"sionnach" wrote in message
...

"Rocky" wrote:

"sionnach" said in
rec.pets.dogs.behavior:

"When I unhooked his leash, my attention was mostly on the
other dogs chasing after balls and running around, and then
I heard a commotion and saw Muttley standing over the black
Lab puppy who was rolled over and yelping. I grabbed his
harness and pulled him off in a second, and the instructor
yelled "everyone grab your dogs". Muttley and I sat there,
myself in disbelief, while the injured dog was tended to,
and the instructor told us "You will have to leave, NOW", "

To clarify for anyone else coming in mid-thread: *I* didn't say that;
those are Paul's words, I merely quoted him.

This is unbelievable. Even the many dog novices I know know how
to avoid (or train/socialise against) situations like this. Or
at least be observant.

Yup. Especially if the dog has a past history of going after other dogs
in more than one situation (the prior attacks having occured once in a
training class and once while trail walking). What really gets up my nose
about this situation is despite the Muttley having had issues with
Labradors on at least 3 prior occasions (in Janet's class, at a PetsMart,
and on the trails), it apparently never occurred to Paul that perhaps he
should monitor him with this one.

You have the chronology incorrect. The first incident, of course, was in
Janet's class in October 2006. Muttley seemed fine meeting people and other
dogs, including Lucky in 2007, so I figured that incident was just
redirected aggression caused by the harsh training methods. Then in
September of 2008, while Muttley was walking with his new friend Larka, he
got into a tussle with a young black Lab, possibly because he was being
protective of Larka, who was rather submissive, and the Lab was not hurt. I
was very cautious after that, but then I took Muttley to a clicker training
class, where he was exceptionally well behaved even with three other male
dogs, including a black PitBull, who were being very reactive and snarky. I
was hesitant about taking him to the dog social offered by the trainer, and
I expressed my concerns to the point that I asked to come on a trial basis,
and then see if it was worth signing up for a series of four sessions.
Muttley's aggression there was quite unexpected, although it was probably
overwhelming for a dog of Muttley's personality to be immersed in a group
of perhaps 15-20 new dogs and strange people. The trainer later apologized
for being so abrupt, and she said she had never seen anything like it in
her six years of experience. Of course Janet ridiculed her about that, yet
she was caught by surprise as well, with all of her years with dogs.

At Petco (not PetSmart), I took Muttley to what was billed as a session on
getting to know your dog, but it was actually more of an introduction to
clicker training. Unknown to me, one of the dogs was a young male black
Lab, and I was very cautious and observant. The woman with the dog did not
seem very concerned, but when I saw the dogs go nose to nose, I thought
there might be a problem. Probably Muttley gave the dog a "look" that was
interpreted as a challenge, and the Lab snapped at Muttley, at which point
he backed up and I pulled him away. Later, the woman invited Muttley over
and offered him a treat, but her dog bared his teeth at Muttley when he
approached. So that was not a case of any aggression on Muttley's part.

And Muttley's play date turned out just fine. So what are all you mental
cases whining about? I'm just enjoying my dog and giving him some new
experiences and socialization. Y'all need to crawl back into your caves...


I wish I had the luxury of killfiling and ignoring Paul, but as long as
he lives near me, and goes to some of the same stores and parks, I
consider it wiser to keep informed. (Among other things, if I ever need
to defend one of my dogs against Muttley, I'll have evidence to back up
my actions.)

Now don't worry your little brane about my sweet dog.

Paul and Muttley