Dog attacks on my 6 month old boy !!!

[Bentley014]

After a lot of thought I took the plunge to let my 6 month old boy Bentley off the lead at the park last week for the first time. It all started fine with Bentley walking by my side which I praised him for.We came across two people talking with their three dogs,Bentley went over to investigate the three dogs which was all fine - like all dogs do. when all of a sudden one of the dogs a cocker spaniel got really nasty by grabbing Bentley biting him on his shoulder,luckly myself & the other two owners was at hand to stop it going any further.I checked Bentley over & he was ok.The spaniels owner apoligised & we moved away.Bentley did not attack this dog back.Five minutes later we met another cocker spaniel & they just sniffed each other as before when this spaniel tried taking a bite at Bentley,but luckly this time he did,nt get bitten.I put Bentley straight back on his lead for his own good through no fault of his own.

Today I took Bentley to a different park & let him off the lead for the second time,with in minutes he met a jack russel.They checked each other out sniffing when the jack russel went all tense & suddenly grabbed Bentley on the shoulder again biting really aggressively.I ran over & managed to get this dog away as he tried to bite Bentley again.The dogs owner came running over as his jack russel came charging at Bentley once again I managed to swing the lead at this jack russel keeping it away from attacking again.I checked Bentley over & he was ok.This second attack was a lot worse than the first time with this jack russel shaking his head as biting Bentley.

Why should this happen ? As anybody else had this bad experience happen often to their bulldog ?
Bentley is such a good temperent dog who loves everybody, I don't understand & to happen the first two times off the lead.

 

[Bulldozersma]

I'm absolutely no expert but I know that there are quite a few dogs that take a Bulldog's breathing and panting as a sign of aggression. My bulldogs have also never had any fear of other dogs but are also not great on picking up some of those dog signs that they want their space.

 

[2BullyMama]

Many have had bad experiences at dog parks... some incidents are like your, unprovoked and seem like no reason behind it. a lot of dogs just do not like bulldogs -- heavy breathing, no tail, grunting.. all make it difficult for other breeds to read or understand them.

Myself, I stay away for dog parks in general just due to other owners not paying attention to the dog interaction/behavior

glad Bentley is Ok and was not serious hurt

 

[Manydogs]

I am glad that Bentley is not hurt! Bullies have no fear, when it comes to approaching other dogs, and many times are just too friendly and show no caution. For some reason a lot of other breeds do not accept them so easily, as they are "different and as [MENTION=2894]2BullyMama[/MENTION] said-they sound different! Another problem at dog parks(I see from Judge Judy on TV) is the owners. They sit and chat, and pay little attention to what is going on-usually the ones who HAVE aggressive dogs! I would be very careful about letting him run free-he will get hurt, and they will blame YOUR dog-because he is a "dangerous Bulldog". Many people don't even watch their kids----------and don't care about others.

 

[brutus77]

I feel the same as many here about dog parks. Our babies are often misunderstood by other breeds and get attacked. My advice is to find a bully meet up and have him associate with other bullies or just have play dates with friends who have dogs you and bentley are familiar with. This is what I do and it has worked out so far.

 

[Opie CHL]

I'm glad Bentley is ok. Some dogs just shouldn't be brought to dog parks. Hershey is one of them. I don't think I can ever being him to a meetup. Chum is so calm and friendly to both kids and other dogs. Hershey is very aggressive but only towards other dogs...I have to restrain him on walks. He's ok with people and small kids...but he goes crazy on dogs for some reason..The first interaction between him and chum when I brought home in July was a disaster. It only took a few days...he adjusts very quickly but the first encounters are dangerous!

 

[harveyspecter]

I think the overall look, teeth sticking out, the grunting and the breathing for some reason are intimidating/threathening to other breeds although we all know it is just a look. I was at a pet store in newport beach @ The Fashion Island when Harvey met this mix poodle breed. They were doing a moment of the usual sniffing when the other dog aggressively bit Harvey and got him on his left ear. Fortunately, I did not see any open wound. The owner of the dog claims that this is the 1st time his dog ever did this.

 

[ChrisRN]

Many have had bad experiences at dog parks... some incidents are like your, unprovoked and seem like no reason behind it. a lot of dogs just do not like bulldogs -- heavy breathing, no tail, grunting.. all make it difficult for other breeds to read or understand them.

Myself, I stay away for dog parks in general just due to other owners not paying attention to the dog interaction/behavior

glad Bentley is Ok and was not serious hurt

Agreed, Christine! We have never taken any of our dogs to dog parks. After visiting a couple and seeing so many owners not paying attention to their dogs, I decided it wasn't wise to expose my dogs to the craziness--and the risk of disease.

 

[Canelospeeps]

I'm so sorry that Bentley had a bad experience like this. We stopped taking Canelo to the parks because of the same response. We had to peel a Boston Terrier off of Canelo, he had a hold of Canelo's jowl and the owner was so embarrassed and had a tough time getting his puppy to let go. We nicknamed Canelo Baby Huey because most dogs don't like him. He gets to play with other dogs, we have two pugs, my sister's pug, and other family dogs. We have one that acts out so we all keep a close eye when they are around each other. Now when he was around around 4 months we took him to puppy training and the little dogs were Leary, but the Great Dane puppy and Canelo were rolling all over the floor playing. Go figure, right? If we go to the store I don't let Canelo go up to dogs right away anymore.


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[Bentley014]

Thank you all for your advice,it makes a lot of sense now after reading all your comments,we shall be giving the parks a miss. I have found a field not far from where I live which available to the public & also very quiet I will be giving this a try.

 

[YHSublime]

I also noticed you don't have a problem when he is on the lead. Maybe you should stick to that when around other dogs. Sounds like a good idea to let him run in the quiet field off lead.

 

[Bentley014]

yes on the lead there is no problem,like I said I will take him up to the field for a run about only if there is no other dogs about.

 

[karlajgee]

As soon as I saw this I was going to say the same thing others before me have said. I really do think it's the way Bulldogs look that freak out other dogs at times. Unfortunately, I had a similar experience at a dog park where another dog ended up latching onto my bullies cheek and would not let go. I was panicking and ended up reaching out for my poor baby,
not caring that I ended up getting bit. After that, my husband I were a little bit more hesitant about the dog park.