Blitz turned nasty!!

[LucyA]

Hello All,
In need of some urgent advice!!! Bear with me as I am going to give you as much info as possible.

Blitz has always been soft as anything, JRTs have chased him off with his tail between his legs and he has never shown any aggression at all to people, dogs or anything.

I don't know if you remember but there is another GSD on the field near our new house, his name is Ran and he is from lines of shutzhund trained GSDs, his owner trains him in the sport and Ran is a well trained and behaved dog, generally. However, Ran has never liked Blitz, we have had a few scary incidents where Ran has really gone for Blitz but now, Rans owner keeps Ran on the lead when Blitz is on the field, ordinarily, we walk around with then with Blitz off lead but Blitz keeps a safe distance from Ran at all times and if he gets too close Ran scares him off.

On Monday, Blitz wandered over to a very young Lab on a lead, he seemed to be playing with the pup but mouthed him too hard and the pup screamed, we put it down to accidental rough play and Blitz let go as soon as the pup yelled and that was the end of it.

Yesterday we spotted Ran and Sabre (another GSD who walks there) across the field and crossed to join them. Sabre is great and very good with other dogs, Blitz and Sabre ran circles around us while we walked, about half way round Blitz and Ran got nose to nose, for the first time Blitz beared his teeth and growled back at Ran - he'd normally scarper at the threat, we all thought nothing of it and carried on and the boys went back to ignoring eachother. We came across a small spaniel and Blitz went hell for leather growling, biting and pouncing on it, Dan had to drag Blitz off this poor dog who was shaken but fortunately unharmed, we put Blitz straight on the lead and carried on, after another few rounds of the field Blitz and Ran (both on lead) were playing together, walking next to eachother and acting like brothers, it was crazy, they have never been that close without confrontation before.
Dan, Rans owners and Sabres owner and I discussed what might have happened back there, they all know Blitz well and know how out of character the whole walk had been. We wondered whether Blitz was protecting Sabre (the bitch) for Ran who is obviously seeing himself as the Alpha male and whether the 3 had arranged themselves as a pack back when Blitz stuck up for him.

We are so worried that we can't take him back again without a lead because it's just not possible to give him the same quality of exercise with a short lead, a long lead would make it easier to put him off but wouldn't prevent him from attacking and I don't feel we should be restricting him from socialising at this point but in the same breath the last thing I want to do is put another dog at risk if Blitz will develop unpredictable behaviour!

Please help!!!

[LOVEGSD]

It sounds like it was a squabble and all was then resolved, if there was a serious issue they would never have walked together happily afterwards.

I don't believe in alpha dogs tbh. Most of the time owners miss the subtle signals that dogs give off, perhaps Blitz wasn't keen on something Ran did and he was protecting the bitch of the group and with his adreneline high the Spaniel got the brunt of it....I'm not saying that's ok though.

I would go back to basics and if you're unsure about other dogs then recall Blitz, ask him to walk to heel and control the greetings but most importantly you need to stay calm around other dogs.

Don't panic hun, they have these little glitches.....just stay on top of his training and I'm sure all will be well.

[catrionagsdlover]

Hi, Firstly hope your nerves have returned to normal it can be quite scary when things like this happen! Unfortunately I have no advice on this as it is not a situation I have experienced. I am sure others will be along with sound advice!
The only thing I would do if this happened to me in the short term would be to get around as much dogs as possible socialising with mine on lead so that I can stop anything before it starts then long line before I would let him run free! Just what I would do not sure if this is correct but how i would deal with it! Goodluck hope it turns out to be a one off!

catriona Xxx

[LucyA]

Thanks guys, just really shaken by the whole thing, I think we will maybe hook him onto the long line as his recall isn't brilliant so maybe now is the time to get strict!

[catrionagsdlover]

Originally Posted by LucyA

Thanks guys, just really shaken by the whole thing, I think we will maybe hook him onto the long line as his recall isn't brilliant so maybe now is the time to get strict!

Sending big hugs! Probably just a glitch! You know your dog has been good natured and this is out of character so probably just an off day we all have them! Try hard not too worry as if you fret or panic when out and about your dog will pick up on this and could react because of you feeling anxious! Put it behind you ,up your training and practice a better recall and just relax and enjoy your dog! The good thing about your walk is it ended on a positive note with all dogs walking calmly and happily!

CATRIONA Xxx

[LOVEGSD]

Get that longline out hun, build your confidence and let him know the rules....I'm sure it'll all be just fine..x

[Lutgard 1]

I think you need to up the aunty with Blitz
With the pup I think Blitz was showing him some manners maybe?
We cant always read what the dogs are saying to each other.
Make it clear to Blitz that his behaviour is unacceptable.
Rememeber when Kaiser told Blitz off?
Bet they would be great together now x

[LucyA]

It was so horrible hunni, just don't know how to feel.

On the upside, found a lovely walking spot close by, quiet, peaceful, scenic, full of wild birds and huge lake sorta thing for puppy paddles, fancy bringing your clan when the weather gets warmer? Need something to look forward to!!

[Lutgard 1]

Originally Posted by LucyA

It was so horrible hunni, just don't know how to feel.

On the upside, found a lovely walking spot close by, quiet, peaceful, scenic, full of wild birds and huge lake sorta thing for puppy paddles, fancy bringing your clan when the weather gets warmer? Need something to look forward to!!

Ive hd the same exp with Kaiser and a young Lab, Kaiser is fine now so dont despair Hunni xxx
Of course im up for it sounds fab and cant wait! xxx

[sami]

How old is Blitz now?