<p>Here’s my agressive dog story-walking my dog (nice labradoodle–on a leash) and just before I get to the town common, where a woman is sitting on a bench with a dog next to her, her dog jumps out and attacks mine. I try to pull my dog away, but he breaks free from me and then manages to break free from the dog attacking him and runs toward home. I went after my dog and when I got home, I realized he was bleeding and took him to the vet who had to give my dog stitches; the vet reported the attack to the dog officer. Vet said I should call the dog officer to find out if he knew the dog that attacked mine so I could find out if that dog had all his shots. I call the dog officer and he knew the dog who attacked mine. The dog was a rescue dog and the owners worked in the city and were gone 10 hours a day and had several different dog walkers. The day I was walking my dog the rescue dog’s walker was a new person. The other walker had a broken leg because the rescue dog pulled her down a hill. I call the owner-- who tells me the whole story of the rescue dog (the rescue dog did have shots). She never apologizes and when I ask her to reimburse me for the vet bill, she says because this was a rescue dog I should cut her some slack! I ended the conversation right then saying I disagreed and thought she should be responsible for the injuries her dog caused. I have had several people suggest I go to small claims court, but I don’t think it’s worth the time or the effort and it won’t make a difference in the owner’s behavior. I still see the dog with the dog walker and I make a beeline in the opposite direction whenever I do.</p>
<p>I didn’t read the whole thead but will later. We have a (large purebread) dog who turned into a barking mess when a black dog (and owners) started walking through our lane. One night our dog went THROUGH a door at this dog. This dog did not live in our neighborhood at all, we had never seen the dog until that summer and our dog had never exhibited this behavior with any other dog. Of course they called the police, I don’t remember but I think they were pushing a stroller on top of walking their big black dog although my husband flew out the broken door and grabbed our dog and our dog did not have an opportunity to bite the black dog and of course animal control came over and we “told the story” that the dog went through our door (easy to spot as the police came through the broken door). We told the police that there was nothing more we could do to control our dog, that if the dog was going to go through a door, the dog would go through a window etc. etc. We told the officer that the best solution would be for the officer to go back to these people (who had complained) and to tell the people not to walk down our street but to pick a different walk route and that we did not see that as an unreasonable request. The officer agreed and we have not seen those people or their black dog since. I didn’t think our dog needed “training” he was 5 at the time and had never, ever exhibited this type of behavior. Our dog had not bitten anyone or any other animal. Our dog is quite well known to the other people land dogs in the neighborhood and is a big goofy beautiful dog. No problems. This was a case that we would never know the problem…there was something about that black dog that totally upset our dog and our dog hated that black dog. It’s been a couple years and our dog has not since that black dog ever exhibited that behavior.</p>
<p>momofthreeboys…that’s a bizarre and spooky story. I couldn’t believe it if I have not read it here.</p>
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<p>This story is so different…you were lucky your dog did not bite the other dog, the 'baby" or parents.</p>
<p>So did you fix the door?</p>
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<p>I, on the other hand, think it’s a completely unreasonable request. You say there’s nothing else you could do to contain your dog, but obviously, you could crate him, chain him or keep him away from windows. I don’t see how you are entitled to drive law-abiding people away from your public street. What happens the next time a different black dog comes by, and your dog attacks him? It’s not the responsibility of the potential victim of a dog attack to avoid the attack.</p>
<p>Our 10-year old male Brittany gets along with some dogs and not others. We did the invisible fence for him and he ran through it. He behaved perfectly during training for it and he also behaved perfectly for the trainer we had come in to work with him on other behavior. Brilliant animal–you know–just like the kids. However, once he was on his own, all bets were off. You could watch him stalk the fence…He would walk up to where it beeped, pause, and then shoot through it very fast. It was 100 percent effective keeping him out once he ran through. </p>
<p>He now gets to walk on a leash or get tied outside. It really is TOO BAD FOR HIM.</p>
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<p>Cardinal Fang…I think momofthreeboys had a bad day. I still don’t get her story; it is bizarre and strange from all the angles…even the alleged police reaction.
