Dog Control!

[Robins mum]

OK, so a few of you will remember ROBIN! Love of my life but oh so hard work!

We have had some very challenging times over the 21 months he has been in my life! Times I have thought he would have to go even! VERY powerful emotions!

With the support from folks in this group, we have managed to remain together and he has been the best pal anyone could dream of! ( if a bit of a bugger still! LOL)

He tries his little heart out for me, but still the puppy/young dog bounces through and in a flash he has charged off!

Tonight, was a huge worry for me on a different level! Robin is entire and very, very gentle with other dogs. I have no worries about him playing with the tiniest of dogs! (never CATS!) THAT is a NO NOOOOOOOOO! still

We walked down the track back towards home after a short last one of the evening stroll, a young lady came in opposite direction with a black labrador, seemed quiet enough. We both went to squeeze past when her dog lunged full out for Robin! Viscious wasn't in it! Of course Robin retaliated! Hells teeth! I managed to persuade Robin to not hurt the dog and Robin was also unscathed fortunately! I had to ask the woman ( now no longer referred to as a 'lady') to walk 10' back through the gateway and give us room to pass safely! I had to ASK for goodness sake! She did anyway and we passed ok, although she could have given me more space! It was as though she wanted her dog to attack Robin! NOW he is a very big, agile, and VERY powerful dog, and could have snapped that dog in half in a second had he really wanted to do that!

~Question is, what on earth am I going to do?! I cannot hold Robin, he is just too powerful, and of course still being young I cannot always vocally control him although he really does try very hard!

I have reported the incident to the police, to cover Robin from any backlash if the woman (now an old bag!) makes a twisted complaint!

I am really worried for Robins welfare and his reputation! Thoughts would be very gratefully received!

Thanks

Jan

 

[JudyN]

It sounds as if he did really well - as you say, he could have done the other dog damage if he wanted to, but he didn't. Chances are, this was really just handbags on both sides - which can still sound very dramatic. Can you choose a route in future where you'll be able to see dogs a way off and take avoiding action, or ask them to stand aside and keep their distance while you pass? Making sure you have fences or trees within reach which you can hang on to for grim death if he does lunge can help too.

 

[Robins mum]

It sounds as if he did really well - as you say, he could have done the other dog damage if he wanted to, but he didn't. Chances are, this was really just handbags on both sides - which can still sound very dramatic. Can you choose a route in future where you'll be able to see dogs a way off and take avoiding action, or ask them to stand aside and keep their distance while you pass? Making sure you have fences or trees within reach which you can hang on to for grim death if he does lunge can help too.

He is usually very good! I can ask him to sit and wait while dogs pass, and 99% of the time he does so! There are a few where he will take the 'I'm gonna pounce on you' stance and that is because he has chosen that particular dog as a playmate! LOL! I think this was an unfortunate incident where there was simply limited area to safely pass and I just didn't think her dog was vicious, what shook me was Robins retaliation! Having said that, there was no blood (Robin is good at making playtime manic but never making a mark!) But this was real venom from him, I expect he was insulted as he had only walked up to the dog his usual happy self, tomorrow is another day, I shall see what transpires from this incident, hopefully nothing, fingers crossed and yes JudyN the tree hugging is a frequent occurance! LOL! I landed in someones garden this morning, and broke up one of his bushes when Robin found a cat in hiding! Hey Ho!

 

[Hemlock]

Dog communication is fast and subtle, and it takes time and experience to see what flashes between them before they meet. Robin reacted normally to the perceived threat, you did well,, nobody was hurt, treat it as a learning curve and move on. Unfortunately the dog-owning world brings us into these incidents, so, as JudyN says, predict, pre-empt, avoid. Assume every dog you meet is going to be untrained and uncontrolled, the owner is clueless, and so be ahead of the game and don't meet in confined spaces. If it means turning back, getting off the path, whatever it takes - do it. There are nice dogs and good owners about, but we meet more of the other sort. If the owner says things like "he's friendly' or 'he wants to play' don't believe them. Just carry on with your walk and keep yourselves safe. Dogs don't need relationships with other random dogs - they have us.

 

[Robins mum]

Dog communication is fast and subtle, and it takes time and experience to see what flashes between them before they meet. Robin reacted normally to the perceived threat, you did well,, nobody was hurt, treat it as a learning curve and move on. Unfortunately the dog-owning world brings us into these incidents, so, as JudyN says, predict, pre-empt, avoid. Assume every dog you meet is going to be untrained and uncontrolled, the owner is clueless, and so be ahead of the game and don't meet in confined spaces. If it means turning back, getting off the path, whatever it takes - do it. There are nice dogs and good owners about, but we meet more of the other sort. If the owner says things like "he's friendly' or 'he wants to play' don't believe them. Just carry on with your walk and keep yourselves safe. Dogs don't need relationships with other random dogs - they have us.

