Dog Attack

[sid4067]

Hi, We have a 3 year old mini who is such a soft natured boy. Approx 3 months ago he was attacked by another dog totally unprovoked resulting in a very nasty wound to his neck.
Since then he is fine with dogs who leave him alone but any contact and he becomes very afraid and gives off what sounds like an aggressive snap/snarl towards the dog. Which is totally out of character. I know it’s because he fears another attack. My problem is this has already led to another dog having ago at him. It’s getting very frustrating as even when I have him on the lead other peoples dogs run over and now I feal the need to pick him up as I can see what is going to happen. I am on edge every walk as there are so many irresponsible owners who can’t control their dogs off lead

[Schnauzer Sam]

Sid,

It's a horrible situation to find yourself in and I know from my own experience what it's like being on edge when all you're trying to do is have a relaxing walk.

I think I would have an appointment with a suitably qualified animal behaviourist to give you advice on how to help Barney as he's no doubt in fear of a similar incidence.

Should you be insured with Petplan (I've no idea about other insurers) and ask your vet to refer you, they will pick up the cost less your usual excess. The cost of the consultation and a plan for treatment will be £200-£250.

[sid4067]

Thanks for the advice.Much appreciated. We are with pet plan.

[mikegoodson1]

Hi Sid

Sorry to hear about this.

I know it's not much help but are there any secure dog walking areas you can take Barney to, so at least you can feel relatively relaxed that he can get a good walk off lead. There are some near us that are just fenced off fields with gates (where there is a risk another dog walker could also come into that field) but there is another area (that I have not used) where you pay a smallish amount (£15) for the use of a properly secured field for walking. You would be the only user of that field for that booking.

It may be an option in the short term? There is this site but I know that they don't list all secure fields that are around but maybe worth a try: https://www.dogwalkingfields.co.uk/

Cheers
Mike

[Oscar 12345]

Sid, what an awful experience for you both. You can get over this. The behaviouralist is the best advice because they would put a plan/programme together with you and be on hand to help you both through this. The advice will be to build confidence again around the fear which is the other dog approaching. For the time being I would be very alert to spotting other dogs and then manouevreing him out of their way before the fear emerges. If you get a growl, stiff tail etc. then you need to increase the distance. The idea is not to get any fear reaction at all. So time for high value treat bag again. When Barney first sees the dog you give him the treats, try to ascertain the distance at which Barney gets fearful get him distracted to you before he can get nervous. Build up over time and gradually reduce the distance. I am currently making really good progress with Otto because he gets fear aggressive with big dogs coming towards him. I have now got to the stage where when he sees a large dog he looks up at me for the treat so big dogs are becoming something to look forward to rather than something to fear. I bought a great little book called the Cautious Canine for fear aggression easy to read and very cheap (second hand from Amazon £1). Really good read and has helped me enormously. Good luck to you Sid, remember it will take some time to get back to where you were but you can do it...

[Dawnspell]

Poor Barney. All good advise and in the meantime have you heard of Yellow Dog UK ? Of course its generally responsible dog owners who know about it but the more people that use it the more it will become known about and help dogs that need space.
https://www.yellowdoguk.co.uk/