The dog musing/vent thread

DJEtzel

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Watson almost got attacked by a 100lb bouvier at agility last night. Ugh. The dog seems friendly with the other dogs in the class, but apparently decided that Watson was not ok. While he was off leash, he charged up to Watson. At first I just thought he wanted to sniff or maybe play, but then the sniffing got sort of aggressive, with circling and growling. He must have put his teeth on Watson's neck/shoulder because it was wet there. Watson went so far as to bark/growl at the other dog (after this went on for at least a minute or two), which I've never seen him do.

The worst part is the owner was saying "Just grab his collar" to me like it was no big deal. First, I couldn't even see a collar in all that fur. Second, how am I supposed to hold off your increasingly aggressive 100lb dog with one hand? Come and get him! When she made it over, she spent at least a minute or two trying to get him under control as she'd grab him and he would break free and come back. He's well trained in agility, but she has no control over him otherwise. I ended up picking Watson up (mostly) and just spinning to keep myself between him and the other dog.

I'm not sure if it was because Watson was new to the class, because he's intact, or because he returned eye contact briefly. Watson thinks eye contact is an invitation to play, but the bouv obviously took it as a challenge. Now I'm going to have to keep an eye out for that dog, because I don't trust that she can control him even on leash.
Youch.

Taking two minutes to get a dog under control? I'd be having a word with the instructor... That's just.... not ok. Luckily it sounds like he wasn't out for blood.. I still would have been kicking the hell out of the dog though.

Are dogs not crated at your facility during other dogs' runs? Might be worth it to crate Watson while the Bouv is on the floor.

Vibes that Watson doesn't suffer from the incident!
 

yv0nne

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So glad Watson is okay! In my group, we have a strict crate rule. No crate? Go home. And your story is exactly why.

When Penn was a puppy, I was with another group& they didn't believe in crating. I was running Penn through tunnels& one of the aggressive dogs ('tied' on a 30ft lead) went to the end of the tunnel& grabbed her as she was coming out while his owner chatted with another person. It happened to fast for me to stop Penn from zooming into him.
 

Elrohwen

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Youch.

Taking two minutes to get a dog under control? I'd be having a word with the instructor... That's just.... not ok. Luckily it sounds like he wasn't out for blood.. I still would have been kicking the hell out of the dog though.

Are dogs not crated at your facility during other dogs' runs? Might be worth it to crate Watson while the Bouv is on the floor.

Vibes that Watson doesn't suffer from the incident!
Yeah, I don't know exactly how long it was, since that kind of thing always seems like it goes on forever. But I would say at least 2min. He definitely wasn't out for blood or to attack necessarily, but he was kind of doing that posturing thing like "Hey dog, wanna go? Huh? Let's go" And putting his teeth on my dog was kind of weird, though obviously he didn't intend to bite down. He tried to come back and I yelled at him and he did stop and look at me for a second. I was fully planning to kick him if he came back again. He's way too strong for the owner and she just wasn't getting a good grip on him. If it were me, I would've grabbed whatever body part it took to pull him away. At first she clearly thought he was just being social, but when it started to escalate she needed to be more urgent and she just wasn't. The instructor obviously saw what was going on though and I hope I can talk to her about it next week. The bouv had one more run at the end of class and I just left while he was out so I didn't get a chance to talk to her.

No, dogs aren't crated in beginner classes, which I don't like. I can see why, because the things we do are so short that it makes sense to have other dogs ready to go, but it's still dangerous. I was waiting my turn the entire way across the horse arena, but the dog had obviously made the decision that he was going after Watson before his leash came off, because we weren't near him or in his line of sight at all and he just flew over. There is arena fencing, so after the incident I stood outside of the fencing, but it's not big or strong enough to deter a dog like that if he was determined. There are crates (and I've seen higher level classes use them), so I will probably be using one of those next week.

Watson seems fine! He's pretty resilient. He was wiggling his butt off and making eyes at a little beagle the rest of the class. I'm sure he won't make eye contact with the bouv or get near him again though.
 

Elrohwen

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So glad Watson is okay! In my group, we have a strict crate rule. No crate? Go home. And your story is exactly why.

When Penn was a puppy, I was with another group& they didn't believe in crating. I was running Penn through tunnels& one of the aggressive dogs ('tied' on a 30ft lead) went to the end of the tunnel& grabbed her as she was coming out while his owner chatted with another person. It happened to fast for me to stop Penn from zooming into him.
Oh my goodness! I'm sure that was terrifying for both of you. Especially with a puppy, I would be so worried about lasting effects from a bad experience like that.

