Aggressive Dogs : Lying Owners

[TrishB]

Hi all,

Parker and I were at the park today and came across a young couple with their Mini Smooth Dachshund on leash. The dog seemed anxious, so I asked them if he liked other dogs. They said yes.

The dogs approached, sniffed, body language was fine. Then OUT OF THE BLUE the Daxie attacked Parker! :o Now his bite didn't puncture (which don't laugh, even little dogs have jaw pressure) and I got Parker out of there before it esculated. But he did latch on to one of the folds of Parkers throat.

My beef is that THEN they said - well we just got him - we didn't know he didn't like other dogs!

IF YOU DON'T KNOW YOUR DOG YET, OR IF YOU DO KNOW THAT YOUR DOG IS DOG AGGRESSIVE - TELL THE TRUTH!

Parker is fine. *whew* But what if it was a larger dog? :( Parker's a very social boy and loves other dogs - it irritates me that my friendly dog may get injured due to some well meaning or embarrassed owner that doesn't want to tell the truth. :p

[Luvs]

How infuriating! People need to be totally honest when asked questions about their dogs. They are not doing anyone any favors by lying. Maybe they learned from this and next time won't make the same mistake, doubtful but one can hope. I am really glad that Parker was not injured and that he did not hurt the Dachshund. The Dachshund is VERY lucky Parker is such a friendly guy ;)

[SABELLESMOM]

Boy that could have been a disaster! I can't imagine what could have been going thru their heads. I'm very happy Parker wasn't injured badly. And I'm glad he didn't respond in like fashion. You can be very proud of him!

After all they put your dog in a very volitale position which would NOT have been pleasant had he reacted differently. I would be very angry, myself.

About THE only excuse they could have is he may have seemed dog friendly to them while "off leash." Some dogs only display this type of behavior on lead. They truthfully may not have beem aware that some breeds more prevalently have leash agression issues.

[Judi W]

Ah, this just proves (and I've had many similar experiences) that the owners of little dogs are guilty of the same thing as many owners of big dogs. Unfounded optimism. You know, "maybe this time it will be different". We see similar things on the forum here quite often whether it is dog aggression or people aggression. It is a symdrom called "hoping for the best"...............

[Brooke&Ryan]

We actually experienced this just yesterday, Trish. Ryan & I both had the day off so we took Julius to this beautiful park which has a long trail that wraps around it.

After our walk we headed into the parking lot to get back in the car. Julius was at a heel because the parking lot was quite busy. This woman had a corgi on a Flexi-leash & was being dragged across the parking lot by the dog. First thought that went through my head is, "She's being dragged by a corgi?!?" But that's beside the point.

This Corgi was showing teeth, growling, hackles were up, etc. & so Ryan put Julius in a sit-stay until the woman could get her dog under control. Then she asked if her dog could say hello to Julius. Her corgi was an intact male (as is Julius) so we politely said, "No thank you." & explained to her that our dog was intact also. She then proceeded to say that her dog is dog aggressive but does play with some dogs nicely. But other dogs, she has said, have escalated into a dog fight. Basically it sounded like she just throws her dog in with other friend's dogs & if they play nicely, great. If not, well then there's going to be a fight.

By this time Julius was in the car just peeking out the window. She made a comment about how Julius wasn't barking or growling which she seemed to be surprised about. Probably because the "big, mean Rottweiler" wasn't foaming at the mouth". :D

I feel your pain! Give Parker a snuggle from us!

:)
Brooke

[MARYDVM]

I think the problem goes beyond simply hoping for the best sometimes. there is a "reality disconnect' in some people's brains when it comes to their dogs (or children).

I had a clients Cockapoo on the table once. the dog's body posture clearly stated what it's intentions were, but the client was fussing over her baby dog, so to illustrate the dog's state of mind I extended my hand toward it. I was prepared, but the dog was so quick it still managed to connect slightly with a pinching bite to my thumb. i told the client we would need a muzzle because her dog was snappy. With a straight face she replied "My dog doesn't bite!" To which I managed to say, in a reasonably polite voice - "He just bit me!!" Her answer "Oh, he doesn't like the vets."

[Karinka200]

I am a amazed at how many people lack plain, old common sense. Four months after we adopted our bc/greyhound, we took her on her first camping trip. She was already 5 years old when we got her. Although she had been to obedience and agility classes, she was still a little stressed by others approaching her if other dogs were present (as she had been attacked by another dog at the shelter). While walking our rescue and our other dog who we had since a pup, a gentleman and his young daughter approached and asked if they could pet our dogs.....Without hesitation, I said....You may pet the lab....but we just got our rescue and we haven't had her long enough to know how she will react. They seemed surprised as they said she is so calm and sweet. BUT...I KNEW it was MY responsibility to make sure NOTHING WOULD HAPPEN....so I kept her at a SIT. The meeting was uneventful...

Now, after 3 years of living with us, our rescue is the "welcoming committee" for other dogs that stay with / visit us....But ....now I KNOW how she will react...Regardless....I always keep an eye on my dogs...common sense dictates that....

