yorkie bit an akita!!

[MissMay]

So tonight we were walking our two yorkies in the local park it was incredibly busy so we kept our more enthusiastic girl who says hi to everyone on the lead and our wimpy one off. we leave her off as she tends too act better when she feels she can get away (as a young dog sshe was terrified by an over enthusiastic young lab and since then has never enjoyed other dogs).
However tonight we waited for a woman and her Akita to pass very well mannered and she lay down in the grass watching (normal she always does that) and out of nowhere she lunged and bit the akita in the leg. Que a very upset yelping akita and cross owner (understandably)

I was absolutely shocked, mortified, apologetic all at once. Immediately on her lead and straight home. I am now wondering what now?!

she is obviously never being off the lead again but how to i work on this? do I muzzle her?
in our local park its basically a free for wall which is what has caused this stress In her every dog is off lead and often a football field away from the owner, there is no such thing as recall with some. is it a case of just avoiding areas like this forever??
how do you teach an anxious dog that it's ok?

 

[bonny]

You and your dog were lucky the Akita didn’t bite back !

 

[CorvusCorax]

Keep her on a lead and walk her somewhere else or go at an odd time. It sounds like a nightmare on stilts to be honest and not somewhere I'd take my dogs. Sounds like everyone is stressed, which defeats the point of a walk IMO.
I wouldn't want to be taken somewhere I hated every day because my Mum thought it would be good for me

The 'waiting for another dog to pass' thing is applying human logic to a canine problem, it just creates a Mexican stand-off where a scary thing gets closer and closer to a static dog and then it feels forced to react, much better to keep moving briskly and not allow dogs to eyeball each other.
Think about horses, we don't let them stand and stare, we put the leg on and get them past the plastic bag in the hedge.

Generally, get her attention back on you. At the moment she feels like she needs to protect herself, she needs to believe that is your job.

 

[Quigleyandme]

Clearly your Yorkie is in full possession of her terrier credentials. One perfectly charming Yorkie bitch went for my father when he gesticulated mildly in the general direction of her owner. Maybe your dog thought she needed to protect you too?

 

[CorvusCorax]

Although it's nice to think they are protecting us, most dogs are protecting themselves/their own personal space, we just happen to be close to them at the time.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

I am guessing that you were not between your dog and the Akita at the time. I always want to be between mine and any other dog, in potentially stressful situations to avoid such incidents, if I think that there could be a problem. I would certainly walk the dogs at a different time/place - that field sounds like hell on earth!

 

[CorvusCorax]

Sorry you'll be sick of me soon lol, but another thing.....

Your dog bit another dog, it disappeared and your dog was removed straight home.

In the dog's head, this may be seen as 'I see scary thing, I lunge and bite, the threat retreats, I go immediately back to a place of safety'.

I would monitor her future interactions carefully as you may have unwittingly reinforced the behaviour.
And the next dog might not be so forgiving.
What age is she? Is she into food or a ball? You may be able to help her but depending on how ingrained this behaviour is, she might always be a dog that has to be managed rather than given the benefit of the doubt.

Also agree with PaS, I often use my body to block my dog who does not enjoy social interactions, it makes him feel much more secure and less likely to feel the need to lash out.

 

[{97702}]

Well that’s a title of a thread I never expected to see!!! I’m afraid I cannot avoid the obvious... had she bitten one of my greyhounds you would no longer have a Yorkie (through the reaction of my dog not me I hasten to add!) ?

Yes I would most definitely muzzle the dog, I would also look to exercise in a more appropriate area. My dogs are dog reactive because of their past/their training so I avoid popular areas (parks etc) like the plague and go for nice isolated areas where you don’t meet a soul.

The area where you currently exercise her appears to cause her distress so is unsuitable for her, she needs a quieter location where she can enjoy her walks without feeling threatened

 

[MissMay]

Keep her on a lead and walk her somewhere else or go at an odd time. It sounds like a nightmare on stilts to be honest and not somewhere I'd take my dogs. Sounds like everyone is stressed, which defeats the point of a walk IMO.
I wouldn't want to be taken somewhere I hated every day because my Mum thought it would be good for me

The 'waiting for another dog to pass' thing is applying human logic to a canine problem, it just creates a Mexican stand-off where a scary thing gets closer and closer to a static dog and then it feels forced to react, much better to keep moving briskly and not allow dogs to eyeball each other.
Think about horses, we don't let them stand and stare, we put the leg on and get them past the plastic bag in the hedge.

Generally, get her attention back on you. At the moment she feels like she needs to protect herself, she needs to believe that is your job.

True, I always just automatically wait with them as they are tiny but would never wait with a horse.

Clearly your Yorkie is in full possession of her terrier credentials. One perfectly charming Yorkie bitch went for my father when he gesticulated mildly in the general direction of her owner. Maybe your dog thought she needed to protect you too?

she is very very attached to me over my partner always has been! The aggression is brand new as of tonight!

I am guessing that you were not between your dog and the Akita at the time. I always want to be between mine and any other dog, in potentially stressful situations to avoid such incidents, if I think that there could be a problem. I would certainly walk the dogs at a different time/place - that field sounds like hell on earth!

no I was on the path to the right (our park due to covid is left hand to left hand) and she runs into the football field on the left where she lies low in the grass has done this since she was a puppy. absolutely my fault for not having her beside me but in 3 years it's never been a problem so never even thought safe to say that will change!! it is quite stressful it must be said BUT its directly behind my house and it's all off lead which is why we always used it, but it wont be used anymore!

