but I just have to get something off my chest. I was feeling really positive about moving to Inverness, and in most ways I still do, but there is one massive blip keeping me from being completely positive...that is our German Shepherd Tara. She is gorgeous, she can be a lot of fun, but when it comes to walking her she is NOT fun!
So, I have managed so far to avoid altercations with other dogs, but today came very close. I was just fortunate enough that I was on the other side of the street and the dog was obedient. I was very close to home, just leaving for my afternoon walk, when all of a sudden I look into a driveway (walled in with a tall fenced double gate which of course was open) and this woman was doing something with her car, and a large black dog - most likely a Labrador or a mix - saw Tara and went sort of bouncing towards us...I ran with Tara behind the gate of the house almost opposite, waiting to see if the dog was coming or not. Luckily it did not, and I could keep walking. But...it almost made me cry with desperation. It is bad enough that we have to be so careful taking her on walks that every dog owner LOVES going on as it is in nature, woods or along the canals...but I can only go places when (hopefully) most other people are at work or have already walked their dogs, and only places where there is a quick exit if I need it.
It may sound silly, but it is really not. I know for a fact that Tara is aggressive towards other dogs after all the attacks she has endured up until she was 18months and fed up just taking beatings and started giving back. I do walk around with a mussel in case I need to put it on her if I cannot avoid a dog. Now, this only works if the dog is on the lead and not the least aggressive. If the dog is aggressive and loose, and I put the mussel on Tara, then she cannot defend herself...if the dog is not normally aggressive, but feels it needs to defend itself against Tara's barking and growling, then it is likely to turn on her anyway and I am snookered yet again...
I have had it like this for the last 8 1/2 years. I know my husband is not very happy about the situation when he walks her, but I am the one who walks her most days, morning and afternoon. I am not complaining that he is not walking her enough, I am only stating the fact that I am the one who is mostly in the situation.
So, in Orkney I could only take her to one beach as that was mostly not used by dog walkers, or at least not when I took her. I did of course have to turn and run through the high grass and find another way up to the car as a fisherman showed up with a loose Collie. I took her once along the road to the village, then turned in to a village road which would take me back home over a hill past some farms. I was hoping that as I was walking her around 10-11 there would be few people around, but of course I met a man with three loose Labradors...I put the mussel on and shoved Tara up against a fence waiting for them to pass...the owner was kind enough to put two of them on the lead and called the other one back to him, while gesturing for me to walk past him. So, I got back on the "road" and started to walk past him, when the loose Lab came up to Tara...looking dominant if you know what I mean...I was quite nervous, Tara was growling and that Lab circled as we passed it and the other two. I did not walk that road again.
I could take her down to the water, walking the road between Echna loch and the sea, but if the weather was bad it was NOT fun as the wind whipped up water from either side lashing me with it. I could walk her towards the village, but not through the village or down to the pier as there were so many dogs on the loose...and I met the guy with the Labs a few times along this short bit of road. But, when seeing a dog walker coming from either direction I could get across the road and keep Tara under control, so that was easier. There was a third road to walk, which went along farmland and paddocks and farms, and of course there were dogs loose on the farms or in the paddocks and we never knew if they were gonna come close or not, so that was pointless to do.
So I really only had two directions to walk her, unless I took her with me to Kirkwall when I dropped hubby off, and walked her there, which happened frequently just for a change of scenery. There were a lot of dogs there as well, but I could get across the street in time mostly, although once I had to run across in front of a bus to avoid a dog...this woman got out of the car in the car park, let the dog out LOOSE and turned her back as she closed the car...the dog saw Tara and came charging...the woman did NOTHING!!!
I am fully aware that I am responsible for what my dog does, but why is it so difficult for dog owners to realize that if I run the other way when I meet them, or if I call them to put their dogs on the lead or at least call them back from us, it is not because I am overprotective over Tara, but that I am worried she is going to attack them!!! The amount of people I have met and asked this, and they say "but my dog is not a problem, he/she is not aggressive, it will be fine" and I have to EXPLAIN to them that I am not worried about their dog attacking mine, but the other way around...why am I walking around with a mussel!!!??? The reason I do not have the mussel on her constantly is simple - she would have her head in the mud all the time as she HATES it...I put it on if there is any chance I will meat someone or if I actually am meeting someone...
Yesterday afternoon as I was coming home from the walk, I walked past a house at the end of our road, and this person was standing by their car with two dogs next to him...the good thing is that those dogs did not budge from his side, but it still makes my heart jump...I LOVE dogs, but every dog I see now is a threat and that is really sad.
So, right now I feel like crying out of despair over the situation. All I really want is to be able to walk Tara without issues...I take all the precautions and care I can, but I can't do anything about other people...
SIGH!!! ...
Sorry...just had to get it off my chest...not that I feel much better...
So, I have managed so far to avoid altercations with other dogs, but today came very close. I was just fortunate enough that I was on the other side of the street and the dog was obedient. I was very close to home, just leaving for my afternoon walk, when all of a sudden I look into a driveway (walled in with a tall fenced double gate which of course was open) and this woman was doing something with her car, and a large black dog - most likely a Labrador or a mix - saw Tara and went sort of bouncing towards us...I ran with Tara behind the gate of the house almost opposite, waiting to see if the dog was coming or not. Luckily it did not, and I could keep walking. But...it almost made me cry with desperation. It is bad enough that we have to be so careful taking her on walks that every dog owner LOVES going on as it is in nature, woods or along the canals...but I can only go places when (hopefully) most other people are at work or have already walked their dogs, and only places where there is a quick exit if I need it.