[HerculesMomma]

Yikes! I can't believe some people! That's an awful gutsy and stupid move on their part! If they weren't sure, why wouldn't you just say so? I know I have done some foolish things with Hercules, but I made no secrete to people that I met in petsmart and OB classes initially that I wasn't sure how he was around other dogs, so I would prefer not to try. I just felt that I couldn't take the chance with Hercules being new to me and rather large. I simply never knew what to expect from him in those situations so I made sure to be vigilant not to let anything get out of hand.

I have a very good friend that has a fox terrier (or a minature fox terrier) and he's a cute little guy (of course, I think most dogs are cute) but he's obnoxious. I stopped by her house the other week and was sitting on the floor with him to pet him and play with him etc. and he was jumping all over me. Even nipped at my nose a couple of times (and it still hurts from a little guy!). I kind of gave her a hard time about it. I do think that people (and my friend) with little dogs think they can't do as much damage so they let them do whatever they want. But as you mentioned Trish, those little guys still can hurt!

Well, I'm sorry for your expierence. Maybe the situation unnerved them enough to know better next time. Or at least I hope so.

[Muckdogs]

Yup, stupid people do stupid things. I think an important lesson is to be learned from the flip side of this as well. I have seen folks ignore owners warnings about their dogs being aggressive, saying things like "don't worry, my littel fluffy gets along with everyone" or "it's okay, all dogs love me" or some such nonsense. I think it very important as owners that we are adamant about our dogs if we have any inkling that the dog may not act so nicely in a certain situation. Don't let yourself be talkid into something.

[Squeaky2004]

What makes this all sound pretty funny is that these people that have small dogs are usually the ones that will say something bad about big dogs. Meanwhile there little pooch would probably take a chunk outta yah before any properly trained big dog would.......

[moondog]

Originally Posted by TrishB

....The dog seemed anxious, so I asked them if he liked other dogs. They said yes.

Your mistake was not listening to your little voice..:D Little dogs scare me the most, and I tell people that if they think a meet and greet would be just fine...:D I've found the little ones to be more deceptive and harder to read. My policy is we do not greet the little ones nose-to-nose unless it is a little one I personally know is "safe".

I don't think people are lying, per se. More like Hoping-for-the-Best or Don't-have-a-Clue. I don't think people want their dog in a fight, they just don't know, so I don't put my faith in them....I put it in my little voice instead! :)

[Ilovemypuppy]

[quote=MARYDVM]I think the problem goes beyond simply hoping for the best sometimes. there is a "reality disconnect' in some people's brains when it comes to their dogs (or children).
[ QUOTE]
I agree with this totally ! Good one :)

I Am glad that Parker was so well behaved and wasn't injured by that little MOP...but I agree it's often the little dogs that are so unpredictable. Imagine this.......I had Maggie and Bailey (both on prongs) in a busy parking lot going towards our vehicle when this 4 pound Yorkshire Terrier puppy came flying at them ! The crowd of people standing around were just waiting for a disaster..but I told the girls to stay and they both froze while the owner of the mini tornado scooped up the whirling dervish and PUT IT IN HIS POCKET!!!

With the attitude towards Rotties that is out there, it's safer to just stay to ourselves.........putting yourself OUT THERE is getting too risky in public places.

[Patty1231]

I really hate it when people aren't honest about the temperment of their dogs. Rocco is very social and I can trust him around other dogs (although I don't always trust the other dogs). Perle, on the other hand, I have to be very careful with and I'm working on slowly exposing her to other dogs from a distance. The HS said she was good with other dogs but I think that was just because of the situation she was in there. She is 4 years old and I have no clue what her history was. Generally, she was okay around other dogs but if the other dogs showed any type of aggressive behavior she'd react. I've been working with her and she's doing much better - she is still guarded and I would never trust her to flat out meet up with another dog. Maybe someday she'll be okay, but maybe never.

[chivas]

That brings back to memory an incidence I was once involved with.
I was taking Chivas and Indy (my sheltie) to a dog fair. Had just parked, had Indy on his leash outside of car and Chivas still in car waiting to have her leash attached. Another car drove up next to me with a yapping shaggy 30lbs mixed breed in it. They got out of car and let dog out without leash on. He went after Indy so fast I couldnt believe it: no sniffing, no posturing just ATTACKED. I slammed door shut before Chivas could get out and break his neck, kicked at dog and tried to get Indy out of the way. Girl got out of car and picked up dog, said "SORRY" and took off.
I checked Indy - lucky his has a very heavy sheltie coat, found no punctures. I then went to the event's coordinators and informed them of what happened and that maybe that dog needed to be banned from event since he is so aggressive. They argeed but w/o a PA system no way to get in touch with owners (I gave them the cars plate numbers). I left a pretty nasty note on their car since they were so fast to disappear in crowd. This was 3 years ago and it STILL makes me mad.
What could I of done different?
Kim

[Brooke&Ryan]

Originally Posted by moondog

I don't think people are lying, per se. More like Hoping-for-the-Best or Don't-have-a-Clue. I don't think people want their dog in a fight, they just don't know

I think that is so true. The woman with the corgi in the park the other day just had no idea how to read her dog. She thought it would be okay if they said hello.

:)
Brooke