At first I wished they crated because Watson would take off and go up to other dogs to play, and now I wish they were crated because I don't trust other people's dogs. When he ran up to them some dogs played, some ignored, one snarked and he left that one alone. He's being a friendly idiot, but obviously there is potential for something bad to happen. Ironically he's never approached the bouv, but that dog just didn't like him.
 

Ozfozz

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Very glad Watson is okay!

Hopefully the instructor either starts enforcing a leash/crate rule for class or maybe switches the bouvier if it's a persistent issue.

That happens a lot with agility and flyball dogs I find. So much drive and energy can easily become unfocused on the task at hand and redirect to another dog/handler/etc. with many dogs.

In a semi-private class I took years ago with Cobain, the trainer had us work drills at the opposite end of the arena. Halfway through a jump sequence, the poodle is suddenly attached to Cobain's back side growling. Luckily my ever-focused boy ignored the dog and carried on his way and came back to me when I called.

But it's seriously scary when that happens! Especially if the dog is significantly bigger than yours!
 

Elrohwen

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Very glad Watson is okay!

Hopefully the instructor either starts enforcing a leash/crate rule for class or maybe switches the bouvier if it's a persistent issue.
Dogs not running are all on leash, but the dog who is working isn't. The bouv took one jump and then turned towards us.

That happens a lot with agility and flyball dogs I find. So much drive and energy can easily become unfocused on the task at hand and redirect to another dog/handler/etc. with many dogs.

But it's seriously scary when that happens! Especially if the dog is significantly bigger than yours!
Yeah, this dog seems pretty intense, and I know it's not unusual for a lot of the working/protection type breeds to be DA or SSA. The size was probably the scariest part, since 100+lbs vs 40lbs is a big difference. I'm glad Watson isn't scrappy or it could've gone badly. He didn't seem to know what was happening most of the time.

I will probably be switching to Monday night classes next term, since something else in my schedule is changing. Hopefully there aren't any iffy dogs on that night.



We also had a crazy incident where the beagle/lab mix slammed into her owner twice, causing him to take pretty hard falls (and almost hit his head into an a-frame). She's a crazy fast and drivey little dog, and he's a novice handler who can't get her cues fast enough and once she's moving, she's moving. She came off a jump at an angle and didn't know where to go next, so she ended up slamming into his feet accidentally as he was running. Both dog and owner were fine luckily. I think the instructor was about to have a heart attack last night with all of the crazy.
 

crazedACD

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Watson seems fine! He's pretty resilient. He was wiggling his butt off and making eyes at a little beagle the rest of the class. I'm sure he won't make eye contact with the bouv or get near him again though.
Glad he is ok :).

I'm facing similar issues with my agility... 'club'. We train in a riding arena, and about 3/4 of it is the agility ring, with the other 1/4 being crates, chairs, etc where everyone congregates while one dog is running. There are snow fence on PVC barriers but it's only halfway across. The beginner class was fine, although we had one woman with a dog that was a little snarky, and when the leash was dropped she would run up to other dogs, but Skye and the rest of the dogs were friendly.

Now I'm doing her drop-in class occasionally, with different/more experienced dogs. Skye isn't terribly consistent yet, for the most part she will stay on course, but maybe 1 out of 5 runs she might go visiting (when we are working closer to the people congregating). It's something we are working on. So, even though there are a million crates, two of the people had dog aggressive dogs just standing there on leash...so Skye went visiting during one run, and strolled up to one of them (causing the dog to aggress and lunge). Skye is 'friendly' (and I'm not imagining that, she is just mild around other dogs!), but not lab-like flinging herself in their face, she just approached the other dog. She will not engage in a fight, so the dog aggressed and she backed off, I was right on top of it and collected her. So then after the run I was standing with the other people, I apologized and said I'm working on the 'visiting', but she won't engage another dog in a fight. A girl that had the other DA dog said "Yeah? Well mine will." and rolled her eyes. I didn't say anything but...come on, really? I felt kind of shunned by everyone after that, too.

I just need my own facility to train in :p. I would really like to work on our issues myself.
 

Elrohwen

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Glad he is ok :).

I'm facing similar issues with my agility... 'club'. We train in a riding arena, and about 3/4 of it is the agility ring, with the other 1/4 being crates, chairs, etc where everyone congregates while one dog is running. There are snow fence on PVC barriers but it's only halfway across. The beginner class was fine, although we had one woman with a dog that was a little snarky, and when the leash was dropped she would run up to other dogs, but Skye and the rest of the dogs were friendly.

