My 2 yr old (entire) golden retriever keeps getting attacked when we're out walking. He never instigates it & is a gorgeous calm well loved family pet, very well bahaved when we're out & always stays close to me. Other dogs sniff him & then attack him, or some just appear out of nowhere having charged off from their owners & attack him. He always seems bewildered & when they don't stop he'll growl & try & see them off but that's it. I've had goldies for 20yrs now & the same thing used to happen with my last one (also male  - we had him neutered to see if it stopped it & it did to a degree but not completely). To be honest I'm getting really fed up with owners who have aggressive dogs & don't keep them on the lead. In all cases the owners have never been able to control their dog (i.e. get them off mine). I've tried sitting my dog down & holding him til the owners get there but this doesn't stop the other dog & I feel it's unfair to mine as I'm stopping him defending himself. It's all sizes of dogs that go for him & in one case it was 2 flat coated retrievers & the owners were horrified (but still unable to stop them). Can anyone advise me. I'm reluctant to get hold of the other dog in case I'm bitten & when I've shouted at the dog & tried to see them off I get a telling off from their owners. Should I maybe carry a dog whistle & would this stop the other dog mid attack? Any advice REALLY gratefully received thanks.

i would carry a bottle with small stones in it ,then when a dog comes over and starts to get aggresive shake the bottle to frighten the other dogs ways !!and shout NO ,im sorry but i woudnt care if the owner of the other dogs went mad thay should keep them on a lead if there agressive dogs !! good luck helenw and i do feel fore your poor dog x

How about a water pistol. You can squirt unwelcome dogs in the face without punishing your dog. Pet correctors (those spray cans) can work too but my boy is sound sensitive. (he's also a golden) If I used a sound aversive he'd probably be more chastised than the instigator. How about keeping a spare slip lead in your pocket. You can get them on without having to grab the collar - then you could just let your dog go and walk the bad dog back to its bad owner.

As this is the second dog you've had that was frequently attacked I would be tempted to try to see a very good behaviourist just to get their opinion on what is going on. I hope that doesn't offend you - I'm not saying this is in any way your or his fault. It sounds like you're really unlucky and have a lot of nasty dogs around you. But maybe they could advise alternative strategies for you. Just a thought - it's what I would do but then I'm really curious about dog behaviour and know a behaviorist near me that I trust.

my first thought was your dog is giving off some victim vibe/scent, for want of a better desription. but when you said it happened to your last goldie as well, my logic centre could only come up with 2 possibilties:
1) were both from the same breed line? *if* so, it may some genetic thing?
2) one common demoninator between both dogs is yourself.
dont take this the wrong way, but do you think, per chance, there might be something you are doing, or something about you, which encourages a 'victim status' in your dogs?
it might even be your scent, as one example (i'm not saying you smell)

it does sound odd that it should happen twice in a row.
i would get a behavourist to come walking with you to assess and observe.

yes lori you are right !! the sound would frighten her dog too ,x

Thanks. I've emailed the lady who I took puppy classes with as she's a dog behaviourist to see what she thinks - i.e. am I part of the problem!

They weren't part of the same line & I don't smell (!!) but I've emailed a dog behaviourist I know to see what she thinks as she knows me & my dog. I don't think I'm part of the problem as I'm not at all anxious when I walk him & often I haven't even seen the dog coming before he's attacking mine but I'm willing to take any advice so thanks.

hi helen. good luck. i did write i didnt mean that you smell, so i hope you didnt get offended. i was referring to your own scent, which could relate to anything.
anxiety can also give off a scent, so either you and/or your dogs may have this.
im just offering one idea out of many, as it does seem a coincidence it happened twice.
what type of equipment did you walk both dogs on, and how did you use it?

Hi again. It's ok no offence taken- I smell lovely (most of the time!)I use a half choke but he's been attacked both on & off lead so I don't know if this would make a difference or not. Previosuly I've used a full choke but don't need it with this dog as he's very good at not pulling. At the park I walk him to most often he's off the lead unless I see small children in which case I get him back til we/they've past. He's great at staying near me & coming back when called. I'm def not anxious when I walk him. He's a lovely dog & we love our walks but they're being spoiled by other dogs. I'd like to let my 13 yr old walk him as he's been asking to but he just wouldn't be able to handle these problems.

I have come across this once before with someone who has a collie at my training class.  It turned out in that case (not saying yours will be the same) that they had always had one dog at a time, the dog had no aggresive issues or anything but would get attacked by various dogs.  It turned out because he had grown up round humans and not other dogs his body (doggy) language was all wrong (in other dogs eyes) and they wanted to put him in his place. He ended up having to be socialised with loads of dogs both dominant and submissive for him to learn the lingo and then the attacks stopped. 

This may not apply to your dog but worth a mention to the behaviourist you mentioned for them to test it out.

In the meantime any dog that has a go at yours, squirt it with water or block it using a walking stick.  Just dont get bit yourself, you may want to ask some of the people you come across if their dogs are always nasty to other dogs or if it is just your dog.  Maybe they have them off the lead as they dont expect them to react like they do to your dog.

