Fear aggressive dog

[billhubbard]

Please help I have just about had enough of ineffective dog owners.
My dog is a bull breed and was fantastic with other dogs until he was bitten by a larger dog at about 11 months , he is 7 now and fine with other dogs as long as they don't come running at him .
Today I walked him on a country lane and met another dog , I made a show of pulling in my dog close to me and other dog owner did nothing as his large dog ran at mine , I said please can you call your dog away ,
He called his dog with no effect at all and I managed to get round his dog and literally ran away from the situation .
The chap said good morning as I ran by 🙄
How do I deal with this ?
Rest of the year I walk darling dog early morning then after dark because of work but been off work for a week or so now so walking when more people are around ,
I have met at least one person per walk that allows their dog to run at mine .
My poor boy was getting so much better with other dogs but this is putting him backwards.
Our last dog was a bull breed too and fantastic with other dogs but I always put him on lead if another dog came over .

[eyeoresancerre]

Just came on to empathise with you as we had similar situation today. Could tell this dog approach was going to fight my dog. Called my dog to heel and sure enough the other dog comes over and goes for my dog's neck. Idiot family walked past saying "Dogs will be dogs."
Saw it happening with another family 100 yards down the country lane. Utter idiots.
Hope you and your dog are ok,
Im not precious about my dog - understand sometimes they scuffle but this was such an easy situation to read. I could see in good time what was going to happen by the other dog's body language.

[billhubbard]

Thank you @eyeoresancerre
Glad I'm not the only one to meet this type of owner .
Dogs will be dogs is certainly not great .
I worry that my boy will be put back by owners like this .
He's a big bull breed but you can see he's bloody scared by his body language when a large dog runs at him , he cowers down .

[LadyGuffers]

Too often people are idiots who don't have a clue about canine behaviour and have next to zero control of their dogs when faced with distractions such as other animals, other dogs and food. Their ignorance means they don't even know they don't have control and so fail to clip a lead on in distracting circumstances.

Someone on here once suggested shouting out that your dog is sick and infectious as a way to keep distance.

Personally I have just resorted to being blunt: "that dog needs to be under control now" in an assertive voice. If that fails then "get it on a fucking lead" can also be an option.

The 'trick; though is not to let them rile you. When you are stressed, your dog knows it and this too won't help. Trying to remain good humoured, even when swearing at a feckless dog owner, is the balance you are looking for

[billhubbard]

Thanks @LadyGuffers I did shout at guy and said can you please call your dog back to you , he did call dog with no effect at all . Dog didn't even hear him .
Yes maybe I need to go down the "my dog is infectious route "
Where I live we have lots of woods with signs up saying walkers welcome with dogs under close control. The amount of dogs that come running up with no owner In sight is unbelievable.

[FacesLookUgly]

I've lost count of the number of times someone has described their dog as 'really friendly' whilst I look at the dog's body language and think 'not right now they're not, right now they are anxious and/or ready to pop'.

[JKScot4]

I’m a bull breed owner and have fostered many with all sorts of issues, you need to be blunt and cheeky. If the worst happened you know it’s the bull breed that’s vilified even if innocent. I shout and loudly ‘put your dog on its lead NOW’ if they start their shite of muzzle him etc I tell them they are in the wrong with an out of control dog off lead. Be prepared to photograph them and dog and report to DW. It’s our job to protect them and I don’t care who thinks I’m a cheeky cow.
Also do you have any friends with a confident not pushy, laid back dog that would walk with you to build your boys confidence?

[Winterdaysarehere]

Can you keep high value treats in your pocket? Feed copious amounts as the dog approaches and when it has gone..
*to your ddog obviously!!
Worked well with my rotty - not cowering though - snarling!

[MsAdorabelleDearheartVonLipwig]

I find grabbing the collar of the other dog, if safe, and walking off with it gets their attention pretty quickly. A short sharp word in their ear usually puts them straight. Obviously don’t grab a dog if it looks like it’s going to bite though. I had to kick the last one.

[JayAlfredPrufrock]

Thus gives me the rage.

Never let an off lead dog approach an on lead dog.

What is so complicated about that?

‘Oh it’s ok he just wants to play.’

Well mine doesn’t!!!!

I have the answer now as he’s a rescue a built like a brick shit house.

[billhubbard]

Thanks for support.
@FacesLookUgly that's the trouble they believe their dog is friendly but the body language of both dogs says different.
@JKScot4 Yes I need to protect my boy as a large staffy he's always going to get the blame , the sodding dog that ran at him today was a Labrador with its hackles up ... was proud of my boy for not growling at him ,
Trouble is if a fight started the guy with him was a long way away and wouldn't be able to get his dog away and also it would put my boy back as he is starting to trust other dogs again .

[FacesLookUgly]

I love labs but 9/10 times it's a lab - I think because people struggle to believe they can be anything but laid back/soppy.

