A day at the dog park

[townchicks]

I'm really glad to hear that things are on the upswing. My guess is that since you reached out and have been having these conversations, maybe you have a better sense of being on the right track, so have relaxed a little? Dogs, especially herding breeds, can be way more sensitive to the littlest body language than we realize. Especially those that have come from a home where they were treated harshly. My old McNab, whom I got when he was a year old, had very similar reactions as yours does, terrified of the hose, hated his collar or neck grabbed, would not pee or poop on the leash (basically "within grabbing distance" ) He would go as far away in the yard as he could get from me before he'd go. Eventually, he got over that, but all it took from me was a heavy sigh, and he would shut down. He was a great dog, so eager to please and easy to train, we did agility, rally, nosework and tricks, but I always had to keep it light and happy. Please be aware that the bite issue will not resolve itself, I still think you should try to get help from a qualified professional. Do keep us posted, we're rooting for you.

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

I have a weird dog park story related to this. A dog park I went to occasionally had a separate area for small and infirm dogs. I took my little dog and my 15 year old Springer Spaniel to this area. What I didn’t know was there was a clique of people that used that area as their special domain regardless of size or breed of dog.

So this guy had a lab in that area that started to hassle my Springer. I politely asked him to take his big dog to the big dog area and he became infuriated. Just blew up.

Blah blah blah...he did move but my dog started following him and went through one gate. I reached to get my dog. I don’t know what he thought .i was doing besides trying to grab my confused old dog but he reached out and shoved me in the chest twice!! He was an over 6’ tall man and I’m a 5’ tall woman!

I was so shocked! I yelled get your hands off of me! Then I had to go grab my other dog to leave. I went to the police department and filed a report. They told me to also go to the city so I did. That’s when I found out he was muckty muck in the Dog Park volunteer assoc. The woman at the city was sympathetic until she realized who I was talking about and then everything changed.

The police did nothing because it was a misdemeanor and they didn’t witness it. It’s such a weird turn around that if hubby had done that he would have gone to jail even if the police didn’t witness it.

So I’ve never been to a dog park again. I did have secret places to go to let my dogs run. There was a whole group of us who rotated among these odd places giving each other nods as we came and went.

If he was a part of the dog park assoc. You would think he would know the rules and not do that. And the fact that the police did nothing? I guess it's true: absolute power corrupts absolutely. If people could be more like dogs this sort of thing wouldn't happen

 

[Willowspirit]

If he was a part of the dog park assoc. You would think he would know the rules and not do that. And the fact that the police did nothing? I guess it's true: absolute power corrupts absolutely. If people could be more like dogs this sort of thing wouldn't happen

If I were more like a dog I would have bitten him!

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

I'm really glad to hear that things are on the upswing. My guess is that since you reached out and have been having these conversations, maybe you have a better sense of being on the right track, so have relaxed a little? Dogs, especially herding breeds, can be way more sensitive to the littlest body language than we realize. Especially those that have come from a home where they were treated harshly. My old McNab, whom I got when he was a year old, had very similar reactions as yours does, terrified of the hose, hated his collar or neck grabbed, would not pee or poop on the leash (basically "within grabbing distance" ) He would go as far away in the yard as he could get from me before he'd go. Eventually, he got over that, but all it took from me was a heavy sigh, and he would shut down. He was a great dog, so eager to please and easy to train, we did agility, rally, nosework and tricks, but I always had to keep it light and happy. Please be aware that the bite issue will not resolve itself, I still think you should try to get help from a qualified professional. Do keep us posted, we're rooting for you.

I watch her body language VERY closely. When we went to the vet someone was coming in with two dogs on retractable leashes (which I cant stand because it makes the owner be lazy. You should know where your dog is AT ALL TIMES). Any way I stayed calm and just got a tighter and closer grip on the leash. They came up and smelled her before their owners even rounded the corner. She sniffed too, but then I saw her ears fold back and her move forward with her paws. "Nope! Not today" pulled her away just as she was opening her mouth to bite. The owners did not see any of it. It was that quick. I'm gonna look into trainers that deal with dog aggression. She was good with me the rest of the time there. She sat but she was whining like "I wanna go see those dogs". It might just be she is defensive on the leash. If I can let her run free in the backyard with another dog outside the fence things might go better.

 

[Folly's place]

A tight leash encourages aggressive behavior, but sometimes it's your only option! Idiots who use those retractable leashes and have their dogs interact with strangers aren't helpful.
The vet office is the LAST place to have doggy interactions anyway, it's stressful enough for most dogs!
Mary

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

A tight leash encourages aggressive behavior, but sometimes it's your only option! Idiots who use those retractable leashes and have their dogs interact with strangers aren't helpful.
The vet office is the LAST place to have doggy interactions anyway, it's stressful enough for most dogs!
Mary

It wasn't by choice believe me. As we were leaving someone came in with a HUGE dog. I'm guessing a mastiff/ german shepard mix. I could have put a saddle on it and rode it around like a miniature horse. Duchess didnt care how big he was. She immediately started barking and biting at him. I just rushed her out the door and let her calm down in my car with the AC on before we left. It seems like she wants to play but doesnt really know how to do it right so that no one gets hurt. The initial attitude from her is like "I wanna kill it" but then it goes to "I wanna chase it". Ive seen her do this with squirrels. My SO said he's seen her straight up just take a mole. She doesn't want to eat it though. She just wants to carry it around. It's really odd

 

[Folly's place]

It's not odd, but normal. Mixed signals in a confused dog, who would love to herd everyone. And people who think every dog should meet and greet every other dog at the vet's waiting room!
Mary

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

It's not odd, but normal. Mixed signals in a confused dog, who would love to herd everyone. And people who think every dog should meet and greet every other dog at the vet's waiting room!
Mary

Oh don't worry! My dogs friendly!

...yea...but mine isn't. Are people only concerned with the threat that they place and so one sided they can't consider the outside threat? Don't they understand you should never pet a dog you dont know? Do people just not think? I guess common sense isn't so common anymore

 

[Willowspirit]

Oh don't worry! My dogs friendly!

...yea...but mine isn't. Are people only concerned with the threat that they place and so one sided they can't consider the outside threat? Don't they understand you should never pet a dog you dont know? Do people just not think? I guess common sense isn't so common anymore

One of my pet peeves also. Plus people take their dog to the vet when it’s sick. Why would you want your to to contact a sick dog?

 

[aart]

can be way more sensitive to the littlest body language than we realize

This is so true....my current pup became very sensitive, I almost didn't need to speak a command just my demeanor let him know if he was 'good' or 'bad'. Too much correction became a detriment overall, took me a bit to catch on to that. There's no doubt that if I'm anxious, he's anxious. Dogs have taught me a lot about my own behaviors.