Went After Another Dog...smh

[ChowRo12]

*SIGH*...

So not too long ago I was in the front yard with my dog doing yard work. She was fine for the most part then out of the corner of my eye I saw this lady from down the street and her german shepherd and guess who bolts...my chow! UGH! The lady was panicking and was honestly not handling her large dog as well as she could since she was just making circles which makes dogs more excited and not listen. Her dog was panicking because it was going in circles with her owner trying to get her away. Then as I was trying to catch my dog then her dog gets out of her collar and runs. Of course mine runs after that dog and I was trying to chase them. Finally caught up to them and my dog is still trying to be pushy/aggressive/playful but I chase her away from the other dog and get a hold of her.

Once we got everything figured out the lady was saying that my dog was trying to bite her dog and that it attacked her so her dog better not be hurt. I understood her frustration since I was frustrated at my dog for her misdemeanor, even if mine was bleeding a bit since she skidded on her face when she was chasing after the shepherd. The lady then went on this rant about how my dog needs to get put down and that her husband would've kicked or killed my dog if that happened on his watch...I remind you that she has a German Shepherd...

Now I've ran into these situations before when I'm walking my dog and a BIGGER dog comes at her. Like the times there were this German Shepherd and boxer together, then another when two Golden Retrievers comes out of nowhere...all of where my dog, their dog, and I came out unscathed or me ranting at the owners for not leashing up their pets on or near THEIR property. I usually stand in front of my dog when she's about to get attacked or approached by other pets no matter how large they are-even if I'm only 5'5"-and if needed to kick or keep away the dog I'll do so and I know she didn't do any of that and of course now I'm dubbed as the immature dog owner since my age group is too young to know this. Dogs are animals and chows are unfortunately aggressively playful. And now mine is probably going to get in trouble for this...

I just want to know if anyone has ran into this situation and if so what happened? If not, any advice on how to let my chow know that what she did was very wrong besides on keeping her outside? Also, I'm not trying to have that lady have a hit on my dog, I've already apologized and given her my information in case my dog did any damage to her shepherd, anything else I should do? Please advise, thank you!

[Cam Atis]

Generic response will be: Socialize your dog. Get a trainer. Enroll in pup/dog classes...

But I say, get a higher fencing around your yard. Or keep a long lead and put your chow on long lead while both of you are in the yard doing yard work. It should be long enough that your chowro can go near the property's end boundary. Just watch out for entanglements. So you can tug or pull at the leash and YOU teach him to relax and not chase dogs. Begin at home.
My Blue is an unrepentant "bully" and chases along the fence. Good thing he is only a small breed so no problem reeling him in if we are outside and if he is inside our property he listens to me IF I am in the scene.

[Sarahloo]

I usually stand in front of my dog when she's about to get attacked or approached by other pets no matter how large they are-even if I'm only 5'5"-and if needed to kick or keep away the dog I'll do so and I know she didn't do any of that and of course now I'm dubbed as the immature dog owner since my age group is too young to know this.

When my dog is approached by other pets, I give them a friendly hello and tell them how nice and pretty they are. It's all about keeping calm and defusing the situation. You dog is really just mimicking your own aggressive reaction to other dogs. If you stay calm, she stays calm. Why do you kick other dogs just because they approach your dog? Let them sniff at and play with each other! Really aggressive dogs are so rare, we hardly ever encounter any. And then they mostly have responsible owners who keep them away from us. What message are you sending your Chow girl when you kick an approaching dog? "Here comes danger" is what you're telling her, and then she reacts accordingly.
People are sometimes out to get you, but dogs really aren't! The innocent until proven guilty approach works best for dog encounters. We approach every dog meeting as a possibility to make a new friend, and have made many new dog & people friends in the process.
Last Sunday, we met this Jack Russel whose owner told me he may bite. So we just let the two dogs look at each other from a safe distance and I talked to the little bugger kindly! It all depends on the mindset of the owners, really, and mine is always positive when it comes to my pets.
Yes, and like Cam Atis said, get a fence!