Sorry you'll be sick of me soon lol, but another thing.....

Your dog bit another dog, it disappeared and your dog was removed straight home.

In the dog's head, this may be seen as 'I see scary thing, I lunge and bite, the threat retreats, I go immediately back to a place of safety'.

I would monitor her future interactions carefully as you may have unwittingly reinforced the behaviour.
And the next dog might not be so forgiving.
What age is she? Is she into food or a ball? You may be able to help her but depending on how ingrained this behaviour is, she might always be a dog that has to be managed rather than given the benefit of the doubt.

Also agree with PaS, I often use my body to block my dog who does not enjoy social interactions, it makes him feel much more secure and less likely to feel the need to lash out.

so she is 3.5 and very "weird" dog definitely one to manage she was the runt which I think had a lot to do with her attitude! as in eats out of one specific bowl, likes to do everything quite specific and routine hates change.
the last few weeks we have had a hedgehog in our garden which is really stressing her out.

never thought that i essentially rewarded her!! a different time we were out she got stressed with 2 retrievers wanting to play so i picked her up as she runs to me normally in those situations and they other dog kept jumping at me to get her so she climbed up my shoulder.

Well that’s a title of a thread I never expected to see!!! I’m afraid I cannot avoid the obvious... had she bitten one of my greyhounds you would no longer have a Yorkie (through the reaction of my dog not me I hasten to add!) ?

Yes I would most definitely muzzle the dog, I would also look to exercise in a more appropriate area. My dogs are dog reactive because of their past/their training so I avoid popular areas (parks etc) like the plague and go for nice isolated areas where you don’t meet a soul.

The area where you currently exercise her appears to cause her distress so is unsuitable for her, she needs a quieter location where she can enjoy her walks without feeling threatened

oh I never expected to write it!! thankfully the akita didnt seem to know what happened or where it came from as she was lying in the grass. a very very well trained and mannered akita, unlike the bleddy terrier.

usually on days off work weekends we hike so it's only mid week post work exercise and its always just been used as it's the only place they can be off lead and run otherwise its just paths and roads here. which we will be using all the time now instead!

 

[Bellasophia]

My friend has Akita’s,She walks them singly and she never lets her dog within two meter area of her dog ‘s reach as she says they are unpredictable .I think your little dog lost one of its nine lives in this encounter ..It could so easily have been killed.
The Akita deserves a gold bonio for its restraint.In effect, your little dog lay in wait in the grass and attacked the Akita.
This would have been so easily prevented by you putting the lead on your dog as soon as you saw the other dog( an Akita at that) .
At this point I would use the lead,not muzzle,and carry on walking the dog.Perhaps use the yellow lead system , as a warning to other dog owners that your dog is unpredicatable and needs space..
This little one puts itself in danger ,plus any larger dog would get the blame if it killed your dog..imagine the title..Akita kills tiny Yorkie in park.
Sorry this has happened but it’s definitely a wake,up call to protect your dog and others from a potential tragedy.

 

[MissMay]

My friend has Akita’s,She walks them singly and she never lets her dog within two meter area of her dog ‘s reach as she says they are unpredictable .I think your little dog lost one of its nine lives in this encounter ..It could so easily have been killed.
The Akita deserves a gold bonio for its restraint.In effect, your little dog lay in wait in the grass and attacked the Akita.
This would have been so easily prevented by you putting the lead on your dog as soon as you saw the other dog( an Akita at that) .
At this point I would use the lead,not muzzle,and carry on walking the dog.Perhaps use the yellow lead system , as a warning to other dog owners that your dog is unpredicatable and needs space..
This little one puts itself in danger ,plus any larger dog would get the blame if it killed your dog..imagine the title..Akita kills tiny Yorkie in park.
Sorry this has happened but it’s definitely a wake,up call to protect your dog and others from a potential tragedy.

oh I absolutely dont believe its anyone but our fault and cannot believe it happened but so grateful she decided to test her new aggression on the quietest akita there is.

However, she is 3.5 and has always lay in the grass as a dog passes and never once bitten ever my 2year old likes to walk her she is nervous but always just ignores other dogs so this caught us completely by surprise. if I had thought this was what she would do she would be on a lead like her sister.

I must see can I get a yellow lead somewhere definitely and if anyone knows any small good muzzles for a little yorkie

 

[PippiPantoPony]

https://www.yellowdoguk.co.uk/index.php/online-store

 

[Bellasophia]

Missmay..nobody is saying it’s your fault,but now it’s happened you shouldnt let it reoccur,and from your post,you won’t.
The muzzle is O.T.T. but a lead is a must in dog park etc..you should be fine with this. All the best!

 

[Mrs. Jingle]

Can I just say if I walked my dog in the place you describe OP my stress levels would go through the roof - might even risk biting a few ankles myself, not sure I would take my frustration out on an Akita though!

Naughty little Yorkie, but lucky little Yorkie, lesson learned and all safe and well thank goodness.