How to move on from dog attack

[boxofbadgers]

My dog and I were recently attacked by an off-lead dog, luckily my dog walked away with just a couple of bite marks and I have some pretty impressive bruising but no permanent damage. However I am now apparently terrified of other dogs! A (friendly!) dog jumped up at me earlier when we were on a walk and I burst into tears, a massive overreaction as it was on a lead and just a bit bouncy and the owner was super apologetic. How do I get over this? I’m really struggling to take my dog out, he’s only little and I’m so paranoid that bigger dogs are going to go for him and one of us will get hurt again.

I know how lucky we are that neither of us were seriously hurt, and I do really love dogs! I don’t want my dog’s life to get smaller because I’m scared, and I don’t WANT to be scared! I don’t have any help to walk him, and he is always on a lead because his recall is hit and miss. Does anyone have any tips of how I can get past this before it becomes a bigger problem please?

I'm a dog trainer, and have worked with people who are terrified of dogs. They have said what has helped them most was me teaching them the subtle differences in body language that tell you a mile off what a dog's likely intentions are. Things like nose flicks, eye expression, angle of approach, tail height and wag speed. So maybe some in depth body language videos so that you're confident in how an interaction is likely to go?

I’m sorry that happened to you and your poor little dog. I can imagine feeling exactly the same as you if that happened to me and my dog. I hope @Springadorable suggestion helps.

I think that would be helpful for anyone who frequently encounters dogs when they are out

@Springadorable im terrified of all dogs and have been since i was jumped on by a huge dog as a child. With the increase in dog ownership and dogs in offices / hospitality venues, my world is getting smaller and smaller. Your suggestion is interesting and I might give it a try but then I’d be worried as what if a dog was approaching me and it was giving off angry / attack signals. I think I’d be more worried!

I totally get that. What you'll find though is that dogs that superficially look worth worrying about aren't once you can read them better. You'll be able to see that the large dog charging at you actually has a bouncy, inefficient gait and loose jowls and is just a friendly overgrown puppy, and the dog that is barking is frustrated that it can't say hello to the dog across the street. So you go from a world where many many dogs appear threatening to very few.
Admittedly if a dog does mean damage it is fast and usually silent and there's not a huge amount you can do about it, and that is scary, but it's very very rare. But if you can spot a dog that is hugely uncomfortable around people from a distance you can take steps to remove yourself from being near it.

Or they could simply keep their dog on a lead & under control when they encounter other people with or without dogs!

But how often does that happen? Other owners are a nightmare

@boxofbadgers I’m with you on this one! I was bitten 2.5 weeks ago and the bite was on my hand and through to the bone and I know the dog.. not an aggressive dog normally. But it’s made me scared of every dog and I have 2 dogs that I’m also avoiding. I don’t know if my trauma was made worse by suffering a severe infection that spread up my arm and having to be hospitalised for strong treatment but I’d love to feel comfortable again.

@flutterbye99 I’m so sorry this happened to you, it really is traumatic! The dog that bit me is known to be aggressive and has attacked before, the owner let it out of the house (because she’s an idiot) and I happened to be walking past. I do think I’m a bit traumatised, and I wasn’t hurt nearly as badly as you were!

Thank you for your suggestion @Springadorable, I think the problem is this dog came out of literally nowhere so I’m finding that I’m getting scared just walking down the street in case another one appears! I’m hoping it’s something that will fade with time, but it is horrible. I will look into behaviourists to see if there are any local I can work with as I really don’t want this to become a ‘thing’.

Yeah, I’ve done a referral for therapy in the hope that I can change my mind set. But we will see.. to be honest after ending up in hospital for the severe infection I am trying to stay away from all animals with nails and teeth 🫣 you don’t actually realise how many their are until you’re actively looking. I just think.. 1 scratch and i could end up with another infection. It’s just horrendous

What's happened here is that you had such a horrible experience with one particular dogs that your mind has set up a blanket alert for every dog on a 'just in case' basis - a bit like not wanting to get in any car again after an accident.

It may well fade over time but if it doesn't, or gets worse, a couple of sessions of hypnotherapy will help that part of your mind to get it into perspective.

I had a frightening experience when walking my dog. I became scared to walk the dog alone but not scared of dogs generally. I managed it by driving him to remote fields. But dh did 75% of walks so it was a bit easier.

I would recommend grounding exercises so focus on being in the moment to try to calm yourself

I am so sorry this happened to you and your dog. My son was terrified of dogs and nearly got hit by a car after one ran at him and he ran into the road. We did a kind of exposure therapy with a friends dog who was calm and lovely to help him. Maybe meeting friends who have friendly dogs to socialise might help. A dog trainer/behaviourist who runs a training class might be a good option to allow you and your dog to meet other dogs in a safe environment.

Also walking in places where the dogs are less likely to be off lead on your own and walking with someone else for support in areas where dogs are more likely to be off lead might help in the short term.

I used to live abroad where there were a lot of aggressive dogs that came flying out of houses. I used to turn and shout at them very loudly as soon as they appeared and made myself big. Once or twice I had to actually hit them but that was unusual, mostly they would skid to a halt. So maybe having a plan should a dog come flying out will help? You can also carry the red pet corrector spray from pets at home to startle them. I don't recommend it for training but for stopping a dog in its tracks it's not bad.

Thank you everyone for your help and suggestions ❤️ I’ve put out a plea on local Facebook groups for people to dog walk with and have already had a few responses, so fingers crossed I’ll be back to normal soon ☺️

so sorry you went through this. My dog was bitten many years ago when he was a pup and I too like you was scared of going out with him but time is a good healer. What time do you usually walk him? I would suggest if you don’t work going out early before all the professional dog walkers go out and go to areas where you know are quieter preferably when people are at work or school, etc. try and find someone to go with you to build your confidence back up. Try and understand it is rare to get attacked and most dogs are fine. Good luck !

I am so sorry that this happened to you, your dog and others, notably @flutterbye99 . I agree with @Eyesopenwideawake it makes you alert to the potential of danger, like when you crash a car or fall off a horse. It’s horrible when it happens but you should regain your confidence over time.
I think you are being very brave and sensible confronting your fear and arranging to walk with other dogs. Hopefully that will also help your dog too. I hope it goes well for you both.

Sounds like you are doing all the right things, and hopefully to reassure you that the fear subsides. Three months ago my golden was attacked by a group of four dogs that appeared out of nowhere, and went at her completely unprovoked. She ended up at emergency vets and with staples, I ended up at A&E with a puncture wound in my hand but thankfully no permanent damage. For a month or so afterwards I did feel very jumpy on walks, I forced myself to go back to the same area where the attack happened, normally a very quiet and remote area. I was much more scared than her but going back helped, and in time I was able to rationalise the event as a complete one-off freak accident. I've never seen that pack of dogs before or since, so it was very much "wrong place, wrong time" sort of thing. I hope things gradually improve for you, too.