Does being an abused/neglected dog an excuse for aggression

[Jumpindogs]

Originally Posted by nomnom

Thank you for the replies.

The dogs don't seem aggressive towards people and I do not plan on reporting them as my neighbor has mentioned that she loves her dogs. It does not seem like my dogs were bitten. However, the dog did attack my dog's neck as I saw her teeth coming at her neck and the collar clasp was undone so the collar did not slip off.

The pepper spray thing is a good idea but I am so clumsy and I get panicked easily so I might end up spraying the wrong dog or myself. I did push the dogs away from my dogs. I don't know what the neighbor was doing. I think after I pushed the neglected dog, she held onto her and then I pushed the other one off my dog. So, these dogs did not stop themselves. I stopped them.

The dogs rushed out of the door when she went to go in and then I heard her yelling at her dogs and then we were surprised with this incident. I live in a townhouse style apartments so her dogs definitely should not be territorial as it is not their house or yard. It did seem like the dogs formed a formation as one dog went up to my pup and the other went up to my dog simultaneously. I am especially upset that she did not mention that both her dogs were aggressive. When I pushed the neglected dog away from my pup, I was relieved for a second only to turn around to see the other one jumping on my dog with her teeth towards my dog's neck.

It was during dinner that we talked about her dog's aggressive behavior and I was concerned so I asked about how she could help her dog not to be so aggressive. She said "oh she has issues because she was abused" and then told me about the dog's past. I had no idea that only minutes later that her dog's issues would become my problem.

I will have a talk with that neighbor and I don't know if I want to be friends with her.

Oh my. I am so sorry this happened to you and your dogs. Stay away from this woman and her dogs since you cannot trust her ability to either understand her own dogs or speak truthfully about them nor her ability to control them. The fact that she blamed the dog's prior abuse for the dog's actions, though a possible cause, is really useless since it does nothing to address the dog's behavior and is a sign that she does not intend to help her dog recover.

As far as your comment that her dogs should not be territorial...the dogs don't know it's not their house or yard. In their minds it is.

I would be taking that puppy to many periodic, supervised, controlled, safe exposures to single, well-adjusted, mature, friendly dogs to teach her that dogs are not scary...even more so than what you should be doing for a routine socialization program.

[Va-Cat]

As someone who has rescued, trained and rehomed dogs for over 30 years, I'd like to say that the failure here was lack of control on the part of the owner. Some dogs come to rescue with so much baggage that only specific types of homes are required for them. As an example, I have 2 dogs that I will not allow to interact with children. Children are unpredictable and these dogs require a calm and strong hand. With adults, I explain to them a little of my dogs' histories and set the boundries for how they are to be approached and treated. Because my dogs require a higher level of control, I make darned sure that they cannot get out unless they are leashed and under my control. If you accept a dog with issues, you accept the responsibility that goes along with it. All four of my dogs are good dogs. I just have to make sure I am also a good owner for them.

[Threerun]

Originally Posted by nomnom

I have a neighbor who has told me that one of her dogs has bitten at least 2 dogs in the past. She has rescued that dog and has owned her for several years and says that she was neglected as her past owners lived in a car so the dog was fed trash from a trashcan. She said this when I was asking if it was possible for her to help her dog not to bite.

Tonight we had pizza together at my place and I walked with her back to her place while I was walking my dogs. Her dogs came out of the door and ran at my dogs that were on the leash. The neglected dog came at my puppy and I knew she has a past history of biting other dogs so I stopped that one first. Then, the other dog came at my big dog and I saw her teeth coming at my dog's neck. My dog growled and put her mouth on the smaller dog's head. Then, I noticed my dog's collar on the ground so the smaller dog must have took off her collar. Even I can't remove my dog's collar without some time with my dog standing still.

I checked my dogs and they seem to have no injury but my dog's fur is so thick that it's hard to tell. Anyhow, this is the first time my dogs have been attacked by other dogs and I am pretty pissed even though they seem okay. What if my dog ran off and got hit by a car as her collar fell off? Also, my dog is 12! My 4 month old puppy is still afraid of dogs and she finally got her rabies shot today and I was excited to finally introduce her to dog parks. What if this incident makes a negative impression on her to be afraid of dogs for the rest of her life?

Anyhow, I am just very upset. The incident occurred about an hour ago and that neighbor still did not come by to apologize. Also, I am **** that she didn't mention that her other dog is aggressive too. She has also owned that one for several years too. I love my dogs so I don't know if I should even be friends with that neighbor as I am mad at her and her dogs too (I probably should not be mad at dogs but I am).

I don't even know if my dog did any damage but my dog has never bitten any dog in her 12 years and if she did today, she was protecting herself.

The incident didn't take that long but it was so stressful and I have a headache which I get like once in every 3 years. Right after we walked away, my dog did not fully recover her composure as she did not have enough time to get over it and my puppy went up to snuggle her. I thought my dog was going to confuse my neighbor's dog with my puppy and might hurt her but she knew it was the puppy and just ignored her. It kind of made me happy because one of trying to lean on the other and the other acknowledged that she was part of our pack.

Sounds as if you two either are friendly towards one another or at least trying to become friendly by eating pizza together. Just have a chat with her and see if she is trying to work with her dogs on their agression. Talking civilly usually works wonders between neighbors..

I wouldn't worry too much about the incident. Her dogs came out guns blazing, your dog growled and reacted in defense, and your puppy was taken off guard.. No one got seriously injured so that's great.. Maybe she can work with her dogs a bit, then try socializing all of them in a controlled setting..

One thing we do with our pups is take them out to all manner of places to get them socialized. Hardware stores, public parks- everywhere. We also belong to a hunt training group so they get to socialize with other dogs (and puppies) in that setting as well. Generally speaking owners of 'not so friendly dogs' will keep their dogs away from other dogs, while others will allow friendly dogs to interact.. For us it's pretty positive.. It's really good for puppies. We're kinda spoiled in that regard in Montana- most places are REALLY dog friendly. You can take them almost everywhere.

[nomnom]

Thank you for the responses. I will take my puppy to dog parks and let her go in if there are certain dogs. I am very excited as this is something totally new for me and the puppy but the weather has been terrible so we have not yet gone.

I am upset about the dogs attacking but I was also upset that she did not come over to apologize and see how my dogs were doing right after the incident. She did finally come to apologize but it was the next day at night. She also drops by like every day so dropping by is not something uncomfortable for her.

Before this incident, I did suggest that she help her dog not to bite but it seemed like she was brushing it off by saying she was abused so that is why she is like that. The end. So, I couldn't say anything else after that.

Ever since I had my puppy, I have been taking her everywhere. She goes to puppy class every week, we go shopping at least once a week at non-pet stores (feel a little weird about it but I still do it), parks with people, dog parks (walking around but have not gone in yet), walking her around the apartment, etc. She still growls and barks randomly and some people have suggested that it might be her personality. I don't know but it was much easier socializing my dog as a puppy (no puppy class and just going to a pet store here and there and walks around the neighbor). I do hope that as she grows bigger and gains more confidence she won't be like that.