Puppy bitten on early walk and feeling stuck in the heat

[dennydan]

We are in the south east and have had hot temps for several weeks now.

So very early dog walks, then poor dogs have longish period iin the cool until it is cool enough to do anything again.

I have a 6 month old puppy who is just not getting out and seeing the world as it is too hot in the daytime to do so. He is being walked but not a lot of action at 5.30am for him to see the world.

Today was another hot day so walking early and we see a dog, call out to the owner who says their dog loves puppies so foolishly I approach to meet. ( I never do this with dogs I dont know - no idea what came over me) As he had not see many dogs he doesnt know my plan was to have a 2 sec meet and then I went to walk away At this point the dog pinned my dog to the floor and bit right into his neck.

Blood everywhere puppy squealing and owner saying " he has never done that before" as I pull his dog of mine.

We are now sat in the vets whilst he is being stitched up. At least the surgery is airconditioned.

I am scrolling through right move to find a property with land in Scotland to avoid all people and the heat.....I know I am overreacting but just feel grumpy!

Oh gosh that’s awful - I hope the other owners gave you their details and are going to cover the bill?

My beagle was bitten at a similar age (no blood thankfully) and once he’s healed and the adrenaline has worn off I would make sure to get back out for walks ASAP so he doesn’t learn to be afraid.

Yes good point. I will prepare myself to venture into the villlage again

Poor you. It’s possible the older dog saw the pup as prey. It does happen and isn't as unusual as you’d think.

This summer has been tough for dogs and their owners. Just make sure pup meets other known friendly dogs when he’s recovered.

It's rare breed of adult dog that are okay with puppies, particularly ones that are getting a bit older (and thus typically a bit more feisty) as they tend to try and push boundaries a bit more purposefully than a very young puppy does (if that makes sense). Few adults dogs really 'like' puppies in the way that humans mean it. They tolerate them, at best.

That being said, this sounds like a dog that was not friendly at all and the owner was completely negligent - absolutely avoid them in future!!! It's one thing for an adult to discipline a puppy but quite another to draw blood. A well-balanced adult dog can express all the emotions they need to without resorting to violence against a puppy - my mum's (evil) cocker can do it with a simple stare.

Depending on where you are in the south-east there are some really 'high' foot traffic dog locations that are quite shady so worth giving them a go - at least in the car Dpup would have air-con and then the walks would be shady and you could sit there with a coffee and watch the world? Eastbourne is very good for that as is Bedgebury Pinetum (lots of shade and v. high weekend traffic). Would also encourage you to think about coffee shops and just taking the puppy to sit in them (to get him used to ignoring people) and see the world - quite a few near me have AC. I practically sat up camp last year in one of mine - had a dog water bowl and everything! 😁

But absolutely echo what PP has said about getting your boy out and about soon. It's like falling off a horse for humans: best thing is to get straight back onto it!

Really hope your boy is okay. 'First incident' is always so scary for both puppy and owner, so you have my sympathy!

'First incident ' could easily have been this puppy's last incident if this dog had ruptured/torn/nicked a major artery......

Dogs rarely do well meeting on leads especially if one is jumpy and excited, they feel they can’t get away!

A friend of mine says after something like that you should actually have a decompression period to allow pup to reset. Think when her dog got bitten she didn’t go out for 72 hours. She reckons if you go out too soon then dog is still in an anxious state and will associate going out with being on edge. After 72 hours the worry of it will have passed somewhat and he will be more positive about being outside.

Only my dog was on lead. It was a 2 sec interaction if that. My puppy did nothing. It was a quick greet and as we moved away the dog attacked.

If the other dog thought it was prey it was very thick! My puppy was still and calm.

We are miles from Eastbourne but air conditioned coffee shops is a thought. We are pretty rural so everywhere involves a drive. I was wondering if hitting the National Trust sites where dogs have to be on lead may mean I could get some safe distant interactions as we are now back to ignoring dogs and not interacting with them.

