DOGS

lol I had to keep him on the lead today because the fucker ran off on me twice trying to follow a little springer pal of his that was being kept on the lead due to a leg injury. When the other dog's owner said ffs! can't you keep him on the lead I was in full agreement this time. But at least she was a friendly face and added that when her dog has recovered they'll be both having a runaround together again. From now on I'm going to walk a bit longer to go where there is less chance of bumping into people, it's a bit of a pisser in the ice, mud and freezing cold conditions rn, but I think it will be worth it to avoid the dreaded humans.

the problem is there’s so little else to do. the walkers be walkin. woody is still a puppy so literally every other dog he sees he wants to play with for the rest of his life. going 50 yards can take half an hour.

thing is I'd never complain about an enthusiastic pup running around my dog, even if it is causing mayhem. It's these entitled wankers that yell with attitude about keeping your dog under control that get me on a war footing. Shit if anything I'm always delighted to see daft young pups running around like crazy!

yeah completely agree.

My dog is a big lad for a lab but he is very soft and 100% sociable off the lead, although he likes to act tough on the lead sometimes but it's a show, he will never attack another dog and more often than not he gets bullied by smaller dogs so I don't any reason he can't have a free run in the park.

Only two weeks to go before the whiplet can join the madness!

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EsYlAcDW4AA_3yw?format=jpg&name=large

it was nice to get away for a few days in Greenland last week.

Today's walk saw the return of the Miserable Old Couple Who Hate Dogs, who I haven't seen in ages (and had actually forgotten about). They hate anyone who has multiple dogs and/or loose dogs, so they will deliberately change direction in order to walk up the middle of your pack of dogs and then complain about the dogs "touching off" them. Today they left the path they were on and crossed to the path I was on with my dogs, and as they walked past me, the woman told me that Tess, my Jack Russell, had growled at her. Tess had not growled at her. They really are a miserable bloody pair.

people are so insane

the miserable arsehole quotient in the park has gone off the charts recently and with me not being very good at quietly walking from situations I've stopped going for a while now. Thankfully out further afield the paths are so muddy only fellow wandering weirdos seem to venture out that far and the few times I've stopped for a brief chat the main topic of conversation has invariably been: isn't the park full of miserable entitled dog-hating wankers these days.

there is an entire anti-dog subreddit, it is absolutely bizarre

I was thinking some of these people are so quick to mouth off and it often seems a like well practised routine they are going through, that they must have some kind of miserable arsehole group chat thing going on.

Sad story in the NY Times a few days ago about an unleashed dog in the Catskills that attacked another dog and had to be put down:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/26/well/family/dog-attack.html

sad story but really going in on "dogs should be leashed" when the story is about a clearly dangerous dog that was just left outside unsupervised in an unfenced yard as far as i can tell from the story?

Clearly there were other issues going on with the dog. It's sad though that dogs can be all sweetness and love with their families but turn into deranged killers with other strange dogs.

my dog's approach to other strange dogs is so nervously cautious and longwinded and polite. Some dogs are violent but when you have one that has never attacked another dog in it's entire life - you do feel it's worth putting some trust in them.

the one's he knows - then he just happily bounds up to them and runs around with them for a few minutes.

I wouldn't even bother getting a dog if my intention was either to keep it the lead all the time or like my arsehole neighbour - keep the poor boy in a cage.

I was terrified of dogs as a teenager because I was chased by one every other day as I walked to / from school across some fields. Now I have had my own dog I don't feel at all like this, but still think the farmers whose dogs chased me in the 90s were at best inconsiderate pricks.

I got savaged by a farm Alsatian when I about 6 years old in Ireland. It left scars on my hand and chest for years. I just happened to be walking past it when it was eating a scrap of bread and the fucker just went for me. My da's reaction was apologetic to the owner - because it must have been my fault and I never even got a fucking TB jab! That was one from the memory bank I used as additional justification not to go the cunt's funeral!

when I was a kid in the late 70's - early 80's there were a lot of feral dogs about. My mum used to carry biscuits in her pocket going off to work as a please don't kill me offering to them so she could make it to the bus stop!

I've been bitten by a few dogs, one that I loved and knew me well and just got to aggro when we were playing.

Even though that article in the Times contains a caveat at the end, it will inevitably lead to more anti-pitbull sentiment, and for that reason alone, I say fuck that article.

No one ever mentions the breed when it isn't a pitbull-type dog, and the reasons behind that are classed and raced, afaict, and I'm not having it.

The first Google results of articles about dog breed attacks in the US also utilize erroneous and falsely-construed statistics from an anti-pitbull propaganda site.

I'm not making this up.

That times article is fucked.

