Dog Bite…

this morning I was on my morning 4 miler with 7 dogs….I had one of my past clients ask if she could join with her dog, since he is always going after dogs and wanted to socialize him. It was immediately going well and just past the 1/2 way mark..one of the dogs in my pack (who I muzzle while we walk) started to go after him…obviously he couldn’t since he was on a short leash attached to the other dogs…and then that energy went towards Billy my Rottie, at the same time it exploded…Bella and Uma started fighting and then Roca and Max started fighting..meanwhile, they were wrapping the leash around my legs and I fell to the ground..so I have all these dogs right next to my face…..immediately a car stopped and a women came over to help…the first thing I thought was…Wow…she is hot!!!!!! I told her to stay away or else she would get bit. Then the following went through my mind.

1)who do I take off the leash that will not run away from the pack and get hit my a car.
2)break up the dog that I feel will be the easiest dogs to break up, and they need to be off leash or else they will continue to fight.
3) I went for Bella and was able to pull her away from Uma, I unhooked her knowing she would not run away.
4) then I grabbed Roca by the collar after unhooking him and yanked and yanked his prong until he released…I kept holding onto his collar since I did not want him running around loose considering he was pumped up and if anyone tried to grab him he might bite.
5)then I started asking for help, someone grabbed bella and held her leash, someone grabbed Pete by the collar/muzzle and kept him calm
6)fighting stopped and then Roca started biting my arm..really really hard…I was screaming in pain…meanwhile telling people to not help me…I did not want any of the dogs to come in contact with any humans
7) I asked someone to grab one of the leashes that was lying on the ground to put Roca on it…..

Then I stood up turned around and there was all of these people standing some with pieces of wood in their hands, ready to help…it was intense…I made sure no one else got bit..which then did not since all the dogs where by me.

I then hooked them all back up…asked my client to walk separately with her dog..since the energy was too intense and I did not want it to repeat…then walked the 2nd half of the walk..not even wanting to pull up my sleeve…

Thanks to everyone who helped and I am glad no one actually came into the mess…

Drove to CVS and grabbed some peroxide went across the street to Starbucks, into the bathroom took off my fleece washed off my arm and then poured the peroxide all over it….

What a morning, it was not even 9am……

I got a wonderful email this morning that is a great testimonial.

Hi Jeff,

It’s been a while since Supai and I saw you last and I’ve been meaning to
write to you. The training we did at your house last fall has really
started to pay off. The two big issues for Supai and I were that he would
bark compulsively in the car. Wherever we went and for the duration of the
trip, the barking was loud and consistent. I tried lavender, calming caps,
citronella spray, citronella collar, squirt bottle, kongs filled with
treats, covering the crate, no crate at all and the list goes on and on.
Nothing worked for more than a week. The second issue Supai had was that
while he was waiting his turn to enter the agility ring at a trial, he would
grouch out at other dogs. He would lunge, growl and bark. Aggressive
behavior is not acceptable at agility trials and besides the embarrassment I
felt among highly trained dogs there was the fear of getting kicked out of
the competition and asked to leave. Prong collars are not allowed around
the ring and without it I felt I had no control over Supai.

After your training sessions and practicing through the winter, I’m very
happy to report… Supai is now always quiet in the car and almost seems to enjoy the
ride. Imagine the relief and freedom I feel being able to take him places
without pulling out my hair and being completely stressed by the time I
arrive. Also and most exciting, Supai has been behaving around the ring.
He is focusing on me and seems to be less sensitive to the dogs around us.
I can handle him without the prong collar and I continue to become more
confident in his good behavior. Supai has started his spring agility
competitions and just this weekend earned his first Jumpers title and placed
first in three events. Thank you again and I would highly reccomend you to other
dog owners with these issues. 
 
Carolyn