British Dalmatian Club

[lindarhead]

Hello all,

I'm new to the forum and to Dalmatians in general. My name is Linda and I live in Staffordshire.My husband and I adopted a four year old Dalmatian named Ruby from Dogs Trust in Shrewsbury in October of this year. We love her dearly she's so lovable and affectionate,and at home is such a good girl and has even got used to our three cats,but, we have a problem with her when it comes to other dogs and I'd like some advice if anyone is able to give it. When we first got her we took her up to the fields near to our home and while there saw a friend of ours who was out walking his Collie, Ruby had a bit of a bark at Misty but she wasn't too bad, however , the next time she encountered her was in the lane where we live and she went totally buts and attacked her which ended with Misty having to have stitches in the wound Ruby caused. This was about four weeks ago now, but since then every time she sees another dog in our lane or the fields she just loses it completely and I'm very concerned about this, to the point where I'm worried about walking her myself because she's very strong and the time when she attacked Misty snatched the lead straight out of my hand. My husband always take her out first thing before anyone is about really and he takes her on lead to the field and then lets her off so that she can have a good run. She's got good recall and comes back the moment he calls her and I'd love to be able to do this with her but right now I just dare not.

Can anyone throw any light on this, is it a normal thing with Dalmatians, is
she feeling threatened or simply not liking other dogs on her patch?

Thanks to anyone who can advise.

Linda

[fiona2]

hiya a nd welcome first you maybe better off posting this problem in general section where more people will see and reply. all i can recommend is to walk her in a baskerville muzzle so that if you cannot control her when she has a moment at least she cant do any serious damage. Have you spoken to dogs trust about help with her behavioural problem do they have a behaviourist they would recommend who could work with both you and Ruby?

[lindarhead]

Hi Fiona,

Thanks for that.I'll re-post it on a more suitable board. We did phone Dogs Trust on Friday and their behaviourist was supposed to phone us back yesterday but unfortunately she didn't. I bought a muzzle for her but not the type you suggested, when it arrived it was absolutely no use as she just pulled it straight off but it was only cheap and never having to use a muzzle before I was a bit of a novice when it came to buying one, so I'll look for the type you suggest.

Linda

[Spotalot]

Hi Linda and welcome

Sorry to hear you are having problems with Ruby.
I would suggest that you get as much background information as possible on her previous life and behavior, also as soon as you can enroll her in some basic obedience lessons with a reputable trainer who may be able to assess whether its fear aggression or not, and then help you to deal with it.
_________________
Carol and Daisy X

[lindarhead]

Hi Carol,

Thanks for the welcome and the suggestions. What we were told at Dogs Trust was that Ruby had belonged to an older couple, who, due to ill-health were unable to walk her so consequently she was only walked once a week on a Wednesday and she slept in a pen in the garage...don't know if it was heated or not.What baffles me is that when we went to see her at the Dogs Trust kennels we walked her in one of their fields where other dogs were being walked and she was fine,and in the house at home with us she's just wonderful, in fact she's lying next to me on the sofa as I type.

After the Christmas holiday I'll look for a reputable dog trainer/behaviourist locally.

Linda

[Spotalot]

Ah, well it sounds as though its a lack of socialisation then, in which case, training with other dogs in a group would be best.

I wouldnt avoid other dogs to make life easier, as in the long run it will make it worse.
By all means try a muzzle, but unfortunately if its nerves, she may feel more vunerable with one on. Obviously you can't let her injure other dogs, so its tricky.

If she is a typical dal and loves food, try too keep something special, cooked chicken or cubes of cheese, just for walks.
As soon as you see a dog in the distance ask her to sit and get her attention with the food, keep feeding her tiny bits of food one after the other, the idea being that maybe the other dog can pass without her going beserk and she will learn that other dogs are good.

If you have any friends with dogs you can set up the above situation and keep practising.
_________________
Carol and Daisy X