Last night at around 9:00 PM I was taking the garbage out and I took Voltaire with me so he could stretch his legs and sniff a few trees.
We went to the garbage “hut” and went around the corner to the door side. There was another dog there on a leash and he(she?) rushed up to Voltaire. I wasn’t too concerned, because Voltaire is well socialized and likes to meet other dogs. He was innocently sniffing the other dog’s nose - not being rude at all (no butt sniffing, crotch licking or humping attempts) and the other dog when WILD and jumped on him. He was snarling and trying to bite! I managed to haul Voltaire away as the other dog owner got his dog away as well. Voltaire hid behind my legs until the other dog had been hauled at least 10 feet away by it’s owner and then he came out and gave a few barks at the other dog.
I deposited my garbage and we went back in the house. Voltaire jumped in my lap and was shaking and wimpering. He was really scared! I inspected him and he doesn’t have any marks on him - I think he was just scared and surprised by the other dog.
I was really surprised - Voltiare has lots of doggie friends that we bump into on his walks and they and he are always very nice and social. This dog just didn’t like him I guess.
Fighting or sparring is pretty much normal behavior in the dog world, especially when male meets male. Once dominance is established by the alpha things quiet down. Unfortunately, small house dogs with little perception of their own weakness are sometimes seriously injured or killed by larger dogs just because they have never learned the natural order of things. They don’t know to roll over and submit and try to fight instead and it gets ugly. The sniffing that may seem innocent to you is not so innocent in the dog realm. The dominant gets to do the sniffing and the submissive must submit to being the sniffed. The other dog in this equation was obviously the dominant of the two and your dogs sniffing was a challenge to his status. If your dog is male, be very careful when approaching other males and the same for females.
Well, YMMV, but my dog has sniffed and been sniffed by a variety of other dogs, male and female - we avoid large dogs and pretty much stick to smaller dogs, to keep his confidence up.
Anyhow - he’s an unfixed male, and has never attacked another dog like that. Personally I think the problem is the other dog wasn’t properly socialized, but who knows.
So sorry this happened. I think it is interesting that the other dog owner did not least yelp out “Sorry!” as he hauled his dog away. It makes me wonder if the owner was embarrassed or whether this has happened before. Or maybe he was just as discourteous as his dog.
Dogs certainly need to be socialized, but in my experience a socialized large dog, when meeting another one for the first time, will only be assertive or even aggressive with another large dog, who could perhaps be perceived as a possible threat.
Some of the meanest stuff I’ve seen between dogs has been when females meet other females.
Well, both dogs were small - my guy is a Bichion/Shitzu/Yorkie and the otherone looked like a Bichon/Shitzu.
The other owner hauled his dog away and sort of pinned it down until the other dog was wimpering - makes me wonder if the dog is mean 'cus his owner is mean. However, I don’t plan on investigating - Voltaire and I will just be avoiding the both of them in the future.
Voltiare got extra cuddles and kisses this morning, as well as an extra Beggin’ Strip - he seems to be recovering.
As a dog owner, I just want to make a few comments/responses:
The fact that your dog is an unfixed male could be the very reason he was attacked. My neutered female is very dominant and will target unfixed males if there’s one around. Also, a dog can be “properly socialized” and still exhibit dominant behavior, as Mr. Nice Guy and Caprese both pointed out.
I disagree with that theory, the owner was showing dominance over the animal which is the right way to begin a “lesson.” Whimpering could be his dog’s way of showing submissiveness to his owner. My dog does this sometimes and it is embarrassing, but I know she’s not suffering physically so much as suffering “socially” and her noise is her way of showing me that she understands. If the owner is actually mean, that doesn’t necessarily make the dog aggressive - I’ve seen battered dogs that are meek and utterly submissive.
I think if you let your dog out into the big bad world, you can expect he’ll get in a fight somewhere, somehow. Of course you aren’t expecting it to happen outside your house after dark, so that freaked you out and you have every right to be freaked out by it. My dog will be eight years old in December and at this point, when fights happen, I follow my little plan:
I’ve always heard that whether it’s male or female, unless you plan to breed your dog (and why would anyone want to, there are certainly enough doggies in the world!?!?!) you should get it spayed or neutered because it will decrease the number of unpleasant episodes like you experienced.
My doggie is a fixed female and likes to be the dominant one. She gets along with at least 3/4 of all the dogs she meets but when she meets another dominant female, look out - we just separate them a.s.a.p. because neither dog will ‘win’ and neither dog will give up.
It’s scary and I HATE it to the point where I won’t even take her to the dog park by myself - my boyfriend has to go with us just in case …
No matter what anyone says, I don’t like letting those incidents run their course until one dog learns its lesson. My motto: “Better safe than sorry!”
