Dog walking etiquette :)

ISDW

McNulty32 wrote: »

I took the pup out for a long walk last night, being a pup she's excitably but surprisingly good to walk,

Only problem if she comes across a another dog, cat or any other aniimal she goes into a fierce rage and will go on the attack until I nearly have drag her down the street,
No matter big or small, she will get stuck in

By last night we'd walked by afew dogs and she went for them, I restrained her made her keep walking,
But on way back, there was a little corgi or similar dog thats owners let just wander up and down the road, barking at people and it wouldnt be uncommon for it to nip at people walking by
Anyway the pup caught wind of the corgi, and the corgi ran over to her, the barking began
I dragged the pup away but the corgi ran straight into her clucths and made short work of the dog, biting it and nearly throwing it in the air,
the corgi ran off yelping, Id say it was hurt, I scolded the pup for fighting but damage was already done

Be honest Ive no sympathy, that dog should not be let wander around the street unsupervised hours on end, especially with it being so cranky and angry to people walking by and other dogs,
Way I see it, I was walking my dog, had her on lead, the little dog provoked her and gave her opportunity to attack by being let wander, not my fault.

Is your pup 12 weeks old? I think I saw that somewhere. Has she had all her vaccinations? Most vets recommend leaving it for 2 weeks after the second booster before you take them out. You should also be careful that you don't over exercise her, 5 minutes for every month of age is the general rule of thumb, so she should only be doing 15 minutes a day at the moment.

Now obviously the corgi's owners were at fault, no argument from me on that one, but by law, your dog should be wearing a muzzle, and if the other dog's owners pursue the matter, it will be you and your dog that will be in big trouble I'm afraid. Stupid, stupid law, but she's on the RB list, and so you have to be very careful.

Are there are any puppy classes near you, to take her along to for socialisation?

andreac

McNulty32 wrote: »

I took the pup out for a long walk last night, being a pup she's excitably but surprisingly good to walk,

Only problem if she comes across a another dog, cat or any other aniimal she goes into a fierce rage and will go on the attack until I nearly have drag her down the street,
No matter big or small, she will get stuck in

By last night we'd walked by afew dogs and she went for them, I restrained her made her keep walking,
But on way back, there was a little corgi or similar dog thats owners let just wander up and down the road, barking at people and it wouldnt be uncommon for it to nip at people walking by
Anyway the pup caught wind of the corgi, and the corgi ran over to her, the barking began
I dragged the pup away but the corgi ran straight into her clucths and made short work of the dog, biting it and nearly throwing it in the air,
the corgi ran off yelping, Id say it was hurt, I scolded the pup for fighting but damage was already done

Be honest Ive no sympathy, that dog should not be let wander around the street unsupervised hours on end, especially with it being so cranky and angry to people walking by and other dogs,
Way I see it, I was walking my dog, had her on lead, the little dog provoked her and gave her opportunity to attack by being let wander, not my fault.

I understand the loose dog was probably the problem, but sounds like your dog is in need of socialisation and training classes, badly!! Before the problem gets even worse.

sambuka41

The Sweeper wrote: »

With all due respect, you've just fallen foul of breed discrimination there yourself. You say the dogs were unmuzzled pitbulls.

The breed standard for an adult male pitbull has a weight range of 35-60lbs (about 15kgs to 27kgs). Unless you're an extremely short person (e.g. 5ft or less), and the dog was the absolute top end of its weight class, it's highly unlikely that the dog large enough to have its paws on your chest and its face in your face was a pitbull - especially not given that the muscle mass of a pitbull would mean it reaches 27kgs while still relatively short in stature.

Two unmuzzled bull breed type dogs that could have been mastiff Xs or american bulldog Xs or staffordshire terrier/labrador crosses, for instance, approached you in the park.

Actually I'm 4ft 11" and yes they were pit bulls, I had my suspicions in the park that they were and looked the net when I got home to be sure. The lad who jumped on me did look large. I worked in pet shops for 9 years and am well used to diff breeds dogs coming in.;)

Bog Bunny

ISDW wrote: »

But that could be true of any large dog, I have a large grey husky here, he certainly isn't in the habit of jumping up at strangers, but if he did, his paws would be on your chest and his face in your face, whats the difference between him and a pit bull?

Your points are very valid, but I think they hold true for all dogs, not just those on the RB list.

Being used to large dogs, I wouldn't be afraid of a dog jumping up on me in an off-lead park assuming that these dogs are all owned by responsible people who know their dogs temperaments, otherwise they wouldn't let them run free in this kind of 'public', would they? (Am I blue-eyed and assuming too much here?) I just don't like it. Often the ground is mucky, you have their paws all over you, the little jumpers ruin your trousers, bigger ones your coat.... I wear doggy clothes but still do not want to have to wash them every day.
If there is such a persistent exuberant jumper-upper I usually bend down and try to strke the dog's side to calm him. Then the urge to jump up is diverted to side movement, into the hand. With little pooches I just squat down to eye level and try to calm them that way.

It's a lot of give and take when doggy people meet and common sense and consideration should prevail. Alas, there are eejits in every walk of life who ruin it for the rest of us.

McNulty32

ISDW wrote: »

Is your pup 12 weeks old? I think I saw that somewhere. Has she had all her vaccinations? Most vets recommend leaving it for 2 weeks after the second booster before you take them out. You should also be careful that you don't over exercise her, 5 minutes for every month of age is the general rule of thumb, so she should only be doing 15 minutes a day at the moment.

Now obviously the corgi's owners were at fault, no argument from me on that one, but by law, your dog should be wearing a muzzle, and if the other dog's owners pursue the matter, it will be you and your dog that will be in big trouble I'm afraid. Stupid, stupid law, but she's on the RB list, and so you have to be very careful.

