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.
Pit Bull Attack
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I hate the term "guard dog" from most people. 9 times out of 10 it means they have a poorly socialized, inadequately trained BIG dog.
And you are so right: Like with Basenjis, only way moreso because of the sheer power of the breed, training must be constant and consistent.
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Guard dog is exactly what the name implies. A highly trained, socialized, temperment tested dog that obeys every command the owner gives the first time, every time. I cringe when I see the cops on TV with their poorly trained dogs. In the private sector that we train, if a dog doesn't obey the first command in a consistent manner he goes back to basic obedience before moving forward. Yes, I understand sometimes 2nd commands happen-but they should be few and very far between. If I say return to a guard dog, I mean return and let it go. Again training doesn't happen overnight and any idiot can train a dog to bite someone-scary isn't it!
