Reactive dog confronted by a pack

[Bee]

Hi all, a question for those with experience of reactive greyhounds. Rook is reactive to non-grey males and we have been managing the situation pretty well - he is calm when we pass dogs that are on leash, or when the off-leash dogs don’t get too close, and typically even if they are pretty close after a few growls we can move on pretty quickly. However, on our walk last night (we are spending the summer in rural Portugal) we got “ambushed” by a pack led screaming chihuahuas, getting close and barking at him from all sides. Rook of course went mental. Barking/lunging such that it took all my strength to keep him away from them. My question is this- how much can/should we expect to control this? Of course he should look to me for protection and to get him away from the other dogs safely, but I don’t seem to be able to focus on keeping him quiet while also trying to tell the other dogs to back off!  Any advice on how to accomplish these things at the same time much appreciated! 

[rsieg]

From what you describe, doesn't seem like either you or Rook did anything wrong. Why should Rook not react? If he is being suddenly attacked by a pack of aggressive chihuahuas he should defend himself. They are on the ground, he is outnumbered, you are above (not in a position to defend him), and he is the one in the direct line of attack. And he is at risk - a chihuahua chomping down on a greyhound leg can do serious damage. The fault is on whoever owns those chihuahuas for not having them under control, or at least moving them away as soon as the situation arose. They are not off the hook just because their chihuahuas are smaller than your greyhound, if the chihuahuas are instigating an attack. 

As far as what you can do, the only real option I can see is to try to move Rook away and/or place yourself between Rook and the chihuahuas, though that can be difficult if he is lunging toward them. I would do that before trying to tell the other dogs to back off - the dogs don't understand, and if the owner can't figure that out without being told...

[Bee]

Thanks @rsiegTo be honest I really agree with you that he had to tell them off and get them to back off. However I am obviously worried that this is reinforcing his anxiety when it comes to other dogs and will make progress on reactivity generally more difficult. I would love for him to trust I can solve the issues and he has nothing to worry about and situations like this- where I am not sure that I can- are really unhelpful! Unfortunately the other dogs’ owners were nowhere to be seen!! 

[greysmom]

Well, it *is* reinforcing his reactivity, BUT, as stated, there is not much you can do in situations such as the one you described.  Best practice is to keep your eyes and ears always scanning for things that could be problematic and try and avoid as many of them as possible.

It's a constant question for dog owners of all breeds, no matter if they're reactive or not - what to do when you and your dog are approached by a dog or dogs who are unaccompanied and obviously up to no good???  You should research what is and isn't allowed wherever you're walking - for instance, some places in the US you cannot carry certain kinds of batons or sticks, or something like bear spray.  And different countries will have very different rules.  And different owners have their own tolerances for various solutions.  Some things that have been suggested here on GT (which may or may not be appropriate for your situation):  various types of long buggy/driving whips, the mentioned bear spray, long distance wasp spray, straight vinegar in a strong spray bottle, different kinds of folding batons and poles, different kinds of tazers.  You can search here for threads about the subject for more ideas.

Good luck.

[cleptogrey]

unfortunately many dog owners are just stupid. i run into a jerk who has 2 spaniel mixes who are aggressive and lunge and are walked on flexi leads. I normally do an about face turn and go the other way. Recently I was chatting with someone at their driveway. The monsters on flexi leads approached. I went to the far back end of the driveway- he let the dogs out on full leash towards my 2 and told me i was stupid when i told him to get back and use a normal leash.

Idiots fill this world- try your best to stay away from jerks.

Was the pack of ankle biters with a human? They are lucky that rook did not just grab one and shake it to death. 

[Bee]

Thanks all! We have been in full on avoidance mode since! 

[Greysfriend]

As everyone said, I think there are just situation where you can't do more.

We had one reactive dog coming at us recently barking loudly/aggressively and running towards us (no leash) I put myself behind my dog and started yelling at the other dog. My problem is different as Rocket is very scared and wanted to start running away, but I think that would just have made the dog chase us more so I had to try to hold him and protect him. It turned out ok as the dog was scared of me, but it could have turned the other way where he managed to attack us as well.

As long as you do your best to try to protect your dog, if other owners can't control theirs I think you can't do much about that. 

[MP_the4pack]

Are you allowed to carry any defensive spray? Pepper spray?

[macoduck]

And if not a pepper spray, use wasp spray. It squirts out a good distance so there is less chance of a blow back on you.

[LazyGrey]

We were on our walk the other day in the neighborhood. I noticed a guy standing next to the open door of his truck and heard loud barking coming from the dog inside. The dog, a large black Newfoundland, leaped out of the car (unleashed)and came running toward us very aggressively barking - he got right up to my dog, my dog just stood his ground and growled, the guy grabbed the dog right as it came nose to nose with mine. It was horrifying. My dog does not like other dogs and I am constantly watching for loose dogs and have on several occasions had to yell at people to "GET YOUR DOG" when they come toward us unrestrained. I'm just so sick of it. My dog really does not like other dogs and he's been in training but he has space issues and I don't feel like I can trust him to approach another dog. Probably a big part of it is my own fear of him getting hurt or hurting another dog. I tried a behaviorist but wasn't very impressed. I am looking for another one to help with meeting other dogs while out walking - to train us both! 

[LazyGrey]

The flexi leashes on a strong dog are bad news because of how easily they can come out of a persons hand. When I see someone with a dog that pulls excessively on one of those leashes, I stay clear. I bought one a long time ago and after one use could see how bad they were with a strong dog. The Greyhound shelter where I got my dog also warned to never use them. 

[Bee]

@LazyGrey so sorry to hear about your latest incident. 100% with you on being sick of irresponsible off lead dog owners. Especially when they then have a go when you tell their dog to stop as they’re hurling towards yours 😬