MAJOR help needed!!!

I dont think I explained myself properly. when he grabbed the dog he wouldn't let go for about 5 seconds, the other dog was fine, there were no marks, the owner was fine and was not angry. it sounds worse than it actually was.

As I said we have put the muzzle on him when out for a walk and he was fine with it. we are going to do it for short periods of time on walks until he is used to it.

Also as I said there is no need for a long line as we live next to miles of woodlands and only come across 2/3 people each walk. some of these people have dogs he knows and gets on well with- in this case we leave him off the lead so he can enjoy himself. If we see someone with a dog we dont know, we either go an alternative route to avoid them, put him on the lead or focus his attention on yummy biscuits :) all these seem to work, but when the owner of the other dog lets their dog come up to Jed when he is on the lead, we cant do anything else to stop him! his recall is good, his focus on treats or a toy is good and he loves people.

and yes spudlet- I dont know if that comment was meant to be sarcastic or not, but yes obviously I do know best because he is my dog?
 
your original posts states 'he would not let go' that indicates that he bit another dog, i am sorry if i misread your post my reply was meant in a helpful manner nothing else

i understand that it is an emotional situation but it is also emotional when the vets and nurses where i work have to put 13 'dangerous' dogs down in one sitting on a wednesday afternoon-if these dogs had been muzzled as a precaution then their owners would have saved them upto a year in kennels whilst waiting for a court to make a decision as to whether they live or die and in reality very few of them ever go home

your dog will soon get used to a muzzle he does not know the stigma that goes with it and you can all relax when out with him and turn a stressful situation into a pleasant one hopefully adjusting your dogs attitude along the way

good luck with him
 
jools1234 said:
if you know best then no-one in the world can help you so why ask?
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Spudlet was talking about my dog + people. I do not need help with that! he is completely fine with people? just because I said he wags his tail, does not mean he is stressed.

I obviously do not know best when it comes to my dog + his behavior etc. thats why I am asking for help.
 
hollieeb said:
I dont think I explained myself properly. when he grabbed the dog he wouldn't let go for about 5 seconds, the other dog was fine, there were no marks, the owner was fine and was not angry. it sounds worse than it actually was.

As I said we have put the muzzle on him when out for a walk and he was fine with it. we are going to do it for short periods of time on walks until he is used to it.

Also as I said there is no need for a long line as we live next to miles of woodlands and only come across 2/3 people each walk. some of these people have dogs he knows and gets on well with- in this case we leave him off the lead so he can enjoy himself. If we see someone with a dog we dont know, we either go an alternative route to avoid them, put him on the lead or focus his attention on yummy biscuits :) all these seem to work, but when the owner of the other dog lets their dog come up to Jed when he is on the lead, we cant do anything else to stop him! his recall is good, his focus on treats or a toy is good and he loves people.
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Well if all that is true, then you don't need major help at all :)

You've either talked your dog into a problem, or have just talked him out of one!
 
hollieeb said:
I dont think I explained myself properly. when he grabbed the dog he wouldn't let go for about 5 seconds, the other dog was fine, there were no marks, the owner was fine and was not angry. it sounds worse than it actually was.

As I said we have put the muzzle on him when out for a walk and he was fine with it. we are going to do it for short periods of time on walks until he is used to it.

Also as I said there is no need for a long line as we live next to miles of woodlands and only come across 2/3 people each walk. some of these people have dogs he knows and gets on well with- in this case we leave him off the lead so he can enjoy himself. If we see someone with a dog we dont know, we either go an alternative route to avoid them, put him on the lead or focus his attention on yummy biscuits :) all these seem to work, but when the owner of the other dog lets their dog come up to Jed when he is on the lead, we cant do anything else to stop him! his recall is good, his focus on treats or a toy is good and he loves people.
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You were lucky the owner was ok. I would not have been so happy. Was Jed on a lead then and the other dog approached him? If he really will never approach the other dog and your recall is really good then I suppose there is no need for a long line. But if you cant always recall him back you really must use one.
 
hollieeb said:
Spudlet was talking about my dog + people. I do not need help with that! he is completely fine with people? just because I said he wags his tail, does not mean he is stressed.