CF…I agree with your statement 100%.</p>
<p>Just asked her if she fixed the door to give her time to clarify.</p>
<p>As I said previously this is the bottom line:
“The keeper of domesticated animals, which include dogs, cats, cattle, sheep, and horses, is strictly liable for the harm they cause only if the keeper had actual knowledge that the animal had the particular trait or propensity that caused the harm. The trait must be a potentially harmful one, and the harm must correspond to the knowledge. In the case of dogs, however, some jurisdictions have enacted statutes that impose absolute liability for dog bites without requiring knowledge of the dog’s viciousness.</p>
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<p>I have to say I agree with you.</p>
<p>If I were the couple whose dog had been charged, I probably would have stayed away-not because I was told to stay away, but because I would be fearful of the dog in question.</p>
<p>While I feel for the dog owners I have been on the other side (trying to pull my dog away from an attacking dog while the owner slowly tried to figure out how to get his dog off mine). Recently a friend who rescues injured/mistreated dogs had one of her dogs killed by a stray dog that came charging into her yard and chomped the little dog in the neck. Since then I bought pepper spray. I’m sure I would get BOTH dogs if I used it, but I won’t hesitate after what happened to my friend.</p>
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<p>Technically – under the law in most states, there is big difference between bite that takes place on the owner’s property, and one that takes place off the property. Dog owners are generally not liable for bites to intruders (even if the intruder happens to a be a friend who doesn’t knock). </p>
<p>I used words like “technically” and “generally” because the laws are slightly different from one place to another, and because there are ways to get around the law to make the owner liable. In your case, “nastiest” dog in history could indicate a dog with “known” vicious tendencies… so of course you are right to be super careful. </p>
<p>In California, a dog owner is strictly liable for a bite that takes place off the property, no matter what. Years ago I represented a 3 year child who was mauled by a dog who had gotten loose and was running in the street, but the owner was a tenant who rented a room in a house, and had no money. The dog owner had also been out of town at the time, leaving the dog in the care of the homeowner. When deposed, the homeowner testified that the dog had a history of getting loose from the yard, despite various measures they had tried. That was enough to establish that the owner of the house, who was merely a “keeper” of the dog, knew of the dogs tendencies, and therefore liable for the damage. (The claim was then covered by the homeowner’s insurance). </p>
<p>But the point is that you may have one “defense” under law, but still be liable in another way. If I were you I’d keep the front door locked & latched, and stick a “beware of dog” sign up. That should at least deter friends from entering without knocking. (Sounds like your dog deserves his own “Beware” sign anyway – I’m sure he would be very proud of himself to have one).</p>
<p>Not to pile on here, but I have to say I agree with Cardinal Fang. I don’t think it’s reasonable to tell other people they shouldn’t walk on your street or that it’s their responsibility to keep themselves / their dog out of your dog’s sight.</p>
<p>My first dog as an adult was aggressive toward other dogs. She was a golden retriever/black lab mix–beautiful, long black curly hair. Lovely with people, and a terror with other dogs. I managed her life from when we got her from the Humane Society at age four until she died of cancer at age 12. It was not a nice experience. The dog never went outside alone, was always on leash; my children were not allowed to walk her. </p>
<p>After she died, I spent a lot of time researching how to prevent such problems. Many dog behavior problems result from poor socialization. During the first four to five months of a dog’s life, it should meet lots of people–from young to old, from cane users to runners to cyclists–and lots of dogs, including black dogs, poodles, boxers, small dogs, etc. It should learn to walk on a variety of surfaces–carpet, linoleum, wood, gravel, grass, pavement, etc. It should hear loud noises, weird noises… the goal is that the dog meets nothing new after the socialization period is over, because it saw everything when it was young.</p>
<p>The differences between a well-socialized dog and a poorly-socialized dog can be huge. The poorly socialized dog can be one that “just doesn’t like men” or “just doesn’t like black dogs”. </p>
<p>There are training techniques to overcome the issues brought about by poor socialization; many behaviorists specialize in those issues. But… prevention is easier than cure.</p>
<p>I can honestly say that Charly was well-socialized as a pup and was exposed to many types of dogs and people. He hasn’t attacked any other black dogs, either. My sister’s rescue Greyhounds have had many more problems- for obvious reasons- but are doing well. They were really afraid of my mother’s wheelchair until they adjusted.</p>
<p>MOWC: I’m glad to hear Charly was well-socialized. It’s hell to live with dogs that aren’t ;)</p>
