Insight into canine behavior?

[Dee & Chloe]

Chloe was attacked at the dog park two days ago. She sustained several puncture wounds and is on antibiotics but no stitches needed. This is the third or 4th  time she has been attacked while just standing and by a dog she has not interacted with. She is very submissive and just howls and tries to get away. This time the dog  kept going after her and I had to hit the other dog with a tennis raquet to get him to stop. Both Chloe and I were very traumatized. I know there are many discussions about dog parks and I wish I didn't have to go there but I have no other place for Chloe to be able to run and burn off energy.  I am beginning to feel she sends out some type of weird "vibes" as it seems like the agressive dogs keep "bullying" her. She plays well with many  dogs and has never had a problem with them. I do leave if I see a dog acting agressive but all of the attacks have come with no warning.

[Dee & Chloe]

Thanks Joanne! Chloe has 6  Chuckit Balls in her toy box and one outside. They are her  favorite toy and she does not or cannot destroy them. She too, loses them, but I eventually find them under furtniture. I never took them to the park since all the other dogs love them too. But now that I will be exploring a more private  play location, I will definitely use the Chuckit balls. Now I need to figure out how to use the Chucker without hurting my shoulder! LOL

[BG and Gavin]

Yes Joanne - I should have read all comments before adding mine lol.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Why-Twice is even better!  ( don't tell anyone but unless I have been following closely, I don't always study the responses and sometimes that is better because I form my own opinion first then answer, then read.  Often even changing my own mind) 

[F, Calla & Luca]

Joanne, your wish is, as always, my command. Is this what you meant in terms of dogs with hair in their eyes?  : )

http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/communicating-with-eyes

[BG and Gavin]

I went to see Cesar Milan last night and he talked about the nose being used by a dog to gain information about the environment.  The eyes, he said, on the other hand are used to communicate information.  He said the nose will never cause a fight, but the eyes will.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

In our training, NO LOOK, NO STARE.  Those were an immediate correction.  Our dogs could not even sniff or make any contact. At first, I thought it was an evil environment but I grew to appreciate it so much with Starlit. 

I took it a step further with " Watch Me" or " Look"

But my trainer does not tolerate a dog looking at another. EVER

With Starlit, she could not LOOK/STARE at a human. I was able to notice right away and be keyed in on our environment just with her eye communication.  It helped so much

Geesh, I miss her so much

Do post about your night, BG!  I loved Jane's Post about the event. I learned so much

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

In my experience, that's what causes problems...one dog making direct eye contact and staring at another one. 

The issue of hair over the eyes, I'm not sure that would cause these kinds of problems. Yes, we want our dogs to be able to see, but that's a separate issue. I don't believe that not being able to see another dog's eyes would lead a dog to attack him.

There is certain information in the discussion that F linked that is incorrect. Working European sheepdogs and guard dogs of many different kinds absolutely do have hair over their eyes. Briards and Komondors are two that come to mind. It does protect them from dust, wind and sun, and it does not prevent them from seeing well enough to herd livestock and guard them from predators on many hundreds of acres of land. That has nothing to do with this particular discussion, but it's worth mentioning for the sake of accuracy.  

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

I've even read on one Komondors breeder site, that they must keep the  hair long as they have a predisposition for blindness caused by direct sunlight. Don't know their medical history though,but I did read that.

Hey, Spud can't take the sun, he squints and I have often thought he needed a hair sunglasses to protect him. But, I won't be doing that with his hair.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Regarding the staring, I've noticed that the dogs in our neighborhood who provoke the most reactionary responses from the other dogs are the ones who won't take their eyes off other dogs. Their heads are turned around practically backwards staring at the dog across the street or behind them as they're walking along. I've also noticed that the owners are paying no attention to these signals their dogs are giving off and aren't even aware of it.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Yes, and in this situation it is impossible for her to see that stare from across the park.  And, if another owner is clueless with their dog's communication than this really cant be controlled unless, of course, she does not go to the park. No park-No Attacks.

One important part of the stare is that the other dog does not need to be returning the STARE. It is just the Stare that indicates a warning. Well, not even a warning but a preparation for " I'll be attacking you"   An owner or a passerby, like you, reads the dog's communication.  But being busy and playing at a park-impossible.

The Stare should always be taken as seriously.  Remember that video of the TV announcer being attacked.  That dog, had That Stare. If only for a brief moment, it was there.  It said, " I'll be biting your face off as soon as I can"

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Ahhh!  PERFECT. I found a few others but not a complete topic!  Thank YOU!!!!   

[F, Calla & Luca]

: )