When you are dealing with something that an animal is afraid of, the best approach is to find his "comfort" distance from the thing that scares him. A busy street makes this a bit more difficult, as you have to find a way to give him that "distance". If you have a car, maybe transporting him to a less busy area might make a good start. Perhaps a side street, where he is comfortably away from busy traffic. You could then walk toward the busy street, pausing as soon as you see some sign of anxiety, and retracing your steps just little until he is in his "comfort zone" again. Gradually…...with the use of bribery and rewards......ask him to approach closer to the scary stuff. Liberally reward him for being there, then retreat. The idea is to not force, let him decide when he is ready. If he feels he can retreat at any time, he will have more confidence. This approach may take awhile, but is less likely to create a permanent aversion. (it works well with spooky horses).
My Poor Baby Gets Attacked!
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Thank you all for your kind words!! I did call the police to report the attack. Abbey seems okay this morning. She has 3 bites, the worst one on her right side between her ribs and flank, which bled a little bit. It's very touchy this morning. The other 2 are on her front legs, more like scrapes from his teeth but the skin is not broken. My beautiful B&W baby's missing chunks of fur where he grabbed her! This person was definitely in the wrong because my dog was on her leash walking with me and she was letting her dog wander the park unleashed. What's wrong with people like that?? We're going to skip the park today and walk over to the golf course to see the new baby ducks in the pond.
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I would make sure you go back to the park though. You want to make sure you go back with her so that she doesn't associate the park with bad things.
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Ugh…I hate that! Sometimes it is wise to carry a stick so you can defend your dog
I hope she feels better soon.
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How awful. I hope the woman can be located and some action taken to prevent this from happening again. Glad to know your baby is going to be okay.
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I do wish your little girl the best and I do agree with nomrbddgs that you should go back to the park so ur little one knows it is safe. Some pple are very irresponsible form not picking up after their dogs to levaing their dogs off a leash. I see some dogs of the leash at the park and always figure the owners know best but now I reconsider that thought and will be more careful.
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Ugh…I hate that! Sometimes it is wise to carry a stick so you can defend your dog
I hope she feels better soon.
I agree with Quercus. Use the stick on the dog and then go after the owner for being an idiot!
I am by no means saying that it is ok to hit a dog w/ a stick but I will if my baby is being attacked. :mad: and the owner better not get in my way or else they will get wacked too :rolleyes: -
Lenora….In mid-December, my Mike (female, proper name Micah, but she likes Mike better) and I had just crossed the street to begin our walk, when a neighbor's dog got out their door when the resident teens were unloading musical instruments. Neither Mike nor I heard or saw the dog, a female blue of a considerably larger breed coming at us. The dog hit me on the calf of my right leg and went at Mike with teeth bared. I went down on my tail bone--I was almost 69 at that time--on the blacktopped roadway, but I grabbed Mike up into my arms and started yelling for someone to come help me get up and get the dog. Finally the boys who let the dog out came unfrozen and one of them came and got the dog and one helped me up. I hurt like heck but it only took two chiropractic sessions to get me back on track....but Mike was a mess until about two weeks ago. From the time we resumed our walk, she became alpha dog and the protective sentinel guard, leading the way and swiveling her head from side to side to check out the terrain. She was hyper deluxe and psychotic as all get out. Wouldn't sleep and paced constantly. Also refused to let me sleep; just whined and cried and howled 24/7. Walks were done at race speeds. She refused to potty on the walks. I had to take her to the vet and put her on "puppy Prozac"--Clomicalm--at twice the dosage for her weight which just barely slowed her down, but gave me about three hours sleep before she started in again. I looked up panic disorder and found her reaction to the dog's coming at us was common and would take time to overcome. I found feeding advice for feeding brown rice and turkey or chicken which causes relaxation and sleepiness, but the main thing is that about one a.m. a couple of weeks ago, I had a heart-to-heart talk with her. I told her that I would never put her back in a pound, but if she didn't let me get some sleep and rest then I would probably fall or trip from fatique and hurt myself badly so, therefore, I would be forced to put her to sleep, put her down, and it would break my heart to not have her with me. She looked me in the eyes--something she had not done since the attack--and the panic was gone. She was back to the wonderful companion she had been since I had picked her up at the Humane Society in Phoenix. Our ordeal with the aftermath lasted from mid-December until mid-March. So if your Abbey is having problems, good luck...be patient and just talk to her. I know Mike understood what I said because the change was a miracle. She hasn't needed the "puppy Prozac" since the talk. She still is more alert on walks than she was before the incident, but not psychotic. As I said, good luck to you both....kansasgirl
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Kansasgirl, you are so blessed not to have been hurt worse. What a traumatic experience for both of you! Maybe part of Mike's problem also is that she feels responsible for protecting you, and she wasn't able to do that. I think dogs are capable of understanding far more than we think. Abbey likes to sit in my lap sometimes and we have important talks about things that interest her, and this is the only time my little dynamo is ever still, because she is listening to me talk! She's healing well from her wounds, she's all scabs and scrapes and her fur hasn't grown back yet, but she doesn't want to go back to the park yet. I'm hoping that eventually she'll overcome her fear and want to go see her buddies at the park, Tiara the greyhound that has cancer, Scout the blue tick hound, and Sanchez the chocolate poodle. I'm having heart surgery tomorrow and my mother (Abbey's Nanny) is coming to stay with her a few days so she won't have to be boarded. I can't even imagine how traumatic that would have been. Thanks for your encouragement.