[Rory's Dad]

I would read the posts on whether or not you can trust your Chow off leash...i am on the side of never. Chows are very singular minded and determined.

From the post, it sounds like your dog had the free reign. Not a good idea. Once that dog got it in his mind to approach the shepard, he was going, and nothing you could do or say was stopping him (obviously). He has selective hearing and was ignoring you at that point.

Whatever method works, fence, tie down, whatever, you need to make sure your dog is controlled. Had he been on a leash or other sort of tether, he wouldnt have been able to approach and act up.

I know for myself, we work on verbal control all the time. In the house, no problem, in the back yard, no problem. Out front or in strange environments, my normally well behaved dog doesnt even know we are there. I just wouldnt take the chance.

Might actually be a decent lesson, if he decided to attach a Ford, he could have had very unfavorable results.

[Me & Tess]

I know this wasn’t exactly the best decision I made, but one evening I was working in the front yard and decided to bring Tess out with me. As soon as she came out from behind the gate she took off running about six houses south, I ran after her and called. She started back - but - Roger was coming out with Sushi on a leash for their evening walk. Tess saw Roger and Sushi and ran like a jet up the stairs and onto the porch, & straight for Sushi’s neck. I ran up on the porch, not touching a stair. I know that what seemed an eternity to Roger was actually a couple of seconds. I had to make sure I wasn't going to get bit before I attempted to break up the fight. I grabbed Tess and pulled her away from Sushi. Roger looked like he was going to have a heart attack! Tess drew first blood, only a nick.

Been there & I know how you feel. Luckily Roger didn't say anything. He couldn't. Roger and Sushi had their bad behaviors, taunting Tess thru the gate for weeks!

I wanted to add, just having to drag Tess back home and be put in the house - she knew she did something bad, ahhh, the humiliation of it..... Beyond the humiliation of the ordeal, I didn't discipline her because I knew she wouldn't have understood. Best thing if you are in an urban area is to use the leash at all times. The innocent idea of having your chow with you as company while doing yard work may sound like a fun thing to do, but has consequences.

Lucky for Tess we moved to the mountains where she could be free. No fences - no leashes (but carried one in the truck just in case). Tess thrived in the mountains.

[Tippsy'smom]

See, now, THIS could have been avoided. And THIS is why my chow was never allowed off leash outside of a fence. She would attack other dogs that she thought were "threatening" her territory, and it didn't matter if the dog was smaller than her or 10 times her size.

And it makes me beyond angry when other people's dogs are loose and come after mine. I've had to deal with too many attacks on my dogs (the latest of which involved me having to practically kick a rottweilers head in to get my brother's puppy out of the other dog's jaws)... And KNOWING the reputation chows have, I make sure they're not in the position to be blamed!

[PCC]

Dim Sum can be extremely territorial. Even though he is great with dogs and people outside of the home, if anyone passes by the house, he can go into the red zone in an instant. One time he actually busted through the storm door and snapped at a neighbor's dog. Thankfully the dog was not hurt.

He would never be allowed to be in the front yard without being restrained.

[Fozzbear]

I'm sure that your dog only wanted to play (as mine would have) but if I was the lady with the GS, I'd be REALLY peeved at you. Why would you be in the front garden with your dog without a fence or a lead (leash if you are American!)? It just isnt safe for you or your dog. I'd get a fence sharp-ish if you want to avoid similar problems in the future.

[Ursa's daddy]

I think these have been good responses. I keep my two on a leash anytime they are outside the fenced yard for many reasons. The primary reason is their safety. A secondary consideration, especially if you live in the USA is that there are many legal issues, especially when a chow is involved.

[ChowRo12]

Thank you for all your inputs! I've only been living with my chow for a couple months but she's been with my husband for awhile since its his dog. I'm always surprised by what she does when she misbehaves because other dogs I've been with are less territorial. I'm new to the chow breed so I'm learning with this older one and each time is definitely surprising, sometimes great...then she has these episodes.

