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Ben was attacked yesterday

This is horrendus, poor little man!! I hope he is feeling better today!

I would advise anyone with a suseptable breed like the Cavalier to get a really good book on canine body languadge.

I read these sorts of books all the time and look out for all sorts of different signs from strange dogs to assess whether they will be friendly or not, aggression and too playful etc etc.

There are a few that I have found tremendously helpful and I have managed on a few occasions to scoop my two out of danger and "touch wood" haven't been in a situation where they have been badly hurt-

Mental scars are a whole other story and you need to do everything you can now so as not to have this affect him in to his future.

You will probably find he will be very nervous around bigger dogs now for life.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb...the+domestic+dog&sprefix=canine+body+language

The above book is expensive but a life long investment!!!

I can spot an aggressive dog 9 times out of 10 with in seconds of seeing them these days and I also spot the over the top dogs that aren't a good play mate for such little and fragile doggies too!!!

Ruby has very good "doggie language" and is forever sending signals to dogs when out and about but Charlie on the other hand has barely any!!

Some dogs are great talkers and others aren't and its the ones that aren't that are the worry!
 
I have been wondering all day how Ben is coming along. Of course I am so sorry for what has happened to him.

I am a hardliner about uncontrolled dogs I'm afraid. I would welcome a law which only allows trained obedience/Good Citizen Dogs to be off leash in any public place whatsoever. Anyone found in breach of this should be fined at least a thousand pounds or made to give up their dog. I don't believe there are many bad dogs, but bad owners are everywhere.
 
I have been wondering all day how Ben is coming along. Of course I am so sorry for what has happened to him.

I am a hardliner about uncontrolled dogs I'm afraid. I would welcome a law which only allows trained obedience/Good Citizen Dogs to be off leash in any public place whatsoever. Anyone found in breach of this should be fined at least a thousand pounds or made to give up their dog. I don't believe there are many bad dogs, but bad owners are everywhere.

I couldn't have said it better. It's not bad dogs, but bad owners. And I am in total agreement, that 98%of dogs need to be leashed......and if you can't control your dog, DON'T HAVE A DOG!

When walking down the street I always put myself between Claire and a dog being walked. I know that Claire being a fairly fragile dog would be seriously injured by a medium sized dog. I on the other hand can SUE a stupid owner if I am bit or injured. Sounds tough, but I can't stand irresponsible pet owners.
 
I couldn't have said it better. It's not bad dogs, but bad owners. And I am in total agreement, that 98%of dogs need to be leashed......and if you can't control your dog, DON'T HAVE A DOG!

When walking down the street I always put myself between Claire and a dog being walked. I know that Claire being a fairly fragile dog would be seriously injured by a medium sized dog. I on the other hand can SUE a stupid owner if I am bit or injured. Sounds tough, but I can't stand irresponsible pet owners.

Agreed! I would much rather take the bite because at least I have a voice!

I hope Ben is feeling better today! Both physically & mentally!
 
I agree with the above two posters. Jack has been bitten (emergency room 5 stiches bitten) by a supposedly friendly daschshund. Likewise, he has had little schitzus and other dogs growl at him for no reason other than walking by on a leash. Sometimes I think he is lacking the doggy languange or other times I wonder if it's because he is on so many meds for his CM/SM, maybe the other dogs sense something is off with him. Not sure but now no matter how friendly an owner says their dog is, unless I really know the dog, I always keep myself as a buffer between the two dogs. I figure I can have a lot more legal leg to stand on if I am injured and will less likely be seriously injured than if Jack is bitten.
Owners also need to be more aware and in control of their dogs.I always blame the owners, never the dogs. I live in NYC and everyone walks their dog since nobody has yards. Many owners walk them on long retractable leashed completely disregarding that there dog is 10 feet ahead of them on a crowded sidewalk while their busy chatting away on their cell phone. Can you tell this is a huge pet peeve of mine?, LOL

ANyway, I am glad Ben made it out ok and is eating/drinking some. Poor baby, he will need lots of TLC for a while.
Cavies are such a sweet and sensitive breed.
 
TBH I think it's the other dogs. While sometimes a pack of 'friendly' dogs in a home have been known to attack a dog with SM --though have rarely heard of this with cavaliers; more common with breeds like Yorkies -- a dog meeting another dog in a friendly situation should not be attacking in that way! :eek: A lot of owners think they have 'friendly' dogs when actually they are not very pleasant or well socialised at all. Often they are termed 'friendly' because they are friendly with a circle of dogs they already know but this is not proper socialisation or general dog friendliness -- just friendliness within a small group.
 
I'm so sorry to hear this. I hope Ben is doing much better today.

Sadly it seems as though this is somewhat of a common occurence.

It happened to Benji when he was about 8 or 9 months old and he is now absolutely terrified of all other dogs, which makes walking him a little difficult. Not only did it scare him, he walked all the way home right next to me which he never does, but it scared me too. I now spend the majority of my time walking him looking out for other dogs because it means i have to put Benji on a short lead and coax him to keep walking otherwise he just stands there frozen to the spot.
 
