Dog silly when tied up

[Saff]

I have an adorable gentle but bouncy excitable boxer. I trust her completely with my two young children, she's fine with them prodding her etc. When I'm walking her she's friendly to other dogs unless they come too close to me and the children and dog biscuits and then she growls. She's well behaved and comes back straight away when called. However I have to tie her up to go into the play area with the children or the cafe. I give her a short lead and tie her away from entrances etc but she barks at people, really barks and snaps at dogs that come up. I've seen children approach her and she's scared them by suddenly barking and growling. It's really not like her and she seems to be doing it more- getting more possessive, especially tied up. I'd hate for her to bite someone. She was once was attacked whilst tied up by a staffy who luckily got a mouthful of collar rather than neck I don't know if this has contributed to her out of character behaviour. Any advice how to discourage this behaviour would be helpful. she really is a sweetheart- she regular widdles in subservience when people come round. Thanks!

[carpetviper]

My mothers dog is the same when she walks him on a lead hes only a yorkie but I have seen him attack a rottie once while we were at a boot sale. I think its something to do with the lead making them feel insecure like they cant get away if they needed to so they try and get them first. They always attack is the best form of defence.

[katkin]

Ailsa was attacked several times as a pup and that's made her really wary of other dogs. She also hates being left on her own if she can see me or the other half, so tying her to the railings would never work for her. Also, Boxers and Dobes are working dogs- they think they're doing their job by protecting you against other dogs or people. I don't know what to suggest- she's clearly not happy being left on her own whilst you're in the play are, which is a shame- people will look at hre and think 'ooh scary dog' even if she isn't.

 

Like Ailsa, I suspect your girl is exhibiting nervous aggression rather than out-and-out aggression. Trouble is, a nervous dog is more unpredictable than an outwardly fierce aggressive dog, so there's more potential for a nervous dog to attack (first form of defense, as the other poster has suggested). With that in mind, it's probably not a good idea to leave her on her own where she is likely to get stressed. You'll always be on tenterhooks thinking she's going to nip someone accidentally and your dog will continue to be nervous in such circumstances. If possible, it would be better if you or a friend can stand with her whilst the other goes to the play area, so she can see it's not a scary experience?

[pet-walkiz]

hi , she is probably stresses by being left tied and wondering where you have gone with the kids .Plus she will remember the staffy attack well.

Is it possible when you take her for walks, that you dont go to a park where a cafe is, so you dont need tp tie her up? if shes usually friendly, calm and relaxed, its best not to do things you know upset her and then you wont spoil her personality.. good luck:)

[Lotti]

Dogs have a 'fight or flight' reaction.

 

Most dogs will choose the flight option but if that is taken away from them they will 'fight'.

 

 

While your dog is experiencing such distress it's really very unfair to tie her up when she could get frightened and lash out again, especially because if another dog chooses to retaliate she will have nowhere to go.

 

I'd suggest the best thing you can do is seek professional help from a good, positive dog trainer who will work at increasing your dog's confidence in uncertain surroundings as opposed to just teaching your dog that the behaviour she's exhibiting creates bad consequences.

[Saff]

Thanks for the replies. I was quite surprised to hear that it is unfair to tie dogs up, it's the usual practice isn't it when you go somewhere dogs aren't allowed? It's very difficult to avoid the play area when I go to my local park with my kids as I'm sure you can imagine and I'm never without them! I've been going back to her to stroke and give her a biscuit whilst tied up. But basically if the answer is to not do it then I'm going to have to think about how I can make that work.

[medusa]

I don't think that the implication was that tying any dog up is unfair, but if your little one is so obviously distressed by it then continuing to do it without doing something to address the problems can't really be described as fair, can it?

 

I wouldn't want to tie Molly up because she gets so excited/anxious when other dogs come near her. Couple that with the noise that she kicks up when left even for a short time while we are out and it's a recipe for everyone else around the place thinking that she's a dangerous dog. At least when she's in the back of the car and I go into a shop I know that she'll howl for 10 minutes and then settle herself down to wait calmly- I'd hate for anyone to misinterpret that as showing aggression (but of course, being a German Shepherd she's got a seriously big voice when she lets rip and lots of people assume that she's aggressive anyway).

[Saff]

She doesn't spend the whole time howling or anything, it's just when dogs run up or people approach her. She's a very happy dog but jumpy. I wouldn't say she's really distressed- that's a bit extreme. I think I'll try to walk her and take the kids back again separately but it will be unavoidable sometimes.

[Moonbird]

You also need to think very carefully about tying up a dog outside shops etc, there are people who will quite happily take them and sell them on... dog theft is big business!

[Saff]

I know. My mother's Boxer was stolen from outside a shop but luckily some wonderful person found her again in meadowhall. she'd been stolen by a group of teenage boys. I rarely go shopping with her anyway but thanks for the advice.