German Wirehaired Pointer Club of America

Walter & Claudia · Posted: 07/12/03, 11:08 am Post subject: Attacked by Husky

Hi,

Simon has been attacked by a Husky a couple off days ago and I had a question.

What do you do when a dog attacks one of your dogs and then his brother/ sister rushes in to help?

Lucky for us Arthur was on a lead at a time but he was champing on the bit to get after the Husky.
Simon is Ok, he too was on a lead when the husky rushed over the street and started attaking him. Then he slip out of his collar and started running over to a store away from Arthur with the husky at his tail (I guess to protect Arthur because he was starting to go after the husky) . I had no problem getting Simon back on the lead and started to step between the dogs everytime the husky lauched himself at Simon or tried to get near him.
After a wile he turned and wanted to go after Arthur on the other side of the crossing (who was barking like a mad dog) when the owner finally showed up and started to beat up the husky with a screwdriver in the face. I thought I was seeing things at first but Walter confirmed it.
Poor Husky, the owner should be ....... Mad

So, what do you do when both dogs are of the lead running and playing and another dog starts attacking one and the sibling starts rushing in to help?

Thanks for your help.
Claudia & Walter

cheerio · Moderator Joined: 11 Mar 2003 Posts: 285 Location: Canada

I put my dogs at a lay down position. Usually, this breaks the fight. Certainly, I would have asked the owner of the Husky for a Rabies certificate, told him what I thought of HIS behavior, gave him or promise to get the name of a good training scholl for his dog, and probably warn him that I may report him. Dogs should not be loose, dog should not attack well attended dogs, and certainly, owners should not beat up their dogs with or without a screwdriver.

Walter & Claudia · Posted: 07/13/03, 6:43 pm Post subject:

Thanks Cheerio,

For the lay down position do I use the same comand as Down (we say Platz) or learn them a specific comand for the lay down comand like "drop now", and do they have to roll over on their back's?

As for the Husky owner, I will try and contact him with a name for a training school for his dog. But I think he couldn't care less. We walked by there and found the Husky pened up in a small area with what looked like a Samoy or white Chow.
I will let you know what happend.

Claudia

Walter & Claudia · Posted: 08/08/03, 4:12 pm Post subject:

Hi,

I just wanted to let you know that I have contacted the owner of the Husky and never got a reply from him.
Not that I expected one but it would have been nice to know that he might cared just a bit.

Claudia

cheerio · Moderator Joined: 11 Mar 2003 Posts: 285 Location: Canada

Claudia, at least you made your point, and ypu told that husky Pretend-To-Be-Owner (for a better choice of words), that you knew where he lived!
As far as the command, I don't like to give too many command that means the same thing. When I say "down" to my dogs, I expect a drop, so when I want them to lay down, no matter the situation I use "Down" (or Platz), just as I use "Stay" when I want them to stay, even if it is sudden, although some people like to teach "freeze" in this case.

Baron · Junior Joined: 30 May 2003 Posts: 54

Personally, I would never put give my dog a down command while it was being attached by another dog. Especially if it was a strange dog and I didn’t know its personality. Not all dog will break off an attack just because the other dog assumes a submissive posture. I would not want my dogs to be in a vulnerable position where they could be seriously injured if the other dog continued to go after them. I would rather them be able to stand their ground and defend themselves. Plus, with two dogs and myself, the odds would be greatly on our side.

cheerio · Moderator Joined: 11 Mar 2003 Posts: 285 Location: Canada

Actually Baron, you are right. I was not suggesting to ask the dog being attacked to lay down. I was responding to the specific question of what to do when "a brother or sister wants to rush to help". The fight between 2 dogs is a lot easier to deal with that with 3 dogs.
Perhaps I did not make myself clear.

Walter & Claudia · Posted: 08/12/03, 9:15 am Post subject:

Thanks Cheerio and Baron for your reply's.
I will use the Platz comand since Arthur and Simon already know it. I just have to teach them to do it in all situations which should not be a problem.

On a up note Arthur has killed his first wild rabbit this week.
We have a friend with 20 acres where we let them run with Deer, Turkey and lots of wild live.
We are so proud but are hoping since we are not teaching him to hunt that he will not do this to often. He looked really messy, Ough!
Maybe we should teach him to hunt and just let a friend take him out for the hunting season?

Claudia

cheerio · Moderator Joined: 11 Mar 2003 Posts: 285 Location: Canada

Sorry, I have no doubt that this is a stupid question, but since I am not a hunter, and know of no hunters, perhaps you will excuse me: Is it a desirable thing for hunting dogs to go out and kill their prays? Don't they then learn to eat YOUR pray when they go get it for you?

Walter & Claudia · Posted: 08/15/03, 10:31 am Post subject:

Cheerio,

I'm not a hunter either but I thought that the ability to kill prey was desirable or maybe that is only true for DD.
We never taught Arthur to retrieve prey only balls and sticks so he did not know that he was supossed to bring it back. We are not even sure if he ate the rabbit or not.

Claudia

bwalther19044 · Member Joined: 16 Aug 2003 Posts: 8 Location: Horsham PA

Walther & Claudia -
I realize you guys aren't hunters... but maybe your dog has great ability - maybe you should try a hunt test so you can see your dog's natural ability in action. You might find it real enjoyable -- and it's a day out together with your dog.
Bob

Walter & Claudia · Posted: 08/21/03, 4:19 pm Post subject:

Bob,
Mhh, A Hunting Test.
I checked out the AKC Hunting Test Info but I got no real answer to my questions, So here it is:

Does Arthur need to know specific comands or is this just ot find out what he can do so far?

Just to let you know we have no clue what so ever about hunting. Arthur seams to learn it all by himself (flushing, pionting, finding trails and homes of all king of kritters) and I try to get as much info from all the post on this board. We will be gone for about a week but after that I will be heading to the library to find some books on hunting.
I think the season is about to start and we have a friend which goes hunting so we might be able to join him and find out what it is all about.

Claudia

bwalther19044 · Member Joined: 16 Aug 2003 Posts: 8 Location: Horsham PA

Walter & Claudia--
I certainly don't know a lot cuz we're pretty new too. I got a 3 year old female rescue 2 years ago from Mal Decker and that got me back into hunting again -- it was great. I got an ILP # from AKC for her (we had no papers) and entered in a Hunt Test. For Junior Hunter (beginner) the dog has to find a bird that has been planted in a field and hold a point for 3 seconds. After 4x (they call each successful time a "leg") so after 4 legs they get a JH title in front of their name. That's where I am with our male puppy (Wires are like potato chips, you can't have just one!) The beautiful thing is to watch the Master and Senior hunters work. You should also check out NAVHDA. (North American Versatile Hunting Dog Assoc) There are a lot of people on this board who are very ANTI NAVHDA, but our chapter (www.bushkillnavhda.com) has helped me in training and socializing our dogs. They meet weekly and there are many breeds, not just wires. It's just another activity that you & your dog can enjoy together!