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Originally Posted by Jkpal  Piper has always been pretty confident around dogs--not pushy, but comfortable. However, after being grabbed (out of my arms) by an Akita and seeing first hand how unbelievably fast it happened, I no longer let any large dog close to Pipe, nor does she want them too near to her. I do not believe I'm making Piper neurotic; she doesn't act timid or fearful, just much more wary. As I said, seeing the speed in which a dog can grab, lunge, etc., has ensured we keep plenty of space between us and them. And yes, I now pick Piper up whenever a large dog pointedly approaches. It's a relatively new way of behavior for us, but the one that works best for us. |
My sweet little Lilah Charm was actually attacked by a large dog (pure white,, maybe a husky, we were on leash just minding our own business walking by and he slipped his owners hand and went straight for my girl) when she was eighteen months old and has never been the same. That is part of why I query to my friends here at YT. Retrospectively, although she had excellent people socialization, kids, farmyard animals, cats, loud noises etc, I feel like I didn't provide her with a strong enough social base with other dogs and that if she had had a stronger base line she would have snapped back better. I thought we were good, we had met and spent time with dogs, even big dogs and I felt like we had met our mark but after Lilahs attack she has never been the same in the social dog relationship department. She has a couple of friends, but even those relationships have their areas of strain. And in my case, I do think I have contributed to her anxiety because we are very bonded and I have had a lot of stress about it. I want to protect her but I also want to support her social relationships and I feel like I need more conclusive decisions about safe social guidelines and I want input from a broad range of folks who have the same special kind of dog as I do to take into consideration with my own experiences and feelings on the matter. Thanks for all of your valuable input guys
