Gsd Bit My Whippet Plus!

[kris]

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akitas are quite an aggressive breed.my friend had the first green star and junior warrant winning akita.shed bred dobies for years before that.prob with akitas is they dont usually give any warning,they just attack.when my friend was at shows with her dogs,she never took her eyes off them for a minute.she never let them off the lead in public places,she always did roadwork with them,unless they were on a flexi lead.i too wish more folk would be considerate of what their dog is capable of when off the lead and act accordingly(ie DONT let it off the lead) :angry:

 

[TC]

Hi everyone, last Sunday, Topaz, my whippet+ was bitten by a huge pale GSD. It was out of blue and unprovoked, as my husband and I were walking with her on a short lead towards the field where tall grasses are, and GSD was off lead with a woman approaching toward us. Because of the height of grass, we couldn't see GSD until the last moment. When the GDS noticed Topaz 1.5m away, it rushed to her and bit her, without any warning. She screamed. My hubby pulled the dog away with the collar, and I put myself between the two until the woman came to hold it.
Luckily Topaz had a padded lined fishtail collar where its upper jaw went, but she had bruise on the front shoulder where the lower jaw got. I was and am still terrified. It is a huge dog, bigger and stronger than me.  I saw others had similar problems in old posts just now. I am sending a letter to the city council. Is there anything else I could do? I had never seen the woman. There are a couple of aggressive GSDs in our area, but I have only seen them on lead with different obivously more responsible people.

Topaz is submissive but playful dog; I had spent some months to get her used to other strange dogs when she was a puppy. I wish we had delayed 1 minute to go for a walk that day, but also I'm very aware of our luck. It could have been much much worse.

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I'm not sure that I'm doing the right thing here, and I can imagine that you are distraught at what has happened, but maybe we need to look at it from both sides. I could be completely wrong for taking this approach, as you may know of other instances of this particular dog being aggresive, but I think we have to try and give her the benefit of the doubt.....

You say that you couldn't see that GSD until the last minute because of the long grass, and it is very feasible that she couldn't see Topaz either , and that when she suddenly came upon her, this was as much a shock to her as it was to Topaz. I am not sure (obviously, because I wasn't there) but it could be that she attacked out of fear or shock.

From my experience with dealing with "dangerous" dogs (co-running a rottweiler rescue for a number of years and owning 4 myself in the past) it is easy to blame the owners, the dogs breeding etc. There were dogs that unfortunately had to be PTS during these years, but their owners were at fault for the treatment that they had received causing them to have issues. Many of the dogs that came through our doors had to have major retraining and lots of tlc, but we did mke headway with lots and lots. A lot of the dogs in question were dumped because of isolated incidents that were accidents not pure aggresion. Sometimes accidents happen, and we shouldn't all jump to conclusions quite so readily.

For example, we were once thoroughly enjoying ourselves, spending the day with lots of hounds in a lovely field and loads of new whippety friends. I was quite happily walking along when a whippet moved away from his owners to say hello to my fourteen week old pup. Suddenly, this dog decided it didn't actually want to say hello, but to clamp it's jaws over the ear and part of Jake's head. The screaming from Jake was awful, the dog clearly didn't want to let go, and I was in shock. Jake was suspended in mid air, and I was desperately trying to support his weight whilst trying to get to the jaws of the other dog, and the owners of the dog eventually released his jaws.

It was a hideous scenario, and I expected there to be blood everywhere but there wasn't. Initially, my primary concern was my pup and his well being. Then once he was having a cuddle and I was sure that he was unharmed (physically) I started to think things through...

There is no way that I would have put this down purely to aggresive behaviour. It could be any number of things that made the dog bite Jake, he may have felt that he should be protecting his owner (he was on the lead) or the car that they were standing in front of, Jake may have displayed body language undetected by me that affected this other dog somehow.

I don't really know why it happened and never will, but what I am trying (probably not very well) to explain is that something made that dog bite Jake, he didn't do it for fun or because he "has it in his genes".

I truly hope that Topaz is able to overcome her ordeal, Jake was lucky to have a number of very friendly whips on hand to come and say a nice hello as soon as he was feeling better and I thank all of those that helped for that. The main thing to consider is that you have to try not to convey your nervousness round other dogs orshe will pick up on this. Good luck, and a big cuddle for Topaz :wub:

I know there are loads of people who will think that I am mad for expressing this opinion, but I have to because of previous experience I have had.

 

[TC]

Hello Scooter,

I hope that I have not offended you by my post today, I think that I have probably upset quite a few people as no one else has added to the thread since I wrote there.

I am sorry if what I said has caused anger or frustration, as I said, I could never know for sure whether this was a purely aggresive dog as I wasn't there. It just seemed that everyone was so anti this shepherd, when she might have been as startled as you.

I do agree with others that if this dog is by nature aggressive that it should be kept on a lead, but this could be a one off, isolated incident.

I truly hope that Topaz is okay, and apologise for any hurt I may have caused.