It’s a horrifying story. I live in a place (London) where dogs are only really leashed on sidewalks and footpaths and the rest of the time they run around. It seems to me that leads to better socialization. The author seems to be implying that all dogs should be leashed... whenever they are outside and might encounter another dog? That seems like a recipe for really poorly socialized dogs who are MORE prone to unexpected behaviour? Anyway I was shocked that the author casually mentions her brother actually KICKED the problem dog the first time he met him?! Because the dog “came at” hers. I dunno them whole story is a little weird. After this attack that has left her dog covered in blood the pit bull’s owner just.. brings the pit bull back inside? Everybody goes home? No conversation about insurance? Anyway I guess I’m biased because I love letting my spaniel run around off the lead but the idea that you can live in a cabin in the Adirondacks with your dog and need to keep him on a lead at all times feels absolutely mental.

when a dog is on the leash they develop an on the leash psychology are way more likely to bark or act aggressive at other dogs, off the lead is the only way they learn to socialise. Mine likes to occasionally act tough when he's on the lead but is much more cautious and friendly off it.

Where I live the only place where dogs are allowed to go off-leash is in a dog run. Not sure if they have those in London. It's just a fenced-in area inside a park for the purpose of dog owners bringing their dogs there and letting them off the leash. Outside of that, it's fairly rare to see a dog off a leash. Some people do let their dogs off the leash in other park areas, usually to play catch or something like that. There are also a few particular dogs who I sometimes see walking without a leash. One of them is a three-legged dog, I've seen numerous times with his owner. But those dogs always seem very well behaved and not at all threatening. It doesn't personally bother me, and I imagine people know their own dogs well enough to make the call. Where I live is a very dense urban environment though, where sidewalks are often narrow, congested and near busy streets with lots of traffic, so I imagine most people would want the extra control of a leash in any case. I think for most dogs who've been raised from puppyhood in an urban environment like this, who are used to meeting lots of strange dogs on the street, and who have probably almost never been in a serious dog fight, this is not at all unusual and the chances of anything more happening than the occasional heated exchange of barks and growls at the dog run are extremely low. For dogs raised in a rural environment or for dogs who spent some of their formative years as strays, who maybe have never worn a leash, who are naturally wary of any strange dog, I think this could be a very strange and threatening environment, and chances of a mishap are much higher. But people who adopt rescues kind of know what they signed up for.

You would hope, but it's often not the case. Some rescues are so keen to get the dogs off their books that they will give them into unsuitable homes, causing trouble for everyone. But that's one good thing about COVID: there are more people looking for dogs than there are dogs, so rescues can be a bit choosier.

There's a guy who lives near me who has a Malinois (Belgian shepherd) dog, the ones that are definitely the dog of choice these days for people who want to prove they can own a potentially dangerous dog. He did all the things you do with a dog like that when you want it to be antisocial: wouldn't ever let it near anyone while out walking it as a puppy, and shouted at it if it ever tried to interact with another dog. Now the dog is a young adult, and he walks it on crowded narrow pavements between his house and the beach by cycling on the path and letting the dog run behind him off-lead. Every time it stops to sniff something or somebody, he roars at it until it follows him again. One of these days it's going to run into the road to avoid someone coming out of their driveway, or another dog barking at it, and it's going to get hit by a car. And then he'll just get another one, because he's the kind of guy who only cares what his dog says about him, not what's best for his dog.

:/

my uncle had a belgian malinois named fiona but he lived way out in the middle of absolutely nowhere. apparently they are very loyal and their instinct is to protect their owner. he let it run around in the woods in his property and we asked him one time if he was ever worried it would just run off and he laughed and shook his head, like, that's the last thing in the world that would ever happen. he couldn't get the dog to ever leave him alone. but yeah they are huge and anybody who ever came close to my uncle would get some aggressive vibes from fiona (her name) until he told her to calm down. my kids lived in fear of fiona. and this was a very normal, socialized dog. can't even imagine what one who hadn't been treated well would act.

I should say, the dog is fine. I don't think he beats it or anything. Its attitude when following him is very much "I'd love to stay and chat to you, but I have to follow this clown around to make sure he doesn't hurt himself."

We took home this buddy last week. Though he needs some training, he is a very good little guy (8 months) and gets along famously with out 8 year old American Staffordshire very well— she's happier (and more tired) than she's been since we lived in the woods.

His name is Wiz Wit'.

https://i.imgur.com/5EvxZQB.jpg

good lord that’s an adorable photo.

beautiful dog!

He's much more photogenic than our girl, who seems to hate having her photo taken.

He's a beautiful dog. I bet he's delighted to be in your house.

He is! He was in foster, and previously was in an abusive situation where some asshole was obviously very mean to him— he has some shy/fearful behaviors that don't really manifest in "bad behavior," but things that are kind of odd. We'll be getting him used to a home where he'll be loved and spoiled properly, and it already seems to be coming along.

Luckily, like our girl, he loves other dogs and loves people, which is a real relief— we attempted to adopt a pup last summer, and neither the fosters nor the shelter informed us that by "anxious" they meant "this dog lunges at random people for no reason." It...did not work out.

