Puppy attacked by another dog

[pilates]

We were walking to a local field today and as we approached a big dog like a bull mastiff started barking and mine yapped back. I went to cross the road and it broke away from its owner and attacked my puppy 😔. Fortunately I can see no damage but the guy had to use all his force to get it off. I’m traumatised and can’t stop crying. Puppy seems ok. How can I put this behind me and move on? He kept saying he’s fine he’s fine. Obviously he’s not! He didn’t even say sorry. Just shot off really quickly.

Poor you and pup :(

In all honesty, it does not sound like this dog meant to harm your puppy. A fully grown, out of control mastiff could very easily have really hurt a puppy - the fact that he didn't means he didn't want to. None of that means this was ok or that the other owner shouldn't be bloody ashamed or that the incident wouldn't have eventually gotten more aggravated. But it is worth remembering that dogs who want to cause harm, will. If no skin was broken then no bodily harm was intended.

What you and pup need is to build your confidence back up so that this becomes 1 bad incident out of 100s of good ones. That will reduce its power over you both.

I would give yourself, and the puppy 3 days at home. It takes about 72 hours for the body to return to normal following a stressful event. In that time both you and your pup will be more easily spooked than normal so I would not go out on any walks until after that time has passed. Play games and training at home to keep you both entertained.

Then perhaps target quieter places that you feel more confident in. If that means going out early or late when less people are about then try that.

Take it slowly. Give yourself both time to get over it. As you have more and more positive walks, this will fade.

Oh, and feel free to report the twat with the mastiff.

Thank you miss that’s a good idea to have some quiet walks. I dont want to pass on my nervous vibes to my puppy. I have never had a dog before, is this quite common and should I expect this to happen every now and then.

And who would I report to? I went on the police website and they said to refer to council. When I went on council website they said it would be a civil matter if you wanted to pursue it. I’m just frightened of what the outcome could have been.

This is not common. The chances are high that this will never happen again.

What happens more often than most of us like is an off lead dog will bound over to see yours. Be prepared for that. It might be a bit rude but often not dangerous.

It might help to look at training classes? A good class does more than just teach your dog to sit, stay etc. It also supports you as they grow up, explains the different stages a maturing puppy goes through, allows you and your puppy to be around other dogs in a safe way and helps you both learn about doggy body language.

It doesn't even have to be an obedience type class. Things like beginner's agility can achieve the same thing - but this would depend on the age of your dog as you cannot do agility with a very young dog.

Report to the police. They are often not interested in dog/dog fights but this was a dog dangerously out of control. That's how you report it. You explain that you were worried the mastiff would hurt you if you tried to intervene (assuming this is true). However, only do this if you feel up to it.

More info here...

www.pdsa.org.uk/taking-care-of-your-pet/looking-after-your-pet/puppies-dogs/dog-attacks?_$ja=tsid:67827|cid:334043070|agid:57305647577|tid:kwd-350328970273|crid:294826746620|nw:g|rnd:12906807232982349004|dvc:c|adp:1t1|mt:b|loc:1006745&gclid=Cj0KCQiA5Y3kBRDwARIsAEwloL4WunRQpr4M3zfKB7H-QFbZt6mRQTWC_bngqCt1SvvCElcMN1HFG3caAs3lEALw_wcB

When I took my gsd puppy out for the very first time after her injections, she was on lead obvs, she was attacked by a Pomerian. The man said nothing but my puppy was screaming. She never has got over being around other dogs because of this. Please work on your dogs social skills, you don't want a dog like I have, puppy classes would be great.
My dog is 11 now.

I'm sorry you and your pup had to go through this.

I agree that it probably wasn't going to hurt him or there would be damage, it just had no social skills. A puppy class is a good idea to help your puppy build some confidence up.

It does happen from time to time and the best thing to do if you meet another dog is have the lead slack and allow the butt sniffing. Going nose to nose is considered aggressive between dogs. If attacked depending in the dog it might be wise to drop the lead and block the aggressor. Mine has had a few go for her but no injuries as I just let her go and they can't ever catch her. Pretty sure she has some whippet in her.

I think puppies being attacked is common! A lot of adult dogs don’t like puppies, in my experience. Keep him very close to you until he’s older.

Like a PP mine was attacked when he was very young by a terrier and he's never liked them since. Really barks and lunges - he's not like it with other dogs.

It makes me angry because they owner wasn't remotely bothered and now I have a dog that has issues and is reactive forwards pretty much all small dogs.

He's fab in every other sense but he comes across as aggressive towards smaller dogs now - he's not aggressive he's just scared

Does your local authority have a dog warden? It would be worth reporting to them. Also buy a citronella or eucalyptus spray. You can spray an attacking dog in the nose. It doesn’t do them any harm but makes them sneeze and let go. Hope you and your puppy are okay. 💐

Thanks everyone. I’m struggling and keep having flashbacks.

My puppy was nearly killed by a mastiff when he was 15 weeks old needing 2 hours of emergency surgery and a bill of £1.5. As soon as I could I got him out socialising with other safe dogs. My training class helped with this.
Nine years later he is a very polite dog very aware of canine social niceties he will choose to be submissive to friendly dogs, but is capable of putting those who overstep their mark in their place with a quick snapping bark.

Sorry this happened. I had a similar experience when ddog was a pup and it was a mastiff cross.

The other owner took a similar attitude and was telling me to calm down! Luckily pup wasn't hurt but we were shaken by the experience.

I agree with MissB this will be one bad experience amongst 100s of positive ones.

Our ddog is our first dog and in the beginning really lacked confidence and that does change as time goes on.

Trust your instincts, and trust your dog's. If she sees a dog she's not sure of she walks away and so do I.

I think our early experience made her wary of larger breeds but no lasting damage, she is a happy dog who loves socialising with other dogs.