I obviously do not know best when it comes to my dog + his behavior etc. thats why I am asking for help.
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I was pointing out that a wagging tail is not always a good sign - and said quite clearly that I couldn't say whether that was the case for your dog or not.
 
jools1234 said:
your original posts states 'he would not let go' that indicates that he bit another dog, i am sorry if i misread your post my reply was meant in a helpful manner nothing else

i understand that it is an emotional situation but it is also emotional when the vets and nurses where i work have to put 13 'dangerous' dogs down in one sitting on a wednesday afternoon-if these dogs had been muzzled as a precaution then their owners would have saved them upto a year in kennels whilst waiting for a court to make a decision as to whether they live or die and in reality very few of them ever go home

your dog will soon get used to a muzzle he does not know the stigma that goes with it and you can all relax when out with him and turn a stressful situation into a pleasant one hopefully adjusting your dogs attitude along the way

good luck with him
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thanks for your help, I do not mean to come across rude, I just do not like when people make sarcastic comments and keep commenting on things that I do not need help with- not aiming this at you!

We never let my dog get in the situation where he could bite another dog- yesterday was just a horrible accident. My let Jed go up to this dog to say hello- he was fine for a few seconds then went tense so my mum pulled him away. Then the owner of the dog let it come up to jed when my mum was trying to keep jed away from it- the owner did not stop his dog coming up to jed even though he could see my mum was struggling. Jed then went for the dog.
 
Spudlet said:
I was pointing out that a wagging tail is not always a good sign - and said quite clearly that I couldn't say whether that was the case for your dog or not.
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yes, and I said he greets people wagging his tail, he loves people, and people love him. so why the sarcastic comment?
 
hollieeb said:
He is definitely not a dangerous dog, he has NEVER bitten a dog! he growls and shows his teeth at them, and if they come near him he will attempt to go for them but by that time we have him under control.

he has lots and lots of doggy friends, dogs that he's met various times before and get along with fine. its just dogs that come up to him that he doesn't know.

we have had many bad experiences with trainers, behaviorists etc, and we cannot afford to waste any more money on them. last women charged £90 for an hour and a half and basically told us s*** all on how to deal with it!
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OK, so trainers are a waste of money, but you get stressed every time your dog goes for a walk, and you need major help, but no you don't... You expect people to help without seeing your dog, but you then reject any suggestions made and oh no, suddenly everything is fine! Is there a problem or not?

And then you wonder why people get a bit bored...
 
OK Hollieb you need to be honest with yourself, everyone loves their own dog but you said in the OP "every walk is stressful and all we need is an owner who doesn't know much about dogs to call the police or something about our 'dangerous dog'- im getting teary just thinking about the fact that thats all it takes and he could be taken away from us." which does not tally with the last few posts, which makes it sound like there is no problem at all.

We all love our dogs but we need to be able to appraise their good and bad qualities in an objective way if we are to help them. My older dog *could* be dangerous to other dogs if I let him - so I don't let him. It means his freedom is curtailed to an extent and it means we have to be very vigilant in our management of him, but them's the rules.
 
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I would take on board what Cayla has said, she deals with lots of rescue dogs that have all sorts of issues.

What you may or may not have realised that your dog could very soon up the ante and then you will have someone knocking on your door to take him away.

No one wants to think badly about their own dog but you have to be realistic, so far youve been lucky, take the advice given and put it into practice.

Good luck with your dog and I hope you can resolve his issues.
 
hollieeb said:
but when the owner of the other dog lets their dog come up to Jed when he is on the lead, we cant do anything else to stop him! his recall is good, his focus on treats or a toy is good and he loves people.
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Im not sure where the actual law stands on this but it has always been my understanding that if your dog is on a lead then it is deemed under control therefore can if it attacks another dog that runs up to it the other dog is to blame as it isn't under control and can be deemed intimidating.

on another note, often dogs are aggressive on the lead but not when they are loose something to do with protecting you and the tension you may be giving off that he picks up on. (again, sorry if you have answered this already!:o if so ignore me! :D) does he do it when he is off the lead?
 
