Hello everyone its me Miss Squeak and I am here to talk about a recent thing that happened to me and my little furbaby
Miss Mildred's fur brother George, Everyday I like a lot of other
furbaby owners walk my furry little kids on this day walked Miss Mildred first a little walk about 20mins around our local area to the golf corse and back home far enough for my sweet little girl as it was a colder day so I thought it would be best, then I grabbed
Sir George and off we went now I will let you know I walk all my furbabys on harnesses as its is easier and as I have spent a lot of time training them they are very well behaved furbabys, I make them stop at each and every path that meets the road and if I stop they sit until I give the command to walk on, I am happy and so proud of my furbabys as they are very balanced and calm dogs,
Miss Mildred is a little scared of things but she is getting better and I will talk more about her in my next blog, as she can be a little jumpy and fearful around new things, hence another reason why I have started walking her by herself just to build her up a little more,
But back to my adventure with George, while out on our lovely walk we got to our favourite park where he loves to have a good old smell and a little wee on the trees as I don't allow him to sniff and wee on every blade of grass, Because then our 45min walk would take 5hours haha, but as we were entering our park I noticed a parked car with two ladies in it no be deal, then a young girl about 6 playing on the swings having fun, so we continued to keep walking and then out of no where a big bridle staff came running teeth showing before I could do anything the other unrestrained dog had poor George in her mouth but as the dog was coming towards us I yelled is your dog friendly, and from the parked car came a ladies voice "No she is not Fucking friendly!!" by this time I had gotten the dog off of George when the dog started to bite me, I was holding George in my arms waiting for the owner of the unrestrained dog to come and get it, she was yelling at the child of 6 to go and get the dog, and the dog was still biting at me on my arm and legs so at this point I had done everything in my power to stop this dog from attacking me so I kicked it, I know it is and was the last thing I could do, but it did stop the dog long enough for the young girl to be able to come and get it, I asked the owner for her details just incase my furbaby was hurt and I had to take him to the vet, Now this is what made me so angry, I was doing everything in my power to keep myself and my dog safe, I had my dog on leash was wearing bright coloured clothing so people could see me had poo bags to clean up after my furbaby, and I was attacked by a unrestrained dog that had no training at all and that was not being watched. The owner and her older daughter started tell me that i should have had a bigger dog that could fight back and I was stupid for coming to the park where there dog was! Like I said before i didn't even know there was another dog at the park, and no to mention all dog should be on leash at this park and you can be fined if they aren't! I would have been happy if the owners had just said sorry, but just like their dog the started with attack when they were the ones in the wrong, it made me cry because I had to kick the other dog, I love all animals and would never ever hurt one, But in the event of this happening I had to do what I did to protect myself and my furbaby George, he had bite marks on his neck, but as he has longer fur at the moment as its winter in Western Australia not that much damage was done to him, Poor sweet little George he is the most balanced happy go lucky dog out there and if any of my dogs is to be attacked its sadly him.
So I thought it might be helpful to talking about what we can do to keep ourselves and our furbabys safe while out and about walking!
Walking your dog is a healthy activity for you and your dog. Going to dog parks provides a safe and enclosed area where you can let your dog run off leash and play with other dogs. Sometimes, however, a dog comes from out of nowhere and attacks your dog. Breaking up dog fights between your own dogs at home is one thing, but trying to break up a fight when you’re away from home is something completely different. How can you protect your dog and yourself if another dog attacks your dog?
It can be hard to figure out why another dog suddenly attacks your dog. Dogs body language can be subtle, and signals from both dogs can be missed by the person holding the leash. However, whatever it was that caused the hostile reaction doesn’t really matter when two dogs are locked in battle, with you on the other end of your dog’s leash. Of course, it’s best to avoid a fight all together, but that’s not always possible and breaking up dog fights can be dangerous for dogs and people.
