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The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

Original poster

Does your dog have a particular dog in the neighbourhood that it hates?

73 replies

SirChenjins · 02/10/2023 11:38

If so, how do you manage their barking and lunging when it meets the other one? And how do you manage off lead dog walks if it’s fine with every other dog it meets but you’re always worried it will meet this one other one?

Im just waiting to hear back from a behaviourist I messaged earlier after an incident that’s shaken me this morning.

OP posts:
piscofrisco · 02/10/2023 13:51

Yes. And it hates her back! It's so weird. She doesn't react like that to any other dog but when she sees him she goes into full on attack mode. Fortunately she is tiny so it's not an issue m, we can get her out of there quickly enough.

Papergirl1968 · 02/10/2023 14:06

My Staffie loves some dogs, will just stare at others, and hates a few - especially Collies.
We saw a spaniel a few weeks ago and even as I realised from her body language that there was going to be trouble she had wriggled out of her harness and ran up the road. It was bitten, as was the woman walking it, and I had a visit from the police dangerous dog unit who dealt with it as a community resolution. I'd have been asked to pay the vet bill if I hadn't already done so and they have her details on record so I know the consequences could well be more serious if it happens again.
I have no idea what caused this particular incident other than it was a black and white spaniel so maybe she thought from a distance it was one of her black and white collie enemies.
I'm even more vigilant now and avoid certain streets. I'm glad it's not just me hiding behind cars with my dog like an idiot.
We are working on muzzle training but they don't seem to fit her face very well. She is never off lead.
Apparently dogs don't like other dogs with black faces because they find it hard to make out their expression.

Original poster
SirChenjins · 02/10/2023 14:50

PenhillDarkMonarch · 02/10/2023 13:49

Then you've been unlucky, OP. If you do all that diligently, the chances of a repeat are almost zero. Particularly, while you work with a behaviourist to help you.

(though I will add, there is always an 'out' which is to immediately u-turn and go back the way you came).

Hopefully so 🤞

Re the ‘out’ - usually we will turn around and walk in the opposite direction or veer off in another direction but this particular time we turned a corner and there was the other dog immediately in front of us. ChenDog noticed and reacted immediately because they’re the same height as each other, whereas I was just conscious of this man in front of me then realised who it was in a ‘oh shit’ way - it was that very quick sort of thing. If we’d have turned and walked in the opposite direction he’d have been on our heels with ChenDog looking round and lunging/barking at his dog so I wanted to go past him and down the hill out of sight.

Just been out for another walk - on-lead round the streets and off-lead in ann empty field. Passed multiple dogs without incident and another dog came into the field and went up to him, they sussed each other out, and then played happily together for a bit before I called him and clipped him on lead, and continued on our walk. Feel less shaky now.

OP posts:
Original poster
SirChenjins · 02/10/2023 15:09
  • The other dog came up to ChenDog, not the other way around - just in case someone says I shouldn’t let my dog approach others, I didn’t!
OP posts:
DramaAlpaca · 02/10/2023 15:19

I have a beautifully behaved springer who is perfect with other dogs, even in the face of them being grumpy. With the exception of my friend's dog, a white fluffy thing with attitude. The two of them cannot stand each other and have to be kept apart. I have no idea why they hate each other, but they do.

Original poster
SirChenjins · 02/10/2023 15:47

I’m glad it’s not just mine. DH thinks he remembers the first time our dog met this one for the first time - apparently it stopped and stared down ours, which given they’re the same size and mix was hardly the end of the world. For some reason ours has taken this very much to heart and now behaves like one of the Kray twins defending their mum’s honour every time he’s within a hundred feet of this dog Sad

OP posts:
Paddingtonthebear · 02/10/2023 15:55

Yes, we have a small dog and she will usually kick off at the same types of dogs - huskies, lurchers, greyhounds and collie type dogs. Sometimes border terriers or Jack Russell’s . But only she is on the lead. Doesn’t tend to react off lead. It’s strange.

AnnieP1 · 02/10/2023 17:18

So glad to have found this thread! My normally sweet tempered medium sized crossbreed has taken a violent dislike to a collie, a spaniel, a small labrador and a hungarian vizla in the neighbourhood barking and lunging when on a lead. She plays happily with other dogs of all these breeds so cannot understand it. She sits in the window and if one of the dogs passes by there is an absolute frenzy of barking and literal stamping of feet but her tail is wagging furiously!! I never let her off lead unless I have a clear view in all directions but it is making walks stressful and I'm concerned that she is picking up on my nervousness.

Butterkist8 · 02/10/2023 17:26

Huskies and any brachycephalic breeds.

Original poster
SirChenjins · 03/10/2023 20:47

DH has just come back from a walk and unfortunately met the dog and its owners who had an absolute go at him - apparently they’ve reported our dog to environmental health and want to know what we’re going to do about our dog barking at theirs as they can’t enjoy walking it in case they meet us. Where on earth do I go with this?

OP posts:
mrsbyers · 03/10/2023 20:49

Yep he lives nextdoor , the pair of them are always barking through the fence to the extent we had to put another gate up to stop them being face to face.

