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Hey! I have a nearly 9 month old chocolate Labrador boy and he is friendly and so good around around other dogs and has never shown any signs of aggression to another dog or person. He loves running around the local dog park fetching his toys however whenever he spots another dog or person he just stops listening and goes bounding up to the dog/person to say hello. I am quite lucky that the majority of dog owners and dogs we meet at the park are friendly and the dogs enjoy playing with him. However, recently we encountered a lady with a Border Collie (who was also off lead) and she threw the ball a few yards away from Bernie who immediately ran to pick it up. As I went to him to take the ball away the Border Collie immediately began snapping and snarling at Bernie who instantly dropped the ball and cowered behind me. The owner made no effort to stop her dog from being aggressive and just walked away giving me abuse. We actually seen her again in the dog park the following night and leashed Bernie immediately (the first time as I said, the ball was thrown in front of us I didn't even see the lady or dog coming) but she actually started walking over to us with the dog who was off lead which I thought was just asking for trouble!! Anyways, I totally understand and am working on his recall training but should dogs displaying agressive manners really be off their leads in a dog park?? Any advice with recall training would also be much appreciated!
Hi, it may have been just a territorial bark because of his ball? We meet in the woods daily a man and his Westie,both dog's sniff each other and just pass no problem. If however, we meet as they come out their gate directly into the woods the Westie will snarl and bark and lunge making my boy bark back. We both after being puzzled by this behaviour agree it's just territory barking.
Some people hated our labrador bounding up to them as a puppy to say hello! I must admit I dislike the park to walk my boy,owners get obsessive about their dogs toys if another dog runs off with it. Some people even if I advise them "please don't throw the ball let me pass first as my boy can be a ball thief (doesn't want his own ball just occasionally other people's) ignore me throw the ball and if my boy gets to ball first get abusive! It's become a nightmare to try to walk between flying balls, people who just ignore their dogs,no park for me.
By Jodi
Date 24.09.15 09:36 UTC
Upvotes 2
Turn the tables a bit.
Many dogs only show any sign of aggression if they are confronted by a rude young pup who goes on to Nick the ball. Collies can be very single minded and was probably upset that his ball had been stolen. On the other hand, the women was a bit daft throwing the ball towards your dog if she knew her dog would be upset if his ball was picked up by another dog.
9 months is the sort of age most young dogs suddenly become over confident and can get themselves into serious trouble if allowed to run up to any old dog they spot. You seem to be aware of this, but you must really work on his recall now before he learns he can ignore you. If necessary keep him on a long lead so that you have ultimate control and can make him come back to you. This is just a phase that young dogs go through, but if you dont work hard on recall now and prevent him from doing what he wants, you may well end up with a dog that always ignores you and only comes back when he wants to.
You seem to be in an area where a free running dog who is out of control, is tolerated, but spare a thought for those with elderly, infirm or scared dogs that may find your young dogs over friendly scary or intimidating.
It's a common problem the world over, bouncy young friendly dog with poor recall and well behaved but maybe grumpy older dog - who is right? Depending on what type of dog the poster has will depend on the answer you get
I have sensitive sighthounds, they are very well behaved, they like to play with other dogs but only if the other dog isn't OTT, so they voluntarily come back to me when they see another dog approaching until they know it's safe. It makes for easy walks for me and personally I don't mind any dog we meet apart from aggressive dogs which in my opinion should always be muzzled. Grumpy dogs are ignored, boisterous dogs are avoided.
I think in your post there is room for understanding on both sides, you need to continue working on your boys recall and the other owner needs to be more thoughtful about when and where they fling their ball. Parks should be enjoyable for all and that requires some give and take, something the collie owner was clearly missing!
As for advice with recall training it takes time, high value treats (cheese, dried liver, chicken) and lots of praise.
Yeah I totally understand the territorial behaviour over his toy, if the lady had given me a chance I would have apologised but never mind. When talking to a few dog owners who normally walk round the park, they all seem to have had issues with that Collie in particular. Anyways, whenever I see them now I will be putting Bernie onto his leash to make sure it does not happen again. Normally my partner and I both walk him around the dog park so we can scope out the area to make sure that we can avoid Bernie being rude and running up to people/dogs unless we know they are friendly towards him but that night it was just me. Hoping to find a space in a training class ASAP to get some help with recall but in the meantime I think I will buy one of those training extendable leads :) I don't know if he is just going through a certain age right now where nothing seems to work, but we have used food and toys to try and tempt him back... just whenever he sees another dog or person his focus is 100% on them
By chaumsong
Date 24.09.15 10:17 UTC
Upvotes 2
He's at the 'kevin stage', it requires more work but he will get there. Here's what I do with teenage dogs..
