another bad dog park accident

[perla123]

My friend Steve call me yesterday to let me know his pup got attack by a dog at the dog park (I have posted of the puppy playing with kiana here) we according to what he said happen. He took legend to the dog park around 5:00 he usually takes him there around that time b/c there isn’t a lot of people and he likes to exercise him after work there. Well Legend was playing running around with other dogs and a dog plying with a tennis ball catch his eye, so he went there to investigate. Unfortunately the dog that was holding the ball was toy aggressive and attacked poor Legend. My friend Steve separated the other dog from Legend while the other dogs owner stud there and watch. When he finally got a hold of legend the other dog’s owner said: "Oh, he is fine you don't have to worry about it or make such a big FUSS":yikes:. Well Steve said: "What do you mean make a big fuss?!! Your dog just attacked mine". He ended up arguing with the other guy and decided that it was better if he talked to the person in the dog park (which I guess was in charge that day). Unfortunately the person said that he couldn't do anything about it just call the cops and see what they say.

Steve decided to leave and take Legend to the Animal clinic make sure that they took care of the cuts he had. The Dr said they don't look like puncher wounds just scratches and he should be fine with some Neosporin.

My question is. Legend is a pit bull mix. Do you guys think that after this experience his DA will come out? That is exactly what happened with RB. At that time I didn't have a lot of knowledge and he got attack by a really big dog when he was about 6 months (the same age as legend). And after that he’s OK with small dogs, but he doesn't want anything to do with larger dogs.

what do you guys think?

 

[Doberluv]

When any puppy gets attacked or severely frightened by another dog, there's a good chance it will have lasting effects on him....that he'll be very reactive toward other dogs. Pitbulls or not....this can happen to any dog. Pitbulls have a tendency to be dog to dog aggressive anyhow...some do get that way and some don't regardless.

Personally, I don't think dog parks are the best places for puppies or any dog unless extreme caution is taken. Just letting a pup run around and interact with dogs you don't know is a big risk. With many, many dogs...they just don't like other dogs. It's just not in their nature to make best friends with every random dog they meet. In my opinion, that other dog didn't do anything unnatural....guarding one's stuff is natural. So, your friend, in letting his puppy run headlong toward a dog he doesn't know and threaten that dog's possession was careless. That other guy didn't do anything wrong. His dog was minding his own business, playing with a ball. This is not "aggression" persay. It's defending his valued resources from another dog that IS being pushy and is getting into his space, something that your friend should have been aware of and watchful about.

I would recommend that your friend finds some dogs he KNOWS well, pups and adults that are gentle and tolerant of puppy's "rude" behavior and get them together for supervised visits. Extreme care should be taken when socializing a puppy that nothing terrifying happens to him. It can have really bad ramifications.

 

[Bahamutt99]

IMO, Pit Bulls (or mixes thereof) don't belong at the dog park at all. The DA is likely to come whether they have good early experiences with other dogs or not. JMO.

 

[perla123]

I see what you guys are saying. My self told him that if he was planing on bringing Legend to the park he needed to be very careful and watch every single move he does and not to trust the other dogs the were there(anything can happen) I guess this is going to be an experience for him to learn. He is a first time dog owner and he is bound to make mistakes. I'm just glad legend is OK.

I also told him next time if he wants Legend to play just to bring him and he can play with kiana.