I’m glad your doggie is okay, and I know how you feel!
Well, I don’t plan on breeding him, but I really hate the idea of him getting elective surgery. I’m sure I’ll break down and do it - I just haven’t done it yet.
Anyhow - Voltaire is a very submissive dog which is why I was surprised that the other dog was so nasty.
Alice, Alice, dear Alice: You named your dog Voltaire and now you’re surprised that the neighborhood bullies pick on him? What was wrong with Bowser, Spike, Bear or Killer?
Here’s how it went:
Your dog: “Sniff” (which translates into “Hi, my name’s Voltaire”)
Other dog: Sniff-sniff (“Voltaire? What are you, a philosophical wimp or somethin’? My name’s Bully and I think I’ll just kick your ass.”)
Your dog: Sniff (I can’t help what SHE named me! But please…)
Other dog: Snarl (Barks, bites, charges, beats up, etc.)
It’s all your fault, Alice. Perhaps you can take Voltaire to a Canine Shrink, change his name to something beastly and at least partially undo the damage you’ve done by putting such a name on him.
My late dog Bandit was socialized, we went to obedience school from the time he was six months old. However, every once in a blue moon we encountered dog(s) that he would fight with. For the most part I think it was Bandit’s agressiveness, but he could be fine with ten dogs and get into a scuffle with the eleventh. Dogs are very much attuned to each other’s body language, and sometimes these things just happen. Most scuffles like this don’t end up with any of the dogs hurt, like others have said it is a dominance thing. Even when Bandit was old and all his spunk had left him, I still was wary when he met another dog - I simply didn’t know what would happen. So no matter how socialized and well-liked your doggie is, do introductions to strange dogs slowly, ** with both on leashes**, until they show friendliness towards each other.
I’d for sure get him neutered soon, that way he will concentrate on being the best pet and companion for you, instead of worrying about females in heat.
The SO has decided that he’s going to teach Voltaire to box, so that in the future he can do more than just stand there getting pummeled.
As to his name - what can I say - he’s a humanist by nature, it seem appropriate.
Boscibo, FWIW, both dogs were on leashes - that’s the only thing that prevented Fuzzy McBrownpants (do you think THATS why he gets picked on) from getting the stuffing kicked out of him - both myself and the other owner were able to haul the dogs away from each other.
As to girl dogs in heat - we’ve actually incountered one and Voltaire was no more interested or agressive than with any other dog - he just politely sniffed her nose. She, on the other hand, was getting really excited (perhaps she liked Voltaire’s looks?) and there would have been trouble had her owner not come and nabbed her. Why on earth anyone would let a purebred Whatchamacallit run around unleashed in a well dog populated area when she was in heat, is a mystery to me. However, Voltaire behaved like a perfect gentleman. Perhaps he’s gay.
Anyhow - we just got back from this evening’s walk and it was pleasantly uneventful.
How about Fluffy? He’s quite fluffy - it would fit.
And speaking of fluffy - how could another dog tell in a split second that Voltaire isn’t fixed? He’s very fluffy so his hoo-haws don’t show. Do non-fixed male dogs have a different scent than the fixed variety? (This seems like a dumb question.)
I understand (grudgingly) that dogs will be dogs. HOWEVER, I am the proud owner of an 11 year old, 6 lb. 9 oz. Yorkie that is the most adorable, friendly dog on the planet. Like A in W’s dog, he’s sniffed and been sniffed by a raft of other dogs and not once has there been an incident.
Until last summer.
We were approaching a large doberman and before Brownie could get very close, the dobie suddenly snapped at him as if to do him harm.
While I may accept the fact that dogs will occasionally fight, I will NOT excuse the dog owners who don’t apologize for their animal’s behavior. Children misbehave in public and we expect parents to apologize for their behavior. Dog owners are no different. :mad:
I do think that sometimes one dog, no matter how socialized, just takes a dislike to another. But I agree that there should be an apology! Ruby that’s awful about the Dobie, and surprising as well.
One thing I have noticed over the years is that often a dog will feel more vulnerable onleash, and may exhibit behavior which would never happen at the offleash dog park. But there’s the rub: you need to be able to control your dog if something does happen. Our dogs are reasonably well verbally trained; I have never owned a dog which has begun a fight, but they do not necessarily back off unless we interfere. Nothing has ever happened at the dog park, though, even when the place is seething with canines.
As for neutered or un-neutered males, my husband and I are having an ongoing disagreement about this. (We have a 8-month old male mastiff pup and a 5 year old spayed female mastiff.) Husband does not want to neuter.
In Denver, spay/neuter is not elective surgery. It is required unless the owner pays an annual $95 for an intact permit. I do not think that having 'nads automatically makes a male dog fierce and aggressive, but I see no need to have an intact animal unless you plan to breed.
