Dog on Dog Attacks

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Dobiegirl

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Just been reading on another forum of someones dog being attacked and just wondered if anyone would admit to their dog attacking another dog and what did you do about it.

My dogs havnt attacked anyone or any dogs but being the dogs they are I do have public liability even though 9/10 times we walk on our own land. I must admit I would be horrified if my dogs did this but would do my best to make it up to the other owner. Whichever one of my dogs was responsible would never be allowed out again without a muzzle.

If your dog attacked another dog what would you do if it was a completely unprovoked attack.
 
Would depend on the circumstances but most likely mill my dog, pay the vet's fee for the other dog, examine/re-evaluate my care/treatment/training of said dog and management of dog.
 
Most dog on dog attacks have a reason.....from the dogs point of view, that is - we just usually miss the clues. :)

I would get a vet check on the dog first of all....including bloods and full thyroid panel.

I would probably try the dog with one of mine in a secure field....I'm lucky in that I can call on a variety of ages/sexes/breeds and know which will ignore, which will look to engage, which will want to take control etc etc. I may muzzle the offender and/or have on a long line. I guess it depends and there is no hard and fast rule.

I usually know the history of the 'offender' so would use that to make an educated guess as to the reason....fear driven, sex driven, prey driven, resource guarding etc etc?

If you can identify a cause or pattern then you are half way to curing it, IMO.
 
My gsd has gone for a few dogs although never made contact luckily, as soon as she started showing aggression I made sure to keep her on lead whilst in areas where there are liable to be dogs running loose as I've noticed some seem lacking in self preservation and will still approach the rabid,snarling devil dog :eek: Having said that she's just started agility and so far is showing all the signs of having a personality transplant :D
 
I can't remember the exact details but when I was about 6/7 we had a rescue pyrenean that flew at another we had. I remember the fight quite clearly, but not what happened once they were separated. Long term the dog went back to the rescue, I got told it was rehomed with someone with no other pets & lots of land, but as an adult I suspect he was pts. Looking back though, even at that age I realised he wasn't the same as the other dogs we had & I was a bit cautious round him, certain things I remember when viewed now as an adult were subtle hints it shouldn't have come as a suprise.
 
our dog that i grew up with was very vicious. he would try an attack every dog he saw regardless of size or sex. He hated men and once bit the parcel man, he ripped letters to shreds when they came through the letter box and barked at eveyone an every noise.

I can remember two fights he had, both times he was the aggressor but funnily enough he was on the lead both times and the other dog wasnt.

one was a staffy, i was walking him (i was only about 12) an went past a driveway an the next thing this staffy dived on him. he pulled straight out of my hands and attacked. he threw the staffy on its back an locked on to its neck.
They were rolling round an i just couldnt get hold of his collar (staffie didnt have one), staffy owner stood there screaming saying my dog was killing her dog (he was) but i just didnt no what to do.

then this man appeared in rigger boots an booted my dog in stomach about 3 times before he let go. then my dog collapsed. i was so scared i picked him up an ran home (he was a labrador x) i have no idea how i managed that, must have been adrenaline

next time pretty much same thing but i tried to grab collar an got bitten for my trouble, he let go on his own that time, but unfortuantly there was a young girl riding her horse on street an i can remember the horse bolted from the sounds the dogs were making
 
My previous dog was a lout.

But in fairness to him it was only when the other dog was showing aggression to him.

He fought with a Labrador who's owner had thought it was funny when his dog ran up to my dog and barked in his face and ran away - this dog did this about 10 times. I asked the owner to call his dogs back ( there were two of them) and he laughed and thought it was funny. Wasn't quite so funny when my dog went for his dog. Owner ended up being bitten by his dog in the ensuing chaos.

The man in the park who's pointer had injured at least 5 dogs - stitches to their necks etc. - also did not find it amusing when my dog had a go back at his dog.

I did not muzzle my dog because if he got attacked he would have no way of defending himself.
I walked the same route at the same time and my dog wore a flashing collar to warn others that we were coming. If other dogs were around I would put him on the lead. However several times I called out to owner that my dog was not friendly and they ignored me.

