the subject of dog aggression and (poor) handler behavior has come up lately and i wonder if i was out of line today - can someone please clarify what the appropriate protocol is for how to handle repetitive humping? for example, we were at my usual park today and a dog was being mildly aggressive toward shaia - hackles raised, repeatedly lunging at her throat/dragging her around by the neck. not hurting her, but shaia was ineffectively trying to fight his dog off. she would end up on her back on the ground (she is very submissive) and when she would try to get up, he would hump her back down to the ground. she would get up and get away and he would come after her again, same deal. 99% of the time (well, 100% of the time up to this point) i stand back and let them work it out. after this went on for a while (shaia being humped to the ground) and the owner didn't intervene, i grabbed the dog's collar and said "enough" and dragged the dog off my dog. the owner then grabbed her dog and left. was i out of line? is it ok to intervene when someone else's dog is repeatedly humping your dog? shaia wasn't being hurt by this dog but was clearly uncomfortable, and more than anything else, i was really annoyed. i felt weird about it afterward though.
was i out of line?
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I can't blame you for doing what you did.
First, I think the owner of the other dog should have been watching their dog more closely and been the one to take the initiative to put a stop to 'play' that was clearly out of hand. If we aren't willing to watch our dogs, we don't belong in a park.
BUT, since that didn't happen, you had to step in for Shaia's sake. I might have started with the owner first, along the lines of "It seems that this is getting a bit out of hand..." hoping that they would get the hint. In the absence of that, I think the way you stepped in was just fine.
First, I think the owner of the other dog should have been watching their dog more closely and been the one to take the initiative to put a stop to 'play' that was clearly out of hand. If we aren't willing to watch our dogs, we don't belong in a park.
BUT, since that didn't happen, you had to step in for Shaia's sake. I might have started with the owner first, along the lines of "It seems that this is getting a bit out of hand..." hoping that they would get the hint. In the absence of that, I think the way you stepped in was just fine.
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Dont feel bad. There was one dog that would do that to Hershey when we lived down town. Its owner was totally out to lunch about it. I did the same as you, except probably a lot earlier. After 4 or 5 "humps into submission" i grabed the dog and put a stop to it. Its not fun for Hershey, thats not why we go to the park. I told the lady to put a leash on her dog until it settles down. I understand they have to settle pecking order, but if your dog is clearly submissive the other dog has to give it a rest or get lost. i hate bullies, even th 4 legged kind.
I don't think you were out of line. There's something to be said for letting the dogs work it out...but after awhile...I don't blame you.
Once at the park this enormous dogs was humping Kirby and the other dog's owner and we both quickly stopped that. Kirby is 42 lbs and the other dogs is 100 and neither of us wanted the dog to hurt him. When it is excessive or potentially harmful I would interfere too.
Once at the park this enormous dogs was humping Kirby and the other dog's owner and we both quickly stopped that. Kirby is 42 lbs and the other dogs is 100 and neither of us wanted the dog to hurt him. When it is excessive or potentially harmful I would interfere too.
thanks - i really appreciate and value your replies. obviously if a dog is being hurt it's a no brainer to jump in, but i just wasn't sure if it's "appropriate" to do this for humping. if it were my dog humping another dog, i would discipline him right away but this doesn't seem to happen much :? there are many serial humpers at the park! i definitely would have spoken to the owner had i known who it was but there were a bunch of us standing around and i didn't recognize the dog or know its owner. argh. the oblivious owner thing makes me crazy -
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not out of line at all - I would not let it go on that long before dragging the other dog off. The other dogs owner should have been watching her dog.
There is no reason your dog should have to submit to any aggressive behavior, if she was trying to get away then she was not happy. Look at it as kids, would you let your child be continuously beat down by an other kid when they obviously were trying to get away and not intervene?
There is no reason your dog should have to submit to any aggressive behavior, if she was trying to get away then she was not happy. Look at it as kids, would you let your child be continuously beat down by an other kid when they obviously were trying to get away and not intervene?
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you were way to polite..too many time s i see dog owners at the dog
park shooting the s&[email protected] while their dogs are doing whatever..
you did the right thing though in the past i had not been so diplomatic..
a couple time s a month ill drop off a 20lb bag of Kirkland at the animal shelter..i asked what i did was OK and they said better it would have been better to call them..that there are enough aggressive dogs on the streets and that they don t need them in the dog park..
i was given the cell phone number of one of the *dog catcher* and told to call them as soon as i spot such behavior at the dog park..
it s BAD & IRRESPONSIBLE dog owner s that there are public outcry s agaisnt dog parks..
park shooting the s&[email protected] while their dogs are doing whatever..
you did the right thing though in the past i had not been so diplomatic..
a couple time s a month ill drop off a 20lb bag of Kirkland at the animal shelter..i asked what i did was OK and they said better it would have been better to call them..that there are enough aggressive dogs on the streets and that they don t need them in the dog park..
i was given the cell phone number of one of the *dog catcher* and told to call them as soon as i spot such behavior at the dog park..
it s BAD & IRRESPONSIBLE dog owner s that there are public outcry s agaisnt dog parks..
