To the lady whose dog attacked mine this morning;
I know you’ll probably never read this, but writing to you is somewhat therapeutic for me so I’m going to go ahead.
We (my partner, our dog and I) were having a great morning this morning. And because I have educated myself about how to handle aggressive dogs and break up dog fights, we will continue to have a good life together. I am sad to say though that if I had been less educated and my dog not as well trained, that might not be the outcome.
I am trying really hard not to be angry; on some level, a dog has a mind of their own, and who knows, maybe this is the first aggressive incident your dog has ever had. My dog certainly isn’t perfect either: she ate my shoe just last night. Many people would label her “aggressive” or “mean” or “frightening” simply because she was “flawed” at birth: her mom or dad was an American Pit Bull. We rescued her, and never looked back. Those descriptors are just the opposite of our Maggie: despite her "aggressive" heritage, she is the sweetest, gentlest (although clumsy sometimes about sitting in my lap), most playful, loving dog you could ever hope to have. There is not a mean bone in her body.
When your dog growled and showed teeth to my dog, challenging her, putting himself (or herself?) between my dog and I, that was a sign for me (and apparently you were unaware… Too busy with whatever else was on your mind to be paying attention, maybe?). I saw my dog’s posture change… She tucked her tail and ears, and looked at me, then back at your dog. Still no response from you. I stepped away, and called my dog to my side. She tried to come to me, but your dog would not let her pass.
Because I have built a relatively large vocabulary to communicate with my dog, my response was “come on Mags, it’s ok, come here.” She tried again. I would venture to say that when Maggie’s hackles raised, she growled to warn your dog, but I couldn’t hear because of the wind.
Somewhere around here, you started calling your dog in a casual way. Then more aggressively as your dog was non-responsive.
I gave Maggie another “it’s ok” and a nod, “come on, mamma.” She trotted out around your dog, and approached me (so proud!). Your dog, however, continued to follow us. I brought maggie away a few more steps, and stopped… I could still hear you calling and not getting any closer.
Your dog approached us again, hackles raised and growling. I retreated a few more steps and put my Maggie into a sit-stay by my side.
At this point, your dog again tried to get between Maggie and I. That was kind of the beginning of the end. Maggie is, to her credit, highly protective of her family. When it’s playtime and a dog gets around us, her tail wags and she boops the other dog on the head and they go off and play. This was not playful. She warned your dog with another low growl, and I think that’s where your dog lost it. She (he?) fully lunged at Maggie at this point.
I handled my dog. I pulled her away by her rear hips, got a hold of her collar and put myself between your dog and mine. Your dog continued to lunge at me and Maggie. I turned us, twisted us, deflected your dog, until you managed to run the 40 yards or so you had allowed to stretch out between you and your dog. Even then, though, you didn’t know how to manage the situation. You were afraid of your own dog, didn’t know how to remove it from the situation and control it.
I want you to see the story in intimate detail: that is how I remember incidents like this, car accidents, etc.. I also want to stress to you that unlike the statement you made, that they were “both going after each other,” your dog completely instigated the situation. And I need you to see that dogs do have their own minds and therefore require an enormous amount of consistency and training to be good, trustworthy, reliable dogs.
I hope to god that you take this incident as motivation to do better by your dog: well trained obedient dogs are happy, safe dogs. And they deserve that effort from us. If I didn’t make that effort with Maggie, she wouldn’t be able to chase squirrels to her heart’s content off the leash at our favorite parks. And that would make her a much less happy puppy.
You, your dog and everyone around you deserve for you to learn to be a better dog parent. Please do. Oh, and please stop blaming other people for your failings. It just makes us more frustrated. If you had just apologized and handled your shit like an adult, I wouldn't have been mad at all. Dogs will be dogs. We just have to do our parts to help them be the best dogs they can be.
jacobvanloon
janainaart
titsay
izzy806
origamiaround
