My dog was attacked

[Marlene]

Hi, today I had a very frightening experience were my 6 month pup was attacked by a dog.

It resulted in him needing surgery to repair a torn ear.

My question is what do I need to do now that this has happened, I'm scared that he will regress and become fearful of dogs and maybe humans or worse become aggressive.

He is normally very playful with people and dogs. And is really good with his training. 

[JMFS]

 Poor puppy.  😞  That's such a terrifying experience.  I know Adrienne will have sage advice.  Here's are a couple bits of advice to get you started:

• Assess whether he's developed a fear of other dogs
  • If so, I would keep him away from unknown dogs where possible and re-introduce him to calm dogs (perhaps a friend or two have pooches who fit that description)
  • I would also use "look at that" and treats to acclimate him to other dogs through barriers (such as a window or fence or even a baby gate in the case of a calm dog)
• Practice a quick turn around for walking so he can do that if I'm walking towards another dog that's making him nervous

What were the circumstances that led to the attack?  Has he shown any changes in temperament or behavior?

[Adrienne]

Hi Marlene,

So sorry about your pup, but it's good that you are acknowledging the impact this may have on an emotional level. Jennifer provided you with great tips there. Protect your dog from any future negative encounters and help your dog eventually recover through some remedial socialization using the right type of dogs. 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 is important considering that, left untreated, affected dogs may end up reacting negatively to any dogs who remind them of the attacker (same coat color, same size, same breed) and this may even generalize to other dogs.

Sometimes, in the case of suspected shock, it comes helpful to have a dog trainer or behavior professional using humane, positive-based behavior modification methods assess the attacked dog dog and help him while also monitoring 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 well-being.

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 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.

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

Dogs suitable for such encounters are often super socialized dogs, dogs who have met countless of dogs and who know how to properly interact. Ideally, these are dogs who are very adept in reading other dogs and in 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.

The professional may therefore have to pave the path for some groundwork first using methods based on the scientific principles of desensitization and counterconditioning, such as the look at that dog method. 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/university/look-at-that/

For example, if the attack occurred at the dog park, it may help sitting with your dog at a safe distance where he is under threshold praising lavishly and giving your dog treats as he looks at dogs entering and exiting the park. If the attack was on a walk, it may help praising and giving treats every time your dog sees another dog crossing his path.

After some time, as your dog seems more and relaxed, your dog may be able to progress to closer encounters with other dogs.

Hope this helps!

Best,

Adrienne

[Marlene]

Hi, the circumstances were..

We were at a dog park which I have only brought him now 4 times for short periods, so he can have a good run.

We were leaving, so I had him on leash.

The attacking American Staffy just entered the dog park ran over to mine and they were sniffing each other, the owner was slowly walking over.

He had a bad back so couldn't get to his dog quickly. 

Both dogs were standing side by side,( frozen like) I became a little weary of this dog, so I called for Apollo to come we are leaving and then the dog just turned and attacked mine. 

I can't remember if Apollo moved towards him to play as he is very playful, it all happened so fast. 

The owner fell to the ground due to back injury, so I grabbed the Staffy by the collar and yanked him of my dog. 

My pup was crying and bloody, but at that moment I couldn't attend to him as I still had to restrain the other dog until his owner could get up.

Apollo ran to the car terrified and I took him to the vet straight away. 

A lady who was at the park told me that he had attacked another dog in the past and when I spoke to friends that use this dog park they all mentioned that this dog has been  agressive with their dogs and had it not been for the owner to grab his dog in the past they thought he would of attacked their dog. 

In the car Apollo seemed ok , even had his normal Happy face. Once we got to the vet he was scared to come out of the car. 

I lured him into vet and they took him .

Initial they thought he had a punctured neck  but it was a ripped ear which they have stitched and stapled.

I did take him on a short walk the day after, in our local street, a couple of dogs came past and he didn't seemed frightened at all, infact he wanted to play with them, but I didn't allow this. 

He also seems to have no issue with people.

Yesterday I took him around the lake, and again when he saw dogs he wanted to run and play, so I think that's a good sign that his not afraid, but I have not let him play as yet. 

At home he is stuck by my side, he seems quite happy and wants to play.

Overall he seems good but a couple of times he got jumpy from a quick sound or motion coming from the side of him and he has snarled a couple of times when our hands were near him picking up a toy. 

I quickly address this .

He does let me pet him rub him, wash his face and clean wound without any issues.

He has a cone on. 

[JMFS]

Aw, what a sweet boy.  ❤️ 

Might I suggest that all of the dog owners you talked to and yourself get together to lodge a complaint?  This dog should Not be at a park and the next time another dog may not be so fortunate.  It boils my blood to think that the owner keeps bringing their dog there, particularly since now your dog has been attacked.  If they don't have the physical ability to control their dog they should Not be taking it to a park.  Were you able to get their information so they can pay the vet bill, or did you just get the heck out of there?  I don't know if you had time to notice whether that Am Staff was unaltered, but if it wasn't that's all the more reason to keep it out of the park (our dog park prohibits unaltered males and females in heat because they cause aggression issues to arise).

I'm ecstatic to hear your boy seems to have bounced right back!   Since you know the breed it might be good to follow the suggestions Adrienne gave to reinforce good feelings towards Am Staffs.  Better to head it off at the pass than to find out too late that he's got hidden fear.  Also, I know we tend to project on to our furry companions so I'm going to caution that not allowing him to play Could transfer your feelings of trepidation to him.  We have to be ambassadors for our pooches and sometimes that means being brave and stepping out of our comfort zone for their benefit.  It's kind of like you were the driver and he the passenger when y'all had an accident.  You may still be anxious, but he's happy as a clam so maybe let him drive until you're comfortable again.  I hope that analogy worked . . . it sounds better in my head where I can kind of picture it!

Give him extra pets and scratches from my crew.