I must agree with this Flo, it's a hard line to take, but people who have their dogs off-lead should be 'licensed' to do so. Really, if they have them off lead, they should be able to produce a license from their pockets saying they and their dog have been trained and the dog is a good citizen, etc. etc. But then, how would it be enforced and would it be abused? Best thing is to always be VIGILANT and always be prepared. As one other poster said, I would put myself between my dogs and another, because I would have more legal standing on getting hurt... and... most likely to survive (please God). I'm an overprotective mother anyway!

We are all wondering about Ben, looking forward to an update soon.
 
I am really sorry. Poor Ben! It does make me very cross owners who do not keep their dogs under control. I hope he is feeling a bit better. Gentle hugs to Ben :hug:
 
Thank you all for your kind words and advice, it is appreciated. Today Ben has made an improvement in his physical and in his mental state. He still spent the majority of the day squeezed tight under the settee but came out for chicken and came out into the garden of his own accord but just stood staring. His is still obviously quite sore and looks much older in appearance, the bite hole on his back has scabbed over and looks clean, he is on an anti-biotic medication and has an follow up appointment with the vet tomorrow. This evening he has been up beside me on the settee and is at present lying in the middle of the living room floor which is an obvious improvement.

The episode has made me assess meeting large dogs and from now on I will be avoiding them and/or picking him up as well as carrying a heavy stick. I also realise that he was lucky not to have been killed, He is a medium sized Cavalier, weighs 11Kg and I cannot believe how so easily he was picked up and violently swung from side to side like a rag doll, his neck could have been so easily broken.
 
Thanks for the update, I have been thinking about Ben non stop. I hope each day he improves, it must have been so scary for him.

I think your story has shown us all something, and at times, we all need little reminders to keep our dogs safe. Sometimes it is easy to slip into "every dog is cute and safe like mine", but it is just not true. I am good at the dog park, asking people with big dogs approaching "is your dog okay?", but I am not good at all on walks. I figure, oh, Brooky is on a lead, we are fine....but you have shown us that is not always the case and I am grateful you shared your story, as hard as it is for you to have gone through.

We will be thinking about Ben on his recovery!
 
I'm so glad Ben is feeling a little better.

People also need to be aware that having the dog in your arms is sometimes no help if the other dog is large, I have known a Cavalier attacked by a Great Dane even though it was being held by the owner.
 
An absolutely ghastly, horrific experience for you both. Glad he is gradually getting some confidence again and healing.
 
I don't think I could hit a dog with a stick. There are pepper sprays meant to use on attacking dogs. I don't know which would be worse for the dog, although a stick could turn a large dog lethal.

Perhaps others could comment on their opinions sticks v pepper spray, cruelty/defense, and effectiveness, or other alternatives to use in an emergency.
 
I'm really sorry to hear about the attack on Ben, and I'm relieved that he appears to be on the way to recovery. I know a little about how it feels to have this happen as one of my young Cavaliers was attacked and mauled and tossed in the air by an Alsatian when out with my husband. He just missed having his lung punctured, and both he and my husband were very badly shocked. My husband knew who owned the dog and was eventually in contact with our local police officer. The owner firstly denied any knowledge or responsibility but was finally persuaded to pay the cost of our vets bills (in the region of £100) by the police.

We had a couple of friends with large (and gentle) dogs who helped Rowan regain much of his confidence, but the experience actually changed his whole happy attitude to life, and this still makes me so angry 13 years on... It also affected how my husband reacted to strange dogs as well - and he still doesn't really trust them.

Rosemary
 
There was a very interesting article in dogs today magazine a couple of months back about what to do if a dog attacks your dog and it was a great read and very helpful.

The main point was to stay calm (easier said than done!!!) and not panic!

It describes how to get the dog to let go with out them turning on you in the process. I've not tried it but basically, rather than go in to break the dogs up, you get hold of the attacking dogs back legs and pull them up towards you- like a wheelbarrow.

You know the game you used to play as kiids where one kid holds the others back legs whilest you walk with your hands????

Then once you have hold of the legs you swing the dog in an outward circle away from the dog being attacked

You know if you have a small kid and you swing them round like a helicopter whilest holding under there arms....well like that but swinging whilest holding the back legs.

The dog cant reach you- as they can't twist while you're moving it- and the shock factor of what you are doing makes them release any grip they have on the dog being attacked.

Of course this is all just theory and most dog attacks are over very quickly so therefor wouldnt get the chance but if it goes on for more than a few seconds and it doesn't seem to be stopping then the above is the way to go.

I also read about carrying a very strong stick and placing it under the attacking dogs collar and twisting????

Petcorrecter sprays are available but im certain that most behaviourists will say that they aren't much good once an attack is under way but can be usefull to warn off an incoming dog!


I love dogs to the moon and back but if it came to protecting my babies I would kill for them!
 
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