I think you did the right thing also. It is our job to protect our dogs and that is what you were doing. There is one dog in particular that my dogs have played with growing up that isn't fixed at our park... he tries to hump all the dogs while his owner is on his cell phone. If I see him I won't take my dogs there...I don't want them to pick up any bad habits :? or to be humped.
i just want to interject with a word of caution. what i do in circumstances where dog interactions become heated or unpleasant is to make really loud, low growly noises, as in "HEY, boys, ENOUGH!", clap my hands, lean over and generally try to make myself look as big and imposing as possible. my goal is to get them to stop on their own without intervening physically. i never, ever, ever try to grab or physically handle someone else's dog at the dog park. i don't know the dog, the dog doesn't know me -- so i can't be sure how the dog will react to being grabbed by the neck and hauled away. if it is incessantly humping despite the fact that the other dog is giving 'stop it, i submit' signals, then it frankly already has a screw loose. dogs bite people for lesser reasons, especially when they feel constrained or restricted. i suppose if the other dog were actually hurting my dog i might try to kick it or hit it with a stick or something, but i've never seen a situation that required that kind of resolution. it is really important NOT to assume another dog will react the same way you think yours would to being grabbed by a stranger.
-em
-em
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You have my vote! I would've done the same thing too!
Em makes a good point. You can never be sure if another dog is aggressive so I would try verbally correcting first. My husband has pulled a dog or too off of ours...but it's only after 1) trying to let the dogs work it out 2) verbally correcting and 3) if it's obviously getting bad asking "who's dog is this"...and if no response then pull the dog off.
Kirby humps Dex all the time...but we are able to get him to stop with verbal commands (and sometimes by clapping our hands).
Kirby humps Dex all the time...but we are able to get him to stop with verbal commands (and sometimes by clapping our hands).
I have mentioned before how Denver used to get humped
a lot by Winston(bull mastiv) who is now his best buddy.
Anyway because they were the same size(not anymore, Denver will always be taller but Winston now outweighs him) we watched carefully
and did let them work it out. Winston's owner is very caring
and stopped Winston many times but I told her to let it be as I knew
Denver would react eventually..............Denver is a very laid back dog
and very sensitive so he puts up with a lot but he did finally had
enough and one day just held Winston down and we stood back and watched. He literally just laid on top of him and did not bite or anything
he was just showing Winston that if needed he could take him down.
They have been the best buds since and Winston has never tried it again.
I realize that this is a different situation because I know the owner and we are friends and we are both animal lovers but I wanted to tell the story anyway.teehee
a lot by Winston(bull mastiv) who is now his best buddy.
Anyway because they were the same size(not anymore, Denver will always be taller but Winston now outweighs him) we watched carefully
and did let them work it out. Winston's owner is very caring
and stopped Winston many times but I told her to let it be as I knew
Denver would react eventually..............Denver is a very laid back dog
and very sensitive so he puts up with a lot but he did finally had
enough and one day just held Winston down and we stood back and watched. He literally just laid on top of him and did not bite or anything
he was just showing Winston that if needed he could take him down.
They have been the best buds since and Winston has never tried it again.
I realize that this is a different situation because I know the owner and we are friends and we are both animal lovers but I wanted to tell the story anyway.teehee
G
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·I have done the same thing you did in the past.
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You did the right thing, totally.
I took Louie to his first-ever labradoodle meet up at a dog park yesterday. It was great fun--only at one point a large dog was more aggressive than I liked with Louie, who is just a 4-month old pup. After leaving it alone for a while, I took Louie's leash and had him to sit with me on the grass where a bunch of us were sitting and said, "Let's take a break." The other dog followed and continued to lunge at Louie, so I just pulled him away by his collar, saying Stop until he stopped.
I wouldn't have intervened if the dogs were the same size, or if it seemed like equal give and take, but when it's one-sided, then maybe it should stop.
I took Louie to his first-ever labradoodle meet up at a dog park yesterday. It was great fun--only at one point a large dog was more aggressive than I liked with Louie, who is just a 4-month old pup. After leaving it alone for a while, I took Louie's leash and had him to sit with me on the grass where a bunch of us were sitting and said, "Let's take a break." The other dog followed and continued to lunge at Louie, so I just pulled him away by his collar, saying Stop until he stopped.
I wouldn't have intervened if the dogs were the same size, or if it seemed like equal give and take, but when it's one-sided, then maybe it should stop.
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