EDT: my dog did have doggy friends in the park too! Just re read my post and he sounds like a thug :s
 
I posted recently about my JRTx having a go at another dog in the park recently - he didn't do any damage, just a lot of noise, and I felt terrible about it. Obviously stayed and checked the other dog was OK, Stan got a stern telling off. I was really, really upset about it at the time. However, with hindsight although it had seemed unprovoked at the time, we just got in a sticky situation and he reacted. So, I've learnt from that and know not to be in that situation again. If I'm in any doubt, he goes on his lead around other dogs, and I shout to other owners not to let their dog approach. He is always on lead around puppies, because although he has never harmed a dog, his behaviour would frighten a pup, and as I see it pups need only good experiences.

He was properly attacked at 6 months old, and to me that was unprovoked - the other dog (which I think was a rottweiler x akita) just seem to have a 'red mist' moment. It was terrifying for stan and for us. He was lucky to only end up with only one puncture wound (and not so lucky to end up with a long term fear of other dogs :( ). Looking back we should have done more to hold the owner to account, but we were on holiday in a small town and when we went to the vets it was clear the vet knew the dog, and I ended up talking to the locals in the pub about it - they knew the dog's owner, who was a young lad and by all accounts he was pretty devastated about what had happened. I would have liked to see the dog muzzled in future
 
Sadly Maisie has attacked another dog, but was provoked and can see the build up to it.

Walked regularly with several other dogs, one of whom is a 3 yr old collie who by her owners admission is a grumpy wotsit! She will snarl and snap if other dogs get too close, and Maisie just left her alone, so all was ok.

Then all in one week, Maisie was attacked by a pack of 5 dogs, then a couple of days later by an unneutered dog who tried to hump her and then went for her. Both times she just tried to get away and was actually trying to hide behind my legs.

So maybe I should have seen it coming, but the next time the collie snarled at her Maisie went for her, had her pinned down, collie screaming, thankfully I managed to grab her collar and get her off, and no damage done to either dog. Shook me up big time though.

Obviously I now avoid the collie, although to my amazement the owner thinks I'm overreacting and am being unsociable :confused:

Maisie is still fine with other dogs, although I watch very closely all the time. It's really upset me that thanks to 2 completely unprovoked attacks by other dogs, she then attacked, although at least she was reactive rather than initiating the fight.

Her temperament is so good, last year when at training classes, they used her in the puppy class for teaching the puppies how to approach a strange dog !
 
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None of mine have ever attacked another dog , some of them have been a bit mouthy but I have always made sure that they were on lead where other dogs could be. If it did happen I would offer to pay any vet treatment, and be ultra careful in future, possibly even muzzling in public. With GSDs people are far more likely to shout "dangerous dog" than with other breeds so its better to be safe than sorry.
 
:mad: i wrote a huge reply and then my computer had a fit! :(

baiscaly- my dog is not good with other dogs. i would not call her Dog aggressive, but very very dominant.

she has had a few scuffles with a couple of dogs. mainly with a dominant bitch that she had been around (9-5 mon-fri, and most of the weekend) on my friends farm. these "fights" seemed to come from nowhere... but we just missed the signs. there were no injuries, just a battle to be top dog. they were broken up using a bucket of cold water and separating them for good. they have never seen each other since.

she will not tollerate another bitch, and if off lead she would pin most other dogs until they submitted. i believe that if she came up against another dominant dog it would escalate into an actual fight.

the only injuries sustained through one of her altercations was to herself, as she had her belly scratched to ribbons by a collie bitch she had pinned.

her management changed completely after these incidents (which were within a few days of each other, and i was not present at the collie incident: she was in the care of my fiance's brother who just let her out in the garden unsupervised , with a tiny fence and a dog on the other side of it. i was livid as he had clearly not listened to my strict instructions, and warnings about her dominance. :mad:)

she is ALWAYS on a lead in public and i make people who have loose dogs very aware that we are not dog friendly, and to get their dog on a lead. i have certain places where she can be safely off lead, but i still constantly scan for any potential dogs.

i can tell instantly if she will tolerate another dog or not- she is quite clear with her body language! even so she is always on a lead, as it can only take a tiny thing to trigger a reaction which could lead to a scuffle.