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Good luck on your surgery!! Have a speedy, safe recovery!
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Best wishes for a speedy recovery, Lenora. You're in my thoughts & prayers.
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Good luck on your surgery Lenora. Please report back & let us know how it goes. Sending lots of positive vibes & prayers.
When you're feeling better you will have to recondition Abbey to the park again. With lots of treats & positive talk & high praises for relaxing at the park. Make sure you treat with the good stuff like BACON
Kansasgirl-Your ordeal sounds awful. But I agree with you that after an attack they do sort of go on high alert mode. I'm still dealing with my dogs stress after our attack. I haven't had a "heart to heart" with them yet about calming down but we are working on some exercises on our walks to help them focus on me & trust me again. Altho I would try anything…looks like I'll be having a "talk" with the kids today
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LENORA….May your surgery go well and your recovery be fast and easy on you. Abbey will be wearing her worried brow look when you get home and need lots of affection and cooing talk.
I agree on the big stick, but I read in a dog training book to take a fast- trigger umbrella and it certainly worked on a too friendly adult bulldog who was coming toward us. It is a good, friendly dog, but Mike wouldn't have been able to go thru it. The fast spread of the umbrella scared the bulldog and it lit out down the road at lightning speed. Really impressed Mike, too. I'm going to buy some pepper spray for extreme emergencies and pray that I don't get it on Mike or me. Too many big dogs around lately and if they decided to jump their fenced yards, we'd be mincemeat. Even have pit bulls up the block now; that really worries me a lot.
God bless you and yours.....kansasgirl -
She was hyper deluxe and psychotic as all get out. Wouldn't sleep and paced constantly.
This sounds like the same thing that happened to my german shepherd mix years ago when my neighbor's grandson was using a cap gun. The way my vet explained it at that time was that she was so disturbed by the "gun shots" that she went into "fight or flight" mode (super adrenline). We tried giving her pill tranquilzers for two days–but she couldn't hold down any food (because of the hyper adrenline mode), and she threw up the pills. I finally had to leave her at the vets where they injected her with sedatives. When I picked her up a couple of days later, she was back to normal. But it was so scary at the time because I didn't think she would ever get back to normal. After her first injection, I went back the next day and looked in on her, and she was sleeping. I was so relieved and told the vet that was the first time I had seen her sleep in days.
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Thank you so much for letting me know of the noise risk and the sedation at a vet's possibility. That is a great option if necessary and as I will be moving to Tucson sometime later this year it may be needed. I'm sure the move will be traumatic on Mike. Was your german shepherd an adult or puppy when this happened? Again, much thanks!
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Kansasgirl,
Things happen so fast. One quick bite from a large dog can be very serious.
People walk their dogs where they can, but I will never go to a dog park.
I drive 12 miles each way to take my dogs to a trail where they can run. When I see another dog coming….mine get put on the leash.... -
I am a retired canine control officer.. In my State, this is completely against the law. Not only is this woman in line for a summons for allowing her dog off leash, but she is responisble for your vet bill costs!! Do not hesitate to call animal control and report this.. her dog was out of the owner's control, and she is liable for the damages incurred to your precious baby. Although large dogs need a dog park too, I know there are times specified in other States, where large dogs can play, and small dogs too but not at the same time, to prevent this sort of thing from happening. Why not suggest this to your town, so smaller dogs can be protected from this horror happening again. If I were you, I would be at City Hall, tomorrow, and making a complaint, then a suggestion for times for big and small dogs to enjoy the parks set aside for our loved fur ones. I have a big Doberman, and would never allow him to run free in a park with small dogs.. Heck, he cant run free in my home with my zenji puppy he would kill her..I am a very responsible owner, and accidents happen to all of us, but you have the right to enjoy the parks with your babies…without fear of being attacked. If the dog had bitten you, the owner could be sued and fined, and God knows you would win. Not sure how the law works there, but here, she is liable for your vet costs as well. I hope you get her big time, and the umbrella thing, is a great idea but a long riding crop is smart, too.Your poor little zenji is probably traumatized now, and just give her lots of love and huggs and keep her warm .. Give her kisses from Zaharah and Dale.. they send you all their love too. Janice
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hi, you need to report this to the police!!!! asap!!!! the lady was rewarding her dog for what it did!< that's b.s.!!. use some neolsorin on her wounds it will help it heal better and no scareing to her!!. YOU NEED TO REPORT IT BECAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW IF THIS LADY KEEPS HER DOG UP TO DDATE ON SHOTS!!!.
