Chihuahuas keep being attacked

[Doughnuting]

I have had my small dogs since they were pups. They are now seven. One male, one female. Both neutered.

Despite no attacks previously, they have been attacked and jumped on three times in the last fortnight. All by different breeds and sizes of dogs.
All in different places.

The first attack was by a pair of out-of-control pit-bull type dogs that kept jumping on them, snarling and pushing them with their noses. Fortunately no biting. The owner had no control and even when she managed to get one of her dogs on the lead, it pulled so much to get to my dogs, the lead snapped. My dogs just yelp, no barking or fighting back at all.

Second was a terrier type dog, mine were on a lead this time and the terrier was not. It ran over to my dogs who were just walking along and snapped at them. My DH managed to shout aggressively enough at this dog that it backed off. Again no barking by mine, just yelping.

Then today a bouncy black lab came over to me and I patted it on the head. Whilst I was talking to the owner, it went behind me and started jumping on my male dog which made him yelp. The owner tried to get it on a lead but with my dog trying to get away, the minute or so that this took seemed ages. She said that her dog had never done this before.

Are my dogs giving off the wrong signals? On each attack/ aggressive play, they are just minding their own business. No sniffing the other dogs, showing any interest in them nor chasing, on each occasion the other dogs have just immediately started on them without any provocation that I can see.

I'm not sure what to do in these situations. Other than walking it where no other dogs go, I'm at a loss on how to prevent further scary incidents.

Your dogs are very small - can’t you just quickly scoop your dogs up when this happens, or ideally before it does? What sort of lead do you use?

A tiny puppy chihuahua bounded up to my Bullmastiff boy out on a walk . It freaked me out because it was blue and I thought it was a rat . Bullmastiff just stretched to the floor to sniff it and went on his way .

Sorry this has happened @Doughnuting. It annoys me that people let their big dogs jump all over small ones then accuse small dogs of being 'yappy little shits' when they start to become reactive.

I've always had small dogs and find this happens a lot. What might be acceptable play for a young lab with a dog a similar size (jumping, pinning etc) is just not OK with a dog which is roughly the size of their heads and can't get away or defend itself. At best the small dogs become antisocial, at worst they feel threatened and try to get in first.

One thing I've found useful which might not work with two (I've always had one at a time) is the 'between' command. It teaches your dog to sit between your feet/legs so you can protect it and fend off other dogs. My current pup actually does this instinctively already because she knows I will protect her. Obviously you don't want to pick them up and teach them to be afraid, but I find 'between means they're still at dog level but have a physical barrier and are close enough that you can give a dog you don't like a good shove if it won't back off (not to hurt it of course).

Good luck!

This has zero relevance to the OP’s question. And I doubt very much you thought it was a rat.

@2ndMrsdeWinter I thought it was very rude and unnecessary too. Why some people seem to think that having a big dog is somehow morally superior I don't know. I love all dogs of all sizes, particularly if they are well mannered - the same applies to humans!

Please don’t pick up your dogs if another dog lunges at them (even in play) as it can make the situation deteriorate really drastically and will likely result in you being bitten.

Are your dogs castrated?

It could be just coincidence, it could be that their body language ( or yours ,if you are feeling understandably anxious they may be presenting differently)has changed since the first attack ,or perhaps, is there anything different about their diet/ health/ body products that might mean they are giving off a different smell?

Dogs see "dog" and don't necessarily take into account relative size differences when it comes to reactions - whether playful or aggressive. Until they reach maturity there's a puppy bonus, and most dogs will be more gentle with their interactions. It doesn't explain a sudden difference in reaction in the last fortnight, but might explain why when you first had them the reaction was different.

It's possible the first recent bad reaction (the pitbull types) was the trigger for the two later interactions, if your dogs were presenting anxiety in the subsequent encounters. Or you transmitted anxiety to them. Both would be quite natural responses from either your chi's or yourself.

Tbh none of these are 'attacks' they sound like over exuberant dogs that their owners should have on lead.
The way you've described the incidents suggests you're a nervous dog owners and your dogs and others can pick up on this.

When ever another dog shows aggression from now on, with your dogs on their leads and behind you, stamp one of your feet LOUDLY and with GREAT force. Look straight in the eyes of the aggressive dog, who should back away instantly.

Dogs are predators and larger dogs will treat small dogs as prey, this is why you need to be the pack leader and defend them from larger breeds. Its just due to an unspoken rule of the animal kingdom.