1st try not to call him unless you think there is a good chance he will come back, otherwise your dog just gets used to your voice as background noise.
2nd call when there are no distractions and make a huge fuss of him, give really good treats - not shop bought but something really yummy that he only gets when out walking.
3rd make yourselves more fun to be around, play with him, dance around with him, play tuggy and fetch, use a high excited tone.
4th if he has his eye on something in the distance (person or dog) and you just know he's going to run over then you need to be faster, you turn and run the other way. There's always a second or two when the dog looks and thinks 'oh a friend, I'm going to go and see them' use that time to distract him.
5th never ever use a stern voice when calling him, no matter how annoyed you are, always praise when he comes back even if it's a late return.
6th practice lots in safe places like the garden or a fenced field
7th when out for a walk and he returns of his own accord always treat and praise (just at this stage, you can phase it out over time).
If your boy is entire and the other dog was male then his behaviour is quite understandable.
Adolescent males have five times the amount of circulating testosterone and this can be a red flag to other males, and they will feel the need to reprimand/put in their place young males.
Your best course is to minimise interactions with other males in the meantime, keeping most interactions with known canine friends, and bitches 9who will also tell him off if he gets fruity rude, but he will accept that) and work on the recall.
By Nikita ![[gb]](/images/flags/gb.png "United Kingdom")
Date 24.09.15 11:16 UTC
Upvotes 3
Sorry anyone if it's already been said, but please do not let your dog run up to dogs just because you know they are friendly - he should not run up to ANY dog without permission from you, because he may then think he can run up to any dog. I would pop him on lead as soon as you see any dog, let him spot them then wait for him to look at you (he should do eventually because he'll wonder why he's not getting any closer to them - move back a bit if you need to until he does), reward him heavily for looking at you and then, and only then, if the other dog is known to you and friendly, allow him to go and say hello.
he should not run up to ANY dog without permission from you,
As above but added, you should be able to do that at 9 months if you had effectively OB trained him, you also need to be aware that these days there are plenty dogs around which would simply kill him.
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By saxonjus
Date 24.09.15 20:51 UTC
Upvotes 1
Think advising "would kill him" a little OTT! A few neanderthal 's walking round with prized fighting dogs true however it's a rare occurrence in parks. Most of neanderthal 's keep to walking strut show style patrolling streets.
By JeanSW
Date 24.09.15 21:00 UTC
> 5th never ever use a stern voice when calling him, no matter how annoyed you are, always praise when he comes back even if it's a late return.
Can I just add to that - if you can jump up and down like a loon with the most excited voice you can muster - you should be getting there.
"would kill him" a little OTT!
It's not OTT at all in some areas - it's rife in some areas & unknown in others, as no one here gives any idea of where they are in the countries of UK ( I have occasionaly) it's an essential comment to put in a post such as this, to many folks silent or in denial on the subject.
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It's an over exaggerated point you made. Like all forums replies can vary from poster to poster and we all can read the same post yet think differently about it. I have yet to see in the leafy park a prized neanderthal exercising a posse of "kill" dogs. A lot of the fighting people/dogs do their utmost to hide their activities to not tweak the interest of the police.
You may get a bad tempered owner with poorly behaved or even a frightened beaten dog "turn" against another dog/person however to "kill?" Rarely not common.
By Admin (Administrator)
Date 25.09.15 10:31 UTC
Upvotes 1
Facebook Replies:
Christian Legrand says: That's interesting, we have a black lab and he was on the beach playing away, he went over to say hello to a collie and basically got mauled, I had to separate them but even after he was whimpering and crying, it was awful and the owner couldn't have cared less, I got a limp 'sorry' and that was it. I don't want to tag the entire breed as troublesome but it's interesting that you had a similar experience, our dog is so sweet and naïve bless him that he didn't know what he was walking into, as a consequence he's warier of some dogs now if they're initially hostile.
Jules Magee Burton says: Just because your dog is friendly, you need to be in full control of him.