<p>After seeing how many people on this thread went right to punishment–bypassing a lot of kinder solutions–I was feeling particularly like pontificating on dog training. Thank you for letting me poach. And for the apropos illustration of the poorly socialized greyhounds. (I love greyhounds and have met many lovely ones.)</p>
<p>I wonder if Sid is one of those dog that engages in trash talking… there’s one little dog here in our neighborhood who has the most incredibly aggressive posture–hackles up, on his toes, ears up, tail held very high–and my dogs are just stunned by him. They simply can’t believe that he’d talk to them that way.</p>
<p>Really like the canny collar for control while walking. Check it out.</p>
<p>[The</a> Canny Collar - The Best Collar to Stop Dogs Pulling on the Leash](<a href=“http://www.cannyco.us/]The”>http://www.cannyco.us/)</p>
<p>We rescued our now 5 y.o. GSD about 2 years ago. Two things we did not know about him was that he’s a barker (was quiet for the first month) and he’s an escape artist. While our Golden showed us all of the places she crawled under the fence, our GSD doesn’t bother with going under and just jumps the 5-6’ fence. We’ve built the fence up to make it 7+’ but I’ve come to the realization that he could jump a 10’ fence after seeing him crawl up it once. His reason for jumping the fence is to say hi to the neighbor’s dog or any other passing dog. He’s been friendly but he’ll stand his ground if the other dog is not friendly and he loves to chase if the other dog runs (also likes to be chased). He even once rolled a bear who I’m sure he thought was another dog before he caught up with him (he had a “shocked” expression when he came back).</p>
<p>The whole point of this story is that, as I was told on another forum, the reward our GSD gets on the other side of the fence is greater than any reward we can offer him to keep him from going over. Training may not help as Sid has become your Golden’s mission. Sid moving away will help, but there could be other Sids out there. The key here will be for you to realize what the other Sids are and then restrain your Golden before it gets out of hand. A trainer may be able to help you see the signs, but it’s ultimately up to you to spot them.</p>
<p>In 7 years there has only been one Sid, but I hear you. My husband reminded me that our dog left the yard a few years ago to get to Sid, but it was a friendly visit and we thought they were friends. Perhaps that was when Sid trash-talked, since it hasn’t been the same since. Anyone want a really nice brick house with a (rare in TN) basement in a great neighborhood? Hoping Sid moves soon…
On Halloween my daughter was here to help with trick or treaters. She is not a dog person and associates Charly with the worst behaviors of her brother. However, she was very touched as group after group of tiny little kids came to the door to be greeted by our gentle giant and shrieked with pleasure saying “This is Charly’s house! Mom, here’s Charly!” It was really something.</p>
<p>Nope, completely true story. And yes, that is what we told the officer, we asked him to tell the people to find a different walk. It’s a small town, we “talk” to officers like that. And I think it was a perfectly reasonable request as did the officer. There’s no way in heaven we woudl ‘crate’ the dog just in case some stranger decided to walk down a narrow lane. We were in our house in our neighborhood. They were a long way from their home and they can easily find a different route. When the officer arrived our dog was laying on the floor with his tongue hanging out and a goofy look on his face. Three blocks over is a walking trail complete with doggie doo doo bags , people walk the entire 3 miles trail length then decide they will wander through nearby neighborhoods for a different view. People go by all the time with “strange” dogs and ours has never pitched a fit. There was something about this one. And yes, we replaced the door. Animals are animals, who knows what was going on. Amazing what a fit 80 pound dog can do. The dog is eight so it was three summers ago. It’s interesting that this was a large black dog also that riled up our dog.</p>
<p>^^^ I hope our dogs aren’t profiling!</p>
<p>I one time took my large black dog to an Australian Shepherd match (other breeds were allowed). Every single dog in the place erupted in barking. We were there 3-4 hours and some dogs growled anytime they saw my dog. These were all very trained and obedient dogs. They just didn’t think my dog belong there. I always thought they were jealous of the fact that my dog had a big feathery tail. Dogs have their own world and we are just part of it.</p>
<p>MoWC-- Haven’t read the whole thread, but we also have a gentle giant golden who is massive and an alpha and sweeeeet as can be. Also we have a one year old golden who he gets along with incredibly well.</p>
<p>However, before we got the first golden we had a black lab who he fought with viciously from time to time. It was actually pretty scary, to be honest. I could control him, obviously, and H and the girls, cuz, they were our dogs, but the lab just would not acknowledge the alpha status of the goldne who had like 40- 50 lbs on him. Sad to say, I took him to the vet on a couple of occaisons.</p>
<p>I thought it was a problem with the golden until we got our other puppy. I think Labs may not like goldens, or vice-versa. I could also be entirely wrong, as I am no dog whisperer.</p>