Furious

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MissMincePie&Brandy

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I'm utterly furious with my brother.

He has a new girlfriend, who has a dog, and I met them (the girlfriend and the dog) for the first time yesterday.

We all met on neutral territory at my parents house. We were told that their dog is very sweet and very friendly. It is a 7 yr old, German shepherd x husky type, and quite large. Our dog is a small, neutered Pointer bitch, who is very submissive and has never growled at anything before.

Within 10 minutes of meeting, the husky cross started snarling at my pointer and she started shaking with worry, so my brother held the husky close to him. We then went for a walk, and all was fine. My Pointer was enjoying herself, working the hedgerows, looking for birds and game etc. While the husky cross walked next to us.

We arrived back at the house and all seemed ok. I was nervous of the husky, but no one else thought there was likely to be a problem anymore, but within a few minutes, the husky had lept onto my Pointer, and grabbed onto her throat, and it was making a hell of a vicious and frightening noise. My girl was screaming in terror, and she sprayed a massive load of nasty smelling clear liquid from her bottom.

We got the husky off, and I could see a nasty puncture wound and blood.
My brother and his girlfriend did not scald their dog, in fact all they did was stroke it and talk to it in a soothing manor! They were more concerned and started joking about the smell of the liquid my poor Pointer had just produced. I was livid. They effectively praised their dog for a lethal and unprovoked attack on mine!
I was then informed that it was a rescue, brought over from the USA, which is why they don't smack him???? WTF!

I immediately had to get away and I took my girl, who had gone into a state of shock, straight to the vet (before I said something I might have regretted). The vet checked her over, washed out the wound and prescribed antibiotics and pain-relief.
The vet told me that the squirting (expressing the anal glands), is a reaction provoked by extreme fear.

This morning her neck has swollen, and she has saggy loose skin hanging under her throat, which she didn’t have before ...photos below. She is still very quiet and miserable, and has started coughing, and isn't interested in her food, but will eat small amounts of extra tasty things like corned beef and warm chicken... I think I might have to take her to the vets again if she doesn't improve by tomorrow, as I'm mostly concerned about the cough :(
I think I’m in almost as much shock as my poor girl. We call her Mouse - because she is as timid as a mouse at the best of times.
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If he was my brother I wouldn't have worried about what I said!! And the dog would've have been told off in no uncertain terms.

I hope your dog feels more herself soon.
 
To be fair i would not have smacked a dog in this situation either- Husky was obviously wound up, smacking it could have escalated this. Also AFTER the attack the dog would have had NO idea what it was being smacked for, so totally pointless.

Sorry your dog got bitten, and hope she makes a full recovery.
 
Not quite sure why you are angry with your brother and his girlfriend ? If you were happy for the dogs to be together, so was he.
I think hitting the dog after would have increased adrenaline levels and been counter productive. Better to have removed the dog from everyone and put it in a crate.

Yes, his jokes about the smell were insensitive, but my sons are equally insensitive towards their sisters sensibilities. Perhaps he was embarrassed by his dog's behaviour and was trying to lighten the mood rather uselessly.
 
Oh your poor girlie! Hope she gets better soon, looks like there's an infection setting in to the puncture wound in her neck, would explain the saggy, swollen skin. My dog frequently empties his anal glands in fear, he's entire but incredibly submissive. People often think we coddle animals that show this level of fear, but I'd rather have a wimpy dog than one that I'd be scared of!
 
Agree with Lexie there. Hitting a wound-up dog is totally counter-productive. It does sound like they need proper, expert help though, both to teach them what they should do in these situations, and better yet, how they can avoid them in the first place.

Hope your dog feels better soon.
 
I can see that hitting the girlfriends dog wouldn't be a great solution, but to reward it for such an attack!!! How long before it attacks another dog with fatal consequences?
I do hope your Mouse is feeling better...

Does the girlfriend realise she should be paying the vet's bill?
 
I'm in no hurry to meet them again, that's for sure!

If it had not been his new girlfriends dog, I'm sure my brother would have correctly handled the situation, and would not been so pathetically gooey over it. The way they tried to avoid facing up to what had happened, by making a big deal about the smelly liquid that my poor dog produced through fright, is just unbelievable...

It beggers belief how two faced people can be.
 
Oh dear, I feel sorry for you girl and can imagine you where really upset, the sagging will be fluid built up and the cough is maybe due to the sensation of the fluid causing slight irritation, unless the puncture wound has gone a little deeper. She will feel sore (dog bits hurt like hell).:(
I would have reprimanded the dog im affraid and hauled it's arse out, but if they have never dealt with a situation like that or know how to reprimand effectively then there is little point (smacking would have done little) but if it never meets a reprimand or consiquence for such behaviour then what will happen is they will have to isolate the dog to avoid it displaying such behaviour and it will literally become feral and alot worse on the social front.
They need to get to some training classes and stop and learn how to socilaise and manage the dog and esp now they know it can be so reactive, they clearly know little about their dog at this point (I take it they have not had it long) and they need to be more aware of it's body language to nip things like this in the bud before it gets out of hand.
I would also expect them to foot the vet bill:p
 
good advice cayla.

I will wait until i feel more composed and I will suggest training, and maybe even find suitable local classes for them, so they can just book in and start going! Although I am very, very cross, I don't want to alienate myself or start a big family argument by accusing them of being irresponsible, etc, etc - my brother left his wife for this girl (which has caused enough family upset already), so she and the dog might be around for a while ...
 
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