Gavin was attacked today, he is NOT hurt, but I am upset!

[BG and Gavin]

We were walking through the neighbourhood park towards the garbage can to make a deposit and a man and a black mixed breed 50ish lb. dog sort of emerged from the tree shadow all friendly and saying "hello." Well the dog was off leash and made a b-line towards Gavin (who was on leash) and attacked his face and neck. Gavin cried like I have never heard and tried to hide behind me. I made myself big and backed that (female dog) off until the loser, I mean owner could grab her. I dared not drop Gavin's leash because the small park is not fenced and bordered by busy roads on three sides. Gavin cried and cried. Loser: "I don't know why she did that. She never does that. We sent her away to be trained for doing that." I just put on my happy face and kept going with Gavin acting as cheerful as I could. After we got a block away I examined him for any damage. He looked ok. Then I cried and cried lol. I stopped a couple of times to visit people on the street before going home to try and keep thing positive. I kept thinking if that loser and his dog traumatized my sweet Gavin I can't be held responsible for what I do.

[33bn7f8evnuyd]

Oh my god how horrible! The person says she never does that and then that they sent the dog away for doing that? What kind of non sequitur is that? My parents neighbor is this kind of idiot. His golden retriever bites people ( my dad and his Maltese) and has growled at me and these people let their the golden free on their front lawn? One time I got so mad and went on their property to knock on their door to yell at them. I told them as nicely as I could that their dog must have escaped and they rolled their eyes. The Hoa emailed everyone about not letting your dog off leash by itself. Nope these people just don't care. Should this happen again to you and Gavin, I would report them to animal services if you know where they live. Going for the neck is seriously dangerous.

[Barbara B., Sasha & Oliver]

So sorry to hear that Gavin got attacked !  I am always so afraid of that when I walk my doodles, in NJ you are required to have your dog on a leash at all times in public.  But there are those few idiots that just don't get it !!!  If his dog has an issue and they sent her for training obviously there is a problem but you walk your dog off leash !!!   I would have taken his name, address and phone number and reported immediately to police and/or animal control.  You can even do it now after the fact, it would be a good idea to document this.

[BG and Gavin]

Honestly I think I was a bit traumatized, because all that I could think of was to get out of there.  We have the same leash laws in our town.  There are a couple of parks that we go to that are out of the way where we do let Gavin off to play, but even off leash he is under our control and would never be aggressive. I will be keeping an eye for this pair and if I see them again with the dog off leash, I will make the call. 

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

A very similar thing happened to Yeti and I about a month ago, except when the dog got close I panicked and picked yeti up (only about 5 months and 25lbs). I raised him over my head and started screaming at the dog to scare it away. The owner approached us and said "sorry" and walked off with the dog. We got a couple houses down before I let yeti down and I just sat and cried. I agree it shakes you up more than the dog I think. I sure hope Gavin isnt traumatized.

[Adina P]

I'm so sorry BG.  I would have felt the same way...completely panicked.  My Momma Bear comes out in those moments.  I would be fuming.  Also "She never does that" and "She was sent away for doing that" ... um.... kind of contradictory.  Clearly whoever the away trainer was either didn't train her owners or the owners ignored it.  A dog isn't just "fixed" forever, there is still management involved.

[F, Calla & Luca]

And a leash!

[BG and Gavin]

The dude was a total loser!

[33bn7f8evnuyd]

I had a rescue dog who lived with us for several years that had aggression issues.  She sends off several warning signals before she growls.  First she would snarl, then, bark, and maybe growl.  We never let her off leash even at the off leash dog park.  Even that rabid golden does not go for the neck or face.   Can you imagine if this happened to a toddler? I am happy that your Gavin was not hurt! 

[BG and Gavin]

This dog approached very quickly.  Her fur all along her spine was standing on end (like a Mohawk) and when the owner grabbed her. her tail was tucked firmly between her legs. 

[33bn7f8evnuyd]

You know what is horrible?  I was coming out the supermarket the other day and a service dog did that to another dog.  This service dog lunged, growled and snapped at another non-service dog coming by. Of course, both dogs were leashed but a service dog should never do that!  I saw the tag and it was Canine for Independence. Those dogs go through a rigorous 2-year training and are raised from puppyhood. It was shocking to see this from a service dog and my Goldendoodle is going through training right now to be my service dog. The first thing the organization did was temperament test him for aggression. 

[F, Calla & Luca]

Poor Gavin and poor you. I surely hope he can overcome this with no aftereffects. There have been a couple of times when I have been thankful for thick doodle fur but it is terrifying. We will all testify for you if heaven forbid you are driven to extremes.

[BG and Gavin]

Thanks F. Glad to know you guys are behind me lol.