# My dog attacked on leash



## black and red (Feb 10, 2016)

While walking with my son in his stroller and a friend and her GSD, mine attacked a friendly looking dog on the street (it was dark). They sniffed faces, then mine grabbed the other by the scruff of the neck and locked on... Could not pull him off and resorted to opening his jaws with my hands while the poor dog's owner was kicking him in the chest. It's a blur. Stupid to put my hands anywhere near that, but it was awful. 
The dog and its owner ran across the street, and I was waiting for him to tell me if the dog was ok, but he was mad and just kept walking after checking out his dog for bites. I feel awful and embarrassed and my hands are still shaking.
My dog is a 6 year old un-neutered male, and is otherwise a fantastic dog. He has a high prey drive, but has come a long way in the past two years with the "leave it" command on leash and me body blocking him from squirrels/cats. We get adequate exercise and he does have dog friends. He goes in a prong collar. 
He was attacked by a rogue shih-tzu last year and has some mild dog aggression since (that was manageable), but nothing like this. What must be done so this NEVER happens again?


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## dogma13 (Mar 8, 2014)

What a terrible experience for all concerned!Hopefully the other dog is ok and good that no humans were hurt.Sometimes these things happen so fast and it being dark,you couldn't see any warning signs of an impending bite.
To prevent any future incidents,absolutely no strange dogs should be allowed to approach yours.Not ever.Warn off other owners with their dogs,even if they say "Oh,he's friendly,it's ok!"Just tell them yours is not.Loose dogs of course is more difficult.Be diligent and try your best to avoid them.Maybe carry an umbrella you can open quickly to block with.


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## Nigel (Jul 10, 2012)

Don't let him meet n greet with any more strange dogs is how you stop this. If he has you and does well with having a few well known dog friends that's enough. What breed (or size)was the other dog?


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## Montu (Oct 9, 2012)

Walk time should not be meet and greet time, just avoid saying Hi to other dogs and if you wish work on socialization separately in a controlled environment hopefully with a trainer.


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## yuriy (Dec 23, 2012)

There are many potential causes for what happened, and it's impossible to say over the internet. I think you should find a local trainer (that is experienced with GSDs) and ask for an evaluation. It may be worthwhile to put your boy in a muzzle and try to simulate this same scenario under the trainer's supervision to see if you can figure out what the trigger is. Knowing that is the first step towards fixing (or managing) it.

In the meantime, what dogma said. Avoid strange dogs and keep a very close eye on him.


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## Wags (Dec 17, 2015)

I agree with what dogma said. Also, you may consider buying him a basket muzzle and putting him in that during walks? You can train him with treats and clicker train him to put it on and take it off so that he gets used to it. Then he would associate it with treats, and then if you put it on him whenever he goes on a walk, and he already has a positive connotation with it, he'll associate it with walks and hopefully it'll never have a negative meaning. A muzzle at all is usually enough to keep strangers at bay, especially on a GSD, but worse case scenario, nothing will be able to happen with him muzzled. If you decide to do this, I would also suggest carrying some bear spray or an air horn to protect him in case you are approached by off-lead or stray dogs who seem aggressive, since he wouldn't be able to protect himself, you need to be able to protect him.

Best of luck to you.


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## Chip18 (Jan 11, 2014)

First and foremost quit putting other people's dogs at risk! Sorry the "other owner was a "fool!"

No dog I do not know gets close enough to my dogs to do them harm or for my Dogs to cause harm to other people's dogs period!

Before you result to a "Prong Collar" you should understand that if used "incorrectly" it can put "drive into a dog" as well as "take drive out of a dog" it's a two edged sword.

But to answer your question directly "Leash Barrier Aggression" is what that would be called. 

You can teach your dog to ignore other dogs, see here:
Teach your Dog to ignore other dogs.  - Boxer Forum : Boxer Breed Dog Forums

and have a look here:
Slip Lead leash - Boxer Forum : Boxer Breed Dog Forums

Oh and for the record, if you managed to pry your dogs jaws open, I'm impressed! I tried that with my OS WL GSD (116 lbs) (Rank Drive) issues and that ended with "me" going to the ER for stitches in my fingers ... not a lot of fun and ... did not work. 

This would have worked better.:
Leerburg | How to Break Up a Dog Fight Without Getting Hurt

Graphic imagines of dog bite warning! Welcome aboard.


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

Was this other dog on a leash or did it run up to your dog?


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## Chip18 (Jan 11, 2014)

llombardo said:


> Was this other dog on a leash or did it run up to your dog?


Uh Oh! Did I misread ... yet again?? If so I apologize to the OP! 

The rest is still sound advise.


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## black and red (Feb 10, 2016)

Nigel said:


> Don't let him meet n greet with any more strange dogs is how you stop this. If he has you and does well with having a few well known dog friends that's enough. What breed (or size)was the other dog?


