My 4 mnth cocker was attacked by an irish wolfhound today!   cant stand the dog it attacked my old cocker a couple of years ago as well.  Luckily he was ok he was on his long lead and when we turned the corner the IWH was on a long lead and they just met quickly they became tangled and it was shaking my pup around.   The owner couldnt control it, i dont know what to do it is a neighbours dog but very aggressive i had £150 vet bill with my old cocker after his encounter with it.  I didnt think they were agressive dogs but it goes to show.  What a day,  my son was screaming and so was little todd.  It is a female too!  Anyway after 10 mins he was obllivious to it and we were all so upset, it was ok in the end but im scared about the next time they might meet.

One thing springs to mind which is to not use a long lead when you are in this sort of situation of not being able to see whats coming. 

Poor little thing, I hope he gets over it ok.

I have to say, the only time my Saint has been attacked it was by an Irish Wolfhound and Alfie was very nervous for a while after that.  I havent been back to that particular walking place since and thankfully, it doesnt seem to have affected Alfie long term.  I hope the same is true for your little one.

Lisa

I think I would be having a chat with the said neighbour to see if they are willing to undergo some training with their IWH. Not a situation that I would tolerate! Not an easy task I appreciate, but if this has happened with you, how many other have encountered this situation.

Yes i would definately speak to the owner if possible, this saddens me to read of 2 iwh attacks, we had an iwh while i was growing up, he lived to 13 years and was the sweetest most good natured dog I have ever met. :(

yeah thats what my hubby said, i was raging today i just came out of my path and it happened so quicky, and i am not in the habit of having him on the long lead in fact it has totally put me off it.  I think it is quite old now but something needs done dont think it gets enough exercise either cant understand people who get big dogs like that and cant be bothered exercising them!

Do you have a local dog warden?   It may be worth talking to them and asking if they can have a word?  These people are more likely to listen to someone loike that ;)  you could also stress how frightened you child was.

Since this is a second attack, on a different dog, you may have good grounds for asking that the IWH is muzzled, unless the owner is prepared to undergo some kind of training.

I would be inclined to report that incident to the dog warden seeing as its the second attack and the owner is not prepared to control the dog properly, why have it on a long lead if it can be aggressive to other dogs, sadly it seems another case of an ignorant owner on the end of a lead  :-(

Hi todd,
I personally  don't have my dogs on long leads on the pavement, only on grass or the park. I am a firm believer that manners and full controll must be on a pavement as people and children also old people walk on it, they may not like dogs, and this has to be respected.
As my hubby has just said it is in there instinct to hunt. it may have thought it was a rabbit being so far from it's owner. I would have a word with her and suggest she keeps her IWH on a short lead in future, as if it happens again she may be facing a large vets bill. It is up to us to protect our little ones as much as we can. I think you will find any authority will say it was 50 50 if your little one was on a long lead.
I do hope it is o.k. and hasn't done lasting damage.

Denese

My daughters old springer was attacked by a jack russell  last year,giving her a bill of over £250 at the vets.The dogwarden said there was nothing he could do as they were both on country footpaths.If they had been   in the street and both on leads he could have interviened.My own cocker had to jump a ditch to get away from an out of control staffy whose owner thought it was very funny and actually encouraged their dog to do it-luckily we had no visable injuries but she now growls at staffy size dogs.

Such a shame, a friend of mine has a few of the Irish and they are fine with other dogs. She never allows them off the lead in case they chase a rabbit or deer and end up getting themselves in a pickle.

If you get on with your neighbour i would see if they will sit down with you and discuss whats happened. If this can be dealt with amicably then i would go this route. If they aren't prepared to listen then i would contact the dog warden regarding this. You went to the vet with you last cocker, did you have to attend the vets this time with the pup for any damage caused? Or was it more a huge scare for everyone?

Gosh I am so sorry to hear about your ordeal, I have owned IWH for 16 years and over those years I have had 4 and I can honestly say in my experience this is out of charecter for the breed. But maybe not for this particular dog.

I personally would approach the owner, as they need to be responsible for theirs dogs behaviour in a public place and as this is the second time its happened its hardly a fluke !!  I know I would prefer for someone to speak to me directly about any problems they had with my dogs as I would hate for them to be a nuisance to anyone.  Also the owner should be responsible for any vet bill you have incurred, I would definately point this out to them they can't keep getting away with it.

Ironically my first IWH was attacked by a Staff as a 6 month old pup and he did not retaliate at all, and apart form making him weary of smaller dogs he never showed any aggression to other dogs.  The 2 girls I have now will squabble over bits and pieces and always want what the other has, but they ceratainly dont attack.  It saddens me when I hear of one attacking, as we all have a soft spot for our own breed.

Having said all of the above I really hope your little Todd has just been shook up and not have any lasting damage as a result of his ordeal.