Samantha was bitten by a doodle at Dewey Romp

[Adrianne Matzkin]

Samantha is ball obsessed. She has never taken a ball from another dog - that's not her way. If a dog gets to her ball first, she will just follow that dog until the ball is dropped by the other dog and then she quietly takes it. She is so anti confrontational about anything, including her ball.

We were playing on the beach yesterday at the Dewey Beach romp. A doodle that we know well (family is not a member here of DK) was playing ball with us.  I will call this doodle Jane (this is not her name). Jane would get to the ball first and bring it back. Samantha would get to the ball first and bring it back. This went on for over an hour. This particular time, Samantha got to the ball first and the other doodle wanted it and decided to go after Samantha. We didn't see what actually happened since it happened so fast. I heard Samantha scream and saw Jane's mouth clamped on Samantha's face and her nose and cheek bleeding. Samantha had a slice under her nostrils and a deep puncture wound on her cheek. It did not pierce through her cheek but I could see the tooth mark on the inside of her cheek. There was no warning to this attack - they have been playing ball together for so long no one ever thought this would happen.

My friend who is a trainer keeps an emergency kit in her truck so we washed it off with bottled water right away. When we got back to the hotel, we washed it with antibiotic wash and put antibiotic ointment on it. She was not happy about us touching her cheek but she was so good about it.

I am telling this story for only one reason - anyone who has a doodle that resource guards a ball, toy, food or their human MUST get professional help to make sure that their doodle never does this to another dog or human. Don't think that it is 'cute' how a dog 'protects' their ball, etc. It is not cute, it could be dangerous to another dog, child, human and in the end, to your doodle.

If Jane was going to go after a dog it's a good thing that it was to a dog that her DM knows. I know that this is a good DM. If Jane attacked a dog that was not a friend of her DMs it might have not been such good outcome for Jane. .

Samantha will probably have our vet check her out. I am keeping an eye on her wound but it seems to be healing with my washing it and the antibiotic ointment. Not sure what else the vet could do but stress her and shave her face. If it continues to heal without any signs of infection then I will not add to her stress. Only time will tell.

[Tina, Clover, Plus 5 More]

Sorry to hear Samantha got hurt.  Hopefully she heals quickly without needing to see the vet. 

[Leslie J]

How scary for Samantha and you!  Don't you hate it when your kids (both human and doodle!) get hurt?  I hope that she gets well soon!

[Ellen aka BeauBeau's Mom]

poor Samantha!  Please send her a kiss from Beau and wishes from me for a fast healing.  I'm sorry she had to experience this.....she must have been shocked that her friend came after her!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Poor Samantha, we hope she heals quickly!

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

So sorry to hear about Samantha being attacked! I hope is heals up quickly and without any complications!

[Camilla and Darwin]

I am so sorry about Samantha, and I completely agree with everything you have said.

[Clifford, Cloud, Jake..and Kim]

Big hugs and sloppy doodle kisses from Clifford and Little Cloud.  I know you'll make sure she is getting the very best care with the least amount of stress.

[Jane, Rooney & Stuart]

Oh that is not good - best wishes to Samantha for a quick recovery and thanks to your sharing of this, it shows just how quickly things can go wrong.  I have a question though just to clarify - Samantha is ball obsessed but SHE doesn't resource guard, correct?  So are you saying that "Jane" is the resource guarder?  If Jane is a guarder with balls how did she play so long before having a problem?  I only ask this because at Rooney's puppy park there are 2 dogs, otherwise very nice, that do resourch guard either a ball or a treat.  I don't let Rooney play with either of them because I feel like it makes them too unpredicatable.  I'm over cautious since Rooney was attacked by Bozo at 4.5 months.  I just get very afraid to have Rooney around other dogs because it seems you can never leat your guard down.  Scary.

[Adrianne Matzkin]

Jane - is ball obsessed but has never resource guarded the ball beyond the point of small bark. This what she does and only at the dog park - we have played for awhile and she needs to lay down and take a breather. She goes off by herself, usually lays under the A frame with her face towards the frame with the ball between her paws. If a dog comes real close to smell the ball, she will give a little bark saying 'it's my ball so go away'. If the dog attempts to take she puts the ball in her mouth. If the other dog is faster she lays there until she is ready to get up and then follows the dog around until they get bored with it and leaves it on the ground. Then she will take it and bring it back to me. This could take forever but she will never attempt to take it back - even if the dog drops it at their feet and just stands over it. Never a conflict on her part. Everyone in the park just looks on in amazement that she will not just take - she is polite.

Jane is the resource guarder. I think she has gotten lucky up to this point. Her Mom tells me that unless the weather is super rotten, they go to the dog beach and rarely to a park. We have played ball together for 3 summers and Jane has never showed this behavior. Jane is much faster than Samantha and when Samantha is tired or doesn't take off for the ball fast enough, she will stop running after 2 steps, knows that she can't get to the ball first and just waits for the ball to come for me throw it. She does that with all dogs, all the time.

I don't blame you for not allowing Rooney to play with any dog that resource guards or shows any type of behavior that could cause Rooney any harm.

My point in writing this is that all dog owners must know behaviors that need a professional to show them how to desensitize their dogs to situations that are dangerous to other dogs or humans. Resource guarding can be worked with but the humans needs a professional trainer to show them how. This is not something you can just read a book on and work on it yourself. A professional trainer can read body language and stop the aggression before it happens and work with the triggers.

I beg any doodle parent who has a resource guarded to seek a professional in order to make sure that their doodle doesn't do what Jane did and those who have a Samantha can feel safe while playing.

[Jane, Rooney & Stuart]

Adrianne - we hope that Samantha is feeling better soon!  Thanks for the detailed explaination. 

[Adrianne Matzkin]

Thanks - she is. I clipped the hair around it last night, cleaned and put on more ointment. I don't think she will need to go to the vet!  I will keep checking it for signs of infection but I think we got lucky since my friend had an emergency kit in her truck. I will be definitely putting one together for myself.

[Clifford, Cloud, Jake..and Kim]

When you get a chance let us know what you have in the emergency kit.  I would really like to have something in my vehicle for any type of doodle emergency.