As previously owning a rescue dog who through fear would have reacted Massively at other dogs, it's really not fair to put your own dog in that position. (Or risk another dog getting pts through reacting)
People always thought they knew better than me! Oh he's friendly etc .., but mine wasn't! And wanted to kill any dog that pestered him! frown emoticon he was fully under my control, but it was Very hard when others thought they knew him Better!! I was trying to exercise my loony dog (he couldn't help it :-p) if people kept their own dogs controlled dog walks would be soooooo much nicer.
I would recommend training classes so you can trust your own dog 100%
Teach your dog to check with you before greeting others.
Often owners reactions can cause unnatural responses from dogs.
Wary is better than getting hurt smile emoticon
Ps there's lots of irresponsible idiots in every breed
By Jodi
Date 25.09.15 10:44 UTC
My last dog was aggressive due to fear. She seemed not to be able to read other dogs intentions very well and assumed the approaching dog was coming to attack her and reacted accordingly. Pups and young dogs were a real problem for her as their bouncy antics and wanting to leap all over her were interpreted as an attack. I felt awful when she flattened some poor unsuspecting pup, and spent all my time looking for lonely places so my poor dog could enjoy a walk unmolested.
You do need to see things from both sides of the coin really.
Just a note to add in... we went to the park last night and tried the suggestions of tasty treats, acting like a loon to get his attention and it worked. We then seen the owner and collie enter the park and immediately sat him down with a lead on (we were in the middle of the field) the woman proceeded to come over with her dog unleashed and walked in a square around us sitting in the middle... it is like she is trying to further aggrevate the situation!! Bernie was kept in control till they went away... they went straight home after walking around us, she was in the park all for 5 mins. but anyways, just have to stick at recall training with him!
Good he came to you. My boy does come back 99.99% if too many flying balls going past him that one tiny % he will shoot off for the ball. It's the reason why I stopped using the park. Once I got onto park at least 5 owners all throwing balls so walking became a high on alert for any run after ball. Even if I past and politely said" could you just let us pass before throwing the ball" it would be ignored and if he took the ball then irate owner shou ting abuse. I know some dogs are ball dominated however it's a bit difficult trying to walk through park.
By Jodi
Date 25.09.15 12:13 UTC
Nowt so queer as folk is there, what a strange women, it does look as if she is trying to provoke your dog or you into some kind of argument. Is there a dog warden in your area? It may be worth having a chat with them especially as other people are having problems with her too
By Sybil
Date 25.09.15 20:42 UTC
But not all keep to patrolling the streets. I posted recently about my JRT being attacked by a Staffie and it was a terrifying experience (in an affluent part of Oxford, in a field where I had walked nearly every days for years).
A couple of years previous to that he had a similar experience with a different Staffie (off lead, but muzzled) in another lovely part of Oxford. The dog bit it's own tongue in the frenzy, but I believe would have killed my dog if it hadn't been muzzled. The owner simply said it didn't like JRTs and that it had been attacked by one previously. He has also made other excuses to other owners. Thank god now he keeps it on a lead.
Yesterday, neanderthal looking type on bike, with Staffie running towards us in distance......friend and I pick up my 2 and walk over thistly ground to move out of way... they go past us and over the bridge. Coast clear, we carry on, only to be confronted with the guy riding back and Staffie running towards my dogs and proceeds to stand there in front of them like it was guarding them. My legs turn to jelly and luckily guy calls dog back and puts on a lead and informs my friend who went to speak with him that it has only attacked twice (apparently once after a dog attacked his first). I'm reluctant to speak my mind to people who own these types of dogs (even though he seemed a really friendly and apologetic guy...albeit stupid) as you don't know what response you may get.
Could you try speaking to this woman without your dog present and arrange a time whereby you miss each other?
If you do get a line for him be careful with flexible leads they can be dangerous i prefer a long line like used with horses and watch he doesn't run fast to the end if it and hurt himself
By Jodi
Date 26.09.15 08:41 UTC
Whatever you choose to use, flexi or a long line, don't use attached to a collar, much better to use a harness and never use on a head collar.
good point that I missed saying. one of mine needs to be on a line and thank god she is harnessed at least I can safely slow and manage her when she runs
When my girl was like that I found a squeaker out of a toy worked wonders. Also running in the oppersit direction making high pitched noises. She would forget all about going to see the other dog and come running after me.
