Victoria does a great job educating the public about bad dog behaviors. I would love to see her address dogs off leash. Too many dog owners feel their dogs are safe and under control off leash and do not realize the danger they put other dogs in when they allow their dogs to "hang out" without a leash.
In the last several months I have been approached by several dogs in our neighborhood while walking my dogs on leash. I've been fortunate that my dogs displayed submissive and receptive behaviors when we were approached. Other people I know have not been so lucky. I know 3 people who's dogs have been attacked while walking their dogs on leash, last week one of them was lucky to be alive! One encounter over the summer involved a trainer who thought he had "control" of his dog off leash. Fortunately, he was trained enough to stop the attack before it got too serious. BUT - He of all people should have known better.
Dogs communicate long before they actually meet, through eye contact and body posture. Friendly Fido may not be so friendly if he/she doesn't like the look, posture or smell of another dog nearby. You cannot control their reactions, no matter how well they are trained.
The dog owners I've encountered laughed it off when they found their dog down the street. "Oh, but he's friendly". "He won't hurt a fly". They don't see the hackles raised on their dogs neck or realize what that means!
Most dogs of these dogs are not bad dogs, nor are they generally aggressive. They are however, dogs, and need to be under control both inside and outside the home. Leash the dog!
Please, Victoria, address this issue on your show!
Dog Attacks
Moderators: emmabeth, BoardHost
-
zeus'fostermom
- Posts: 13
- Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2008 8:25 pm
- Location: Portland, OR USA
Irresponsible owners walking offleash
DITTO! I too would like to see Victoria address this issue.
I have been so frustrated walking my dog in my neighborhood and at the park. I deliberately do not walk in the park off-leash area and yet people let their dogs approach. Sometimes the owners aren't even in the near vicinity. It's suprising how mean dog owners can be when asked to "please call and leash your dog".
I recently adopted a 3yr old Great Pyrenees whom I wasn't sure of his experience with other dogs. I spent the first three weeks walking him using 'leave it' around other dogs. When I determined he wasn't agressive I started introducing him to other dogs whose owners said "my dog is friendly".
Within the first few weeks fully half of all dogs I'd introduced him to had agressed toward him. I'm not talking about a little doggy communication but rather, often when his back was turned, the other dog would leap, growl and bite. Of course, every one of these dogs was off-leash so the owner had no control.
Because of these events my dog has become reactive, barking and lunging, toward other dogs especially if he is the only one on a leash ... with obvious reason but not a socially acceptable behavior. Fortunately, I have experience with "reactive rover" behavior so with some work things are getting better.
It sure would be great to get the message out to dog owners that it's not ok to walk your dog off-leash unless it's in a designated off-leash area.
I have been so frustrated walking my dog in my neighborhood and at the park. I deliberately do not walk in the park off-leash area and yet people let their dogs approach. Sometimes the owners aren't even in the near vicinity. It's suprising how mean dog owners can be when asked to "please call and leash your dog".
I recently adopted a 3yr old Great Pyrenees whom I wasn't sure of his experience with other dogs. I spent the first three weeks walking him using 'leave it' around other dogs. When I determined he wasn't agressive I started introducing him to other dogs whose owners said "my dog is friendly".
Within the first few weeks fully half of all dogs I'd introduced him to had agressed toward him. I'm not talking about a little doggy communication but rather, often when his back was turned, the other dog would leap, growl and bite. Of course, every one of these dogs was off-leash so the owner had no control.
Because of these events my dog has become reactive, barking and lunging, toward other dogs especially if he is the only one on a leash ... with obvious reason but not a socially acceptable behavior. Fortunately, I have experience with "reactive rover" behavior so with some work things are getting better.
It sure would be great to get the message out to dog owners that it's not ok to walk your dog off-leash unless it's in a designated off-leash area.
Foster failure ... I've adopted Zeus !
I agree with the sentiment but raised hackles does not always indicate a dog who is ready to attack. Raised hackles is a sign of excitement and arousal.
Yes fights or doggie spats are exciting and arousing to other dogs including the participants. So is walking into the dog park, playing with a favorite toy, getting ready to chase a lure.
