Hi, Socialization was one of my worries and I wanted to get it right, get your friends over and have them wear hats and bags and anything and everything at different times, what we did at home was just getting the household socialization such as umbrellas, pots, rubbish bins etc started and if you have friends with vaccinated and friendly dogs get them around. There is a lot of socialization you can do before your pup is fully vaccinated at home, rubbish day is a good day for standing at the gate watching the big noisy trucks go by, picking up the bins and banging them down, watching the mower, hearing the motorbike being started. Just remember let your pup take it's time don't force it when it is uncomfortable. Our 6 month old boy is doing great and is quite a confident fella. At 14 weeks we did puppy class for 7 weeks and only started going to a dog park at 4 months and he automatically knew how to be a dog when he was with the other dogs. Good luck.
Dog Attack
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You did what you did fast, decisively and kept your dog from being killed. I'd say the right thing.
I actually have a big children baseball bat that I have carried when I go walking due to a few nasty loose dogs (I don't walk my dogs here because of them). But those megahorns supposedly deter dogs better than mace or any types of spray. Regardless of what you use, carrying something is, to me, a good safety precaution against idiot owners and loose dogs.
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I don't think we can get mace in Canada, but I think I am going to look for something that I can carry in a pocket that I could spray at a dog that might attack Kipawa.
As a U.S. citizen, I know that mace or pepper spray can't be taken INTO Canada, although I don't know about purchasing it there. However, bear spray CAN be taken across the border, so you might look for that. As far as I know, bear spray is pretty much the same thing…and if it can stop a bear, it can stop a dog!
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I don't think we can get mace in Canada, but I think I am going to look for something that I can carry in a pocket that I could spray at a dog that might attack Kipawa. I actually started thinking about this last week when yet another (the 4th one) German Shepherd attacked Kipawa. Nothing happened, as I yelled like a banshee and the owner actually KICKED his dog, which I was happy for at the moment. Then later on in the walk I felt sad for the dog. The guy was a total jerk after it happened, told me that my dog 'looked' at his dog and provoked the fight (Kipawa was beside me off leash), even though the German Shepherd charged at Kipawa. Unstable owner = unstable dog. If this dog gets kicked for doing something wrong… well, you know what I mean.
Pepper spray is something you might be able to get if Mace isn't available.
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We can buy bear spray. I have a couple cans that we take when we go hiking or when we are staying at a campsite. They are a litte more cumbersome than a can of mace and I think a little more potent!!
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i am glad Cricket is ok. how is she today?
i have had a dog try and attack Hope just a few months ago. they were both off leash (at a park) i had Hope beside me and the other dog lunged for her so i grabbed Hope before she could react and moved her to the other side of me, well the blasted nasty dog kept coming for her so as it crossed infront of me i gave it a boot to keep it away from Hope and swung her again. i repeated this several times (the boot and move Hope to the other side of me) whilst the owner was just sitting on the hill watching and didnt get up to get his dog until another local jumped in to pull the dog away. i scooped Hope into my arms as soon as the dog was restrained (she was ready to rumble with this dog by this time) and grabbed Ebby and left. i apologised to the owner of the other dog as i left for kicking it (there was no way i was letting it close enough to get a bite in on Hope) even though his dog iniated the attack. ive never seen hackles sit so high. i do not go to teh park anymore (previous week before that someone let Ebony out the gate. i nearly died after i finally got her back… yes i dont know how but i did).. i have slowly begun adventuring to another park but Hope is a bit weary of new dogs that come in, so i have to watch her closely. we barely go anymore. sad really cos ive put so much work into making sure shes socialised well. really do hate the ignorance of some owners.
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She is good, the only peronality change is that she struts. Husband says it's her telling the big dogs that her Mommy can kick their @ss, so don't mess with her…
I am so happy that she is not fearful and aggressive with other dogs now. She even seems braver with the neighbourhood kids.
The owners have agreed to pay our vet bill, we were suppose to go over there tonight, but Husband had a meeting.And the City policy change is being addressed. I gave two suggestions that they are implementing for recovering aggressive dogs.
Kind of sad that it took this to think of that... Glad it wasn't worse. -
Very scary story… I hear stories like this more often than I care to admit, but seldom hear about a follow-up. Kudos to you for being so active about getting the city policies changed. And here's hoping that Cricket feels better soon.
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i have slowly begun adventuring to another park but Hope is a bit weary of new dogs that come in, so i have to watch her closely. we barely go anymore. sad really cos ive put so much work into making sure shes socialised well. really do hate the ignorance of some owners.
There are a lot of dumb owners out there. I'm appalled that the guy just watched all of this happen. But you want to be able to keep Hope well socialized. Perhaps there are times at some of the parks where there is a better 'blend' of dogs and more responsible owners? I have stopped taking Kipawa to dog parks on the weekends. Many of the dogs on the weekends have been holed up in the house all week and are just not acting very stable. Then add to it owners who have no time to interact with their dogs for a week. It's a bad combination.
I really hope that you can find a safe place for all of you to go to and feel safe. Are there any places that do doggie daycare where you are at? You could possibly bring Hope there and let her ease back into socializing to build her confidence back up.
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I agree with Fran about choosing another time to go to the park! Our parks change character completely at different times of day.
And so glad Cricket is strutting, telling everyone "My Mommy can kick butt"!
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There are a lot of dumb owners out there. I'm appalled that the guy just watched all of this happen. But you want to be able to keep Hope well socialized. Perhaps there are times at some of the parks where there is a better 'blend' of dogs and more responsible owners? I have stopped taking Kipawa to dog parks on the weekends. Many of the dogs on the weekends have been holed up in the house all week and are just not acting very stable. Then add to it owners who have no time to interact with their dogs for a week. It's a bad combination.
I really hope that you can find a safe place for all of you to go to and feel safe. Are there any places that do doggie daycare where you are at? You could possibly bring Hope there and let her ease back into socializing to build her confidence back up.
I actually formed a "small breed social" (doggy social) when i first got Hope as a pup. so ive been making sure we attend these still as they are in the quieter times before it gets super busy in the evenings. I used to walk Hope & Ebby down to our local park, daily but we only continued our walk and decided whether the dog park was appropriate or not depending who was in there.. But since moving i live out of town and we have the beach to play on instead with the in-law doggies and so the dog parks have taken a back seat. But they still get to hang out with their friends
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I am so glad that You, your husband and Cricket are OK. You're lucky the bull mastiff did not attack your husband, Im surprised he did not, actually. I have had this happen to me so many times to our dogs. Thankfully it always ends up bad for the other dog/dogs. They go into fight mode right away, which does not make them great at meeting other dogs, but after this happening so many times, I don't trust the other dogs either. If I just have one dog with me, I scoop him up in my arms and that has worked well so far.
