My sweet heart got in a fight

[brandonb]

So am still a bit shaken up but here, is what happened as I have a few questions.

I took Misia to the dog park which was my first mistake. There was a intact male lab. He was playing or letting Misia chase him....so far so good. I was talking to the owner and he attempted to mount Misia and I walked between the two and broke him off my dog. Misia is spayed she had one season but, that was a while back.

I continued to talk to his owner and he was apologizing about that and we moved on. He then attempted to mount her again and that's when her switch was flipped. I have never ever seen this side of her. She got him on the face and the neck before i could run over and break it up. I called Misia off but, the Lab wouldn't leave her be even though he was clearly hurt. He had a collar on so i grabbed it and shoved his neck towards to ground. The dog owner came running over and things only got worse from their.

He said that "people like me" have no business owning a dangerous breed and, that kids get hurt and or killed because owners are lazy. At this point that set me off as I work with my dog 3-4 days a week sometime less, sometimes more but, she is trained.

I shouldn't have took the bait but, I said some things I shouldn't have and i have no excuse but, my adrenaline was surging. I did tell him I was able to call my dog off it did take 2-3 commands for what ever reason "leave it" worked. And that I almost spend as much time and money on her than my daughter.

He then said he was going to call the police about my dangerous, aggressive dog. I informed him to please do as I have spoken with the two k9 units we have. Usually about my dog as they stop me or stop and talk to me if they are out and and not busy. There are not alot of GSD's in my town, actually i haven't seen one so she may stand out a bit.

So am sure he got my license plate number, i didn't run, however i did need to leave before the argument got worse. My concern is Misia wasn't hurt, the lab was but not severe. I don't want her marked as a dangerous dog or on any type of list.

This is the first time I have ever seen her stick up for her self. I realize the fault if any lies with me. Its crazy as i have a 4 year old daughter and her friends play with Misia they love her, my wife's dog loves her as well as all my family and pets. The worst thing i think i have seen with her and a child is a tail whip or bumping them over. Anyways my questions are this :

Is there a " list" where she could possibly be put on ?
The fact that his dog was hurt, does that make me anymore liable ?
She seems to be fine honestly more than paying a ticket I don't wont her ruined.

If you have anymore advice feel free to let me know.

P.S. I will never be going to a dog park again. She gets plenty of dog, goat, chicken etc. socialization In her herding class, it just sucks. I feel bad for her.

[msvette2u]

A dog park is a free-for-all.
If the guy doesn't want his dog attacked he needs to stop letting it attempt to mount other dogs. He (the owner) an idiot, and a big-mouth.
The cops would not do anything. Isn't there a sign saying that you play there "at your own risk"?

[BR870]

Right... Cause Labs never bite

Sorry, but the meanest, nastiest dog I've ever had the displeasure of knowing was a yellow lab. That dog was a literal menace to anyone that wasn't his owner or the owners wife. It would bite without provocation and would literally chase you down the street to come get the bite...

Don't feel bad. Your dog did nothing wrong. No means no, even in dog...

[chelle]

Originally Posted by msvette2u

A dog park is a free-for-all.
If the guy doesn't want his dog attacked he needs to stop letting it attempt to mount other dogs. He (the owner) an idiot, and a big-mouth.

Whole heartedly agree. Humping is not necessarily sexual, it can be dominant behavior. I hate humping dogs. I will NOT allow my dog to be humped and if (when?) the day comes my dog attempts it, I'll shut him down hard and fast. It is just too often a precursor to a fight. It's rude behavior.

Key thing -- you say when the strange dog tried to hump, YOU had to step in -- as in the OWNER did not do so. That's key to me. He should have. I've found most owners do NOT feel this is a big deal, even more often, they giggle about it. They seem totally oblivious to the fact that a hump is far too often one hump away from a serious dog fight.

The fact that the male was intact likely had little to nothing to do with it. Your girl is spayed. No sexual thing there.

Your girl simply does not like to be humped. No bad on her there!

Just today I shocked myself, I was at the park and some random dog was trying to hump on another and before I even knew what I was doing I was like NO HUMP and broke them up. SO NOT MY PLACE TO DO THAT! Neither were my dogs. Honestly, I had no right or reason to do that. I just did. But YOU most certainly DID have every right and reason to do so, especially since the other owner was a buffoon.

I think you need to defend yourself here. So he got your plate and may make a complaint. I'd try to beat him to it. Send an email about your experience.

Dog parks are very hit or miss. Don't necessarily discount them due to your experience... BUT be a more protective owner... shut down the humpers and don't be afraid to step in if something feels wrong. Who cares what the lax owners think.

[LifeofRiley]

Sounds like a stressful situation. If it were me, I would have given my information and offered to pay for at least half of the vet bills. The fact of the matter is that you had no idea how your dog would respond in this situation because, as you said in your post, it was her first time a dog park interacting with strange dogs. In situations like that, the onus really is on you to watch your dog closely and read her signals. As someone who does go to dog parks regularly, I can tell you that most dogs will not attack if another dog randomly mounts them. And, most dogs don't reach the point of attacking another dog without having first given off a lot of signals. It was your responsibility to be paying attention to her signals particularly since this was a new situation for your dog. With that said, I really do not think you have a problem dog... as you said, she is fine with dogs she knows and with everyone in your home... I have no doubt she is a wonderful dog... you may have just learned the hard way that she is not automatically fine in every situation.

[Cassidy's Mom]

Originally Posted by msvette2u

If the guy doesn't want his dog attacked he needs to stop letting it attempt to mount other dogs.

That is true - mounting is rude and the owner should not allow his dog to do that to strange dogs, as it can provoke a fight. For Misia to tell the other dog off is an appropriate response to rude behavior. However, the fact that the other dog was actually injured means that she may have taken it too far. There is blame on the other side too, because the lab did not immediately back down when she reacted - bad owner who doesn't understand dog behavior, and a dog with poor social skills. But that doesn't completely excuse Misia for going over the top. Ideally, she'd be able to tell him off without any injuries and he would get it and back off before it escalated beyond that point. I wouldn't have a problem with my dogs telling another dog off if it crossed a line, but I try very hard to make sure that things never go there. And if they DO, that the response by my dog is as minimal as necessary to get the point across with no harm, no foul. So I guess my perspective is a little different - she did hurt another dog, after all.

[msvette2u]

She warned the dog politely and he didn't listen...not that it justifies ripping his face off...was there blood? Punctures?
I tell ya...just from past experience, some of the worst reactions I've seen are from spayed girls having boys sniff their "parts" more than a passing "hi, how are you", a full-fledged nose-in-the-goods type sniff/inhalation. Which often leads to a complimentary hump from the boy. My spayed girls are usually extremely offended by this behavior!

[DharmasMom]

Dharma does NOT like to be humped. She told one male off at the park who tried it with her and got her point across quite effectively. She didn't draw blood though. She really is not a fighter. She has to be pushed WAY, WAY over her limits to fight.

I do think there is enough responsibility to go around though- for both parties involved. I don't think it was fair that he called your dog vicious and dangerous though. She may have been a bit overzealous in telling his dog off but his dog should not have been humping her and all up in her business to begin with. She did not just randomly attack him. As I said, there is enough responsibility to go around.

[LifeofRiley]

I agree that it sounds like the owner of the lab over-reacted and was less than civil in handling the situation.

[codmaster]

Sounds like self defense to me! Esp. since it happened once and the dog got a warning, then he did it again and caused a bigger reaction. Plus the owner was no where to be found.

You should have gotten the other owners information just in case.