I am absolutely fuming.  Had a lovely day out at a fun agility day organised by my club on Sunday, until Zak was attacked. Everyone on the forum will know that Zak has not been easy to train around dogs, but I have gotten to the point where he can be trusted around dogs. I was 1st in the queue to go into the ring, Zak was on a short lead, on my left, just behind my leg. A young girl, (no more than 8) was in charge of a dog aggressive dog (border collie x springer), she allowed it to get close to Zak, to attack him. He was bitten around the eye, obviously in pain & in defence he made a hell of a noise as he gave it what for! I shouted 'leave it' & the dogs parted, it was over in a second or 2. What really pi**es me off is the attitude of the childs Mother. She knows damn well what her dog is like, there is no way that her daughter should be allowed to take it anywhere near other dogs. Eventually she came over to me, after I had shouted to her that the dog should be muzzled. She showed absolutely no concern over Zak, her comment was, dog will be dogs!  Zak is ok, but a lovely day was ruined for me. When I came out the ring, there were people saying, move out of the way, Zak's coming past! That's what really pi**es me off, most onlookers only heard Zak for the couple of seconds when he retaliated, so it's the GSD'S bloody fault.  Zak has loads of fans at the shows & a lady who always makes a fuss of him heard the commotion & came to have a chat. Her dog had been attacked the week before, by the same dog. I collected my rosettes & came home. However, I have rang the secretary of the show & let her know what has happened, I know they can't do anything about it, but think that somewhere in their rules they have something that says all handlers should be competent & well able to handle any dog that they are in charge of.

I feel a bit better now, I have bathed Zak's eye, bless him & he is ok, we won't exactly be back to square one with other dogs, but I am sure he is going to be very wary & not quite as laid back next time we are at a show.

Both of them went clear in their 3 classes & the only class I didn't get a place with Zak was the one after the attack. I hadn't realised that the dog had actually wounded Zak until I came out of the ring & someone else noticed the blood.

Rant over.

I have penned a letter though, the AGM is at the end of Oct. & I think this issue should be raised.

I dare say if the girl had been bitten while Zak was trying to defend himself, I would be in court charged with owning a dangerous dog, after all he is a GSD, isn't he!!!

Oh god im so sorry.
I'd be fuming too, if i had a dog that was likely to hurt another dog i wouldnt take him to anywhere that he could be a danger let alone let a child handle him!
Abbie my lab is so submissive now and wont play with other dogs after a dalmation attacked her. I was fuming but the owner just said that he was playing a bit roughly and that MY DOG should have told him off!!!! WHAT!! ughh

anyway this is your rant hehe... im so sorry, it doesnt help that people will look and think... hmmm cute helpless springer collie couldnt have possibly been to blame.. must be the fault of the nasty GSD...

:(

Hi Beardy,

I can understand how angry you are, I would have been dreadful if that had happened to my dog. I also would not let it lay as you said the child should not have had an aggressive dog on her own around other dogs. Off course the owner knows, and obviously does not care.
I would have it noted every where I could. (Your mouth is your weapon) use it!!
To many people say nothink untill somethink nasty happens. Then they will say "that happened to me" and did nothink.
Keep an watch on that eye make sure it does not get infected.

Denese

OMG i feel for you totally, we have 2 GSD's at home and automatically just because they bark at the back gate or are basically a GSD they are viscious!! You should definatly raise that point, that young girl should never of been allowed a dog that she cant handle!!! Its out of order and i agree, there should definatly be some sort of rule on this.

That made me so angry reading that, but i can relate, as we go through a similar thing at times with our GSD's.

My mum was in the park once with Zara our oldest one and this dog came barking and attacked Zara, she was on the lead of course,but the other dog wasnt!! The woman wasnt even bothered, just called her dog and end of, poor Zara was really thrown by that and couldnt even defend herself properly as she was on the lead,but my mum said the lady was very funny around her as if it was Zaras fault!!! HOW when she was on the lead, ARGHH
Really makes me mad!!

I dont know about agility fun days but in dog shows their is a clause stating that dogs should be kept under control at all times.  And the end of all the rules their is a thing stating people who dont abide by these rules will be barred from future events.  If the fun day had any type of KC involvment (I know show fun day dogs shows do) then the same rule applies.

We even have a similar rule at our ring craft after a dog a few years ago got away from its handler and went for another dog.  This is because the puppies their for training didnt react well as they were not used to it and of course owners of the really young puppies especially were furious.  Even though that person had been coming for a long time with that dog they barred that particular dog but not the owner.  He still comes to training but I have never seen that dog their again.  As our ringcraft also do dog training they said if they ever wanted to bring the dog back it would have to be assessed.

Maybe if that isnt already in place you could suggest it be added.  If it is in place get that dog barred.

Emma

thats a real shame. poor zak. we do our best but theres all ways something or someone really to hurl the blame because you have the scarier looking dog.
i am sure that with your handling zak will recover mentally and physically. as you know my GSD has a bit of a fear isssue so i sympathise.i have never shown or done agility so am not forced into close contact with other dogs, but plenty try to come and say hello to him on walks and if he is a bit heavy handed (chases or barks)  im sure owners think i have done something wrong!
anyway, love to you both and carry on your good work. xx

I am sorry to hear what happened. I have 2 GSD's myself as well as a Spaniel cross and as an owner you do try from a very young age to socialise them as much as possible and to ensure that any encounters with other dogs are all positive. It sounds like you have been working really hard with Zak. I would have been absolutely fuming as well if another dog, knowingly dog aggressive was being held by a young girl ,who was obviously unable to control it and that dog attacked my dog. Gosh, I would have wiped the floor with the woman, expecially if she displayed an uncaring attitude with what her dog did and how it behaved. There is no excuse. But some people just don't seem to care do they. I know I was very put out the other day when walking my young pup who is just about to turn 6 months. There was a schnauzer with no lead on, running out ahead of a man riding a bike with a very young child in the back. It came charging up to my pup, barking away and the man made no attempt to call it back. It was only when I confronted his dog so it couldn't get to my pup and made gestures to it that it stopped in its tracks as it knew there was no way it would get past me to my pup, that the man started to call his dog back, the recall of which was totally ignored by his dog. I was displeased to say the least. The dog then proceeded to charge at another dog walking down the road and then at a woman pushing a pushchair with a baby. How on earth can a man riding a bike with a young child in the back control an offlead dog who barks at everything it comes across. It is people like this who give dog owners a bad name and cause dog aggression in other dogs when they instigate fights. I hope that something comes from the letter that you wrote to the AGM. Let us know how you get on. How is Zak's eye now. Bites can sometimes be nasty because the bacteria love the warm environment of the closely knitted hair and they can easily become infected. I hope he has recovered bless him.

Thankyou, he is fine, but actually looks worse at the moment because the scabs have come off his face & the skin is pink underneath. He is fine, but a loose collie came up to him yesterday & I had to tell the owner to call her back to him. Zak was really on his toes & I wasn't prepared to take the chance that he wouldn't have a go first.

Well good thinking there!! Poor Zak, i wonder what goes through their head when something like that happens, its amazing how well they seem to cope though, possibly cos they cant talk,so we dont here them moaning as much as us humans would!! lol!!