involved.

I would say get a long line for her - train her recall and always, always ask before letting her approach another dog. It's awful that the other owners hurt your dog, fights can be very hard to separate and it's best to avoid as much as humanly possible! They don't actually lock their jaws, but they are terriers and know how to hold on for dear life! Don't let people think she's dangerous - train her well and keep her under control

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Hiya from me and Vinnie

Welcome from Iza and me

hia from me and sasha

Hi from me and Lexi. Let's see some pictures of Meg ;-)

Seeing lots of people on here upset about fights ;-( don't beat yourself up about it. You did all the right things x

Hi & Welcome from Flo and me

First off, locking jaws is a myth and I'm a tad surprised the vet said that, they do however hold on for dear life !!. From your post I think it was naughty to steal the ball but these things happen as do fights.

Secondly, Meg is still the great lovable girl that she was before this incident so don't be worried that she will suddenly become aggressive to people, that's not how these things work.

Moving forward, get some recall training going. The best way to get her attention is to use some really high value treats. In the meantime, keep her close to you on walks when other dogs are nearby, this will get easier as her recall gets better. Finally, remember that this wasn't all Megs fault, she was only doing what dogs do and that goes for the Pug too.

Thank you! I am concerned about ball play in a park now, as up to today, even when she has gone for a sniff at another dogs ball she has come straight back, which she didn't do straight away but then did come away! As she was coming toward me the other dog reacted (I don't blame the other dog, but what if a child had picked his ball up?)
Do I stop playing ball when on a field with other dogs? Do I long lead her with a ball? Her recall is excellent but maybe when around other balls I need to not play!?
She is really head shy tonight- the metal leads have bruised her skin :-( poor dog
How do I add a photo? X

Be selective when playing ball to minimise any bad encounters. I do this with my Flo but she will occasionally still get mugged for it

If you throw a ball for Meg towards children then I would think you were a bad aimer ... Meg is nearly always going to get there first unless you're a really bad shot and throw it at the feet of a child. Having said that, it's always a good idea to train her to drop on command.

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Hi and welcome from Oz and me. Great advice above they really do grip on to things and its teaching when to drop. Keep trying and would love to see some photos

Hi and welcome from us and Suki

welcome from me and mia

Hi and welcome to the forum from me and the zoo xx

Hi and welcome to the forum from Rocky and me

Do you have somewhere else to walk her ? Try to find a very quiet area without any other dogs/distractions around then practise recall training with her using a high value treat as a reward, a tiny piece of cheese is usually a good idea for this. A long training lead may be a must have for the time being until her recall is 100 %.