I have a small dog (not my first dog but smallest I've ever owned) I did everything right, taken to training socialised etc but unfortunately after being harassed on more then one occasion by out of control dogs I now have a very timid dog who panics when approached by dogs she doesn't know and will either run and hide or snap at their faces. It seems to be always larger dogs whose owners have zero control over them and end up chasing their dog trying to catch it.

It's people like this that gives dog owners a bad name

@Irridescantshimmmer
When ever another dog shows aggression from now on, with your dogs on their leads and behind you, stamp one of your feet LOUDLY and with GREAT force. Look straight in the eyes of the aggressive dog, who should back away instantly.
what utter shite, pack leader, you sound stuck in Caesar Milan 1980s

It seems to be always larger dogs whose owners have zero control over them and end up chasing their dog trying to catch it.
it's usually small dogs as owners don't bother to train and use the excuse 'oh he's only small'

Agree with @SnoopysHoose it doesn't work the offending dogs just completely ignore you and carry in being a pest. I've also tried blocking them putting myself between my dog and them and that doesn't work either they just shoot round the back of you. Picking my dog up has so far been the best solution except on one occasion where the labrador that was scaring her decided to jump up at me but it was "ok because he's friendly"

Thank you for this, I have tried your suggested of the 'between' command today. Having them between my legs maybe enough for those dogs playing rough. Early indications are showing that the training maybe long, but I shall persevere.

Perhaps all dogs without reliable recall and unpredictable temperament should be allowed to roam free amongst other dogs, people and children. Is this your suggestion?

Your opinion that my dogs have been targeted since I, or my dogs, appear 'nervous' to other dogs, strikes me as someone who holds the depraved view that women attacked have been so due to their actions.

I can assure you I am not a nervous dog owner and my small dogs have been encouraged to socialise with dogs of all sizes.

Are your dogs castrated?

OP literally said they’re neutered in the first lines of their post.

In my experience, it has been rough playing by dogs of all sizes.

Breeds of dogs seem a very contentious issue and I was careful to be clear it was not one size of dog which had been the issue, but several. All dogs breeds and sizes have the potential to be vicious given poor training and unfortunate set of circumstances.

I am aware that I shall come across this again when walking my dogs, my questions were simply; what can I do to reduce the chances? What should I do if this happens again?

This isn’t what the poster was suggesting. Your second paragraph comparing it to women being attacked is batshit. Of course the off lead dog owner is at fault, that goes without saying, but it’s normal for dogs to pick up on fear or anxiety from either you or your dogs. That’s not victim blaming , it’s just how the animal kingdom functions. It’s natural to become nervous after something makes you nervous, and this feeds into a bad cycle.

Rather than getting advice from MN, how about consulting a qualified trainer/behaviourist about the best way to handle these situations given that you have such small and potentially vulnerable dogs.

OP@Doughnuting in your original post you said your dogs had been attacked 3 times , and then your last post talks about rough play…it would be helpful to clarify which you mean as those situations are a very different kettle of fish in terms of what actions you could take?

I think along with more content dog handling you need to brush up on your reading comprehension and to compare what I said to women being attacked is demented.
At no point did I say dogs should be allowed to roam free, I said the dogs should be on lead, your dogs have not been attacked.

My dog was attacked three times. Each was completely unprovoked. Each time was a labrador (not the same one). My dog was a Staffy.

Some dogs are just badly trained, there are a lot of shitty owners out there, especially the 'don't worry, my dog's friendly' owners. They are the worst ones.

The only thing you can do is be proactive and scoop them up when it looks like trouble is on the way.

Having small dogs I agree with @Tara336 the boisterous big dogs coming over and flattening my dogs with the cheerful call of 's/he's just being friendly' which in turn has made two of my small dogs reactive, all have gone too training classes all have but one has been good off lead with good recall, I have never encouraged play with unknown dogs just sniff and move on, but all have been flattened, rolled and knocked over by other dogs 99% have been big dogs, labs being the worse.

OP I tend too avoid other dogs nowadays to protect my own, and I taught my previous dog to sit behind my legs and then I would block the approaching dog and they tended to run off as we are boring, but doesn't work with my current dogs as one will bark if dogs get too close, so we keep moving trying to give a wide berth to other dogs.

I have the same problem op .
I have two small dogs ,and I'm constantly crossing the road to avoid other dog walkers .
I can not let them of the lead to run around any more either .
I'm sick of hearing that the other dog is " just playing" when it's going mental to get to my dog .
Both mine went to training classes
But I might as well of not bothered,as no one else around here seems to of gone with their dogs