SpamhappyTootsie · 04/10/2023 06:34

Highly unlikely that the Council will take further action. They probably smiled and nodded (or the email / phone equivalent) when the couple reported a minor dog on dog scuffle, but unless your dog is regularly involved in attacks, which he most definitely isn’t, the Council won’t do anything.
They are being ridiculous about the barking. I think all you can do is just turn around, dog on lead and march in the opposite direction. No authorities, Council or otherwise, are going to give a shit about a leashed dog, under obvious control who is being a bit barky.

Apologies, have just read back and there was no contact, just barking. Council even less likely to give them the time of day if your dog is now on a lead whenever it encounters the other dog.

margotrose · 04/10/2023 07:17

The law changed recently to say that a dog doesn't have to actually injure or bite someone to be considered a danger.

If your dog frightens someone to the point that they believe they're going to get hurt, (or that their dog is going to get hurt) then they can be classed as dangerously out of control - even if they're on a lead. The difficulty they will have is obviously proving this.

A dog on a lead that "just" barks and lunges and never, ever makes contact is very unlikely to be considered out of control - but a dog who is off lead and causes a problem could be considered out of control, even if nobody is hurt.

I think you just need to be incredibly careful and not have your dog off the lead if you meet this dog again.

Needtobestrongxx · 04/10/2023 07:35

Have you tried a muzzle for walks? We have a soft one for our cocker spaniel as he can be reactive to large male dogs. If it’s on he can’t bark/bear his teeth at them. 99 times out if 100 hrs fine but this gives us peace of mind he won’t react. I think his issues are down to nerves/anxiety him trying to protect me.

MyCircumference · 04/10/2023 07:48

my dog hated an old english sheepdog puppy, still hates it, i have to keep an eye out
another dog a terrier the owner always picked it up when they came past, now that is her nemesis, she barks when they walk by in the evening, she doesnt even like the owner!
but we, me and the owner, are both aware of the situation and do our best to keep them apart.

MyCircumference · 04/10/2023 07:50

do you try and get your dog's attention? with a treat or a toy?

MyCircumference · 04/10/2023 07:52

i would not apologise to the owner op,
they hate each other

PinkFootstool · 04/10/2023 08:00

SirChenjins · 03/10/2023 20:47

DH has just come back from a walk and unfortunately met the dog and its owners who had an absolute go at him - apparently they’ve reported our dog to environmental health and want to know what we’re going to do about our dog barking at theirs as they can’t enjoy walking it in case they meet us. Where on earth do I go with this?

Tell them to fuck off. Dogs can be reactive. Your dog is on a lead and under your immediate control, it's just noise, as worrying as the sound can be. You've hardly let it attack them.

I have a reactive dog who is a wanker about specific animals. She loves lots of others. She's never ever off lead now and all the work we've done with trainers, behaviourists, vets etc has resulted in fuck all difference. She thinks that dog is a threat, and nothing we've done changes her perspective.

There has not been any law change on dogs despite what a PP says.

Your dog doesn't like theirs, it's not a crime.

margotrose · 04/10/2023 08:08

Needtobestrongxx · 04/10/2023 07:35

Have you tried a muzzle for walks? We have a soft one for our cocker spaniel as he can be reactive to large male dogs. If it’s on he can’t bark/bear his teeth at them. 99 times out if 100 hrs fine but this gives us peace of mind he won’t react. I think his issues are down to nerves/anxiety him trying to protect me.

You should never use a soft muzzle for walks - it's very dangerous, especially in summer.

margotrose · 04/10/2023 08:10

There has not been any law change on dogs despite what a PP says.

Yes, there has. From the government website:

Your dog is considered dangerously out of control if it:
• injures someone
• makes someone worried that it might injure them
A court could also decide that your dog is dangerously out of control if either of the following apply:
• it attacks someone’s animal
• the owner of an animal thinks they could be injured if they tried to stop your dog attacking their animal

www.gov.uk/control-dog-public

AtlasPine · 04/10/2023 08:22

Does anyone more experienced than me think you can gradually introduce dogs who appear to hate each other but haven’t actually fought (wearing muzzles initially) until they are relatively desensitised to each other and begin to just ignore each other?

We all adore our dogs so a solution like that, if it were possible to work together, would be ideal. Much better than ‘blaming’ a dog for being a dog and yelling at its people.

PinkFootstool · 04/10/2023 08:23

@margotrose that's not new. That was an amendment in 2014 to the original 1991 Act. Literally nothing has changed this year on this subject.

https://www.bluecross.org.uk/advice/dog/wellbeing-and-care/dog-laws-uk

I highly doubt you'll get enforcement because your dog barks at one dog once a week or so irrespective of the owners being dramatic about it.

margotrose · 04/10/2023 08:24

@AtlasPine it's absolutely possible in some cases, but you need to be very careful and do it properly and over a long period of time.

I work with dogs and have desensitised a few to each other over the years.

margotrose · 04/10/2023 08:24

@PinkFootstool I never said it happened this year, but lots of people still seem totally unaware of it.

PinkFootstool · 04/10/2023 08:25

@margotrose you said it was new. I said nothing had changed. 7yr old law is not new, whether people know the law or not.

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