2nd unprovoked attack in 2 wks

[valteri]

Hi,

I posted just over a week ago how my GSD was attacked by a Weimaraner off-lead (lasted over 2 mins as the owners preferred to shout at us instead). All we could do was hold my boy's front up and wait for it to be over. In the last post I how mentioned PERFECT he is-especially on walks. Dogs can bark right in his face/lunge at him without him so much as blinking.

He often gets compliments and our behaviourist (who we brought in for his barking at strangers when in our home) wrote the following in her report:

"X is a delightful dog"
"When outside of the house X behaves very well around people, in fact he largely ignores them"
"Overall X is a wonderfully balanced dog whose only real issue is around visitors to the house"

Not bragging just painting a picture

Well, yesterday my DP was walking him (on lead) at night when a labrador walking past him went for his neck. It only lasted for 20 secs but our entire is family is extremely upset/concerned. Walking him has gone from a being pure joy to an activity ridden with anxiety.

This can't be a coincidence. Do you think this may be due to the fact that he is entire? Any advice would be great as we are all very upset.

I would say it’s just really bad luck.

First one the dog is obviously a menace and second one the owner was being irresponsible.
Do you have a dog warden you could report these to?

Just carry on doing what you are doing and try not to let your dog sense your fear. Chin up

My German Shepherd girl was attacked six times between 24 weeks old and a year old. Twice by the same pack of four dogs who have form and twice by dogs running out of gardens and launching at her. Also had many dogs running up barking. The owner's responses are generally "oh he/she doesn't like Shepherds".

Although some dogs will react badly to an entire male, plenty just see a big scary dog who needs seeing off, sadly.

I'd give your boy a few days off walks to let his cortisol (stress hormones) chance to settle back down. Give him space from other dogs for a while and feed him his favorite treats when you do see other dogs so he continues associating other dogs with good things. Sheps are quick learners and even one attack could potentially change the way they see other dogs.

Not helpful, but some dogs are just life's victims, unfortunately - although being more positive, you have had two instances of this in presumably years of dog walking, and it could just be sorry coincidence. It is horrible though, my sympathies.

For what it's worth, I never trust a Weimaraner in a standard setting, they seem to be one of the more troublesome breeds - and Labradors often not great either.

Do you think this may be due to the fact that he is entire?

I have two entire males and, touch wood, don't have any such issues. You also say that your dog is timid, and castration is likely to make this worse not better, so I wouldn't rush in to even chemical castration.

I suspect the fault lies with the other dogs, and apart from teaching yourself to read and remove yourself from situations, there may not be much that you can do.

My friend's small dog was attacked by a black lab (of all dogs!) when she was little and now very much has an 'attack first, ask questions later' policy when it comes to black labs. We can't walk with her and she's never off lead because of that. So it could be that this was a similar thing with the second incident, ie first incident was just an aggressive dog, second one was just bad luck - it may not be anything your dog is doing at all.