Bad experience on walk yesterday

Snowy Celandine

Snowy Celandine

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I took my Chihuahua for a long walk at an arboretum yesterday and she was attacked by what looked like two brown Scottish terriers (can you get such a thing?). They came racing over out of nowhere and leapt on her and spun her over a few times, scaring her obviously, and making her yelp. Fortunately, my daughter's boyfriend reacted quickly and grabbed both attacking dogs by the collar and my Chi ran over to my OH who snatched her up. When the aggressive dogs were released they started leaping up at my dog in OH's arms and caught her tail. Apart from being a bit scared at the time and having wet fur from the other dogs' mouths, she seems fine and is acting perfectly normally now. I think I am the one who is having the bad reaction as I keep re-living it and imagining a worse ending.

The whole thing has really unsettled me and I now realise just how vulnerable small dogs are, even to other smallish dogs (although most dogs are bigger than mine at 1.9 kg) obviously. Any tips on how to exercise small dogs safely? She is not treated like a toy or a baby, will walk for miles, plays with other much bigger, friendly dogs with no problems but is just so tiny that even a 'playful' attack could really hurt her.

The dogs' owners didn't seem concerned in the slightest by the way. Or at least, not until my OH caught up with in the car park and told them what he thought about them as dog owners. Then they looked sheepish. I also reported them to the owner of the arboretum who took my complaint seriously.
 
Thanks amymay. It really shook me up and I am going to walk in my friend's fields this afternoon as I know that no-one else can go in there so it's perfectly safe.
 
Daisy is bigger than your dog, she's a Bichon. But bigger dogs do occasionally bowl her over - not aggressively, but just being over boisterous. She minds, but doesn't get overly upset, if that makes sense. But I do remove her from the situation if it becomes too full on by just walking away. I've always been keen that she doesn't become too 'precious', but at the same time want her to be protected from being hurt (obviously) or frightened.

Small dogs do seem to be fair game for some dogs, and even smaller dogs like yours can be very vulnerable. For me the answer has always been not to make too much of a big deal about things because I want her to be a robust confident little dog who'll take the rough with the smooth, if that makes sense.

My experience of Chi's is limited, but those who I have met have very much been big dogs in small bodies - fiesty little things who are happy to pile in with the rest of them. But I suppose the key is socialising them with bigger dogs who will 'gently' rough play, allowing them to confidently play and stand up for themselves with larger dogs.
 
I think you just have to try and move on. They are always going to be more vulnerable by default so you just have to make sure to be aware of your surroundings.
 
I completely agree with you amymay and I don't 'protect' Mia from anything at all simply due to her size but these dogs were out to get her in the manner that a terrier might chase and kill a rat, were it that way inclined. She really didn't stand a chance against them, particularly as there were two of them and I keep thinking about that which is why I am still upset. Mia herself is absolutely fine apart from a tiny cut above her eye and she won't be fazed by our next walk, it's just me I'm afraid!

I wouldn't describe Mia as feisty in that she doesn't go up to bigger dogs and bark in their faces or anything like that but neither is she normally afraid of them, no matter how big they are. Her 'boyfriend' is a boisterous yellow Lab and he is huge!

I think that all the dogs I've owned have been socially adept because I have taken the time to train them and most of them have been to puppy training classes so that they got used to a wide variety of other dogs from an early age rather than just their housemates. The only issue with Mia is her small stature but there's not much either of us can do about that unless I add some anabolic steroids to her food, ha ha.

There were 2 other Chis at the arboretum yesterday so I guess Mia was just unlucky and although I've had dogs attacked before (one unprovoked attack by a GSD on my very gentle elderly whippet resulted in nasty injuries with two drains being put in) I was just shocked by the speed of the attack and the realisation that Mia couldn't defend herself at all. My other dog is a whippet and she can outrun anything at the moment since she is still youngish so I have no worries about her and am not a paranoid dog owner in general.
 
I had a similar thing happen when my jrt was a puppy 2 big dogs a lab and a husky type dog just came out of nowhere and flattened her I have never heard a dog scream so much I really think she thought she was going to be really hurt, I picked her up but then I too had two very big dogs leaping on me owner was nowhere to be seen eventually I managed to start walking away with both dogs following me I then heard a woman calling them and she did appear eventually, after me telling her what had happened she then admitted that they run of and she often can't get them back, stupid woman I told her she should not let them off the lead then!

My dog is nearly 3 now and if she sees big dogs she will turn and run if she is not on a lead I don't think she will ever get over it and has never forgotten that day, so one bad experience does more damage than you think.
 
Thanks equi. I thought I was aware of my surroundings to be honest but these dogs just appeared from nowhere or so it seemed. There were four adults in my party and not one of us saw these dogs approaching. They arrived at a fast run and made a beeline for Mia. There was no time to take evasive action at all or I would have. Like I said, Mia is not worried at all so I think I just need to get a grip! :)
 
Thanks pinkvboots but I am sure Mia will be ok. She must be psychologically more robust than her owner :o I will take time out today and walk my dogs somewhere safe and then go back out into the fray tomorrow. It doesn't help that a few owners with aggressive dogs have taken to walking them off lead on my usual route. I only know this because my friend's dog trainer/walker has mentioned it and that she thinks some of these dogs need muzzling or keeping on leads as they have no recall and are aggressive. She has stopped using the route as she can't afford to have any dogs in her care attacked. Maybe that is why I am so upset about the whole thing?
 
