What to expect if your dog is bitten by another dog ?

[DIPANNITA DAS]

Hello Adrienne ,

how are you? Trust you are doing good. I had a situation I want to talk about with you.

if you recall we discussed regarding Sky earlier. He is a work like breed German Shepherd 1.5 years old now.

something very bad happened last week. I was talking a walk around 11:00 pm in my neighborhood and all of a sudden a medium sized dog (Poodle) came out of no where and bit Sky without even being provoked. He came straight and bit without even barking or anything. It came from a house where I guess people were about to leave and this guy slipped thru and bit Sky. It happened so fast that Sky struggled himself from the grip of that dog and also from his leash / collar and instead of fighting back (I just heard him growling at him once) or grabbing that other dog who was half his size, he ran away and ran straight towards our house which was 3/4 blocks down. This other dog didn’t stop at just biting Sky but ran towards him and was chasing Sky till I lost sight of both of them. By the time I was able to reach home I found the owner of the other dog reaching before me and he was holding his dog. He apologized and also paid for Sky's Vet visit around $500 and other than just telling him about what happened was unacceptable I didn’t do much of an action. I am not even sure if I should have informed animal services or something but I guess doing that would just create more problems for the person who it seemed was genuinely sorry for what happened 

Now more than Sky I am in a shock and scared of walking him knowing that a dog can come out of nowhere and can cause injury like that. I just want to know how it could affect Sky psychology and if there is any special precautions I should take. Since that incidence I am not taking him on his morning walks, I am just going once late at night and that too staying close to my house. Any advice is much appreciated.

Secondly about the work line breed GSDs, I thought they are protective breeds with a natural instinct to defend. Sky is 43 Kgs and look of him or his bark alone can instil fear. But in reality is he just a sweet mushy little giant who could not  defend himself or did he took a call that running away was a better option than fighting.

if it ever comes to defending his pack (like me, my kids etc), will he step-in in our defence or requires any further training. My kids are small 2 yrs and six, I don’t want him to be a protection dog trained but expectation was he will be naturally protective towards my kids in particular (which I see he is because when I am out with my daughter and she tends to wander away the look of concern in Sky). However I never thought that he would run away when attacked by another dog half his size, thought I really very much appreciate what he did, but just curious to know what drove him. Did he took a decision to not escalate the situation by getting into a fight or ran for his life and yes, will he fight for me or my kids if we are ever in that situation. He has so lovely and caring eyes, I feel so bad that this happened and I could not protect him on the spot.

thanks for reading. Take care.

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hi, 

Wow, I am so sorry this happened to you and Skye. How unfortunate of a situation. I would also feel traumatized by it and would keep on getting flashbacks trying to make a reason of it. 

In a case like this, being attacked by another dog is an aversive experience that may lead to short-term and long-term consequences. Just seconds after the attack, the affected dog may be shaky and jumpy as the adrenaline will be pumping. As the dog recuperates from this acute onset, there may be the onset of a negative conditioned emotional response associated with the place where the incident occurred and/or the presence of other dogs.

Now, this doesn't always happen to every single dog. Some dogs may perceive the attack as scary and unpleasant, but it will soon be shaken off. The problem arises when the attack is morphed into a life-changing event, and this can happen even to the most solid dogs.

There are ample stories of even service dogs who have proven their worth in being "bomb-proof dogs" over the years suffering the consequences of an encounter gone wrong and emotionally paying the price. It's as if an imaginary switch flips inside their head. Science calls it "single event learning." Undoing the damage is often quite a bumpy road. In this service dog story, a 30-second attack turned into two years of rehabilitation.

This negative experience may have an impact on how the dog reacts in the presence of other dogs. A history of an injury is not necessary for such aversive conditioning to take place.I have seen reactions range from avoidance behaviors (the dog no longer wants to play or interact with other dogs or does so very tentatively) to defensive behaviors (the dog feels threatened and uses the "offense is the best defense" strategy to maintain distance

There are then also several dogs sort of in between, where you really don't notice many problems readily, but at some point in the dog's future history of playing or interacting with other dogs, a new issue pops up out of nowhere (e.g., the dog starts growling during an interaction) in a dog who never exhibited this type of issues before.

In any case, the onset of a negative conditioned emotional response needs to be addressed to prevent the issue from establishing and becoming worse. This requires several measures to protect the dog's emotional wellbeing and address any issues the dog may have acquired due to the negative experience. 

