Feeling awful due to my bad dog

[odroku]

My lovely dog got away from me while on my front porch about to put her leash on for a walk. She clearly saw a dog on a walk with her owner and went down to introduce herself. She wouldn’t respond to my repeated calls for her to return as I went to her. Just seconds before I grabbed her, she started attacking the dog.

Now I feel like a jerk. That dog and owner did not deserve that.

I told her to hold on and I’ll put the dog in the house. When I went back out to give her my phone number in case there is any problems from bites, she was long gone.

I just spent a little while driving around the neighborhood trying to find them, but no luck.

Hence,if you are or know the person who owns this dog, please direct them toward this post to get in touch if needed.

Otherwise, I’ll just sit here feeling horrible for a while.

Thanks.

Share This

[JoB]

odruko..

kudos for making the effort…

Share This

[Aim]

Damn, what a crappy thing to have happen. Knowing you and your dog, I know full well that you must be feeling terrible, and I wouldn’t doubt that Miss Doggy is also feeling a bit sheepish about having her parent upset.

I’m glad you’ve posted the story here. I hope the person whose dog was bitten just panicked and headed to the vet rather than waiting, and will come knock on the door tomorrow, since they obviously know where you live.

Let me know if there’s anything L and I can do. We could help put up some flyers in the neighborhood perhaps?

Share This

[odroku]

Well, the lady knows where the offending dog resides, so I’m not sure what else to do other than wait. I mean, I hope her dog is just okay and that will be that. I guess time shall tell? Thanks, though!

Share This

[me on 28th Ave SW]

I wish I could magically make the guilt go away, but I think that’s part of being a responsible dog owner. Both my dogs have embarrassed me more than once, but then I remind myself they are dogs and will act like dogs. Try to have a good day in spite of it.

Share This

[me on 28th Ave SW]

Also, I wouldn’t be surprised if the other dog is just fine. I know when I’ve had dogs run up to my leashed dogs and “scrap” MY adrenaline skyrockets and then I just “wanna get outta here!”. Most of the dog fights I’ve seen (my daughter was in dog 4H for years so I saw quite a few!) are usually alot of snarling, posturing and noise with very little actual tooth contact. Hopefully, that was the case.

Share This

[JoB]

it’s possible that the other dog was the perpetrator of the actual fight..

and maybe the other owner is equally embarrassed… leashed dogs are often very protective of their owners…

Share This

[service dog academy]

odroku instead of sitting there feeling horrible, use it as an opportunity to learn! in my classes we teach you an emergency come that can pretty much turn a dog around on a dime. see my “Liame Come” video on my website for an example. the classes are only $79 and well worth the investment in preventing this from happening again in the future.

http://www.servicedogacademy.com

Share This

[odroku]

Oh man, if I were in a better mood, I’d probably not be as annoyed by someone seeing this as an opportunity to sell me something.

Even if the other dog instigated it (hard to tell as I was panicked), it would have been in defense and completely within its right as my girl was definitely “all up in its grill” so to speak. She definitely is very defensive of us when on a leash, so I get what you’re saying.

I don’t know. I just hope the other dog is okay. Seemed like a really sweet dog…until bothered by mine, who’s 100% natural sweetness about 98% of the time!

Share This

[miws]

odroku, chances are if I’d been in the same situation as you I’d feel just as guilty, and would be beating myself up just as much.

But, take yourself out of it, and look at it from an objective viewpoint. Re-read your first post as if someone else had written it, and how they called to the dog, tried to grab her in time but couldn’t, but did take control of the situation by securing the dog in the house immediately.

Then, after going back out right away to give the other dog’s owner their contact info, (you know, doing the responsible thing, we so seldom see these days), and finding she had left, they drive around the neighborhood looking for the lady and her dog.

So, they don’t find them, the come to an internet Community Forum to post about the situation, as a means of hopefully getting in contact with the woman, or someone that knows her.

To me, you’ve done evrything you can so far. To be honest, I’ve become quite cynical over the years. My personal thing, being a full time pedestrian/bus rider, is that 99.99999935786% of drivers out there don’t give a rat’s patootie about pedestrians what with how many of them blast into crosswalks to make their right turn on red, or blast out of store parking lots. So, if I have to stop dead in my tracks, to prevent becoming dead by someone elses carelessness when I’m legally crossing a street, I’m gonna glare at them. And even if they do the OMG! I’m so sorry! I didn’t see you! gestures, I’m going to continue to glare at them because I assume they drive that way all the time. Conversely, if I had been the one in that lady’s position, I may have thought evil things about you, because I wouldn’t be looking at the situation objectively, I would just assume you let your dog run wild all the time, but that would just be my cynicism coming into play.

But by posting here, you have shown you have a conscience. Many people would not have driven around trying to find the lady. Many would have not posted publicly to try to locate her, and risk being berated by others for perceived carelessness.

So, as SDA said, use this as a learning situation, and make sure your dog is securely leashed before you exit your house, and perhaps look into some type of training. I hope all of this made sense.