Now I'm doing her drop-in class occasionally, with different/more experienced dogs. Skye isn't terribly consistent yet, for the most part she will stay on course, but maybe 1 out of 5 runs she might go visiting (when we are working closer to the people congregating). It's something we are working on. So, even though there are a million crates, two of the people had dog aggressive dogs just standing there on leash...so Skye went visiting during one run, and strolled up to one of them (causing the dog to aggress and lunge). Skye is 'friendly' (and I'm not imagining that, she is just mild around other dogs!), but not lab-like flinging herself in their face, she just approached the other dog. She will not engage in a fight, so the dog aggressed and she backed off, I was right on top of it and collected her. So then after the run I was standing with the other people, I apologized and said I'm working on the 'visiting', but she won't engage another dog in a fight. A girl that had the other DA dog said "Yeah? Well mine will." and rolled her eyes. I didn't say anything but...come on, really? I felt kind of shunned by everyone after that, too.

I just need my own facility to train in :p. I would really like to work on our issues myself.
That's exactly the set up we have too, though the fencing across the one portion goes the whole way (but like I said, it's not particularly sturdy and a big dog could get through or over it). There are a number of crates people can use, but it seems like only the advanced classes use them because each dog takes much more time to run.

Watson likes to visit and he's doing it less, but still does it sometimes. And I'll freely admit he's kind of obnoxious about it. :rofl1: He can take a hint though. A little terrier snarked at him and now he won't go near that dog or even look at him, even though the terrier wants to be his friend now. I don't know how people with truly DA or untrustworthy dogs wouldn't take more care though and ask other people to leave, or crate their dog between runs. There is a golden in my class who worries me because I can tell the owner doesn't trust him with the others, though so far he hasn't put a foot out of line. I hope Watson doesn't approach him.

That's too bad that they shunned you. At least in my class the general feeling was on my side, not the owner of the bouv, but then the bouv did approach us. I'm glad I can trust Watson not to approach dogs who have proven to be unfriendly, or to start anything, but I guess I can't trust them not to approach us.
 

Elrohwen

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Ugh this drives me nuts. No, how about YOU just come and get your dog! There are two dogs here and one of me!
Yes! I can't believe she said that, especially considering the size of her dog. It's not like he's a yorkie.

I also got nailed in the hand while grabbing a dog's collar (my mother-in-law's corgi), so I'm a little gun shy about doing that with dogs I don't know.
 

Beanie

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What are the instructors doing while this is happening? Two minutes while a student tries unsuccessfully to catch their dog who just tried to pick a fight with another dog..? If you've got a dog you know will sneak out of the ring, go stand by the ring gate and help the student prevent their dog from getting out of the ring... ughhhhh what.
 

crazedACD

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What are the instructors doing while this is happening? Two minutes while a student tries unsuccessfully to catch their dog who just tried to pick a fight with another dog..? If you've got a dog you know will sneak out of the ring, go stand by the ring gate and help the student prevent their dog from getting out of the ring... ughhhhh what.
Mine was sitting in a chair behind the gate with her own dog.

I wish this forum wasn't so public, I could really let loose (JessLough, you know what I'm talking about). But the place is 10 minutes away, it's cheap, and I can mostly make the class times.
 

Elrohwen

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What are the instructors doing while this is happening? Two minutes while a student tries unsuccessfully to catch their dog who just tried to pick a fight with another dog..? If you've got a dog you know will sneak out of the ring, go stand by the ring gate and help the student prevent their dog from getting out of the ring... ughhhhh what.
The instructor was trying to body block the dog, and started yelling at it to get back. I think she was nervous about grabbing onto him too though. After that she was really vigilant about him so I think she didn't expect him to run away from his owner that first time.
 

crazedACD

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I am making all kinds of faces right now. What.
It's a drop-in class, she doesn't actually have to instruct :D :p.

Haha, I took 12 weeks of 'instructed' classes, my dog has no contacts and no weaves, but hell we are out there running full courses!

Yes, I'm waiting for my schedule to change so I can look into other classes.
 

yv0nne

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I didn't realize how lucky I was as a newbie to agility to have permanent access to every piece of AAC equipment at my disposal. Plus, two of us gave $625 each for three nights of training at a barn from end of October until end of April. Crazy!
 

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