Thanks for your advise! Greatly appreciated.

You and JudyN have been my rocks in a massive learning curve! Thank you both!

 

[Ari_RR]

My 2 cents, having my 2nd large intact male - no matter how gentle he can be with the dogs of all kinds that he knows, his reaction to strange dogs can be… quite dramatic. And scary to some. I can see this reaction coming, the stiffness of his tail is a reliable sign, but the time it gives me to react can be a second of two.
So, in practical terms:
If I can avoid crossing paths with a strange dog (accompanied by a strange human) - avoid! Turn around, wait at the gate, step off the trail into the woods, whatever works.
If I can’t - I keep him on my side furthest from the other dog. Ideally crossing happens dog-human-human-dog, and we pass the other pair very quickly. Speed up, run past them, then when at a safe distance I can turn around and smile and wave and comment on how cute the other dog is.
If I feel comfortable about the other dog and human, and want them to meet and greet, we approach slowly with loose leash, so he doesn’t feel restrained…. And if during meet and greet I see stiff tail - I just grab him by his harness (he always wears harness) and we run away, no good byes, nothing… This may seem a bit weird, but I can always wave when at a distance.
If everything fails and there is an unpleasant encounter - the only priority is to get the dog out to a safe place, check to make sure the other dog is OK, and get out of there. Nothing good ever comes out of arguing with other humans, only frustration. So, I just say “so sorry! Hope your dog is ok?”, and we move on.

But avoidance is by far the best thing.

 

[Robins mum]

My 2 cents, having my 2nd large intact male - no matter how gentle he can be with the dogs of all kinds that he knows, his reaction to strange dogs can be… quite dramatic. And scary to some. I can see this reaction coming, the stiffness of his tail is a reliable sign, but the time it gives me to react can be a second of two.
So, in practical terms:
If I can avoid crossing paths with a strange dog (accompanied by a strange human) - avoid! Turn around, wait at the gate, step off the trail into the woods, whatever works.
If I can’t - I keep him on my side furthest from the other dog. Ideally crossing happens dog-human-human-dog, and we pass the other pair very quickly. Speed up, run past them, then when at a safe distance I can turn around and smile and wave and comment on how cute the other dog is.
If I feel comfortable about the other dog and human, and want them to meet and greet, we approach slowly with loose leash, so he doesn’t feel restrained…. And if during meet and greet I see stiff tail - I just grab him by his harness (he always wears harness) and we run away, no good byes, nothing… This may seem a bit weird, but I can always wave when at a distance.
If everything fails and there is an unpleasant encounter - the only priority is to get the dog out to a safe place, check to make sure the other dog is OK, and get out of there. Nothing good ever comes out of arguing with other humans, only frustration. So, I just say “so sorry! Hope your dog is ok?”, and we move on.

But avoidance is by far the best thing.

Thank you very much for your time and comments. I agree and impliment many of this, but without the running! Have you had much to do with the Borzoi? They are stand alone dogs! Robin is the fasted reacting animal I have ever had contact with, and that includes off the chart thoroughbred horses! (one of which was known on the other side of the world for his reactions!)

Sight, Smell, and Sound! off the charts! I don't get chance to read any signs frequently the reaction is that quick! When I do - then of course - I react accordingly, either by diverting when possible, or asking him to sit. Both of these work to a degree. Often if I get a 'numpty on the end of a rope' walking their dogs then it is more challenging, but I am not only talking about dogs that cause this reaction, for example this morning just coming to the end of our walk (which had been the normal 'interesting' one!) a plastic bag flapped in the wind behind us! He either saw it or heard it I will never know, but in a split second we were 6' away from the point we had previously been! - yes! me also! SPLIT SECOND REACTION! That is what worries me so much. In the road in a split second, sidways backwards forwards up down split second reaction. When he is not distracted he is fab! walks quietly on the lead at heel and even has a great recall (when not distracted!) LOL Everyones safety is compromised when Robin reacts sadly. His breeder keeps telling me 'hes still a young dog!' Well I would like him (and me!) to live to be old! Thanks very much for your input and it is sound advise.

 

[Hanne]

OK, so a few of you will remember ROBIN! Love of my life but oh so hard work!

We have had some very challenging times over the 21 months he has been in my life! Times I have thought he would have to go even! VERY powerful emotions!

With the support from folks in this group, we have managed to remain together and he has been the best pal anyone could dream of! ( if a bit of a bugger still! LOL)

He tries his little heart out for me, but still the puppy/young dog bounces through and in a flash he has charged off!