its quite easy to manage as long as you are aware of it. it was hard to begin with- i felt like a failure, but its no big deal- we just dont run a mock in public places and sniff others bums... actually suits me quite well! :)
 
An unprokoved attack would see me offering to pay any vet fees/sending me the bill and apologising with me restraining my dog asap, I would feel pretty crap if the dog was badly injured as a result and question my dog handling skills in the process:p
I would also keep my dog on a lead or muzzled (extreme) but measures that have to be taken, because it would certainly never happen again.
Luckily I have never had a dog of mine attack another (and have owned alot of dogs) I am fully aware that some dogs I have are more than capable of defending themselves if trouble came their way and will no doubt always end up on top:p and I am very observant in their body language and their triggers and my handling of them.
I am more than confident that none of mine would attack unprovoked.

If my dog was attacked and there was serious injury I would expect the bill payed the dog to be restrained from then on at all times, my reaction would possibly be gaged on how apologetic the owner was and how quick they where to restrain the dog and admit fault and convince me it was not a normal reaction for said dog.
I suppose there is a million and one scenarios for dog fighting:p
 
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Sadly an attack from another dog can 'turn' a previously well socialised dog into an aggressor with other dogs. This happened with my irish wolfhound many years ago from just one attack and then with my daughters lurcher after 2 attacks in as many days. My other daughter currently has a young staffie, he is a lovely dog and mixes well with other dogs, there is a guy on her estate that has a much older staffie that hates her dog and attacks it on sight. This dog even jumped out of the flat window to get to Charlie as she walked past one day. I suspect Charlie will turn into an aggressor because this man simply will not control his dog and she cannot take Charlie out without passing his flat.

If our dogs attacked another then their lives would change immediately, they would be muzzled and have no freedom off the lead when in a public place. Our yard has several footpaths through the land and both are very well socialised and used to having the run of the place and, as yet, have never met a dog that has been aggressive with them. Murphy is a big lad and would do a lot of damage, he was attacked by daughters lurcher, at home, but fortunately it hasn't turned him. I would expect to pay all vets fees for a dog that my dog had injured.
 
Harley has had several dogs have real pops at him, thankfully never made contact

He is fine with dominant or clearly playful dogs, the ones that he's not sure of are the large (he loves little dogs!) unsure ones like himself. He has done a lip curl at one and air snapped at another and both times I just removed him from the situation. I would like to think he'd never hurt another dog, but he was clearly unhappy so I took him away. In a way I'm glad I can read his signals before anything could.
 
Just wondering if anyone can give me advice on other dogs attacking my dog, seems unprovoked but I'm not experienced in dog behaviour. Most of the owners say that their dog has never done this before. It's getting so bad we now keep our's on the lead because we are afraid of him getting hurt.
 
Im the same , i keep my dog on a lead at all times and pick him up if i get approached .. Its terrible how we live in fear walking our dogs , this is why ive done a petition to bring in tougher laws .
 
A dog should not even be let off a leash if its agressive towards other dogs or muzzled , simple as , its the irrisponsible owner who is at fault
 
zom said:
Im the same , i keep my dog on a lead at all times and pick him up if i get approached .. Its terrible how we live in fear walking our dogs , this is why ive done a petition to bring in tougher laws .
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Picking your dog up is probably the worst thing you could do.

Dex has been bitten twice- once requiring vet treatment. He has never retaliated.

His over excitable behaviour could easily cause another dog to go for him, hence he is always on a lead unless in a very controlled environment.
 
Picking your dog up is not a good plan - you'll just get jumped all over and if the other dog is aggressive (and most dogs in my experience are NOT aggressive) you might get bitten by accident.

My dog has been bitten yes, as a result of miscommunication between him and another dog. I could see it coming, but wasn't quick enough to intervene. But I'm not about to let that one, isolated incident ruin his freedom and quality of life by keeping him restrained at all times on a lead - it was just one of those things that can and will happen around dogs. I think some people really do overreact to the perceived threat, which IMO is much greater than the actual threat. Most dogs are not aggressive, and most disagreements are nothing more than handbags and noise anyway - genuinely aggressive dogs are rare, as I say, in my experience.