It may sound silly, but it is really not. I know for a fact that Tara is aggressive towards other dogs after all the attacks she has endured up until she was 18months and fed up just taking beatings and started giving back. I do walk around with a mussel in case I need to put it on her if I cannot avoid a dog. Now, this only works if the dog is on the lead and not the least aggressive. If the dog is aggressive and loose, and I put the mussel on Tara, then she cannot defend herself...if the dog is not normally aggressive, but feels it needs to defend itself against Tara's barking and growling, then it is likely to turn on her anyway and I am snookered yet again...
I have had it like this for the last 8 1/2 years. I know my husband is not very happy about the situation when he walks her, but I am the one who walks her most days, morning and afternoon. I am not complaining that he is not walking her enough, I am only stating the fact that I am the one who is mostly in the situation.
So, in Orkney I could only take her to one beach as that was mostly not used by dog walkers, or at least not when I took her. I did of course have to turn and run through the high grass and find another way up to the car as a fisherman showed up with a loose Collie. I took her once along the road to the village, then turned in to a village road which would take me back home over a hill past some farms. I was hoping that as I was walking her around 10-11 there would be few people around, but of course I met a man with three loose Labradors...I put the mussel on and shoved Tara up against a fence waiting for them to pass...the owner was kind enough to put two of them on the lead and called the other one back to him, while gesturing for me to walk past him. So, I got back on the "road" and started to walk past him, when the loose Lab came up to Tara...looking dominant if you know what I mean...I was quite nervous, Tara was growling and that Lab circled as we passed it and the other two. I did not walk that road again.
I could take her down to the water, walking the road between Echna loch and the sea, but if the weather was bad it was NOT fun as the wind whipped up water from either side lashing me with it. I could walk her towards the village, but not through the village or down to the pier as there were so many dogs on the loose...and I met the guy with the Labs a few times along this short bit of road. But, when seeing a dog walker coming from either direction I could get across the road and keep Tara under control, so that was easier. There was a third road to walk, which went along farmland and paddocks and farms, and of course there were dogs loose on the farms or in the paddocks and we never knew if they were gonna come close or not, so that was pointless to do.
So I really only had two directions to walk her, unless I took her with me to Kirkwall when I dropped hubby off, and walked her there, which happened frequently just for a change of scenery. There were a lot of dogs there as well, but I could get across the street in time mostly, although once I had to run across in front of a bus to avoid a dog...this woman got out of the car in the car park, let the dog out LOOSE and turned her back as she closed the car...the dog saw Tara and came charging...the woman did NOTHING!!!
I am fully aware that I am responsible for what my dog does, but why is it so difficult for dog owners to realize that if I run the other way when I meet them, or if I call them to put their dogs on the lead or at least call them back from us, it is not because I am overprotective over Tara, but that I am worried she is going to attack them!!! The amount of people I have met and asked this, and they say "but my dog is not a problem, he/she is not aggressive, it will be fine" and I have to EXPLAIN to them that I am not worried about their dog attacking mine, but the other way around...why am I walking around with a mussel!!!??? The reason I do not have the mussel on her constantly is simple - she would have her head in the mud all the time as she HATES it...I put it on if there is any chance I will meat someone or if I actually am meeting someone...
Yesterday afternoon as I was coming home from the walk, I walked past a house at the end of our road, and this person was standing by their car with two dogs next to him...the good thing is that those dogs did not budge from his side, but it still makes my heart jump...I LOVE dogs, but every dog I see now is a threat and that is really sad.
So, right now I feel like crying out of despair over the situation. All I really want is to be able to walk Tara without issues...I take all the precautions and care I can, but I can't do anything about other people...
SIGH!!! ...
Sorry...just had to get it off my chest...not that I feel much better...
I am so sorry to hear about your problems walking Tara... does your vet any suggestions?
ReplyDeleteNo, we have tried "happy pills" for her when she was young and very very nervous, and they worked a little, but only so far as to making her less jumpy. I did stop them after 3months when there was no further effect. We have tried training her, but she won't let any other person close to us unless we are not there which defeats the purpose. She is both mentally weak and very very stubborn, so training her has not been easy. She is clever so knows how to obey, it is just a question of WANTING to...but when it comes to dog aggression that came from her being attacked many times from a variety of dogs, and just deciding one day that it was enough, and she started having a go at any dog that came close or even looked at her. When she sees another dog, even if it is across the street, she will try to stare them down, and if they show any signs of coming towards her or barks at her, she will bark back and try to get to them, but if they just move on she will keep an eye on them and just keep walking. Most of the time she will try to get away, like if we meet the dog and pass them (across the street) she will run so she gets past them quicker, or go down a sidestreet to get away from the dog. I know that as long as we have her we will just have to deal with her issues. It has not changed over the last 8 years, and is not likely to change either. We have moved around a lot as well, so we have not been able to find people who are willing to work with us to get her to accept other dogs (or at least try) or at least not be so aggressive. I know it does not help with her being so nervous...life's hard...lol
ReplyDeleteShame that you haven't been based somewhere long enough to get someone to work with you and Tara. What you need is that Caesar bloke (the American Dog whisperer)! Feel free to vent your feelings here any time. We'll listen and offer advice - if we can. XX
ReplyDeleteThanks Sandie:) Now...I think that Caesar would say that we do most things wrong with her...she sleeps with us in the bed, she gets up next to us in the sofa, she gets her way most of the time...she knows obedience but just does not WANT to obey most of the time. Now though she is getting older and it is really noticeable...she is getting greyer and greyer, and her eyes and nose are not what they used to be (although her nose has never been much good)...I have figured out where to walk with her though, some nice roads where I can see meeting traffic and be able to get across the street if necessary:) Feeling much better now:)
ReplyDelete