Hi Michael

These things can and do happen, please try not to beat yourself up about it, it is now the past and you will take heed from it xxx
I would be thankfull that it wasn't much, much worse and that the lady was reasonable about it when you tracked her down xxx
And def put him on a lead from car to house and vice versa.

Just wanted to say that I agree with whats been said so far and although he shouldnt have gone over, it may have been he just didnt agree with being growled at 'near/on his turf' as he didnt 'bite' Sounds like youve worked really hard and still will be so try not to feel too bad. No harm came of it and youve sorted things with the owner. Mistakes happen so we can learn.

Try and let go od this and stop replaying it in your head if possible! We all make mistakes and at least you did your best to sort the situation out and make amends.

I think grabbing him may have made him escalate as my male Kerry Blue is a very friendly sociable dog but he feels threatened if grabbed abruptly when near another dog but I don't see what alternative you had.

What a difference a nights sleep makes - I was a bit upset last night (is it o.k. for blokes to say that !), both for Locky, and the other owner. Thanks for the replies, we're over it today.

I don't think I was panicking, I called his name just once, he didn't react, I put the other two "down", and walked deliberately over. He was sniffing at one of the dogs and I thought everything would be allright. Unfortunately (and I'm not in any way trying to absolve myself with what I'm about to say), the other owner was jumping about trying to pull her three away from him. I reached for him, my hand slipped off his collar at about the same time as one of her dogs made a noise (she told me later it was the young male who she herself described as a bit jumpy) -it was at this point that Lock went in and "gripped" him.

If I'd said "good boy" or anything similar, this might have been misinterpreted by the owner as me encourageing Locky to have a go at her dogs - it's a funny world we live in, and some people seem to think I've got three GSD's as some kind of ego extension - although I bought the first from a breeder, I fell for the second one (Locky) when I saw him in the SSPCA centre and couldn't bare to leave him there, and only got the third because I'm such a crap fosterer and couldn't let him go either ! I'd have another rescue if I could afford it.

As this was happening last night, I was thinking to myself "I wish you'd calm down woman -you're going to set the dogs off!"


As I know how many dogs he's met, and how he behaves, I suspect everything would have been ok if the other owner had been calm. I strongly suspect if I'd met her under other circumstances (say I'd had him on-lead) and asked if I could let him meet her dogs, or let him off around her dogs, then everything would have been ok.

We just happened to meet a Golden Retriever this afternoon - I asked the other owner if I could introduce Locky, the owner was fine about it, I introduced him, then let him off lead. Onwards and upwards as they say

Aw, glad he was fine with dogs today and you are feeling a bit better about it

Ir sounds like an Oh B*gger moment to me. We all have them. Those time when our dogs remind us they`re dogs - large carnivores with minds of their own and a totally different value system.
In hindsight you`ll see what you should`ve done - but at the end of the day, no permanent harm was done and the embarrassment wears off. Eventually.
We all learn the hard way sometimes.

Think you did more than many folk would've done and really did your best to make sure all were ok, good for you. Unforseen, unexpected things happen, can't add to what's been said already and glad you feel better today. Often say to myself 'it's a rum do'

I've got nothing more to add really except I'm sorry you had to go through that. It's horrible isn't it?! I would have done the exact same thing.....cruel to be kind and all that. Basically you were only doing what you did to stop an incident getting much worse. You can't blame yourself for that. What you did stopped the other dog from serious injury and therefore saved your dog from a court case.
I'm glad you're feeling better now and it's amazing how forgiving dogs are.

It was an accident, pure and simple, an oh bu££er moment as already said!! Dont beat yourself up. You made amends with the person involved.
Upwards and onwards!!
I bet everyone else has put it down to "one of them things!!"
xx

Who knows the reasons why he reacted like he did, maybe fear, he obviously overreacted to the dog's growl. However you handled the situation well. Punching the dog was the right thing to do under the circumstances. I would never advocate hitting a dog but there are times when we have to ignore our own rules to retrieve a situation. if you had not got the dog to release it could have been nasty.
Maybe you should keep him on a lead for a while.