Dog attacks while walking your dog are not uncommon, and you have to be prepared for possible encounters. What you should do depends on who you talk to. Some dog experts recommend carrying a heavy duty walking stick to use on an attacking dog. Other experts say to drop your dog’s leash and stay out of the way. For me, neither one is a good option. It’s my job to protect my dog, and I also don’t want to hurt another dog.
My furbabys look to me as their leader, and it’s my responsibility to protect them. Dogs can come out of the blue to attack your dog and you don’t always have an opportunity to read his body language. If you do encounter a dog that is off leash while you’re out walking alone or with your dog, stay calm and keep a close eye on the dog. Be aware of what’s going on, and expect the unexpected.
Having a sturdy walking stick does have a purpose. It’s something you could use to get in between two fighting dogs. If you have a chance to prepare before the dog attacks, when he starts moving toward you, yell “No” and take a step towards him. Try to read his level of aggression by looking at his eyes (intense and focused) without staring at him, ears (laid back on his head), hair standing up on the back of his neck or along the rump and movements that are stiff. If you can get him to back off, move away slowly, but don’t turn your back on him. Try to keep your dog as calm as you can. Any show of aggression from him can prompt an attack from the other dog.
You can carry a backpack with some clothing or a small blanket inside – anything to give it bulk to use to push the other dog away, or to put in between the dogs to give you some protection from snapping teeth. A bright flashlight can be directed into the eyes of an attacking dog to temporarily blind him. Another useful thing to carry is an air horn. The loud noise could persuade the dog not to attack in the first place. If he does attack, the horn might help break up either dog’s focus during a fight, and will help call attention to other people in the area to come help.
Your best defence against another dog attacking your dog is to be alert and try to prevent an attack from happening. If that’s not possible or it happens before you’re aware there’s even another dog around, try to stay calm. A mind that’s in panic mode doesn’t function well. Think about what you would do before you have an encounter. Carry a stout walking stick and anything that might be helpful in a convenient pocket where you can quickly grab it when you need it.
How to avoid being bitten
If you are confronted by an aggressive dog, the most important thing to remember is this: Stay calm. Don’t give in to fear or anxiety, and don’t start yelling. An aggressive dog wants you to be stressed out before it attacks, but if you remain calm and in control, it slows them down and throws them off.
Also avoid direct eye contact with an aggressive dog. Stand slightly sideways (which also makes you a narrower target) while keeping the dog in your peripheral vision. I don't have this as I am going blind and this was the first part of my vision to go!
Once you have successfully used calm assertive energy to keep that dog back, claim your own space. If you happen to be carrying anything in your hands, like a cane or an umbrella, place it out in front of yourself to appear bigger and be more in command of your space.
What this tells the dog with your body language is, “I don’t want your space, I just want this space that I am in.” Maintain your very calm and assertive state; this energy creates a barrier that automatically demands the dog’s respect by letting it know that you are not afraid.
When the dog senses that you aren’t threatening it — and are not threatened by it — it will probably lose interest and the situation will de-escalate. Unfortunately, though, this process is not always possible.
Understanding dog behaviour is one of your best weapons if another dog attacks your dog. So just so alert and be mindful that some owner are not as responsible as we are, I hope this little blog has helped you all out in some way or another, it sure has not stopped us from going on our daily walks, George is a little be more aware of other dogs when we are out and about but in time that will pass and he will be back to himself again,
So from me Miss Squeak Miss Mildred and Sir George we wish you and all the other furbabys out in the big wide world to be safe and careful when out walking because you never know when you might run into a unrestrained aggressive dog,
In our next blog we are going to talk about how I have command trained Miss Mildred to stop barking at the door and to sit and stay while we cross the road while we are out walking.
If you have any stories about you and your furbaby please let us know in the comments below,
Thankyou very much for reading
Miss Squeak Talks Dog
Attacks and What You Can Do To Save Your Furbaby!
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xx Miss Squeak and Miss Mildred xx