Also, we just moved to this new place and have been renovating the inside and the outside has not been much of a priority but we have discussed having a fence up front but that won't be for awhile so for now she'll just have to stay in the backyard. I didn't leash her up because I was in a very trusting mode I would say and didn't even think about her doing what she did. I was just focused on the yard work and she seemed to be on a lazy mode. Boy, did she trick me!

I did ask my husband if he socialized her when she was younger...yup, no straight answer there since the dog mostly lived at his parents house due to his other residences not taking pets in. So just like I had to teach our chow "heel" earlier this month, I have another lesson plan for her! Its not that older dogs can't be taught new tricks, it just take way longer for them do it since they are stubborn in their own ways-plus they know about the treats!

Another questions are, the other dog was younger than mine, do they always challenge the younger ones just for the alpha female title or what? And how did you guys socialize your chows? How did you teach them to not snap at other dogs? When we took her to the beach and this dog jumped on her she seemed to snap at dogs that came near her after that.

So lessons from you guys are...leash the dog if upfront-even when they seem to behave, socialize-coz my husband skipped that lesson, and most importantly-NEVER trust a chow off their leash! Thank you for helping me learn through this fiasco, I appreciate it!

[Ursa's daddy]

So lessons from you guys are...leash the dog if upfront-even when they seem to behave, socialize-coz my husband skipped that lesson, and most importantly-NEVER trust a chow off their leash!

That is a pretty good summation. I would like to point out my experience which is that socialization is an ongoing thing. I will give your husband the benefit of the doubt. I used to live in the city and took the dogs out every weekend to various places where they could meet people, dogs, and experience life in the city. I later moved out into the country. The dogs did not get to see people that much, and I did not think about it, since I has socialized the dog. They were defensive of the house and yard, which I expected. Things went fairly well, and one day we had a new meter reader come to the house. He was somewhat afraid of the dogs, and Malachi, my really laid back male, put on a real show. Malachi knew what he was doing, and Ursa was behind Malachi, probably telling him to keep it up and see if the man would soil his pants. They knew they had the man really frightened and were enjoying seeing him suffer. That taught me that I should take the dogs out into the public from time to time to remember their socialization, and therefore that is what I do. For what it is worth, the meters have all been switched over to the automated digital units, and we no longer have a meter reader, but I still take the dogs out to keep them socialized.

[Rory's Dad]

Good for you ChowRo in trying to do the right thing...if your experience is with a golden retriever, he might just sit there and watch you with the gardening. Chows are very different and will bolt off at the slightest distraction. If you want to do the gardening in the front and just let him enjoy sitting in the sun, i would suggest a tie down stake. Certainly we cant all fence in our entire yards, and it would be difficult to hold the lead while pulling any stray weeds.

As Ursa mentioned, socializing in a certain situation can be completely useless for another. My dogs greets people with a great big waggly butt when out in public. Behaves very well when in a show situation and generally ignores the other dogs. He walks quite well on a flexi lead or a show lead. If he goes to the pet store on a standard leash, he pulls all over the slippery floor (kinda funny actually). If he is on his outdoor trolley run and the dog next door is out, he has a whiny bark that lets us know he wants to go investigate (very different from his protective barking voice). And when he hears noises outside his house or people approach the door, there is no wagging tail just a low pitched bark and plenty of growls. He will only relax when we tell him its OK.

Keep working with him, but remember that as loyal and loving as he may seem, Chows have a very strong will. He will generally do what he wants, unless you provide him with a convincing reason to do what you want. Generally, that would be affection and reward. If its a new situation in his mind, he is just going to do the Chow thing, not the people thing.

[MissV]

hmm... i have to agree with what was said about your doggie reacting and learning from the way you are with other dogs.
I have socialized my dog at length from the second we got her. She's grown up not fearing people or other dogs - and she loves them all!
The only time she has ever had a problem is when I've had a problem. Its funny the little things you dont notice, but they do. They really are fuzzy-radars that can pick up the slightest change in your body language or your emotions.