Does my dog seem like a bad dog to you? General Chat

Hi

You are quite right, the culture here is very different when it comes to dogs and even the Laws seem to be different from most US States.

If I've worked it out correctly, you were about 6 when you first got your dog so most of the early training would have been done by your parents? My guess would be that you just carried on from where they left off.

I can foresee many unpredictable events that 'could' happen because of the issues your dog has so it is worth, even at this late stage, to try to address them.

One of the biggies, would be being caught unaware with his issues with men. For example, there is a grey area where he will see a boy (therefore a kid in your eyes) becomes a man (in his eyes). The danger, of course, is that you would be caught out unaware if he decided to attack

TBH..I am glad that their is no risk of my dogs, or heaven forbid, my son ever meeting your dog

Ditto here.

If someone asks me if my dog bites I always reply 'Up to now no!' and yet I trust my dogs and they are under control when they are outside their home.
You should never say 'he would never - bite/attack' etc. As for flauting the law thats just plain foolishness. If the law says dogs should be kept on a lead then you should do so. Cos one day there may be a bigger, younger dog off the lead with an owner as arrogant as you and your dog may get killed and that will be your fault. No ifs or buts.

I don't know what the law in America is but in the UK it is against the law for a dog to be out without a collar and identity.

Your dog has mauled two dogs all ready and you know he is aggressive yet you don't leash him?

Are you nuts??

"Collars are for Christmas" - OK, that answers that question.

"My front yard is not fenced but he has never run off". Yet - yet. And you can guarantee that he never will?

My own front yard is not fenced but my dog, who has never bitten anyone or attacked any dog, is always tethered so she cannot reach the sidewalk. For her safety, not for the safety of any passerby, be they on two or four legs.

Does your dog seem like a bad dog to me?

Your dog seems, to me, not a bad dog as such, but a possible time-bomb on four legs.

He has proven to be unpredictable and dangerous, and oh boy am I glad that I live a very very very long way away from him.

Did I answer your question well enough?

I am assuming, of course, that he is microchipped and all his shots are up to date, according to the laws in the State where you live, and that there are no laws about dogs always wearing a collar and being leashed in public places.

And from what I understand, an unleashed dog in an unfenced yard is considered to be on public, not private property.

Now have I answered your question well enough dear?

He has never attacked anybody while off lead. If the meter man comes to read our meter, he'll bark sure, but he won't charge and attack. He is VERY good off his lead. He comes when called and doesn't go after people. It's only on his lead does he get nervous/angry enough to go after people. Thanks for your comment, when he's on his lead in places like PetSmart, I always keep him up REALLY close by wrapping his leash up around my shoulder. That way he will bark and people would have to get REALLY close to a barking dog in order to maybe be bitten.

I think I would rather err on the side of caution and protect people from possible bites myself.

We rehomed an almost 9 year old Kerry Blue bitch 8 months ago. She had a bad past with neglect and being kicked by her previous owner. She has barky issues with people (usually men) sometimes and can be nervous of strangers. I have been working hard to put positive experiences of strangers in her mind by asking people to give her treats for being calm and not barking.

However, although Izzy has no issues whatever around children and has been fine with my nephews and nieces I do not allow other people's children to stroke her because she is not a typical confident Kerry Blue (they're usually very good with people/children) and I would rather not. They get the chance to stroke my other dog Parker as he is a confident nice-tempered dog.

Why are people calling my Brownie unpredictable? I KNOW exactly what he doesn't like. The incidents mentioned are OLD, they are not recent. He's supposed to fight back if dogs bite him hard enough to hurt him. Both times we were walking and he was on his lead and these dogs came out of their yards and attacked him. Everyone here has their dogs loose in their yard, but not all dogs are good like Brownie and STAY there. The Chow bit him on his head and left a scar from a gash, so I refuse to say that him fighting back makes him aggressive. Sure he doesn't like men while on his leash, but I don't like them when he's on there either. By the way, my dog goes outside only under my supervision, he is not allowed outside alone. I will NOT tie him in the yard, he hates being tied to things. He's not aggressive, he'd never hurt a child, a cat, a woman, or any dog that didn't try to hurt him. How does that make him aggressive? How annoying! As for the comment about a larger dog off lead, I'm not arrogant but I know my Brownie can take care of himself. He's a smart alpha male dog, most dogs don't challenge him. The two dogs that went after him were defending their property. He's met boxers etc. at the park and there has never been a fight. He's a 14 year old dog, I know him well. He will never bite anybody, he will never hurt a child or cat, and he will never run out of my yard. Also here, there isn't a law requiring collars. However, even if there was, I'd likely not obey it 100% of the time. He's up to date on his rabies shot. It's the only one required by law and I don't believe over vaccinating healthy dogs does them any good. He not microchipped, as there is no reason to have it done. He's never run off in his entire life... so why microchip him? YES I can guarantee he won't run off, I've had him since I was little. He's FAR, WAY FAR from unpredictable. The children here enjoy him because he loves them, and for the person that said something about their kids never meeting him. It's unfortunate you feel that way as I am way over 100% sure that the kid would love him and he's be in absolutely no danger EVER. Rather my dog would protect the child as if the child were me. I see people are bent on thinking what they want. There isn't a reason for me to keep repeating myself. Thanks for the replies everyone

No he is not a 'bad dog'
But I would get some help training him
Not only because that was a bit of a near miss

But the behaviours you are describing sound like a stressed scared dog

he should be able to relie on you to stop other dogs biting him,
i would never let a dog attack mine with out a extream reaction from me,
eg. when ever i see the dog aggressive husky oflead coming to us i chase him across the field with my tennis ball launcher

WHAT is a "fur parent"???????????????????????????????