[billhubbard]

@Winterdaysarehere
Yes I don't generally carry treats but good idea , at least he would be looking at me expecting a treat when he meets another dog .
He's fantastic with little dogs but with dogs bigger than him he starts cowering when they come towards him .

[FacesLookUgly]

The only caveat with high value treats is that another dog may make a bee line for them also. Someone who cannot control their dog around another dog is never going to be able to control them around food.

Not saying don't do it, it may work well for your dog. Just be careful.

[EnglishRain]

This makes me so cross. I have a fear aggressive dog and his behaviour is also the result of being attacked.

Have you tried body blocking the other dog? For some that's enough to put them off. I will get in front of my boy, squarely face the other dog and quite often they stop in their tracks. Following with a firm 'NO' can also help. Some dogs are like their owners though and complete muppets. I've shouted at a cocker before because it wouldn't bugger off and there was no owner in sight. Too often I've been a bit soft and my lad has suffered because of it. I don't care if people think I'm mean now, they should jolly well control their dog!

[billhubbard]

@FacesLookUgly
Yes that makes sense .
Wouldn't want to encourage other dogs .
But if I carry treats and give them to him when the other dog has passed I'm sure he's bright enough to make the connection
Just pisses me off that most walks lately for us have involved another dog running at my boy with the owner shouting out it's name to no affect at all .

[billhubbard]

@EnglishRain
Yes I tend to do the body blocking and I stand reassuring him telling him he's a good boy and hold his collar to stop him snapping hoping the other dog will piss off . A few months ago I had 2 dogs running at him and I kept shouting go away at them and the owner just kept walking .

[RandomMess]

I have a small dog she is scared of larger dogs, particularly playful ones. Dogs that blank her are fine.

I always call her back and get her on lead when I see other dogs full stop unless she is actively pursuing squirrels at that moment in time.

Even if your own dog is super friendly you keep them away from dogs on leads because they are on a lead for a reason, not rocket science is it 🙈

[EnglishRain]

What about carrying a spare slip lead and swinging it about? I hold my lad's collar too. It's hard because I don't want to give him even less space to react, or for him to be stressed because I am, but on the end of a lead you have so much less control. I also bribe him with treats to keep his focus on me. With some owners there is no hope and I will do a 180 and just go back the way we came, even if it's to tuck round behind a hedgerow for 30 seconds until they've gone.

I am ready and prepared to kick another dog if it goes for my boy now. It's ridiculous. My youngest is 3 and I had two off lead JRs come barking and snarling at her when she was on lead a few weeks ago. She's pretty good albeit a wimp herself and I let her off the lead as a result. Not having her traumatised feeling like she can't get away by being on lead. The little shits soon shut up and scarpered back to their owner when they saw a leggy blonde golden retriever standing tall and trotting in their direction! Luckily my youngest hasn't had any terrible experiences (touch wood) so is quite naive at present, and I would rather it stay that way.

[billhubbard]

@EnglishRain Yes that's me too , I often take him behind hedges or go off on a totally different route than planned just to get away from other dogs .
I find holding his collar good as I am in control of his mouth then 😁and dogs tend to move to his rear end for a sniff which he doesn't mind as much .
Do be fair I have met lots of dog owners who have complete control of their dogs is just the small percentage that make my walks stressful
I do tend to find the dogs with no manners are owned by people with no manners .
Mind you having a bull breed people tend to judge , if anything happened he would be blamed .
My daughter keeps telling me walk with confidence and if anything happens if mine is on the lead then it's not my fault .

[Sayhellotothethings]

Sadly so many people aren't educated in dog behaviour. Our bull breed had a bit of a blip after being attacked and aggressively humped/hurt by 2 big dogs. Not fear aggressive but less keen on elongated hellos...he's back to his old self now. Yesterday we were playing fetch and 2 young dogs ran over, went straight to his back end but he couldn't smell theirs and looked very uncomfortable. One then tried to mount him and he reacted by throwing it off him and making a lot of noise. The other owner was quite scared but I explained that I don't know many dogs that will allow a new strange dog that they haven't even sniffed to mount them.

5 mins after a large dog approached that I'd seen failed to be recalled on the walk already. I called ddog to me as knew stress hormones would be in his system. The dog came over and tried to jump all over him. I was holding ddog but the owners made no effort to get their dog away.

And then sadly everyone will blame the bull breeds in these situations.

Many people will say to shout your dog bites so call theirs away but if you're anything like me you'll be nervous about doing this. I would body block as best as possible to stop the other dog approaching yours.

[SutterCane]

Are you on FB billhubbard? If so I can highly recommend the group Reactive Dog (UK). It's really supportive and there's loads of excellent advice covering everything from training your dog to dealing with other owners who don't make things easy on walks...

[billhubbard]

Thank you @SutterCane for the link , I will check it out .