Are there are any puppy classes near you, to take her along to for socialisation?

Thanks for the advice,
She has had all her shots, got them 3 weeks ago, but I think she has to get some more, I'll need ring vet and ask.
Ive been taking her a short 15 minute walk in the morning and usually a 30 min or so walk at night,
I didnt know about the 5min a month thing,
But she is remarkably big and well developed her size, she would be as big if not bigger then medium sized dogs,
But Ill take you advice, Ill give her shorter walks

When I walk her I have a short enough lead so she cans stray too far, and also carry a full body lead that has a strap for her mouth,
I just do feel bad and not put it on her because she hates it.
But she is getting older Ill stick a muzzle on her.

Regards training, I have good experience with dogs, especially RB dogs, as I use to foster afew, and enjoyed the challenge of training them, but had pack it in when had kids
Ive been putting in lots of time with the pub, have her sitting on command, giving the paw, able to get her to yield when getting too excited or playing to rough, got her verly well house trained, used to kids.
Just the aggression towards dogs and some people on the street is a puzzler, she wont listen to me,no matter how stern I am,
I suppose if it goes on, a class or two will help

Bog Bunny

McNulty32 wrote: »

Just the aggression towards dogs and some people on the street is a puzzler, she wont listen to me,no matter how stern I am,
I suppose if it goes on, a class or two will help

Being on a taut lead and straining and choking doesn't help in this situation either, it reinforces the clearly unwanted behaviour by (1) putting pressure on her thyroid, constricting the airways, causing great discomfort (and aggression/aversion) which the pup has already connected with the appearance of the stimuli you mentioned, and (2) the lead is an extension of your arm, it is the umbilical cord which gives her much more courage and lets her become mouthy.
This scenario always reminds me of a pub brawl where a slight little figure is shouting "let me go, I'll kill him" while he is safe in the restraints of his mates
I bet if you got your pup into a safe and controlled environment with a number of mature, calm dogs who can stand up to it and let her mix free she'll be far less willing to go into this 'I'd kill you if I got you' mode.

Cherry Blossom

A few things don't add up here!

McNulty32 wrote: »

She has had all her shots, got them 3 weeks ago, but I think she has to get some more, I'll need ring vet and ask.
Ive been taking her a short 15 minute walk in the morning and usually a 30 min or so walk at night,
I didnt know about the 5min a month thing,

Either she has had all her shots or she hasn't, it can't be both. This really doesn't sound like a post a person who used to foster dogs would write, anyone who has fostered pups should know that you have to be careful about vaccination timing and how much exercise a pup should have.

McNulty32 wrote: »

But she is remarkably big and well developed her size, she would be as big if not bigger then medium sized dogs,
But Ill take you advice, Ill give her shorter walks

The dobermann is a medium sized breed, standing at a little over 2 feet at full adult age, she wouldn't reach that until she is around 18 months. Are you completely sure of the dogs age and that the registration papers are authentic because this does not make sence at all.

McNulty32 wrote: »

Ive been putting in lots of time with the pub, have her sitting on command, giving the paw, able to get her to yield when getting too excited or playing to rough, got her verly well house trained, used to kids.
Just the aggression towards dogs and some people on the street is a puzzler, she wont listen to me,no matter how stern I am,
I suppose if it goes on, a class or two will help

It's good that you are teaching her basic obdience, but is she just performing tricks and activating her personal treat dispenser? You need to make sure she knows that you are her leader and not the other way round. From reading what you have written about this dogs 2 different theories have come to my mind.

1. She has learned this behaviour either from her previous owners or the other dogs that lived there.

2. This 'agression' is manifesting itself as a direct result of your childs nervousness. The dog is translating this that the child is a weak individual and she is going the extra mile to protect this child. This could result in a very serious situation.

You absolutely need to sort this out as quickly as possible. It will take time for the child to get used to the dog and let this happen at the childs own pace, do not let the dog guard the child. When people/dogs approach you in the street put yourself between her and them so she knows that you are there to do the protecting, not her. Be extremely careful of people approaching your child also.
Socialisation classes are a must for this dog, this is not optional. I'd also be inclined to get a behaviourist out to your house to help you best decide what approach to take in establishing a healthy relationship between you and the dog and your child and the dog. Letting the dog 'stick' to you all the time is not good. You should be teaching this pup commands like 'speak', 'shush', leave it, drop it etc. sit and paw aren't going to help you much when she doesn't like how another child approaches yours.

Discodog

I agree. This has the potential to become a nasty situation. It would be tragic if your dog ends up being destroyed because it thought that it was doing the right thing.

My neighbours Collie is aggressive towards my pup (1 year old) as he see's him as a rival & my guy is at the age where he doesn't want to back down. I can't train someone else's elderly dog so I have to teach my guy not to react. So when the Collie comes barrelling towards him I encourage him to ignore it & he gets rewarded. It is working & because the Collie is not getting a reaction he is less likely to show aggression.

cjf

My dobie fella was 2 in December and was the height he is today when I got him at 6 months old! He has not grown significantly height wise since 6 months but has filled out loads. He used to lunge and make all sorts of awful noises when he was younger we went to a course of puppy classes as it can be hard to get these guys socialised especially as I found in my area no body wanted their dog to be his friend so in the controlled environement of the classes we figured out it was not aggressive behaviour at all just total lack of manners and no clue how to say hi to another dogs! Classes are a great way to work on the next stage of obedience where they learn to listen to you even when there are more interesting things to do!! He met all sorts of other doggies at his class so got to be with smallies and other biggies!

If your pup has had two sets of shots then the next shot will be an annual booster which most vets normally send out a little reminder for.