Attacked another dog today; what should I do now?

Hi Guys,

I'm really dissapointed in myself as an owner.

Today Wills was getting her free run in a field. I was throwing her ball for her, she was racing around and having heaps of fun.

We met one dog, she said hello all waggy tailed and v friendly. On we went for a bout a minute and we met another dog, she just ignored her and went on our way. I chucked her ball for her in the same direction we were walking, opposite from the springer and the direction they were heading.

Wills started to chase the ball then suddenly turned on a dime and went after the springer type who was ambling along, head down, sniffing. Wills just attacked her. The other dog screamed and was trying to be submissive ut Wills wouldn't let go till we got to them and got them seperated. She drew some blood from around the dogs mouth somewhere. My eyes aren't great, I'm going by what the owners and the kids told me. The owner was (surprisingly) fine about it and I couldn't apologise enough.

This really shocked me today to see Wills do this. In the past she has done what we call her "drive by growl" where she runs close behind a dog and on past them giving her playful growl looking for a chase. I thought initialy maybe that is what she was going to do.

I feel this is my fault. Our jrt, Archie died back in Nov when they escaped from a field they were free running in to chse a truck going past and tbh Wills hasn't been much off lead since then, and as a result not socialised too often. Still, having said that she is happy for strange dogs to come and go from our home, we board guide dogs here. An usually has no problem with other dogs.

I do wonder if a previous incident has had an effect on her. Same field as today she was attacked by a female retriever; or am I just making excuses?

Anyway; My real question is this;
What should I do from here on out?
I obviously need to get her out for more exercise and socialisation. But when it comes to letting her off lead to run and there are other dogs about.....
I don't want her doing this again to another dog. What steps should I take from here?

Why not muzzle her? Use a basket muzzle so she will be comfortable, then use it when she`s likely to come across other dogs.
And work on your recall and control, and socialise her in controlled conditions. This is all pretty basic stuff. Yes you are making excuses for her. Yes it will happen again if you don`t do something about it. On a brighter note, it is fixable.

I would try not taking a ball for her. Dogs can get hyped up from ball chasing and I have noticed that whenever my Mum's BC chases a ball she will do something silly like run off or roll in poo straight afterwards. Ellie used to become dog aggressive after ball chasing. It can trigger too much adrenaline.

So sorry this happened with your Wills. The answer is up to you really though isn't it. You either treat her as a dog aggressive dog, one which you can't 100% trust with other dogs, so she only gets let off the lead when there are NO Other dogs about, OR you carry on as you are taking a gamble with every dog that walks past?

I had a gsd who was dog aggressive, some dogs she was ok with others she would attack, so I treated her as a dog aggressive dog and only took her places where I knew there would be no other dogs about, or when there would be none about. Quite simple really, you just have to deal with what you have, but I honestly wouldn't have wanted to "gamble" with my dog after I had seen her doing damage to another dog, but that never really got to happen thank goodness.

All the best, this must have really upset you I'm sure.

if you have a dog with a tendancy to aggression, you need to keep its arousal levels low.
which means avoiding any exciting triggers such as ball throwing at the time or location they are likely to aggress.

i would try a long horse lunge line and get a one to one with a behaviourist

i would say get a long line and when playing use that that way you have control over her still and can real her in when you see a prob only treat when carm and doing as asked. No one wants to keep there on a lead all the time but with a long line she still gets some freedom but you are in control of far and when she can go hun.

I am sorry this happened i am sure thou you will work hard and it will work out, let us now how you go . hugs to you. xx

All sorts f reasons dogs can agress like this, there may have been something with the other dog that you didn't pick up on, or see, a growl or a challenge. It could have just been the ball and some fear... It could be a one off... Pharoah attacked another dog once when he was younger... but the moment passed, then he was fine again, he just felt intimidated and needed to prove a point... I don't know what sparked it then, but probably a dominance challenge . He has seen the same dog since and never attacked again.

I walked him with a basket muzzle for a while with a tassle on it from a Greyhound shop, told people it was to give the bunnies a chance... He never showed any more signs of aggression and gradually we were able to lose the muzzle.

Just to add, haven't we recently been discussing the new laws they might be bringing in with the current DDA?? I seem to remember it states in there something about any dog showing aggression to ANOTHER DOG, so it might well be worth looking up on this too, just in case, because if this ever happened again, and this new addition to the law became enforced, then you could find yourself in big trouble? All the best with her anyway, I hope you find a solution.

Have to echo what Helen said..

You have two choices, either take the opinion ALL dogs may be the one she is going to take a dislike for , or gamble.

But the more you gamble and the more she attacks, the more she will do it.

Better to invest in a long line/flexi lead, where you can keep her on, but allow some freedom , reeling her in when she sees other dogs.

It may also be a good idea to work on the watch me command.. to take her focus of other dogs.

Don't beat yourself up, these things happen, the important thing it to try and not let it happen again.

For those of who have dog aggressive dogs, it becomes second nature, yes they cant have the freedom other can have, but we adapt, and deal with what you have in the best way possible.

It is the only responsible thing to do... forget today.. think of tomorrow and how you are going to avoid it happening again.

Sorry to hear that
It might well be a one off - but of course you cant trust that just now
Also, as you have lost your other dog that might have something to do with it
I am noticing on walks when Mia is getting a bit tense Ben runs over and does something goofy to diffuse the situation
mibby your other dog was being a peicemaker?

But there could be 100 reasons why it happend, the other dog may have done something, there might have been too much excitment, fear from the attack, crazy holiday head
who knows
I would just go with working as if she is agressive until you get your trust back

Its horrible, I know, I am trying my best not to tense whenever a strange dog turns up
But its is fixable, and you have the right ideas there, training and socilisation

Hope it was a one off