Snowy Celandine said:
Thanks pinkvboots but I am sure Mia will be ok. She must be psychologically more robust than her owner :o I will take time out today and walk my dogs somewhere safe and then go back out into the fray tomorrow. It doesn't help that a few owners with aggressive dogs have taken to walking them off lead on my usual route. I only know this because my friend's dog trainer/walker has mentioned it and that she thinks some of these dogs need muzzling or keeping on leads as they have no recall and are aggressive. She has stopped using the route as she can't afford to have any dogs in her care attacked. Maybe that is why I am so upset about the whole thing?
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I am really glad she is okay hopefully it won't affect her when other dogs are around, my dog is quite timid for a terrier she is wary around most dogs anyway so that happening just didn't help it just made her more nervous, her favourite friend is my friends chi he is a wild little thing and they play quite rough for hours it's so funny to watch they are very robust considering how small they are
 
Thanks GS and CT :) I know you are a responsible owner CT. Wish everyone was :( If I'm honest I went into freeze mode with the shock of it so I didn't manage to make a sound and it was just as well that OH and daughter's boyfriend were with me and that they both reacted incredibly quickly.

Mia seems ok, she's wanted more cuddles than normal but she's now fast asleep with Tilly. I wish I could post pics on here but I simply can't work it out!
 
Ive seen 2 posts on fb today of people whose dogs have required expensive vet care when their dogs were attacked by an off lead dog and the owner doing a runner. Its getting so bad now I really think people should be carrying a big stick or something to protect their dog.
 
I think the difficulty is irresponsible dog owners and whilst there are no repercussions on such owners there is little we can do.

I have a Great Dane and we have a family Dogue De Bordeux. Because of their size I understand that they can be intimidating to other dogs and people so keep them on the lead when others are around. My Great Dane in particular is very submissive and has been attacked twice by jack russels whilst she is on the lead and just tried to hide behind my legs. I am however very aware of the damage she could do just with a swipe of her paw. She stopped some trespassers once cutting through the farm, they had a little Yorkshire terrier with them who was going for her, and she pounded the floor next to it with her paw. Not a particularly aggressive move but if she had of hit it she would have done a lot of damage. The Dogue is old and less tolerant of small dogs due to another Jack Russell attacking her, it bit through her lip and got stuck when she was younger.
 
My Stafford boy was attacked by a black lab when he was only 4 months old and his eye was permanently damaged. He still does not like large black dogs and needs a careful introduction to them so its not just Chi's who can suffer.
 
aintgotnohay said:
why the heck didnt you go to the police.get their reg details of car etc.you do realise they have commited a serious offence.dogs out of control in a public place.
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It would be their word against mine though because we were behind a copse and no-one else was around. I have no proof that the attack even happened, obviously it did but I can't prove it because Mia was scooped up so quickly by my OH that she didn't actually get hurt, just scared. If she had been seriously injured or worse I would have tried to bring them to justice.
 
aintgotnohay said:
why the heck didnt you go to the police.get their reg details of car etc.you do realise they have commited a serious offence.dogs out of control in a public place.
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You seriously think the police would be interested ? Nothing actually happened but even if it did the police have better things to worry about than a scuffle between dogs.
 
bonny said:
You seriously think the police would be interested ? Nothing actually happened but even if it did the police have better things to worry about than a scuffle between dogs.
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I think you need to read the link I put up earlier Bonny, the law has changed and people need to report these attacks to the police and the dog warden. It obviously needs testing but the more people who report the better.
 
Dobiegirl said:
I think you need to read the link I put up earlier Bonny, the law has changed and people need to report these attacks to the police and the dog warden. It obviously needs testing but the more people who report the better.
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I'm not saying don't report it if you wish but the police will not be interested, dog arguments certainly don't count as an serious offence !
 
I'm sorry to say, both my parents are police officer and my best friends partner, there isn't enough resources for them to deal with things like this. All they will do is give a crime number and what use is that.
 
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukn...-What-pet-owners-need-to-know-from-today.html


Well according to this the police and council have new powers so they are duty bound to follow this up. If this just a case of the dog warden coming around and interviewing the injured party for a statement then its on file and if another complaint arises then they have established a pattern of behaviour. Who knows whether it will work or not but it needs to be tested so I would advise everyone to report to the police and the dog warden.
 
It is certainly a step in the right direction but I do fear it is just government lip service... maybe the Dog Warden will have more capacity than the police
 
Wow, they look serious. I think I might invest if Mia were in actually danger from coyotes because they could save her life but I don't think you could possibly use them on a normal UK dog walk. If there were something more discreet that repelled dog's teeth I would certainly feel happy using it though. Any inventors on here should take note. Could be a money spinner?
 
I think any dog is vulnerable when meeting dogs. My goldie and segugio were attacked by 2 staffies. My goldie was on the lead due to his arthritis and they came running from the other side of the field and started growling at him with their mohawk up. I put myself between them and said No at this point they turned on my segugio that was playing ball. Pinned her down she started to yelping and crying the owners were to trying grab the staffies but had no luck. Lucky my segugio managed to wriggle out from one staffie for the other to bite her neck as this point i managed to step in and grab the staffie. Its the owners that are idiots and cant manage the dogs. After that i carried on walking with them and playing ball then a jack russell walked passed me growling and snapping away but lucky that was on the lead. I have a few dogs come an attack my goldie for no reason. They charge over from the othet side of the field growling and hang on to scruff. I am just lucky that he is easy going and normally lets me deal with the them and lucky my segugio is easy going rescue and as long i stay calm and dont react she is fine. So i think you just have to move on and just remember that not all dogs are like that and not every owner is a complete idiot.
 
Goodness there are some very scary stories here! Good on you SC for walking your chihuahua properly! but I can see it could be quite frightening if other people have undisciplined dogs :(

Could you maybe take with you on walks some kind of correction device e.g. dog training spray, and use that on any attacking dogs? Or a very loud whistle? Or a riding crop, in case of having to intervene? Sorry if those are not helpful suggestions, I know I would be distraught if my dog was put in danger by others!
 
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