So depressed about Bonnie

[becgeo]

That I want to cry! I had a horrendous weekend with Bonnie this weekend. We have had Bonbon for 2 and a half years and have worked so hard to reduce her fear aggression towards people. However this weekend I was reminded that it is most definitely still there and I feel back to square one. I have been letting her off her lead more (muzzled!) as she has been so good with meeting other dogs and absolutely loving it. Normally when there are people near the dogs she ignores them as she is so interested in meeting the dogs. However this weekend circumstances conspired against me and she ended up attacking two people, one on Saturday and one on Sunday. By attacking I mean jumping up at them and barking aggressively. I now feel like I can't win because I am going to have to be so careful not to let it happen again that it will severely reduce Bonnie's chances of having any fun at all.

[traceywacey]

That is a shame after things being so good for a while. I have not got much experience in this area. I am sure somebody else will be along to give some help on the subject. I can imagine it will be hard to trust her again.

[julies]

Oh what a shame ... first off ... you need to be really careful (as I'm sure you know) ..nowadays everyone is so quick to sue and complain- the Dangerous Dogs Act allows people who are attacked or even 'only' afraid of being bitten by a dog to report her to the police and it would be dealt with criminally and that could mean a large fine and worst case scenario you could have her taken from you. If you go to the lovely Trevor Cooper's talk (top dog solicitor) he will tell you that because you muzzle her you know that she is 'dangerous' so you could/would be accused of having a dangerous dog out of control (off lead and not recalled) in a public place

I worked for 18 months with a dog who had run after a man walking and she'd jumped up and bitten him, she was reported to the police and had always to be muzzled when out, never off lead and always walked by an adult - if I remember properly what I was told by her devastated owner This little dog will never be completely trustworthy around people I feel but has a good life with her owner who walks her nice places on a long lead with their other dog and plays lots of games with her at home.

If Bonnie was mine I'd never put her in the position of having to defend herself (she thinks she has to) so I'd not let her off lead when I couldn't trust her and other people's responses to her - if she's on lead she's 'safe'. I'd find a good dog class where you and she can work with a good trainer who won't 'make' Bonnie meet people and can build up her confidence (and yours) round other people and dogs- but be guided by Bonnie- if you or the trainer 'insist' she meets people that will probably make her worse.. wait till she is confident and take it slowly. Also check out the Tilley Farm website for TTouch Practitioners around the country who could work with her and give you tools to help her cope ...

It may be that she will never be 100% trustworthy with strangers- there are lots of dogs who have a history and need careful management ... it just becomes a way of life and you'll find other dog friends for her but at least she's enjoying herself.

Be careful for her sake and remember she's got a loving home so her life is good

Julie x

[jodav]

Wise words from Julies as always and although it's hard to think Bonnie isn't having the sort of fun you'd like her to have, it's better to set her up for success by her either being on-lead or in an environment with no people around. No matter how hard we work, unwanted behaviours are often lurking just below the surface and when faced with stress, some dogs opt for the 'go-to' behaviour because their thinking brain is closed for business! Take heart, maturity sometimes brings more mellow behaviour, as well as a very well-exercised 'too tired to be fussed' dog but even then, don't let your guard down but good luck.

Jo x

[Flaperoo]

I feel for you, but do not despair.

The more greys I have the more I realise that I have to change, not them.

Jules is right but I want to talk about fun. Our idea of fun for them is for them to run around and enjoy life like other dogs. But they are not other dogs, they are the wonderful, inspiring and unpredicatble greyhounds.

I was drawn to your your comments about having fun, after 15 years of greyhound ownership I am now firm a believer that my ideas of fun and theirs are very different. I promise you they just love walking by your side. If you make a muzzle pleasurable they associate it with fun. I just have to pick up a muzzle and lead and my Oafy comes bounding to me full of excitement and a tail that leaves blood on the wall.

You love her, don't feel sad - you undoubdtedly have her wonderful love too and she will love sharing her life with you. You are both blessed to have found each other

Maryx

[mickey]

I totally agree with all the above comments. Love her for what you now know she is and keep her safe on lead and happy. I have two like this, i accept them for what they are we work slowly at socialising, muzzle and lead, long lead and harness maybe in a year or two. if ex racers or abused they need lots of time. please enjoy your dogs, off lead isnt such an issue x

[Willow]

I can really relate to how you're feeling about Bonnnie - we've been through this with our lurcher too. 95% of the time, or more, she's absolutely lovely but for a tiny proportion of the time she's a problem. So we've discovered that it's not the likelihood of unpredictable behaviour that has to define our behaviour with our lass, it's the consequence.

I think Julie's spot-on - it is down to us to make sure we don't put our lovely aminals at risk, especially from other people's reactions which we can't always control or predict.

I hope you'll find, like us, that as the depressing mist of your initial reaction clears what at first seemed like a completely life-changing discovery about Bonnie seems, on reflection, to be something you will just learn how to adapt to and work with.

[bilbo]

Nothing to add really, just to you and Bonnie