The other dog was a lab I believe. Dark, narrow sidewalk, snow bank, no room, that sort of situation. I didn't see them until we were right up on them, unfortunately


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## black and red (Feb 10, 2016)

Chip18 said:


> Before you result to a "Prong Collar" you should understand that if used "incorrectly" it can put "drive into a dog" as well as "take drive out of a dog" it's a two edged sword.
> 
> But to answer your question directly "Leash Barrier Aggression" is what that would be called.
> 
> Oh and for the record, if you managed to pry your dogs jaws open, I'm impressed! I tried that with my OS WL GSD (116 lbs) (Rank Drive) issues and that ended with "me" going to the ER for stitches in my fingers ... not a lot of fun and ... did not work.


I will check these links out, thanks. 
I have a pretty sore right hand, but just bruising. I seriously doubt my brute strength (sarcasm) is what did the trick, maybe it was the fingernails in his palate. Regardless, I won't be doing that again.


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## Chip18 (Jan 11, 2014)

black and red said:


> I will check these links out, thanks.
> I have a pretty sore right hand, but just bruising. I seriously doubt my brute strength (sarcasm) is what did the trick, maybe it was the fingernails in his palate. Regardless, I won't be doing that again.


LOL ... I don't have fingernails to speak of??


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## Nigel (Jul 10, 2012)

It sucks that this has happened and now you know you have some work to do and precautions to take, but this could have been worse with your child in a stroller and a third dog that luckily did not join in. I agree with the others, find a trainer well versed in gsds and go from there. Hopefully injuries are minor to both dogs.


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## gsdheeler (Apr 12, 2010)

I NEVER allow my dogs to interact with dogs I don't know. NEVER


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## CanineKarma (Jan 5, 2016)

When new dogs meet it should be nose to butt, never nose to nose.


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## Apexk9 (Sep 13, 2015)

black and red said:


> *They sniffed faces */_ What must be done so this NEVER happens again?_


Dont let that happen.


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## pyratemom (Jan 10, 2011)

CanineKarma said:


> When new dogs meet it should be nose to butt, never nose to nose.


I never let another dog get in my dog's face even if the owner says they are friendly.


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## Stevenzachsmom (Mar 3, 2008)

My GSD, Annie, was dog aggressive. I did use a prong collar on her and she never redirected. She always wore a muzzle on walks. I had my dog focus on me and kept our walk at a brisk pace. We avoided other dogs. Generally, if an owner saw Annie coming, with the prong and the muzzle, they crossed to the other side of the street.

I adopted Annie as a 2 year old shelter dog. She lived for 12.5 more years. In all that time, she never harmed another dog. It is all about management. You can do this. Just be careful.


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

Using a prong collar incorrectly so that it increases a dog's drive/frustration is only an issue if you are dealing with a high-drive, explosive dog that is very difficult to re-direct. This dog does not seem to fit that discription. A prong collar would give the handler more control, not very likely to cause other problems. 

Hard to wade through a ton of internet advice, I know! Some people like to repost stuff they have read about, but have no true understanding or personal experience in the area. 

Blacka dn Red, I'm sorry you went through this - it sounds like this was very out of character of your dog and you could not have anticipated such a reaction from him. 
Who knows why it happened, or what signals the other dog was giving off that triggered the bite. I know with the Rottie mix I used to have, she gave off some weird energy/vibe where other dogs did NOT like her, and just walking by many a very reliable, easy-going dog went berserk trying to attack! Poor owners would be apologizing up and down with "My dog NEVER reacts this way!", and I would assure them that it was my dog, somehow, that was causing this - it was weird.

I think a muzzle will help in that it will take your tension away on walks, knowing that he can't cause any harm. If you tense up each time you come near another dog, he will feel that tension and may react with aggression because of it - so the muzzle will take that dynamic away. 

I don't let my dog sniff other dogs - on walks, other dogs are to be ignored. Use a heel command, and walk on deliberately. Even if you trust your dog to be well behaved, you never know what weird energy/attitude the other dog brings to the meeting (like mine - she would just be walking on leash, not even looking at the other dogs, and they would go nuts!).

Also, one way to get a dog to let go of a grip is to grab his collar or leash and pull him off the ground and choke him off - it won't hurt your dog, is a reliable and safe way for you to control him, and will work 100%. If you think the dog will redirect his aggresion to you (in the heat of the moment), lift him up again by the collar until he calms down - do this calmly and matter-of-factly. You may never need to use this technique, but at least you have an option on what to do just in case.


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## Chip18 (Jan 11, 2014)

black and red said:


> The other dog was a lab I believe. Dark, narrow sidewalk, snow bank, no room, that sort of situation. I didn't see them until we were right up on them, unfortunately


Ok well that was pretty much a worst case scenario!

I have seen those snow banks on the news! And having a Blk GSd myself I can attest that on alot of our night walks "Rocky can be three feet in front or in back of me, we switch taking point. I know he's there and I can't see him! Kinda cool but yeah.

Only thing you could have done would have been to put yourself between the two dogs in passing or stop and body block your dog.

Hmm and since I seem to be "some people??" I tend to post information from trainers that have trained "thousands" of dogs. No need to reinvent the wheel.

That being said here you go, you make the call. 

Teach your Dog to ignore other dogs.  - Boxer Forum : Boxer Breed Dog Forums


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