I agree that dogs generally dont like very young puppies. This was way more than an adult dog putting a youngster in its place. He has had to have 32 stitches in his neck. I didnt know his neck was big enough for 32 stitches!

Mine is a 6 month old puppy who is training to be a medical alert dog. He is calm, focussed and was not running around chasing etc. He was walking to heel minding his own business. I usually give unknown dogs space and he is happy to walk away from dogs without making a fuss. The other dog initated the interaction mine just camly greeted him and then went to move away.

There just seem to be so many dogs with dodgy temperaments. I had already on the walk decided to change direction as there was a border terrier running manically across the playing field barking and the owner trying hard to recall as he was chasing another dog away.

As I work with dogs my days have been changed hugely by the weather. Very early starts and late night training. Maybe I am just knackered and over reacting to this but if doesnt really feel safe to let dogs meet other dogs at all.

Poor little chap is looking very sorry for himsef

He wont be able to go anwhere for a while as he can't wear a collar or a harness due to the stitches

Yes this !

Dogs don’t need to be taken up to each other to ‘meet’.
The ideal scenario is for them to be happy annd relaxed ignoring/being neutral with other dogs.
Their focus should be on the human owner as the provider of everything good in their lives.

But so many dog owners feel their dogs need to say ‘hello’ whatever that means……..

Annoyingly I dont usually have meets with dogs I dont know. The heat got to me and I am officialy an idiot. It will not happen again.

However it wasnt a free for all it was 2 secs if that - he was approached - he did not approach the dog. Dog came up to face greet and I walked away - then attack.

I remember taking my 6 month old ridgeback on a free run. There was a dog walker with 8 dogs! All the bitches wanted to play. The delux sheepdog got jealous and tore a strip out of him. 10 staples later! I was fuming and eventually tracked her down to pay the vet bill.

I hope pup bounces back, definitely decompression time - several days at least. Then you will need to rebuild his confidence. Some dogs dont bounce back, so im just here to say take it slow, at his pace and any signs that he is worried or fearful get a qualified force free trainer to work with you. Im a trainer /reactivity support specialist - the next few months will be key in helping pup recover, gain confidence and hopefully not struggle witj other dogs and the world as a result.

This is awful, I used to have a reactive (due to to an injury) rescue dog and I was so ultra careful, never had one incident in 14 years but post pandemic I had to be very direct to the point of almost rudeness to get through to many stupid owners. It has made me ultra nervous with our new dog who is ok. Problem is there are so many negligent owners out there its so hard to socialise dogs probably now. You are quite a new owner and I really feel for you as its ultra difficult to navigate this stuff now. You should definitely report this person though, that dog needs to be muzzled and at the very least kept on a lead. Hope your pup recovers well x

I'm really sorry that this happened to your puppy. Don't crucify yourself - we all make mistakes, no matter how much dog experience we've had (and I know that you've had a lot).

If he's a well-bred dog with a solid temperament he should recover. As for the other dog... I hope you got the owner's details.

Thank you all for your messages. Today is a new day.

Athough this dog is only 6 months I have had dogs for years. I have 4 other dogs at the moment as well. They were not with me yesterday.

I am a foster for collie dogs. I have dogs with quite tricky pasts and help them to go to new families .

Even more frustrating that I made the wrong choice - I shoud have known better!

The owner has been in touch. I meet the dog that attacked without my dogs around yesterday evening and I think he has bad hips or bad back as his gait was odd apparently he has walked like this for a while. I have suggested that he takes the dog to the vet for a check up.

I have been out this morning with my other dogs and had a lovely walk in the fields and saw noone. Puppy is quiet, to be expected but happy to eat and mooch around a bit. He is happilly interacting with my other dogs.

I do hope that pup has a swift recovery with no lasting damage or nervous behaviors from the attack

Obviously not for right now but if the stitches won't allow for a collar or harness but he's ready to go back out we use a komfi head collar as ddog2 can't be walked on a collar
Only one I've found that he can't slip off
It buckles behind the head so may be high enough not to interfere with the stitches depending on how far up the wound goes