Fighting dogs

CorvusCorax said:
I was always told to give the dog something to do immediately after any skirmish. It's the last thing you feel like doing but apparently it stops the dog immediately exiting the situation thinking 'well, I won that one, ya boo sucks, seeya next time, loser'...etc etc ;)
So when my dog was launched on my another (he had been minding his own business) and my trainer had to wade in and pull them apart, he ordered us both to opposite ends of the car park to do herlwork, sit/down/stand etc etc.
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And to keep your dog on a lead when out and about if you can't be sure of your control, or the dog's temperament.

I appreciate CC that both the two in training were deliberately off lead.
 
Pearlsasinger said:
And to keep your dog on a lead when out and about if you can't be sure of your control, or the dog's temperament.

I appreciate CC that both the two in training were deliberately off lead.
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Mine wasn't, he was on a lead and the other dog ran across the field and jumped a fence to get to him. I had taken him out to clean himself, I wasn't training.
 
CorvusCorax said:
I was always told to give the dog something to do immediately after any skirmish. It's the last thing you feel like doing but apparently it stops the dog immediately exiting the situation thinking 'well, I won that one, ya boo sucks, seeya next time, loser'...etc etc ;)
So when my dog was launched on my another (he had been minding his own business) and my trainer had to wade in and pull them apart, he ordered us both to opposite ends of the car park to do herlwork, sit/down/stand etc etc.
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Rather than the boot up the arse that you feel like giving!?:pPen did have to heel home.
 
Pearlsasinger said:
And to keep your dog on a lead when out and about if you can't be sure of your control, or the dog's temperament.
.
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First time ever in twenty years there has been another dog there! It is near but not on a footpath. I do agree though, but Pen just has to walk to heel now.
 
Clodagh said:
First time ever in twenty years there has been another dog there! It is near but not on a footpath. I do agree though, but Pen just has to walk to heel now.
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I should think so, if it had been mine, it would have been heeling, sitting, lying down, until it was dizzy. How dare it attack a dog minding its own business. And if I had been the Dobie owner, I'm afraid your OH would have caught the sharp edge of my tongue, even if the other dog did retaliate. What else can you expect? Labs have a reputation for being soft, easy dogs and many of them are but only if they are trained and handled correctly.
 
Pearlsasinger said:
I should think so, if it had been mine, it would have been heeling, sitting, lying down, until it was dizzy. How dare it attack a dog minding its own business. And if I had been the Dobie owner, I'm afraid your OH would have caught the sharp edge of my tongue, even if the other dog did retaliate. What else can you expect? Labs have a reputation for being soft, easy dogs and many of them are but only if they are trained and handled correctly.
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Well perhaps I should get rid of mine then, I'm obviously not capable.
 
Personally I don't mind if shit happens and no lasting harm is done, as long as the other owner is apologetic/contrite.

The OP is concerned enough about the change in behaviour to post about it/is looking for solutions.

In the case I mentioned, where the dog was a repeat offender and always given the benefit of the doubt because the owner felt sorry for it or couldn't/wouldn't change/manage the behaviour, or where people stand there either laughing/miles away or acting like a wet sock, is where my patience runs out.

There are quite a few rude labs around here, black or chocolate if that makes any difference lol.
 
CorvusCorax said:
Me: Get back in your box/kennel you little shit! That'll show you ?

Dog: I return to my lair the victor, my enemy vanquished! That will show him ?
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I have found this to actually be very true.
For years we have had reaction scraps between our rough collie boys. Whenever there is a ‘excitement’ or ‘surprise’ (house phone ringing used to be a big one, something getting dropped still can be) the sable boy would just launch and attack the blue. It would be lots of noise more than anything.

Anyone who knows rough collies will know they are mainly drama queens so it was all a bit handbags at dawn. On a few occasions it grew and we had a few scratched noses and bruised egos, sable boy went through a phase of stalking the blue over things and then attacking. No thank you!

after years (and my god it feels longer) it is better than what it was. I still don’t feed them together though, and will keep them separate for a little bit after meal time’s too.

After any set too I would always order sable boy to go outside, and I would then remove the dog beds in the living room (which he would automatically sprawl across all of them after a scrap like Smaug the dragon hoarding his gold) as this became very much a ‘victory’ thing and often a trigger for round two.

On one occasion he refused and growled at me when he was about five. I threw a jug of water over him (I’m not always prepared for any eventuality, it was dinner time and I’d just put it on the table!) and pulled the bed from under him.

I have found that appeasement with two or more that fall out regularly and are determined to fall out, does not work. The main perp needs to know they are really black sheep’ed for their behaviour, whilst trying to avoid some of the hot spots. In some cases that is impossible though so it’s using common sense. Though I must confess I have definitely used it over the years to discourage certain irritating relatives calling the house phone ‘mobiles only, the dogs don’t mind those’ aka I can also see who is calling.

It’s also been helped by the addition of a certain corgi Sherman tank/old school mistress who stands no nonsense and will bark the house down and stand her ground over so much as a raised lip from the boys (you think I am joking but it’s very serious. I have even seen her march in between them just as the point of kick off a few weeks ago and growl them both down—she’s funny, she reads things so well and will even kick the sable boy off his bed/away from the water bowls or take toys off him when things are starting to get a bit hot under the collar!)