 

[littleminx]

Hi Tracy,

I think you make a very valid point, dogs will be dogs at the end of the day and it is all to easy to start blaming everything else and you are right it is hard to say without being there!

I do not think you have upset anyone anymore than i may have (w00t) (w00t)

Like people have stated before it is a discussion, i feel for any dog that has been hurt, my old whippet got bit once and because of her whippety fine skin she just ripped open and needed 40 stitches! There was no "wound" as such just a long tear if that makes sense.

I think we are all feeling the same and do understand that even palcid dogs may have there day, Kylie dosn't hesitate for one second to put Joe in his place, he dosn't feel it because of his coat and thick skin

 

[TC]

Hi Tracy,
I think you make a very valid point, dogs will be dogs at the end of the day and it is all to easy to start blaming everything else and you are right it is hard to say without being there! 

I do not think you have upset anyone anymore than i may have  (w00t)   (w00t)

Like people have stated before it is a discussion, i feel for any dog that has been hurt, my old whippet got bit once and because of her whippety fine skin she just ripped open and needed 40 stitches! There was no "wound" as such just a long tear if that makes sense.

I think we are all feeling the same and do understand that even palcid dogs may have there day, Kylie dosn't hesitate for one second to put Joe in his place, he dosn't feel it because of his coat and thick skin 

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Thanks Littleminx,

I was starting to get really paranoid

40 stitches, that's a hell of a lot, poor thing :unsure:

 

[~Helen~]

I don't think you should worry so much, Tracy I came in and read what you said not long after you posted it. I didn't take against you for it. I just kind of nodded to myself and saw your point, but I didn't comment because there didn't seem much to say. I'm sure a lot of people are the same. Honestly, if you'd really annoyed people - you'd know about it by now! K9ers don't tend to hold back :lol:

Carry on saying what you mean and truly believe :thumbsup: especially if you have the experience to back up what you're saying!

 

[Joanna]

I have problems with one particular GSD with Archie. we avoid him now, and I am very wary about the breed when walking my boys. Today I saw a man with two, one on the lead, one off. Archie started to bound towards them, and as one was leashed, I struggled, but insisted he come back. the owner was responsible, and stood still whilst I called him back. as soon as he was back, I praised him, and a brief nod of heads and thank-you exchange took place. We both did the right thing, he had a dog on a lead, mine was going to disrupt, the situation was dealt with and there were no problems. Dogs will be dogs, but IMHO, if the dog is aggressive, keep it on a lead and keep your dog away.

Funnily enough, my friendly love every-one Archie has taken a dislike to a Lab puppy. He is unrecognisable when this dog is around, and I have to put him on the lead. I always feel terrible at the thought of him frightening another dog.....I just don't know why he has taken a severe dislike to this puppy, but it happens

 

[beaker]

Funnily enough, my friendly love every-one Archie has taken a dislike to a Lab puppy.

Some dogs can be as predjudice as people and take a dislike to certain other breeds, my old alf has a passionate dislike for westies, don't know why, maybe he had a bad experience before he came to me, i've done my best to show him that despite westies not being as good as whippets (w00t) they are not as bad as he thinks, he has over the years curbed his hatred but i doubt he will ever love them enough to allow one a mutual sniff. :x

hope Topaz is feeling better soon.

 

[Beerhound]

I have a dog that has been attacked by a GSD but i dont think they are vicious dogs as a breed.In my opinion i have yet to meet a non-aggresive Akita, to me they do seem vicious and go for any dog smaller than them. There is a couple who breed them that go to my old ringcraft class, and apparently have a go at some poor dog on a regular basis. Hence the fact 'old' ringcraft class!!

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I agree with the fact that many Akita's are aggressive they even go to attack each other in the ring at times!! But as with all breeds there are good ones and bad ones.

Also if anyones hasn't read my recent post about the aggressive GSDs on the thread that I started then just to let you know that they are moving to France. I did not mean to sound as though all GSDs are aggessive, of course they are not but these two are.

Any breed can be aggressive if it is in the wrong hands, at a kennels where I used to work we had a Golden Retriever that would have had your hand off. the owner had to put it in the kennel and collect it as no one else could get near it. I was bitten by one of my favourite breeds - Weimaraner and we had two dogs that were regulars a Pit Bull and a Labrador. The Pit Bull was lovely, outstanding temperament and was a registered PAT dog, the Lab was the same as the Goldie.

Here is Josh with one of the OH Akita's.

 

[Beerhound]

And with the Inu type. Would not trust the dog though, these two are bitches. Maybe we should remember that there are not bad dogs, only bad owners.

 

[Beerhound]

prob with akitas is they dont usually give any warning,they just attack.

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They can sometimes flatten their ears and roll their eyes before an attack, the OH male went for me and did this, I caught him round the throat and flattened him. he growls at me but has never tried it on again.

 

[Beerhound]

prob with akitas is they dont usually give any warning,they just attack.

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They can sometimes flatten their ears and roll their eyes before an attack, the OH male went for me and did this, I caught him round the throat and flattened him. he growls at me but has never tried it on again.

