This is mainly a letting off steam post   

OH is off work today and took our troop for an early walk to their usual place.
He encountered a dog walker that we know, she has 9 dogs, a combination of Greyhounds and Lurchers. She doesn't usually walk her dogs in the area that OH was.

One of her dogs took great interest in my 3 Sheltie girls and took to chasing the 18 month old, it chased her the length of the field which is up to 4 football pitch lengths, speed for speed it would have caught her and it was only my girls ability to turn on a sixpence and zig-zag up the field that kept her out of harms way.

It chased her out of the field and to the area where dog walkers park their cars.

Eventually it returned to it's owner, by the time OH got back to our van he could not find her, he got my other
dogs into the van and after about 5mins my girl appeared from underneath the van, she jumped into it like greased lightening whereas she's normally reluctant to get on board.

He's just rung me and tells me that she hasn't moved from her bed and refuses to come out into the garden plus she piddled in the kitchen and she hasn't done that since about 5 months old.
So I'm not a happy bunny :(

poor girl, she must of been frightened.
do you think she may of pulled something or she is just shook up after the experience?
i take it this person doesn't have much control over her dogs then.

oh dear the poor baby, you were lucky she returned and didnt run and hide .

its going to be baby steps to build up her confidence and short introductions to other dogs ...

good luck

roni

Pinky,

If she was walking all nine dogs at once, then, as you know it is not only highly irresponsible but illegal. It's hard for all us dog people to keep a check on the ways our dogs interact with others, but I'd bet this isn't the first time her dog has chased a smaller dog. I think the woman needs to be advised that she should keep said dog on a long lead unless well clear of other dogs. You'd be within your rights to insist it was muzzled.

None of this helps your poor girl. She's had a bad fright and is very upset and obviously in shock. I wouldn't fuss her or take too much notice though because you want her to feel that the world has not actually come to an end. Give her a few days to settle down and try to take her out on short walks, first in the garden and then out the front door, and keep everything upbeat and positive, use very high value treats etc.. to refocus her. Without being obvious just watch for tiny signs of anxiety and then head home again if she starts looking edgy. The piddling could be fear or, more likely, that she feels too scared to go out to wee. You could try going back to puppy basics with her for a few days, taking her out for wees and so on and see if it helps kick starts her confidence. She's had a shock, she's lost her confidence, so you'll need to jolly her along and rebuild it, but be matter of fact, not too fussy with her.

If she doesn't settle within a few weeks you may have to get some professional advice. I wouldn't go back to the field she got chased in with her. I'd be concerned that she'd get herself into a blind panic again, because of the association with last time. So I'd give that area a miss for a while and make sure that wretched woman keeps her dogs under control in future.

Oh dear, pinky i was so sad to read this. Your poor OH must be in shock too.
It really angers me that one irresponsible owner can ruin months and even years of careful owners hard work with their dogs.  It may be worth avoiding that area for a while and spreading the word to other (responsible) owners about this lady taking on the ridiculous task of trying to walk 9 dogs. Thankfully your girl is back with you; had the dog been chased into the path of a car the outcome could have been far worse. As others have said i think taking time to build her confidence will help.Keep your chin up.

We've watched her this evening without making it too obvious, she seems ok in the house but is perhaps a little more clingy to my other young Sheltie girl of 17 months. She ate her tea but won't come out up to the garden for her after tea widdle.

I think when it comes to the last wee of the evening I'm going to put her on her lead and 'take' her up the garden armed with cheese, my black-mailing favourite.

The lady with the 9 dogs is actually very good with dogs in general, her's are all rescue ex-racing ones, the one that did the chasing is a recent arrival,  maybe on this occasion though it would have been better if she'd had him on a lead,  she was very apologetic OH tells me and helped in looking for my young one.

I must admit I did not realise that it was illegal to walk 9 dogs as mentioned.

The reason we generally pick this particular area to walk our dogs loose is that as a rule this lady does not use this area, when we walk our dogs in the area that she uses we have them on lead as it is when our dogs are having 'lessons', I must say I've never seen her dogs on lead having lessons maybe she should think of that when taking out her new arrivals.

I'm hoping that my girl will not take too long to get over the shock, Shelties can sometimes be a little reserved, mine are generally brave little girls so hopefully this will help her get over it. 

> I'm hoping that my girl will not take too long to get over the shock

I hope so too. Shelties are usually gentle souls (all my family's have been), and your poor girl must have been very frightened. Good luck with her, I'm sure she will recover in time.

If this lady already has a history of rescuing dogs then she really should have used a common sense approach to dealing with her latest one. To me, i would have done a few walks alone with the new dog to see how he/she responds to different situations and in no way at all be contemplating letting an ex-racing dog off the lead a)when other people/dogs are around and b)when i dont know the dog well enough to gauge how it would react. Sorry but just my opinion.
How is your girl today?

> i would have done a few walks alone with the new dog to see how he/she responds to different situations

Me too, but she just lumps the new one in with 'the pack' lets them find their own 'order' (her words) and walks loose from day one, she reckons it works best like that for her, oh and I thought she had 9, it's 10 actually.

My girl seems OK, I took her out for her last wee on the lead last night, she was keen to go out this morn for the first wee of the day although she stayed by my side which is not usual, OH has taken all of the dogs walking today. He went to a different place where the 'dog lady' never goes, and all went fine.

So I think she'll be OK, how she will re-act should she see the 'dog lady' and her troop again we shall see.

Oh Pinky  - I was horrified ro read this.  I don't think anyone can walk 9 dogs at once, she should have some assistance.  We have lots of dog walkers using the local moor (as I do) but there are always several helpers,  One person cannot control 9 dogs.

As a fellow sheltie owner (I have  Isla now 15 months) I can truly sympathise.  Isla gets herself into risky situations when off the lead.  She is not in the least reserved as are some shelties but assumes everyone loves her!  Hence when some huge great dog takes an interest she is all for it and is often turned over a fiew times before I can get to her.  Fortuantely nothing nasty has happened - but she  doesn't help herself as she loves to play and like yours can turn on a sixpence and can run like the wind.  Like you I would be devastated if her wonderful confidence was dented.

I do hope your little one will regain her confidence - I am sure she will but do make sure you don't walk in the same vicinity as the 9 dog lady again.

I am sending fellow sheltie hugs from little Isla.

Snowflake