Dog owners...

Quite a common phrase if American dog forums are anything to go by. "Fur mom", "fur dad", "fur kids" etc.

I can't help wondering why you posted your original question as you obviously don't like everyone's responses? You must have had some reason for suspecting it yourself.

We all love our animals and don't like to think that they are ever in the wrong but I feel that you need to stop looking at Brownie with such rose-tinted spectacles and treat him as the unpredictable animal he is (as they all are) and give him the confidence to relax on the lead as, from what you have said, that is the situation that makes him the most stressed.

Good luck.

If you know he is worse on lead
And you know he doesn't like strange men

Then WHY do you take him to PetSmart?! why put him in a situation that clearly makes him uncomfortable? Just because you can take a dog in shop doesn't mean you should. I know my dog would be stressed out and reactive in a pet shop (strangers, other dogs, enclosed space) so I never take him.

Do your shopping alone and leave poor Brownie at home :?

I think a lot of this is lost in translation. US attitudes and culture are very different from those in the UK.
I`m sure the guy loves his dog and believes he is doing the best he can for him.
I think it would benefit the dog if he looked at other ways of managing him.

It's what some people whose ovaries have let them down call themselves. You know the type, their 'fur babies' have their own wardrobes, mostly wear clothes access the outside world via a stroller or a sling

I think it's silly and patronising to keep commenting on the 'fur parent' thing Obviously it was just a harmless friendly remark and yes, it is a US thing from what I can gather. I know several people with animals they refer to as their 'fur kids' from the US and not one of them walks their dog in a stroller and so on. It's just a term of endearment and has no reflection on how the animal is owned.

Anyway I think your dog needs to be muzzled and should never be walked off lead. You obviously need to do a lot of work with him, for his sake, and manage situations with strangers and unfamiliar men better. I think it's a blue eyed wonder that he hasn't bitten yet.

I think mjfromga that you have now got what you wanted - attention. You are getting boring..I think your time would be better spent finding a good dog trainer that with work with your dogs leash/attitude problems. You can always teach an old dog new tricks it just takes longer to think outside the box. You owe him that.
BTW Marley123, do you have any photographic evidence of you rampaging across a field armed with a launcher.LOL

Seeking attention? I would not have expected my threads to be misconstrued in such manner. Also for the person that said I obviously don't like the responses, you're wrong. I even told a person I loved their response. I have enjoyed reading many of the responses. I am female, for the person that ignored my little pink female signal. We used to go to Banfield at PetSmart for his vaccination, as well as fitting him for certain things. We now use a smaller family owned vet office and I do my best to measure him so I don't have to take him there often. He doesn't need a muzzle, I've never owned one. As for Lulusmum, I refuse to acknowledge that "getting boring" comment so long as you continue to type such utter crap on my threads. If I'm so boring, how about you take a hike? Anyway, I did not ask for tons of advice on what to do with my dog. Fact of the matter is, those incidents are old.. they will never happen again. He won't ever bite anyone and he's VERY happy.. so long as he's not on his leash. To say that all dogs are happy 100% of the time is just ridiculous. He's a sweet dog and he's harmless to most people and animals, I think that's good enough. As for the fur parent comment, it was not meant to offend anyone... I sometimes say that in place of "owner" because my dog is NOT property, he is my baby... my child. Gosh I'm so different from everyone else. ONE near miss incident with a guy when I was like 14 and two attacks by an injured and retaliating dog doesn't make me a poor fur parent. Thanks to everyone that responded with some civility and at least tried to answer the question and offer REAL advice. One last thing, for the person that said they react when a dog bites him, I did react. The Chow just charged him and attacked him full on, I was really young.. there wasn't anything I could do to prevent it... but when he was hurting the dog.. I got a stick and smashed MY dog to save the Chow. As for the Chihuahua who was bitten, I grabbed his collar as fast as I could and pulled and yelled at him to stop and he let go. BOTH of these happened when I was walking in my neighborhood with his lead on, as I've already stated. The dogs just charged out of their yards all of a sudden. The 5 pound dog got away with only a broken leg. My boy is not vicious, he was just defending himself. However, I can see that I won't be able to start a thread without tons of controversy, arguments, and speculations. This site doesn't really fit me well. My way of life and how I handle my dog is far too different from the way most people here do. This thread has grown long as I've tried to respond to everything to clear things up. Without any real success, I'm giving up. Thanks again everyone. Final thought: I'm not putting my dog through any formal training, I'm not muzzling him, and I'm not tying him in my yard or anything like that. I'm not changing a thing I do with him. I know him better than anyone else here. He's 14 years old, there won't be any surprises.

if he has tried to bite people he NEEDS to wear a muzzle and you cant say he will never bite anybody......
do you know why, no realistic dog owner on the planet can say that,
and at his age he could well be entering one of the most unpredictable times in his life due to joint pain he might get ect