Let us all know how you get on

Emma

I was thinking more along the lines of you becoming part of the solution rather than you being part of the problem if that makes sense. I hope she can help, maybe by giving you some strategies on reading what dogs will be problems better and how to deal with them without either of you getting snacked. That must be unpleasant for you and credit to your dog's nature that he's remained friendly. Good luck! It would be interesting to hear how it goes.

Now that's a really interesting thought. He's been to puppy classes & has met lots of dogs on walks (never a problem when he was a pup but I know they give off different scents) but you've made me think that maybe we should go back to doggy classes for a while as this would help with the socialisasion issue. He is an only dog so you could well have a good point. Thanks so much.

Is your dog quite dominant in the way he normally acts around you or other dogs which he knows well??
My dog is like this and has been attacked on a couple of occasions in the dog park, so i have stopped taking him. On both occasions these dogs have come out of no where and charged at my dog who has stuck up for himself. I have called him over and moved away and the dogs have come at him again. Its very scary when this happens. Not had a problem since in moving to different areas to walk.

I have found that the pet corrector works pretty well if you can take that with you. Dogs hate the sound of that and usually back off from what they are doing.

Let us know what the behaviourist has said about this, would be interesting to know.

Hi. After reading all the posts the first thing that came to mind was that it might just be the area in which you live/the dogs that you have to socilaise with. As it has happened to both your dogs, could it just be that people in your area are irresponsible dog owners? I know certain parks in the area I live in that are widely know for dog attacks as a certain 'type' of people go there. Just a thought! I think that asking the advice of a behaviourist is the best plan.

If you are having troubles with being 'told off' by other owners, then if possible take another person along for moral support. It is horrible being shouted at for just protecting your dog, and it is probably because the other person is embarrassed/ashamed that they don't have control. You are well within your rights to deter another dog from harming yours, maybe brush up on the legalities so that you have some ammunition for next time. I think the most important thing to remember is that you are the leader of your dog and he looks to you for protection. My pup was recently attacked (whilst on a lead and on the other side of a fence) and I felt awful for letting her down, so please don't leave it until your boy gets hurt to take a stand. I had read that some people use aerosol cans (non-scented) directed at the offending dog, but as mentioned make sure this doesn't upset your dog too much. The water pistol idea sounds like a brilliant start.

Best of luck.. just remember that you are in the right, so don't let people bully you into thinking otherwise.

My entire dog was always being attacked and I think in hindsite he had bad social skills and a bad owner. One expert said it was because I got him at 7 weeks old. However, at 3 years he one day became the agressor and I made the appontment that day to get him castrated. If I could turn the clock back I should have done it sooner but as the fights were never started by him I felt that why should he be the one castrated I always blamed the other dog!. Castration didn't cure his bad social skills and changed him as he bacame  fearful, so I went back to very strict training with him and he met many dogs on the lead whilst I had full control. It took a long time to change him, and I was amazed that once I realised that I was in total control of my dog, how many owners had absolutely no control of theirs, to watch other dogs approach mine on the lead with their hackles and tails raised was quite scary. On a positive note, I think it taught me a lot and I now have a well trained dog at my side who trusts me.  

I really sympathise with you, as my entire golden started to be attacked for no reason from about 12 months old, he is now 2 1/2 and thank goodness it doesn't happen now.  It was usually when he was on lead too.  I now carry around a pet behaviour spray, (can of hissing air) and sprayed it on any dogs that tried to attack him, and it usually did the trick, I still carry it around with me.  Some of the owners didin't like it but I feel if they cannot control their dogs they have to accept the consequenses.

I wonder if coming up to maturity they give off different vibes than young or older males?  As I say doens't happen now but that could be because all the dogs in the vicinity remember I have the hissing can. 

Hi Helen,

Have a read of this article Calming signals - the art of survival
The subtleties of Canine communication can be quite an eye opener, it may help you make sense of past/potential situations but should also give you a heads up for when your behaviourist assesses your lad.
HTH :)
and best of luck.

What Malibu said about the dog not having dog skills as it was brought up with people is probably very true.

Our first Goldie was really good with people but not so confident with other dogs and probably lacked these skills, she got attacked fairly frequently. Our second Goldie was brought up with the first and was regularly walked from a young age with a large "pack" of dogs and not once in her life has she been attacked!

I've been on the "other side of the fence" as it were....in January this year my 4yr old lab suddenly took off like a rocket across an apparently empty park, and in the distance I saw that a young woman had just walked in with her golden retreiver - about 9 - 10 months old, I think. Before I could get there, my boy had latched on to the back of his neck, and the woman pulled him off, and we were all very very shaken. He had been "iffy" before, but this was moving up to a different level. So - next day OH took him out and I told him on no account must he be let off the lead. In a residential area he heard, but didn't see, a dog barking behind a fence, and lunged and latched on to my poor OH's arm - through a thick rain-coat, but it's still possible to see the marks now. This was the second time he'd done this to OH - the first time we'd seen a behaviourist through our vet, and done our best to carry out his advice. This was our own bitch's puppy, much loved and we'd worked very very hard on socialisation, training etc - but - unfortunately we couldn't trust him any more, and had to make the heart-breaking decision which no dog-owner ever wants to do. Strangely, I've never ever seen the woman and the GR since, I just hope that she's not spent the whole year being too scared to go into that particular park again. :-(