Author Topic: Terrible day at the dog park! >=( (Long)  (Read 3713 times)

Offline London_Pyr_Lover

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Terrible day at the dog park! >=( (Long)
« on: May 22, 2009, 10:59:22 am »
Today my dog became the type of dog that I get mad at people for bringing to the dog park!

We prob. shouldn't have gone in the first place.  I upped my dose on one of my supplements so my head was all spacey and in the clouds before we went so I wasn't in the best state of mind to begin with.

It started off okay, we walked around once, then when we got to the clearing, I noticed a beautiful great big Great Dane.  Naja said hello, and was a little nervous around him, but I didn't think anything of it.  We walked around again going the opposite way of the lady and her Great Dane.  We met up with the lady and the Gr. Dane (I've forgotten his name sorry)again at the other side of the park and I get to talking to her about London Big Dogs and give her a card for the group, Naja and the Dane run off.  She's a little worried, but again, I didn't think anything of it.  Then all of a sudden we hear this horrible screeching yelping cry come from the direction that our dogs ran.  So we run after them in that direction, Naja comes bolting past us tail between her legs and the Dane close on her heels!  We both get a hold of our dogs, and then the Dane goes after her again!  She lets out that Horrible noise again while snapping after him (it almost seemed to me like a frightened girl screaming F Off!! to an attacker).  I reacted terribly to it, and grabbed her collar and marched off with her.  We get around the corner, and I pour some water for them, because now Naja is panting and drooling, and eating grass like crazy.  Well a couple of smaller dogs come along, and Naja lunges for them like she wants to kill them!  So I'm apologizing profusely to their owners, and I put her leash on her to gain a little bit more control over her.  I should have left right then and there, but I figured she'd calm down and then be okay.  She almost got into 2 more fights before I finally got it into my head that we need to leave!  BTW she kept eating grass like crazy and refused to drink any water. 

Well!  Right as I was trying to get her and Moo ready to leave, and man in work coveralls comes up to say hello, I've seen him before but never really talked to him, and he kind of creeped me out personally.  He kept talking to me and wanting to see my tattoo. He tried to lean in close to look at my arm piece and Naja literally lunged for his neck!  The dummy didn't back up!  I had to drag her snarling and snapping away from him!  I finally got Moo on leash when the guy's dog comes up and Naja attacks it!  I had a tight grip on her leash and she didn't actually touch the dog, thank goodness.  But then when I was apologizing to him he starts going "It's okay, it's a dog Park, Dogs are gonna attack each other" WHAT?!  I tell him No that's not okay, and it's completely unacceptable behavior from ANY dog, especially mine!  and I get her and Moo the heck out of the park.

But now I feel like one of those owners that I hate!  The kind that have aggressive dogs and that can't control them!  Naja is a dominant dog, I know that, and usually I'm pretty good at steering us around any potential problems, and getting her out of situations that could go badly.  Today I sucked at being a dog owner, and I sucked at protecting her from a bad situation.

How do I re instill the trust that I'm going to protect her now? I feel like now she's not sure that I'm the one who is supposed to do the protecting because of the way I reacted to her screaming at the Dane.  :-[ :(

BTW:  She's sleeping peacefully in the doorway to the computer room right now.  Poor baby...
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