If my dog was the aggressor, I would of course offer to pay any vets bills (he has liability insurance) and would definitely re-evaluate my training and handling of him and seek outside help if needed. Actually my first course of action would be a full examination from the vet as it would be completely out of character for him.
 
Our dogs and next door's (across the field actually) have been at each others' throats for years (sometimes literally! :( )

Its an ongoing problem and all to do with territory - all dogs will defend their own territory; we both understand that and do what we can to minimise contact.

The problem is that in a country area and if you're out in the wide open space of a field, you can't watch a dog 100% of the time; both of us have land around us and so the dogs are roaming around under our supervision whilst on our own land. The problem arises if either of us walks the dogs past the others' gates, that's when the problems can and do arise.

But as we both ride, and are neighbours, we have made the decision that we won't fall out about it, but will try to manage the situation as best we can. Its unfortunate, but understandable.
 
I walk with several dogs and they will pack together if one gets attacked so rather than take the risk they all go on leads and thats final. If someone elses dog is off lose and they have ignored my warning that mine are not happy with someone elses dog having a go at it there isn't much that you can do. Mine are good with other dogs thankfully so they will sit whilst I lead up someone elses dog.

I have had neighbours though who I have had to intervene during a fight because they were idiots and just stood there screaming one was tied up and their other dog who it had previously lived with got out and was taking chunks out of it. Had to grab the back legs and noose it quick. lucky for me no bites but the other dog was seriously injured.
 
My parents terrierist cross would sometimes try and have a go at particular dogs he didn't like, he never had fights as such, he was all noise and no trousers thankfully. I accept that it wasn't exactly ideal, and was on the lead on busier walks, but he was an obedient dog until that selective deafness kicked in :rolleyes:

Now at 15 he genuinely is deaf, but thankfully can't run as fast so if he's not on the lead, you can now still catch up with the little pest :)

My parents first ever dog, 30 years ago, was dog and people aggressive :eek: One memorable day (well from stories I;ve been told) the binman had to pin him under the bin lid to stop the beast from getting him, obviously this was in less lititgious times, and we were never broken into! :D
 
I have previously called one of my dogs 'fear aggressive' on here but I'm seriously re-evaluating that label. As those who have met him can attest he's absolutely fine at events surrounded by other dogs, can meet dogs head on and after a bit of a yowl and tail-wag then proceeds to mostly ignore them.

The only problem we have is passing single dogs while out on walks - he lunges, yowls and grumbles, and while I know it's a normal noise for him it can sound very much like a growl. You'd be forgiven for thinking that he was aggressive and about to nail the passing dog but I know, from experience, that if he ever has the opportunity to make contact he transforms back into the waggy-then-ignoring dog he usually is.

I'm telling you this because there's a chap with a rough collie who we used to meet out on walks when we just had D and the two dogs would play very nicely, we'd stop and have a chat etc. and then when we got R he accused us of having got a dangerous dog and started avoiding us. :rolleyes: (Note that R never had any contact with the dog, just screamed at it from afar). Anyway, I found out today that one of my OH's work colleagues was out running at the weekend when the same rough collie chased him and bit him on the arm. Karma for the owner. :p

I too don't believe that there are many truly aggressive dogs out there, most 'fights' are handbags and noise, god only knows my two sound like they are murdering each other sometimes. I do wish though that when other owners see that one of my dogs is creating because he's a bit nervous that they'd recall their dogs immediately rather than let them get all up in his face - not because R would do anything but because D will probably step in to try and protect him.

If mine ever bit another dog in a manner for which I had no explanation they'd be muzzled from then on. Anything else would be my fault and cause for a training and management re-evaluation. They're both already kept on leads in public places for reasons unrelated to aggression.
 
Zom a petition has already been presented before parliament by Jacob Rees Mogg, this was in response to his housekeepers dog which was attacked by 10 other dogs on his land. The poor dog had to recieve over a thousands pounds worth of vet treatment to save its life. The owner of these dogs is not being prosecuted and is still walking his dogs off lead. Local people are so in fear they are now putting their dogs in their cars and walking them elsewhere. This is local to me and I have signed this petition.

This morning my dogs were at the vets for their boosters and we had to wait while they treated a dog that had come in as an emergency after being attacked by another dog. The vet told me they were seeing more and more dog on dog attacks with the victim mostly on a lead and the aggressor off lead.
 