There’s still a few hours of sunshine left, so relax and enjoy it, and give your girl a hug!

Mike

Share This

[HunterG]

Although I know you mean well Service Dog Academy, advertising is a strict NO NO on the forums.

Share This

[odroku]

miws: I feel that. Definitely am trying to keep it in perspective. I appreciate your support!

I took her out earlier. It IS a tremendous day for a nice, calm walk with the dog!

Share This

[WSMom]

Last summer my dog chased the mailman halfway down the street before I realized she was no longer by my side. I couldn’t believe it! My Wheaten Terrier silently going for the poor mail carrier. Very embarrassing and humbling. Even worse, they stopped my mail and made me go to the post office for a talking to. I totally know your pain odroku.

Share This

[service dog academy]

hunterg – the classes are run through the city of seattle, not through my company. they are a community service. im just the teacher. :)

i live and breathe dog. i guess im just so excited to be teaching and helping i cant contain myself. my students will tell you how i hop, skip, yell and jump with excitement sometimes in the classes, im sure i look absolutely foolish. i just want everyone to be able to have the dog of their dreams.

odroku – job is right. most “fights” are just posturing and requests to get away from me. if your dog has a history of biting and not breaking skin and had plenty of play with other dogs during the first 5 months of life then your dog probably has excellent bite inhibition and you have nothing to worry about. its a secret us dog trainers know – if a dog has a history of multiple bites without breaking skin he is safe to work with because he has had proper mouthing feedback when he was a puppy. if he has bitten and broken skin repeatedly then he will probably never be safe to work with. bite inhibition cannot be learned after puppy teeth fall out.

but there i go teaching again. ill be quiet now.

Share This

[cyclemom]

a community service that people pay for, right? Are you saying you receive no money? that you volunteer your services? Or…do you get paid?

Share This

[CarolPB]

I am one of SDA’s students. Just sayin’-she really loves dogs and wants to help us owners to have our dogs and ourselves be happy and safe.

I seriously doubt she makes any money, even if she is paid by the city. She has given myself and other students many gifts, besides teaching us very good skills, she is generous with supplies and knowledge beyond expectations.

Share This

[service dog academy]

yes, i do get paid by the city, but my pay doesnt even cover the supplies. i had a choice to either teach through the city and make sure that people could afford the classes or run them by myself, charge twice the price and make a profit. if i wanted to make money, i wouldnt be training service dogs nor would i be teaching at the community center. if not making a profit while teaching doesnt equal a community service then what does?

Share This

[JoB]

service dog academy..

my abused shiba has learned bite inhibition as an adult.. but he is not reliable. too much excitement and he forgets:(

Share This

[service dog academy]

job – true bite inhibition can only be learned prior to puppy teeth falling out. maybe you are confusing it with jaw prudence. i frequently confuse them myself. a great way to work on teaching jaw prudence and keeping them from biting during excitement is playing a game of tug.

Share This

[JoB]

jaw prudence :)

we play lots of tug in our house… and ball and… he has learned to shake his stuffies when he is excited…

he does so much better…

yet that is still so short of his potential:(

new dog owners..

a puppy class is the least your can do for for your dog. Socialization and training are the cornerstones to a healthy happy dog… and a trained dog is a lot more fun to walk.

Share This

[biankat]

I can sympathize with the OP. Fortunately my pups haven’t had such an alteration, but I can imagine the stress of it all. And actually I appreciate service dog academy’s info. I’ve just signed up for classes :)

Share This

[flowerpetal]

Oh dear, biankat, you just made a funny and I think you are unaware… which makes it more humorous. I think you meant to say altercation rather than your pups not having an aleration. I trust they have been “altered!” :-)

Share This

[odroku]

Our dog is a rescue job. She was (estimated) about 4 1/2 when we got her. The people at the rescue said a smaller dog went after her over some food the day before we picked her up, but that she’d otherwise been the most mellow and sweet dog. I think it made her a bit skittish about other dogs, which is why we don’t really let her run free pretty much ever. She’ll see dogs when we take her in the car and lose her mind. It’s completely out-of-balance with her predominant personality. We even went through a training class with her where she was mostly pretty good with the other dogs in class after a few sessions.

Still no visit or word from the other owner. I’m hoping it’s a good sign.

Share This

[biankat]

HA! I sure did :)

Share This

[seattleamiga]

I highly recommend SDA classes. My Zoe is currently enrolled in an amazing class. SDA is indeed all about the dog. There was a very aggressive dog in the first class. He had his eye on my Zoe for an appetizer I’m sure and then the sweet Golden for the main course! SDA could have let this doggie stay in class – and thereby getting more “pay” – but no, she referred the dog to another program that would more appropriately meet his needs AND would provide a very safe environment for the rest of the dogs in class!! I am confident her comment to the OP was merely a suggestion for prevention of future events – not a “sales pitch”

SDA rocks – and sits, and downs, and stays……

Share This

[Author]

Posts