 

[Scooter]

Hi Tracy. No you haven't offended me. I didn't simply check forum - partly because I thought that the thread was going to be dormant, and mainly because we had been to a beach with Topaz in Thursday afternoon ( Topaz had her first ice cream :teehee: ) I had an urgent work to be done yesterday am, and then went out for a long lazy lunch. It was too hot to put a PC on yesterday pm!

I must admit I'm still shocked. I feel sick and dizzy when I think about it, and comes back like a flashback. Topaz seemed to keep checking behind during walks the next day, but she appears ok now. Her strength is she bounces back very quickly. However, we haven't met any unknown large dogs since, so we have to see.

I have tried to think what happed in a logical way. Here are my views. Like you, first, I thought that the there was a possibility that the GSD's attack was based on the guarding behaviour. Then I thought because of under-socialisation, it might not be able to recognize Topaz as a dog, as it showed no warning - no communication (no subtle changing ear positions etc.) I was staring at the dog in surprise when it stood in front of us 1.5 m away with wide open eyes and standing ears. The instant it noticed her, it rushed towards her to bite her.

Whatever the reason was, though, this dog is not safe without a lead in public. You were probably confused by my unclear writing, but I don't remember seeing this dog or the woman before. I have seen two, and possibly three GSDs in this area. All of them were barking towards all other dogs and pulling the owners like puppets at the end of the leads, but they were all on leads. This particular GSD is very large and has very distinctive pale colour. I don't know if this dog is aggressive (if it didn't recognize her as a dog, it's not certainly aggression that cause the attack), but I know it is dangerous. If it attacked her because it felt threaten, it is not fluent in it own species’ communication and also it has very low bite threshhold.

It is very unlikely that Topaz showed any challenging behaviour towards the GSD to provoke. If she could she would have run away. She has always approached other dogs with down position first and then show her belly to appease them. She was also on a harness that wouldn’t pull her head upward, which some dogs might take a challenge.

Now I'm aware that this kind of things could happen and that she was lucky.

Topaz is pushing the wet nose to say that she wants to go for a walk. )

 

[slimfast]

i was walking my whips on the leads past a gsd and it ran twenty yards and had a go at one of mine she cried out but i did not see any marks on her but you know what the prat said dont worry it will not harm them :rant:

if they can not control them they should not have them.

 

[Fleesh]

On the other end of that scale my Kerri standing 19inches high and not much across saw off a Rottie x at the weekend (he came across on the field in an aggressive manner) - the dog was twice her height and 3 times her width. She was protecting her pack - her two pups, my mum, myself and the other bitch who was in season and on a lead. The big dog got away from her and came across to Blaze who took his advances as a threat on me and went absolutely ballistic growling and snarling.

All the time this was going off the owner was stood not 20yds away mumbling something to his huge dog who was point blank ignoring him - when he finally got it to move off by finally coming over to us it ran off straight to a young labrador bitch following it's owner.

All this despite Mum warning him the bitch on the lead was in season and very protective of me and would attack the dog big as he was if she thought he posed a serios threat.

Like is said - dumb owners :rant: I can't belive people can't train dogs of such size to have basic manners. Even our 15 week old pups come back first call no matter what is happening around them (saying that they'll probably show me up in the near future !!!)

 

[Jennifer Gregg]

hi

i am sorry to hear about your poor dog. I have had many Gsds and currently own two whips and a GSD. The GSD knows who is the boss-the whippet, she even gets off the sofa to give her a seat lol(not that they are allowed on the sofa). Please don't assume that all GSDs are viscious, mine regularly plays with the whippets and they've never had a mark, although the GSD is noisy and sounds like its mental. Her grandma and mum(bimbo and Lois the GSDs were even honarary members of the SPWRC in Stirling and were allowed a shot on the track at the end of each racing Sunday!!! I hope you can meet some decent GSD owners and take your dog for a walk with them. Good Luck

 

[Eleanor Gibbins]

So sorry to hear about Topaz. If you know this lady, why don't you suggest that she puts a muzzle on her GSD, so that it can't do any more damage?

I very nearly ended up with a 3-legged (or worse) whippet after a GSD attacked Fly 18 months ago - fortunately, with a wonderful vet and a great deal of luck, he has mended physically and mentally, but I don't think either of us will ever feel totally comfortably with GSDs again.

Eleanor

Edit: just realised that this is an old thread that has been revived - hope Topaz is now fully recovered.

 

[nina]

Agree again but that isn't always easy, you go by your gut feeling on people and can normally work out right from wrong but it would be impossable to check everybody fully and even then for some reason the dog gets moved on and may still end up in the wrong hands. We can only do are best for them.
I sell my pups for good money so hopefully the people who just want one to make them look hard or to tie it to a chain all day will go to the free ad's and get one for a lot less money.

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Just wondered why you find it impossible to check everyone fully? If all potential homes were homechecked, you can see the enviroment where the pup is to be bought up fully & it gives you a far better picture of the people altogether rather than just going on gut feeling, where by people can tell you anything?.