The only time we ever had real real problems was years back with a pair of terrier girlies. One was about 8, and the other a youngster—a working type russell id been gifted by a farrier friend after losing a young dog. They got on fine until one day they simply didn’t. No rhyme or reason to it. Then the russell put the old terrier bitch in the vets one day and im quite confident had I not been present she’d have killed her. It was absolutely awful. Her trigger was nothing, very different to my afore mentioned situation—after the vets incident I struggled to reintroduce them. When I eventually did, it wasn’t long before a similar situation happened again. She went back to farrier friend who bred her, and lives with other dogs and bitches still to this day (Though an old lady now!) without so much as crossed word....so I never really understood what went wrong with her former housemate. Terriers are different though, regardless of sex when they fall out life becomes quite unpleasant.
 
CorvusCorax said:
So when my dog was launched on my another (he had been minding his own business) and my trainer had to wade in and pull them apart, he ordered us both to opposite ends of the car park to do herlwork, sit/down/stand etc etc.
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I think that’s the right thing to do, distract, distract, distract. I distract in advance, ball in gob, Zak is less likely to start shouting/worrying about seeing another dog. Trouble is, he wants to be mates after he’s ‘vanquished’ the other dog. Funny, but other owners and dogs don’t appreciate that!

Pearlsasinger said:
And to keep your dog on a lead when out and about if you can't be sure of your control, or the dog's temperament.
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The bother there is that a friendly dog might come right up to my on lead dog. I can’t run faster than a dog, I can walk away briskly (as my OH advises!) but that’s useless if the other dog is determined to have a sniff and Zak goes nuts. I got sick of asking other owners to recall, all I got was ‘He’s friendly’ (mine‘s bloody not!) or a mouthful or ‘Great, your dog is teaching my dog manners’. The latter really annoys me, it is not my dogs job to teach your dog, it’s yours! I avoid as much as possible and most other owners know us now. I leave the park if necessary.

Pearlsasinger said:
I should think so, if it had been mine, it would have been heeling, sitting, lying down, until it was dizzy. How dare it attack a dog minding its own business. And if I had been the Dobie owner, I'm afraid your OH would have caught the sharp edge of my tongue, even if the other dog did retaliate. What else can you expect? Labs have a reputation for being soft, easy dogs and many of them are but only if they are trained and handled correctly.
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To be fair, if I went round a corner and we came face to face with a dog, there’d be a problem. Currently, I’m longlining Zak up the street to a green where we play ball. I haul him in when we turn the corner onto the road, check for other dogs constantly and crossed the street to avoid a cocker coming home. Other owners think spaniels are soppy too and often make a beeline for us. We are very used to making a hasty getaway.
 
Cinnamontoast said:
I think that’s the right thing to do, distract, distract, distract. I distract in advance, ball in gob, Zak is less likely to start shouting/worrying about seeing another dog. Trouble is, he wants to be mates after he’s ‘vanquished’ the other dog. Funny, but other owners and dogs don’t appreciate that!



The bother there is that a friendly dog might come right up to my on lead dog. I can’t run faster than a dog, I can walk away briskly (as my OH advises!) but that’s useless if the other dog is determined to have a sniff and Zak goes nuts. I got sick of asking other owners to recall, all I got was ‘He’s friendly’ (mine‘s bloody not!) or a mouthful or ‘Great, your dog is teaching my dog manners’. The latter really annoys me, it is not my dogs job to teach your dog, it’s yours! I avoid as much as possible and most other owners know us now. I leave the park if necessary.



To be fair, if I went round a corner and we came face to face with a dog, there’d be a problem. Currently, I’m longlining Zak up the street to a green where we play ball. I haul him in when we turn the corner onto the road, check for other dogs constantly and crossed the street to avoid a cocker coming home. Other owners think spaniels are soppy too and often make a beeline for us. We are very used to making a hasty getaway.
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As I understood it, both dogs were loose. TBH, if my dog had a dodgy/unreliable temperament, I would have it on a short lead at heel, until I got to somewhere where I could guarantee there was no possibility of meeting another dog. If a loose dog approached my grumpy on-lead dog, I would be telling its owner to get hold, or on their own head be it. That is a very different scenario from 2 loose dogs.
I understand where you are coming from, though. We have had loose dogs (often spaniels) approach 2 on-lead Rottweilers while the owner watches on unconcerned. Fortunately the Rotters both had super temperaments and would never snap unprovoked but who on earth risks their own dog, like that?
 
I cannot understand why other people let their dogs approach unknown dogs. Actually, I do, because with our previous dogs, both of whom were angels, we never thought to haul them in when we saw other dogs. One was always attacked by another springer and the horrible lab. We obviously tried to avoid this, I absolutely bollocked the lab owner one day when she told me to walk elsewhere and threatened her with being reported. I think we’ll be forever paranoid now.

To physically wear out and be mentally stimulated, Zak needs to run/retrieve/swim/search for stuff. He is therefore off lead if nothing else is around. Trouble is, the park has 4 entrances. It also has tennis courts and a fenced in kiddie play area, very useful but currently locked. ? Fortunately, if he’s searching, he’s normally too busy focussing to look at other dogs but we haul him in if there’s a loose dog. Luckily, our dog trainer mate is renting a stock fenced field soon and says we can use it whenever we want. Can’t wait!
 
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