Will Lucky become dog aggressive now?

I've read in several books that if a dog is attacked badly by another dog, then the first dog may well become dog aggressive himself...?

Does this apply mostly to younger dogs or is it equally likely to happen to a ten year old dog - I'm thinking of my brother's GF's dog, Lucky.

Should we be thinking about taking him right back to a park where there are other dogs, in a bid to try and pre-empt any problems developing - or might that itself cause a problem as he was only attacked yesterday?

I guess I'm just worried about the possible effects of being badly attacked on Lucky. He had a really miserable start in life before he was adopted by my bro's GF's stepdad

How badly was Lucky attacked?

If Lucky has a typical Labrador temperament, he will probably take everything in his stride. They are a very forgiving breed and are confident in their own skin -- it would take a LOT to upset one; I've never seen mine afraid or nervous of anything, and he has been attacked by other dogs on more than several occasions.

It is, however, a good idea to take him back to the park where he had the bad experience.

why think the worst?

there are no rules when it comes to living breathing things Lucky isnt the first dog to get bitten by another..wont be the last.... untill Lucky shows you otherwise treat him as you always did..you behaving differently can cause problems in itself.

He may. He may not. I would give him some time to rest and recover and slowly introduce him to other dogs who you know he's been friendly with. You may find that he has issues with just the type of dog who attacked him (or dogs who look like that type).

Dahlia was attacked by a GSD puppy and now is more nervous around GSDs and some dogs who have prick ears. She snarls at a perfectly lovely ACD every time she sees him. She doesn't attack them but she shows she's pretty clearly uncomfortable around those dogs.

I think a lot depends on the handler. Often it`s the owner who is more affected than the dog, and this transfers to the dog.
I hope he bounces back, but if he doesn`t, they might consider a good class so he can be around well behaved dogs?

There's a great dog training book called "It Depends"
and I highly recommend it

It does depend on how sensitive he is, how badly he was attacked, whether before he's had good interactions with other dogs (and if he has, it's less likely that he will be strongly affected by this attack) and so on.

I'd actually advise not going straight back to that park, because straight away his stress levels are going to rise. I'd take him elsewhere to meet frieindly dogs for just a couple of days, to reinforce his view that actually most dogs are Ok, and then go back to the place where he was attacked.

Make sure that he meets friendly dogs, or dogs who just walk past.

However, is there a chance of the attacking dog being there again? If it was a serious attack, and not just "handbags", I'd suggest contacting the dog warden.

Wys
x

I agree with Wys but would also add that if Lucky's had lots of good experiences with friendly dogs & this was a one off, then the chances are that all the good encounters will far outweigh the one horrible encounter. Take your cues from Lucky & if he appears at all nervous or worried by a particular dog or location, then go back & do things more slowly.

Barney had a terrible time years ago (before I had him) when he was playing with his staffy friend in the park. Barney's previous owner used a choke chain on Barney & in the midst of the rough & tumble the staffy's paw got caught in the choke chain. Both dogs panicked & the result was that the staffy attacked Barney & put deep puncture wounds in his chest & Barney was nearly strangled to the extent that blood vessels burst in his eyes & the vet was worried about his sight.

But as soon as both dogs had recovered the owners introduced them again & they happily went off to play again ~ no ill feelings & no horrible associations. But Barney's previous owner replaced the choke chain & would never use one again! Mind you Barney hates boxers but, as far as I know, he's never been attacked by one!

I had both my dogs attacked by other dogs within a month of each other (different dog). With Cherry because she was already fear reactive to large dogs this made a bad impression on her and it made me nervous too.

With Parker because he was a confident dog with very good social skills this hasn't "turned him to the dark side" so to speak! He still enjoys meeting other dogs but I usually leash him with bull-breeds unless I know the dog is calm and friendly as he takes exception to them charging up to his head which they normally do.

I meet a lot of people who say "x was attacked/bitten by (insert relevant breed of dog) and since then he has always been nervous/aggressive etc)

Well to be perfectly honest to echo a few posts already here

1 This is one of the reasons that early socialisation with appropriate adult dogs of a different breeds is essential; as dogs too can become "breedist" (just as some can react weirdly to black people/ones carrying sacks/disabled people etc)

2 If the dog is correctly socialised and handled correctly then as already said, if nice outweights nasty, the dog will just shrug its shoulders and carry on as normal.

3 handler input is often the key, so often I see people "gathering up the lead, getting tense, standing to attention.........etc etc" which effectively tells the dog "watch out, here comes something scary"!

4 In short, I would take what I call the "jolly hockey sticks" approach.

Ok I have to ask...what on earth is the jolly hockey sticks approach? lol