Zak is extremely dog aggressive. He was attacked twice when younger by a lout of a bearded collie whose owner is basically stupid, IMO and refused to recall her dog when it threatened our three and had already jumped on Zak, who was on the lead at the time. He has since decided he has to attack first. :(

When he jumped on a couple of dogs when still muzzled but not on leash, I apologised hugely, ensured there were no injuries etc. It horrified me. He has been on a longline for months and months now.

Regardless of size or sex, Zak will attack but then wants to be best mates as soon as he has asserted his dominance. Obviously the vast majority of owners don't want him near their dog after this, but we have been fortunate to find a couple of fab guys who are happy to allow him to play with their dogs but our only recourse now is to neuter and see if he improves.

He appears very happy and is extremely loving, just awful with other dogs unless he knows them. He loves next door's GSD that he's known forever.

What I absolutely hate is other dogs attacking mine and the owner making an excuse eg 'He doesn't like on lead/entire dogs'. Then don't let him come up to mine! :mad:

I wish to goodness people would respect the whole 'Mine's on a lead' thing, it's usually for a good reason, not cos I'm a horrible owner who doesn't want my dog to have fun. :rolleyes:
 
my male Stafford does not tolerate other dogs, pretty much 100% of the time

He is ALWAYS kept on lead if there are other dogs around - and I will call warnings to other owners to re-call their dog if it is running towards us (mostly met with 'Oh don't worry, fido/fluffy only wants to play' umm yes but my boy here wants to play at biting your pet so get it on a lead if you cant control it!!)

He is the same with all ages/breeds/sexes but 'tolerates' some more than others. For instance, if another dog is roaming around, paying zero attention to him and hasn't came to greet/sniff etc, he will not attempt to make a beeline for that dog and attack it. He is happy to ignore it.
He simply doesn't want any part in doggy activities and I'm perfectly happy for him to feel that way, and would never admonish him for reacting to unwelcome dogy attention.

I am 100% certain of my abilities to handle and control him, and have split up various canine scraps involving dogs not belonging to me, and a few more serious to-dos when I've had more than one Stafford living here in the house.
It is other owners who cause me the most hassle, in allowing their dog to run around doing their own thing, and then when you ask them to call it back they shout and shout and the dog completely ignores them!! DON'T ALLOW IT OFF LEAD IF YOU HAVE NO SOLID AND RELIABLE RECALL!!!

In my opinion, and in the eyes of the law, my dog is on lead and under control. if someone's off lead dog comes along and gets hurt, through the owner's lack of training/knowledge etc, then it is the fault of the other owner.
(Just as an aside, my male has never laid teeth on a dog belonging to anyone else, as I have been an apt enough handler to prevent this, but undoubtedly could've killed other dogs if handled by someone who wasn't as aware or conscientious as I am about how to handle him)

In a situation where 2 dogs were offlead and there was an 'unprovoked' attack by one upon the other, I would always offer to pay vet bills etc for injuries caused - though I think in the eyes of the law, because both are off lead, there is no actual legal reason to do this.

Kim
 
If I had a pound for every time I've heard "he/she only wants to play!". It seems some people just can't grasp it when you ask them to call their dog back.:mad:
 
My yard owners dog has been PTS today due to internal bleeding after being attacked on private land on Friday by (a somewhat notorious) group of dogs near our yard.

She reported it to the police on Friday but hadn't even been called back. I'm sure that there's nothing that can be done legally but if there is please someone let me know. It's shocking, these dogs are well known for being complete nuisances and have been complained about before but as far as I know have never bitten a human so nothing gets done.
 
HeatherAnn said:
Just wondering if anyone can give me advice on other dogs attacking my dog, seems unprovoked but I'm not experienced in dog behaviour. Most of the owners say that their dog has never done this before. It's getting so bad we now keep our's on the lead because we are afraid of him getting hurt.
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Those other owners are probabley being economical with the truth:rolleyes: if indeed their dog has never done this before it will have come close to it and these owners have failed to spot the warning signs.

Go on any dog forum and people complaining about how their dog has been attacked have had the other owners saying the same thing.

Prior to your dog being attacked what behaviour is he showing?
 
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