Our dog has done the random lunge thing a few times, which is disconcerting, but we've worked with a trainer with him and it's gotten in much better control. For one thing we started giving him some anti-anxiety supplements, we also have some prescription anti-anxiety medication in reserve, but the supplements seem to be enough. We've also learned to be more alert to the things that set him off and to anticipate when something or someone is approaching that is likely to set him off, to be able to recognize when he's about to react, and to try to train him with positive reinforcement to look at us and acknowledge the presence of the anxiety-causing stimulus without reacting. It's a slow, gradual process, but he's on the right track.

o.nate, this was at our elderly neighbor, at random people on the street, at a park ranger, trying to jump out of the car to attack the young woman handing me food in a drive-thru window. and this was when he was *on* prescription meds, and a high dose! he needed training and help that we weren't prepared to provide, because neither the fosters nor the shelter informed us that "occasional stranger danger and protectiveness" meant "wants to kill everything he sees." he got along great with us and with our other dog, but we live in a city— he would have been an excellent farm dog.

i should say, the fosters took him back and got the shelter to begin paying for training.

and he is still up for adoption...though i think it might be a case of foster fail

That's definitely a tough one to deal with in a city. It sounds like you made the right call. We live in a fairly dense city as well, so we have to be careful. He barked at an elderly guy the other night, because the sidewalk was slippery from snow and this tall elderly fellow was lumbering stiffly, doing his best Lon Chaney impression, which to be fair did look a bit creepy, and my dog started barking and pulling towards this guy. Luckily I had already started pulling him in the opposite direction when I saw this guy coming, because I suspected it would be trouble.

my brother-in-law's mother-in-law has a dog that is going to get in trouble some day. she doesn't work and he's never left alone, she walks him plenty, she takes him to training etc. but he is beyond anxious and protective of his owner and has too much aggression and im worried he will one day bite a kid or a small dog and have to be put-down. he's a doodle so im not really worried about what he will do with an adult - although it could get him trouble - but he has for instance bit me for no reason (i was leaving an apartment he was in and he assumed i was coming in and forgot he knew me (despite me walking past him towards the door?) and would've pierced skin if i weren't wearing a heavy jacket

Ooof. The only times I've been bitten were when I was rough-housing with a pup and when I surprised a pup. Both times nothing major, and both times slightly deserved on my part.

Though the latter was a dog named Queenie, who belonged to a guy named Ray who lived in his van next to the truck that we lived in. We got along great with Ray, and Queenie and I got along, but Ray had spent a decent amount of time in Santa Rita Prison, and he definitely had to *train* that dog to like us rather than want to kill us.

<3 keeping up with this thread, even the trials/tribulations, as it's as close as I'm going to be able to get having my own for the time being.

I have the opposite problem to some of you, in that I have ended up with a toy dog more or less by accident. Last week he went off his food and strongly hinted that he was terribly ill, so ill, mammy, I think I might be dying, mammy.
He screamed and ran away from a piece of carrot and he would not eat his walk treats for a couple of days. So he's just back from having tests and a full dental at the vets because I thought all the lepping about the living room and wiping his muzzle on the floor and screaming at his food might mean a broken tooth. €200. There's nothing wrong with him. He's just a prick.

lol! some dogs are just proper dickheads.

I saw a video of a dog that was limping so was taken for an expensive x-ray at the vets which showed there was absolutely nothing wrong, it turned out because the owner was on crutches at this time the dog was putting on a solidarity limp!

Just had a weird and somewhat upsetting reaction while out walking the dogs. I saw an older woman on the sidewalk walking toward me with a tiny Yorkie. I walked my dogs out into the street because no cars were coming, and then once I passed her, I went back onto the sidewalk. She then decided to stop, and my younger dog got a little aggro because he wanted to play— I had him under control, though, and there was no chance he was getting near this woman's dog.

She proceeded to start yelling at me to control my dog, then yelling about how her dog had already been bitten by a larger dog, and then how "all these people" have big dogs and don't know how to control them. She kept repeating "control your dog" to me, and so I just sort of stopped and looked at her as she was ranting at me. I then said, "I have him under control, ma'am, as you can see," and then a young man watching this whole scene said to me, "Hey man, stay calm," at which point I said, "I am calm, she came for me!" and then proceeded to walk on, saying a few select curses under my breath.

Am I right to say that this is weird behavior? I legit don't understand why she was so aggressive toward me.

I've dealt with quite a few like that, it's almost a well rehearsed routine they are just dying to use on someone. Things have been better since I stopped going into the park to avoid arseholes like that. And going a bit more off the beaten track you tend to bump into a more chilled set of dog walkers (with them off the lead) and we've had a few conversation about how the park has been taken over by lots of miserable arseholes and it's currently a no-go zone.