So let's take a look at ways to help the recovery of a recently attacked dog. How quickly the dog recovers varies from one dog to another and other variables such as level of owner commitment, how severely the dog was impacted, whether professional assistance is needed and how well the dog's environment can be managed to prevent any future negative encounters.

-Be Your Dog's Ambassador

If your dog was attacked by another dog, it's important that you protect your dog from any future negative encounters that may further cause stress. Keep in mind that stress levels may take several days to go down, so protect your dog from certain close encounters until your dog is ready. This could mean walking in different areas at different times etc, which it looks like you are already doing. 

-Have a Professional Monitor

If you need help for a dog in shock after being attacked, your best bet is to have a professional assess your dog and monitor his future interactions with other dogs. Not all dogs are ready to interact with other dogs and play again after being attacked. The behavior consultant should be able to assess your dog for signs of tension. If the assessment reveals that your dog is tense around other dogs, then prior to scheduling positive interactions such as play and walks with other dogs, behavior modification may be carried out to better manage and protect your dog's emotional wellbeing. The professional may have to pave the path for some groundwork first using methods based on the scientific principles of desensitization and counterconditioning. Since the attack happened on a walk, what may help is to praise and give treats every time your dog sees another dog crossing his path. After some time, as your dog seems more relaxed, your dog may be able to progress to closer encounters with other dogs.

-Limit Interactions to a Few Good Dogs

If your dog had a negative experience, you will likely have to engage your dog in a remedial socialization program. To undo the damage done, your dog will need to be exposed to dogs that have been carefully screened. Your dog trainer/behavior professional may be even able to provide the right friendly dog/dogs for remedial socialization. Skip the dog park where there are dogs your dog doesn't know well, and often there are dogs who really aren't suitable for group play. Instead, it would be best to stick to a handful of good doggy friends that have proven over the years to have gotten along well with your dog. As it happens in people, best a few good buddies that many friends who aren't best friends but just superficial acquaintances that haven't proved worthy of trust.

-Create Good Times

For sake of comparison, the process is similar to attending a Toastmasters' meeting for those folks with a terror of public speaking. In these meetings, people are encouraged to speak in a safe, supportive environment where they don't feel rejected or ridiculed.

Dogs suitable for such encounters are often super socialized dogs, dogs who have met countless dogs and who know how to properly interact. Ideally, these are dogs who are very adept at reading other dogs and delivering the right body language. These "teacher dogs" dogs should be masters in sending calming signals to fearful, tentative dogs.

Your dog needs to feel safe and relaxed so to create good memories. Creating several positive emotional responses is important so to replace the negative ones. Always end the sessions on a positive note, praising your dog lavishly so that these new events help at least partially take the edge off the fearful memories. Slow and steady wins the race in behavior modification, so it's important working at the dog's pace.

In regards to the working lines, genes are not the only requirement, these dogs need loads of training, done by professionals in the field if their purpose is for protection. And the training is not a one-time ordeal, it needs repeated maintenance. Of course, there are also individual temperament factors, not to mention, good breeders and bad breeders as well.

Trust me, you don't want Sky to have defended you or himself in this match with the poodle, this would have caused major injuries to this poodle and even its death. And with all the breed bans and discriminations in dog breeds like Rottweilers, German shepherds etc. there are chances that your GSD would have been accused for the attack rather than the other way around. 

The fact that Sky is a sweet little giant is a good thing 🙂My Rottweilers were also the sweetest things, I just didn't spread the voice, it was our little secret. They were mush but yet dressed up as security guards by our property in their black and tan suits and that was enough to deter anybody. Barking is all that's often needed to deter, our security alarms take care of the rest. 

[DIPANNITA DAS]

Thank you so much.

I will continue his walk and maintain distance from other dogs like you mentioned and also encourage him with treats. I am yet to see how he reacts with another dog on other side of the road as I was avoiding going out during normal time to avoid encounters with other dogs.

he plays with our Shih Tzu as usual but that’s the only dog he is interacting since incidence.

please let me know how critical it is for me to see a professional, shall I wait to see how he reacts on walk in presence of another dog or should definitely see a professional immediately ?

 

Thanks so much.

[Adrienne Farricelli]

You can walk him and carefully asses how he does. Watch his body language closely, there may be chances he is more resilient than you think and may not care much about other dogs. Be careful not to feed anxiety through the leash when encountering dogs on walks, act matter of fact and focus on feeding him treats upon seeing other dogs. He may do fine with certain dogs, and associate negative happenings only with dogs of a certain type (e.g. poodle-like). 

If he struggles despite keeping distance and feeding treats or shows signs of anxiety/aggression towards dogs, then it's best to work with a professional.