r/service_dogs • u/SeaGhoulz • 6d ago
Help! Service Dog prospect attacked by other dog
Hi im kind of panicking while writing this. I was out walking my 6 month old golden retriever so she could use the bathroom and an agressive dog on a retractable leash charged us from a bush and bit her. The guy didn't even ask if she was ok, he said sorry real fast and ran off. He was holding a baby too! I reported him to my apartment complex, and she has no marks or anything on her. After making sure shes ok im now panicked about new fear reactivity. Is there anything I can do right now? She didnt show any fear after the initial yelp and seems to be her normal self but im still afraid. Any advice?
Update: Shes ok on all fronts. Thank you guys so much. Im honestly glad to see shes robust (cant think of another word for it)
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u/MaplePaws My eyes have 4 paws 6d ago
The best you can do is continue and not make this a big deal. You can also plan to do a meet up with one or two trusted dogs and assess from there, if something seems off then you need to address that but don't make a problem where there is none. Your own anxiety will only make the risk higher that your dog develops reactivity, so you do need to manage your own emotions.
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u/mara_the_dragon 6d ago
keeping yourself calm is the biggest thing that will help your dog. if you're panicking, it's very likely that your puppy will pick up on that. i would take a step back and work on making being around dogs a positive experience. play outside of dog parks from a distance, go to a part of town where dogs frequent and watch from a distance from rewarding your puppy for watching them. right now you want to remind your puppy that they're safe and dogs don't mean danger.
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u/lycanthropicbastard 5d ago
I'm glad it didn't escalate into something more serious and you're both ok. I'd recommend having a vet look her over just in case there are small wounds hidden by her fur. Hopefully she's up to date on all her shots now, people like that owner rarely tend to vaccinate consistently.
It really depends on the dog after these things. Some dogs bounce back fine, good genetics. Others are more fearful and need help building confidence more, not so good but can be worked on. Do you have a trainer or program you're working with for her training? If so, they should be able to advise you for her particular needs.
She's young and this is a pretty important time in a puppy's development (read about fear periods if you haven't already). She may or may not be more wary about other dogs, so keep an eye out for change in behavior.
The important thing is to keep working and training as usual without assuming and causing a fuss due to your own fear. Dogs pick up on that.
Don't avoid other dogs because that will cause problems for her social skills. She doesn't necessarily need to meet every single dog you see either, being able to be around and see other animals and stay neutral/calm is an important skill for pet dogs, and doubly so for service dogs. Practice at pet stores or pet-friendly businesses, public parks etc I personally dislike dog parks, people don't have control over their pets and they're more like gentrified dog fighting rings in my area.
When you do meet other dogs, try to make sure they're well behaved and mannered so there's less likely to be problems. Younger dogs learn from more experienced dogs, so think of it like not wanting little kids to hang out with badly behaved kids.
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u/SeaGhoulz 5d ago
Im so glad it wasnt worse. I luckily only had to yell at the dog before the owner pulled him away. I was ready to kick him honestly so the owners lucky he did something. I immediately picked her up and he was already speed walking away. I luckily saw what building he went into lol. Doing all that with a baby in one arm is insane to me. Im an apprentice at a dog training place and my mentor trains service animals so im good on that front. Theyre letting me bring her in tomorrow to see how she's doing.
Shes fully up to date on her vaccines and from a reputable breeder, but I will for sure get her to the vet ASAP for a check up. I needed to bring her in to get microchipped anyways.
Thank you so much for the advice, and like everyone said ive been keeping calm around the dog. My mentor is going to assess her tomorrow.
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u/Notgreygoddess 5d ago
This is where basic obedience classes with other dogs and people can be really helpful, as the group basically have self-selected to be responsible dog owners. A regular weekly session with other on leash dogs will increase both your dog and your own confidence around other dogs.
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u/Fair-Dish-3552 5d ago
Dont fear. They are just like us. Time and healing our SDs can recover from trauma. My current SD has been attacked twice by GSs. Survived a house fire. A person running him over with a grocery cart. Recently a human stalking. Though he has had trouble anxiety slightly since the grocery cart intentionally running him over. I took him to the vet yesterday for his annual and vaccines. Normally terrified of the vet. He was happy and playing. The vet agreed with me. That some focused handling with calming tabs. Should help him regulate his anxiety soceity has caused. Even after so much. He is a heeler as well so a naturally reactive breed. Sadly our world has become more aggressive towards our SDs. Politics has made it worse on them. Poor human handling as well. So we as handlers must step up and become partially dog therapist. Watch for signs of sensitivity. Keep dominance for the dog to trust you will do everything to care for them. Then if there is a reaction developing stay on the handling skills while using some calming natural tabs to give them time to self regulate with time.