The man that whacks his dog over the back with a stick when it stalks then runs up to and gobs off at mine always says it's my fault because my dog is on a lead, er......yes, minding his own business with a ball in his mouth....
 
My dog was attacked twice by a dog in an off thelead situation, I now shout before they get near, that if they don't want a vets bill get their dog away from mine. it's not your dog you have to watch its other people's careless attitudes. I don't tolerate it anymore I shout before they get near. My dog protects herself and quite rightly so. I also often carry a stick as I don't trust other dogs or owners.

She recalls fine and can be let off.
 
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hollieeb said:
Then the owner of the dog let it come up to jed when my mum was trying to keep jed away from it- the owner did not stop his dog coming up to jed even though he could see my mum was struggling. Jed then went for the dog.
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This is why you need the muzzle.. if Jed had a muzzle on this "accident" wouldn't have occurred. You cannot rely on other people reading your dogs behaviour (or being able to control their dog). You know Jed has a problem so you must take control of the situation to keep him safe.

If your dog is on lead and tries to attack an off-lead dog he is deemed to be "under control" by law, which makes it much harder for anyone to obtain a destruction order - THIS is why you need the longline, regardless of how good his recall is.
 
amy_b said:
Im not sure where the actual law stands on this but it has always been my understanding that if your dog is on a lead then it is deemed under control therefore can if it attacks another dog that runs up to it the other dog is to blame as it isn't under control and can be deemed intimidating.
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However, if her dog was known to be nervous and showing aggressive displays, then her dog would probably be considered out of control if there is no muzzle?? Law is too confusing! :confused:
 
does your mum use a halti or something similar when she walks him? If she's struggling to hold him off from attacking another dog then solve the problem of that part at least. The headcollar type leads can control using one finger but it is only temporary fix.

Ideally you need to go and get him re-socialised there are good and bad trainers and good and bad behaviourists if your in Essex I can recommend one but she may well tell you that you are the problem she calls a spade a spade but turns around dogs all the time. I can pm the number if you are interested. There are also good guys classes you can go to these are basically socialising in a supervised environment with stooge dogs at various levels. If your asked to wear a muzzle well bite the bullet and get on with it hopefully with training it will be a short term fix.

For the vast majority we find that the dog is protecting the owner and feels their nervousness down the lead, if you relax you may well find it will also have a knock on effect and relax your dog, won't solve your problem but might make it more manageable until you can sort out some proper training.

Get your mum to sit your dog facing her and not the oncoming dog (which you can shout at the owner to remove - tell them he's dog aggressive and a rescue in training they usually do sharpish unless idiots) with a treat reward she can use her own body to help keep his attention in the right direction (body blocking basically I use my legs it only requires small body movements from you to block their vision of another dog once you get the hang of it but start under supervision of a good trainer).

if you want the number for the woman in Essex please pm and I'll forward it.

get him vet checked to make sure there is no health issue that is encouraging other dogs to attack him.
 
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hollieeb said:
He is definitely trying to get in there first! we brought a muzzle a few weeks ago but never got around to using it, we both weren't keen on the idea.
However we have just been out for a walk and put the muzzle on him for 10 mins, gave him a treat then took it off, then put it on again for 5 mins near the end of the walk. He didn't seem too bad with it just tried to get it off a few times!
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tbh, its pretty irresponsible of you NOT to muzzle it when you describe in your opening post about the dog grabbing hold of another dog on its walk and not letting go.

i for one would be pretty peed off if your dog attacked mine and i knew you had rejected using a muzzle knowing your dog had an aggression issue just because you or your mum 'weren't keen on the idea'
 
Basically an offlead dog who can be aggressive is a recipe for disaster, and irresponsible. I have a dog who would happily play with others ALL DAY, but his style is WAY too over the top and in your face and I do not want him bitten (again)- or god forbid him retaliating so he remains on a lead- of varying lengths. Get a long line if you wont use a muzzle so at least you can reel your dog in if a situation arises where you encounter another dog......

Also Sing to yourself........ sounds a bit daft but it stops you tensing and thus stops the dog feeling your tension.
 
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