Tonight, was a huge worry for me on a different level! Robin is entire and very, very gentle with other dogs. I have no worries about him playing with the tiniest of dogs! (never CATS!) THAT is a NO NOOOOOOOOO! still

We walked down the track back towards home after a short last one of the evening stroll, a young lady came in opposite direction with a black labrador, seemed quiet enough. We both went to squeeze past when her dog lunged full out for Robin! Viscious wasn't in it! Of course Robin retaliated! Hells teeth! I managed to persuade Robin to not hurt the dog and Robin was also unscathed fortunately! I had to ask the woman ( now no longer referred to as a 'lady') to walk 10' back through the gateway and give us room to pass safely! I had to ASK for goodness sake! She did anyway and we passed ok, although she could have given me more space! It was as though she wanted her dog to attack Robin! NOW he is a very big, agile, and VERY powerful dog, and could have snapped that dog in half in a second had he really wanted to do that!

~Question is, what on earth am I going to do?! I cannot hold Robin, he is just too powerful, and of course still being young I cannot always vocally control him although he really does try very hard!

I have reported the incident to the police, to cover Robin from any backlash if the woman (now an old bag!) makes a twisted complaint!

I am really worried for Robins welfare and his reputation! Thoughts would be very gratefully received!

Thanks

Jan

How old is Robin? And what kind of dog is he?

This sounds a lot like my Lily when she was around 2 years old. From then on we had to keep "managing" our surroundings more carefully and anticipate, watch, read and try to understand her body language when meeting dogs.

 

[Robins mum]

How old is Robin? And what kind of dog is he?

This sounds a lot like my Lily when she was around 2 years old. From then on we had to keep "managing" our surroundings more carefully and anticipate, watch, read and try to understand her body language when meeting dogs.

Robin is a Borzoi. He is very playful and excited about everything! His speciality is seeing the cat before me! I just feel the yank in the lead and flying through the air hanging on to him for grim life! Today he had a great time on the Shropshire Union Canal towpath chasing the ducks that had taken off in front of him and all I could see was Robin running like the wind along the tow path chasing two ducks flying as fast as they could along the middle of the canal! They were all out of sight in about 30 seconds! I did manage a weak whistle to Robin and a few seconds later he came galloping back down the pathway to which I had to leap to one side and he just missed me by a whisker screeched to a halt turned round and trotted over to me smiling and wagging his tail! Whew!

 

[Hemlock]

You are doing really well (and I'm used to racehorses too). He is a typical sighthound, and the hairtrigger reaction will be there all his life - though as he matures, he'll be more selective. Nevertheless, as one racehorse trainer said to me a long time ago: "They've done something and forgotten about it when another horse (dog) is still thinking about it".

You will hone your own reactions and anticipation skills like no-one else except another sighthound owner. Stay with us and if you ever doubt or worry, we know how it is.

And Robin is gorrrgeous.

 

[Robins mum]

You are doing really well (and I'm used to racehorses too). He is a typical sighthound, and the hairtrigger reaction will be there all his life - though as he matures, he'll be more selective. Nevertheless, as one racehorse trainer said to me a long time ago: "They've done something and forgotten about it when another horse (dog) is still thinking about it".

You will hone your own reactions and anticipation skills like no-one else except another sighthound owner. Stay with us and if you ever doubt or worry, we know how it is.

And Robin is gorrrgeous.

I love him very much! Thank you!

 

[Ari_RR]

Thank you very much for your time and comments. I agree and impliment many of this, but without the running! Have you had much to do with the Borzoi? They are stand alone dogs! Robin is the fasted reacting animal I have ever had contact with, and that includes off the chart thoroughbred horses! (one of which was known on the other side of the world for his reactions!)

Sight, Smell, and Sound! off the charts! I don't get chance to read any signs frequently the reaction is that quick! When I do - then of course - I react accordingly, either by diverting when possible, or asking him to sit. Both of these work to a degree. Often if I get a 'numpty on the end of a rope' walking their dogs then it is more challenging, but I am not only talking about dogs that cause this reaction, for example this morning just coming to the end of our walk (which had been the normal 'interesting' one!) a plastic bag flapped in the wind behind us! He either saw it or heard it I will never know, but in a split second we were 6' away from the point we had previously been! - yes! me also! SPLIT SECOND REACTION! That is what worries me so much. In the road in a split second, sidways backwards forwards up down split second reaction. When he is not distracted he is fab! walks quietly on the lead at heel and even has a great recall (when not distracted!) LOL Everyones safety is compromised when Robin reacts sadly. His breeder keeps telling me 'hes still a young dog!' Well I would like him (and me!) to live to be old! Thanks very much for your input and it is sound advise.

Love this dog! Keeps everyone around awake!