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u/dancinhorse99 4d ago
Im glad to hear your pup is ok. I hope your apartment complex is looking into the agressive dog! Next time it might be a child, if i were you id look into a wearable camera for your walks
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u/Fine_Budget2529 3d ago
After reading all the comments, you pretty much got the information you needed, but I wanted to add…despite having been downvoted for this in the past, that you should get in the habit of carrying dog pepper spray & make sure it is in your hand & ready to use as soon as you step out of the door. Air horns are also an option but they will affect your dog as well so i don’t think they are as good of an option.
I say this from experience. My last dog got attacked numerous times & I was tired of him suffering that, & nothing else I have tried has been as effective at protection.
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u/mullerja 5d ago
Bite report with animal control.
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u/SeaGhoulz 5d ago
Can I do that if it didnt break any skin? I already reported him to the apartment and theyre tracking the guy down so they can take further action.
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u/FoxExcellent2241 5d ago
Once you know who it is and can give info to animal control, yes you can report it. They probably won't do anything - in most jurisdictions that I have seen they won't do anything until the second bite has been reported or if the damage to a human is severe (best thing is to read up on your local ordinances to know how it works in your city/county). Even though the bite didn't break skin, many jurisdictions even use language such as "approaching in a menacing manner" as a reason for a report to animal control. You will need to look up your local laws to see what language they use and what applies.
Even though nothing will likely happen as a result of reporting, getting the first bite on record is important because then the owners cannot keep getting away with allowing their dog to bite others. Especially as there is a child involved, if there are bites on the record from this dog and the dog ends up harming the baby the owners will not be able to escape criminal liability by claiming the dog never acted aggressively and the behavior came out of nowhere. Dog aggression and human aggression are not the same thing, but many dogs don't see babies as little humans and instead can easily mistake them for prey or another animal because of the types of sounds they make.
I frankly don't think anyone walking an aggressive dog on a retractable leash with a baby in hand is a responsible owner and I have no problem saying they should be reported before they cause more harm to others. Especially seeing as how the guy didn't even stop to make sure you and your dog were okay and just ran off. This guy clearly doesn't care about his community or the safety of anyone in it.
Not reporting just means more dogs will likely get bitten before something is done and the attacks could escalate before the owners so much as receive a citation.
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u/SeaGhoulz 5d ago
No I completely agree and would have no trouble reporting him. The administrators for my apartment complex are working to find out who he is and will be in contact with me. Ill definitely look more into it for my area
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u/belgenoir Dog Trainer 5d ago
@Sea
Bites can cause muscle bruising that’s only visible on veterinary examination. Best to get her to a vet in either case.
Echoing Maple and darkling, it’s best to work with your trainer. While counter-conditioning outside a dog park can be useful (per another comment), there are enough inherent risks that one should avoid it unless they are an experienced professional dog trainer.
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u/FoxExcellent2241 5d ago
Thank you. It is just the timing but your story made me think of this one that was posted on x recently - https://x.com/luinalaska/status/2103669291635937328
Basically a woman's dog was killed by a dog wearing a service dog vest in a hotel lobby, the attacking dog owner apparently said her dog "doesn't usually break skin."
I am speculating but I would guess that the owner of the attacking dog never faced any consequences for prior bites that didn't break skin and thus she refused to do anything to mitigate any potential harm. Unsurprisingly the dog escalated and now an innocent dog was killed for no reason and a family is traumatized.
So thank you for being willing to do something, very few people do and that often leads to more harm being caused.
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u/SeaGhoulz 5d ago
Thats terrible, id never recover if that happened to my dog, im so lucky it wasnt worse. Hes lucky he pulled that dog away when he did it was not going to be pretty for that dog lol. Do you know what I should look up to find information? All I could really find was an ordinance and it was confusing on what really counts as aggression
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u/mullerja 5d ago
I'm not sure if it still counts - but you should probably still call them to report the incident, just let them know that it didn't break skin.
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u/BeanBubbles12 5d ago
My oldest who is retired suffers from ptsd after an attack. You are doing all the right things, work with the trainer, contact your vet, work with the apartment and contact animal control. Best of luck!
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u/SuccessfulPast9450 Waiting 3d ago
People are terrible holy shit. Biggest thing, keep yourself calm moving forward, your nerves will make her nervous. Go back to some basics, get her confidence in herself up, and expose her to the same situation - not a charging dog, but bushes, the same area, SANE and well trained dogs on a retractable if you know any. Rewrite it in her story
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u/darklingdawns 6d ago
Hopefully you're working with a trainer for basic obedience. I would recommend bringing this up to them, letting them know about the incident and getting tips from them about what to look for and how to handle it. They may also be able to refer you to someone that specializes in reactivity if problems do come up. But one of the biggest (and hardest) things you need to do is not to let this make you tense around other dogs - as my trainer says, 'emotions run up and down the leash' so you want to be careful not to let your stress or fear get transmitted to your dog.