Help me help my dog after attack 😭

[FrozenFightFlight]

Good evening all…

A few days ago my beautiful little King Charles cav was attacked on a walk by a bully. It was genuinely so so traumatic. He received vet care of course and whilst very sore and achey, he’s going to make a full recovery. Police are involved.

I am looking for advice on how to help his psychological recovery. He’s so sad and down, doesn’t want to go out for a wee/poo, and his little spark seems gone. I know it’s early days, but does anyone have any tips or experience? I want to do everything I can to help him, he’s my best pal 😢 If there is anything I can start early on I would love to take some good advice

I don't have a dog but I hope your doggy gets his confidence and spirit back soon, lots of extra treats and cuddles for him, I hope the police follow up the attack.do you have a back garden, will he go outside at all.

i would suggest socialising him with some dogs you know to be friendly. And build his confidence back up.

When my friend's elderly dog was attacked* I know she got him back on the same route quite soon after...

Agree with letting him be around dogs you know to be friendly.

*by a pair of off lead staffies who bit his beautiful spaniel ear off :-(

Oh how sad. I'd take it really slowly. Could you get a dog pram and just take him out in that to see how he responds while he's lacking confidence and still sore. Might help get his confidence up and also his spirit while he recovers?
Agree with the other poster about socialising with dogs he knows too.
If he's not confident going out, could you take him to visit any dog loving family or friends for just a change of scenery in the short term?

Oh also, i'd play sniffy games in the house - hunt the treat type things and lots of licky mats. Sniffing reduces their anxiety and i think the licky mats do something similar too.
And dog puzzles to keep him engaged...

Yes! Sniffing, licking and chewing are the three things to calm their anxiety.

Go to the pet shop and buy ALL THE CHEWS!

Your natural response will be to coddle him. Try not to, especially around other dogs when you are out and about. Doing so will enhance his feeling that there is something to worry about.

Try behaving as if there is nothing wrong, especially around other dogs. If you need to, and are able, put some extra distance between you both and other dogs without making it a big deal. If you can, get him to look at you and give him a treat when you are near other dogs.

That must have been horrific for your and your darling pup OP. I hope he makes a speedy recovery. I would say plenty of rest, lots of love and gentle fun and treats in the house then gradually mixing with steady, respectful dogs and as much normality as possible.

Really sorry to hear this. I know how upsetting it is - my two terriers were attacked by two boxers and ended with owner lying on one punching it in the head to get it to let go.

But afterwards the problem was actually me - every time I saw another large dog I’d tense up and they could sense this. You have to consciously relax and, when you see another dog, keep up a cheery pattern- mine is ‘oh who’s this? Is it your friend” etc. I always treat them after an interaction with another dog as well.

once I realised issue was me (thanks to a behaviourist) I was able to cheer them up and get them back to usual v quickly.

Our staffy was attacked when he was 11 months old, he was on lead the other dog was off lead, the other dog had run off from the owner and had no recall so should never have been let off the lead.

At first our dog was scared to go out, I remember the first time I walked him round the block after the incident and even someone shutting their front door made him jump. I would agree with others that you should try and act normally when out. Thankfully within a few weeks after he was pretty much back to normal, apart from a couple of scars on his face.

Has your dog been castrated? Ours wasn't at the time but was due to be, a behaviourist advised us to wait until he had got his confidence back.

God this is my worst nightmare. The number of times a big off lead dog has approached us and I've been so nervous. Please give your doggy lots of treats from me.

My cocker spaniel was badly attacked by another dog in the village where we live. It's made him horribly reactive to other dogs sadly, and my best advice would be to get a professional behaviourist in asap. I had one recommended to me by our vets. I was horribly nervous (still am in honesty if a dog approaches us off lead) but my dog was picking up on that and it was making him worse.

I'm so sorry, it's a horrific ordeal to go through. The other dog that attacked mine is now under a Magistrates control order and is supposed to be muzzled/on a lead in public at all times but the owner is an arrogant twit who thinks he is above the law

Oh bless him. My dog was attacked although thankfully not injured and was really shaken after and didn't want to go out. I don't know if I did the right thing or not, so please don't take this as advice, but what I did was:

To start with I took him on familiar walks where he wouldn't have to encounter dogs (or if we did I wouldn't let dogs approach him) so he could decompress. I made sure I gave him lots of treats (he's greedy) to build up an association that outside was good again and let him sniff to his hearts content. After he seemed calmer I let him say hello to friendly dogs if he wanted (I would have walked him with any calm dog friends if I could've at this stage). I made a real attempt to not get anxious myself. It took us a while to get back to where he was attacked, to start with he'd just be no and turn around as we got near, but I kept trying. When he did decide to walk through then I made it a really fun place again, lots of praise, treats and play. And then we went there regularly so he'd keep building up good memories to counter that one horrible one.

Like I say, I don't know if I handled it well or not, it just seemed logical based on my own anxiety experiences.

Thanks for the amazing advice all ❤️ He’s now got an infection from the bite but our vet is taking good care of him. Short gentle walks in favourite places seems to be ok at the moment, so hopefully his confidence will be back soon