Raised hackles like any other single thing needs to be taken in the context of the entire picture. Dogs give lots of signals and all must be read together with the exception of one sign:
When a dog goes stiff, he is about to bite. Even that stiffness is accompanied by several other signs....cold eyes, no sounds (barks or growls). seeing a dog in this state sends chills down your spine (as it should).
Yes fights or doggie spats are exciting and arousing to other dogs including the participants. So is walking into the dog park, playing with a favorite toy, getting ready to chase a lure.
Raised hackles like any other single thing needs to be taken in the context of the entire picture. Dogs give lots of signals and all must be read together with the exception of one sign:
When a dog goes stiff, he is about to bite. Even that stiffness is accompanied by several other signs....cold eyes, no sounds (barks or growls). seeing a dog in this state sends chills down your spine (as it should).
I have a dog that has panic attacks if he thinks a strange dog is going to approach him, if they get too close he will have a seizure later in the day. I HAVE to stop these dogs from approaching him.
The way I do this is to tell the owner he has a fictious health problem that is infectious/contagous, they soon get their dogs back.
A couple of good sites for dogs body language
http://www.wagntrain.com/BodyLanguage.htm
http://www.diamondsintheruff.com/diagrams.html
The way I do this is to tell the owner he has a fictious health problem that is infectious/contagous, they soon get their dogs back.
A couple of good sites for dogs body language
http://www.wagntrain.com/BodyLanguage.htm
http://www.diamondsintheruff.com/diagrams.html
[url=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v312/Nethertumbleweed/PIXIE.jpg][img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v312/Nethertumbleweed/th_PIXIE.jpg[/img][/url]
Great links on body language. I bookmarked those. I also like the contagious disease tip. I may just try that sometime.
Unfortunately it only takes seconds for an incident to occur, especially when the dog comes out of no where. In these cases, the dog already has an agenda and my experience has been that the owners are well out of voice range.
Unfortunately it only takes seconds for an incident to occur, especially when the dog comes out of no where. In these cases, the dog already has an agenda and my experience has been that the owners are well out of voice range.
Oh,please come on. I have seen dog owners who have their dogs on the leash and see, they are comming to MY dogs who are also on the leash.
They are telling me that their dog is friendly.
People, never and ever go to a PACK. 2 dogs are a pack. Their dog can be friendly But they have no idea if Mine are.
People are leaving their dogs in the backyard. The dog gets bored and will jump or dig under the fence.
They are telling me that their dog is friendly.
People, never and ever go to a PACK. 2 dogs are a pack. Their dog can be friendly But they have no idea if Mine are.
People are leaving their dogs in the backyard. The dog gets bored and will jump or dig under the fence.
-
horserider9067
- Posts: 7
- Joined: Wed Jan 21, 2009 4:30 pm
- Location: Gaithersburg, MD
I completely agree people have their dogs off leash in my neighborhood all the time and my dog is aggressive toward other dogs, so its frustrating to be scared to take him for a walk for fear that some stupid person is going to let their dog run up to mine saying "He's friendly!" Guess what mine isn't 
. I'm afraid if he gets into a fight he will be labeled as "vicious" because some stupid person didn't think to put their dog on a leash.
I actually have a question about that. My dog is more aggressive toward other dogs when he is on the leash compared to when he is off the leash, maybe because he feels like he needs to protect me? When I see another dog off leash about to approach us I almost feel like I should let my dog off the leash as well, that way he might not get that protective feeling as strongly, and if the dogs do decide to fight I wont be in the middle of it. I also feel like this will backfire on me because he might hurt the other dog. Any suggestions?
. I'm afraid if he gets into a fight he will be labeled as "vicious" because some stupid person didn't think to put their dog on a leash. I actually have a question about that. My dog is more aggressive toward other dogs when he is on the leash compared to when he is off the leash, maybe because he feels like he needs to protect me? When I see another dog off leash about to approach us I almost feel like I should let my dog off the leash as well, that way he might not get that protective feeling as strongly, and if the dogs do decide to fight I wont be in the middle of it. I also feel like this will backfire on me because he might hurt the other dog. Any suggestions?