Mine doesn't like to share her ball so I make sure I only take it out to the field at odd times when I know none of the usual walkers are likely there to advoid any upsets.
By G.Rets
Date 27.09.15 18:25 UTC
I fail to understand why loonies will hurl balls from those launcher things. In my opinion they ought to be banned. When my dog had cruciate problems, the first thing the vet asked was if I threw balls for her. The spin that the dog does at speed when chasing after a ball is a disaster waiting to happen to the joints. I don't as I like to see my dogs enjoying and exploring their surroundings, not focussing on nothing but a ball. Ball launchers enable the lazy to walk less far I guess. Sitting back and waiting for the fall-out now!
Agree. But I have dogs that wouldn't dream of chasing a ball.
@hurl balls from those launcher things@
They seem to have been on an epidemic scale here (W London) for quite a few years, it seems the only thing those dogs ever do in terms of exercise, they just go on without abatement right into old age, heavens knows the amount of physical damage done with them on top of which they have created what humans define as a 'chronic addiction', withdraw the ball & thrower & the dogs would almost certainly be subject to high stress levels.
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>Just a note to add in... we went to the park last night and tried the suggestions of tasty treats, acting like a loon to get his attention and it worked. We then seen the owner and collie enter the park and immediately sat him down with a lead on (we were in the middle of the field) the woman proceeded to come over with her dog unleashed and walked in a square around us sitting in the middle... it is like she is trying to further aggrevate the situation!! Bernie was kept in control till they went away... they went straight home after walking around us, she was in the park all for 5 mins. but anyways, just have to stick at recall training with him!
What a prat, she definitely seems to be trying to aggravate the situation. You'll just have to keep your eyes peeled for her at all times, stupid woman.
> We then seen the owner and collie enter the park and immediately sat him down with a lead on (we were in the middle of the field) the woman proceeded to come over with her dog unleashed and walked in a square around us sitting in the middle... it is like she is trying to further aggrevate the situation!!
I wonder if they are doing some training with him, although they should ask you first and have it on a long lead.
By arched
Date 28.09.15 13:46 UTC
My dog has just turned a year old. His recall isn't 100%, he's not bad but I can't guarantee he'll come back if something becomes more interesting than me. For this reason wherever I go he is on a long lead. He's incredibly friendly and assumes every dog, on or off lead, is as desperate to play as he is! When we meet another dog I always ask the owner first if their dog would like a chase and explain that my boy would love to play. Only when given permission will I let him off lead to run around with them. I just don't think it would be fair for me to let him charge up to every dog, which he would do, simply because I know he's friendly - I certainly wouldn't assume every other dog is. We meet loads of dogs and he has a great time and I find that just asking other owners if their dog would be happy with a youngster bombarding their dog saves a good deal of upset.
Unfortunately I've met too many owners who don't do the same. Only a month ago I was walking him on a lead and we were just heading home. A large labrador came charging over, bowled my boy over and pinned him down and became very aggresive. The person with it gave up trying to recall it when she heard my boy squeal and saw me trying to pull her dog away. She did apologise and I remained calm (no physical damage done) but I did explain that it wasn't right that my young dog should have to put up with that and that actions like that could cause mental scars as much as physical ones. Her reply astonished me......she said that it was the second time her dog had attacked another one and that she thought it was odd because labradors are nice dogs and not aggresive. I simply said that any dog could have issues with others, irrespective of the breed.
By Hethspaw
Date 03.10.15 07:06 UTC
Edited 03.10.15 07:09 UTC
OP@Hey! I have a nearly 9 month old chocolate Labrador boy and
he is friendly and so good around around other dogs and has never shown any signs of aggression to another dog or person.@
HPMy dog had a conflict incident yesterday & this was in an isolated country area where i ever come across people & their dogs, I was running a vid cam on her at the time & caught it, or at least caught enough of it, see vid below, it has 3 vid clips of meetings with strange dogs shot over this past 6 days or so in very different places miles apart from each other - take notice of the male lab in the last one, it made a move on her after normal meeting.
I think the significant element is that these things happen to anyones dog, unexpectedly, at any time, anywhere & as the v short 3 vid clips show in total contrast the vast majority of similar social interactions
at random.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGY6zxDQdVE.
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5th never ever use a stern voice when calling him, no matter how annoyed you are, always praise when he comes back even if it's a late return