General Question Dog Park Attack

ModernFemme

Arts'y bulldog farts'y
Community Veteran
Oct 5, 2012
882
61
Delaware
Bulldog(s) Names
Sir Remington (Remi)
Yesterday while Remi and I were at the dog park, there were 2 other dogs on my side of the fence. An Alaskan Malamute (AM) mutt mix, and an English Bulldog Terrier (EBT). Everyone was cool. The AM was peeing on all the things. In fact I think Remi got underneath him a few times LOL!! And the EBT seemed cool enough. Remi was being Remi, trying to chase and nip everyone, mostly playing with the EBT because they were closer in size. Out of nowhere, this EBT attacks Remi in an aggressive manner. There wasn't any biting that I could see, but all the sounds were there as he flipped Remi onto his back, snarling and obviously pissed about something. The EBT owner was pretty close and broke up the fight pretty fast. I got Remi (who wasn't fighting back, and was more like dayum! What was that mom?) and me and the AM went all the way across the park, a way from this EBT. The guy was making his EBT lay down and submit to him. When he let him go, the dog immediately ran over to where we were and attacked my dog again. Remi, again, on his back at 5 months, actually fought back this time with growls and snarls. WOAH!!!

I use the term fighting back loosely. If Remi submitted the first time, this would be over, right??

Needless to say, the guy with the EBT left the park and everyone was fine after that.

I didn't know a thing about them, except that their face looked an awful lot like a space alien: More here: animal.discovery.com/breed-selector/dog-breeds/terrier/bull-terrier.html

I feel like I need a good book on dog behavior in general so I could have seen this coming. I say "out of nowhere" because I didn't see any signs, but obviously there must have been. I know that Remi can antagonize smaller dogs and try to stand over them, and they usually give him a good piece of their mind. He loves the challenge and can be a little annoying as a puppy, and I will usually make him sit and watch me for a bit so he can give that particular victim a break. I'm not sure what he did here to piss this dog off. I wonder if he did something that was impolite in the dog world or something.

From what I'm reading about the EBT, they can be pretty dog aggressive. The owner seemed pretty shocked about how the animal was behaving though. I don't know if the English Bulldog has a dominant personality that some dogs don't like, or if this dog should really stay out of dog parks.

Any ideas???
 
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2BullyMama

I'm not OCD....now who moved my bulldog?
Staff member
Community Veteran
Jul 28, 2011
48,581
3,673
Gilbertsville, PA
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Chelios (Frenchie), Nitschke (2004-2011) Banks (2005-2014) and Lambeau (2014-2024)
Unfortunately, a very high percentage of people have NO understanding of what their breed is all about - good, bad or indifferent... they just go based on looks when making the decision, which is why so many good babies (any breed) end up in rescue, shelter or on the streets. I use to work at a dog daycare and I can not tell you how many people would say to me "I can't believe how high strung my lab is... my Jack Russel is, my German Shepard has so much anxiety, why? The first question any of the trainers in the facility would ask is ... what was the reason you decided on this breed?' and every time the response was one of two... they are just so cute or we grew up with the breed, always had one. My point it, the owner of the EBT most likely bought on looks and did no research so he was surprised by the behavior cause at home he is most likely a very good dog because no other dogs are in the home.

If you, as a responsible dog owner, want to learn the signs... there are a few books listed in the training and behavior section at the top of the page they are sticky treads.... read up on dog body language. That is what I was taught by the trainers at the day care --- it is all in the movements and somewhat in the sounds, but they tell you everything in how they are standing or moving, heck even not moving.

Good luck
 

linwhite

New member
Sep 24, 2012
605
26
Tallahassee, FL
Bulldog(s) Names
Guido Zamboni - EB, Zoltan - Shortybull, Zeva - Frenchie
Male on male aggression in all types of bullies is not unusual. It can start quite suddenly too. If the EBT was a young dog it could have been the first time he displayed that behavior. I had that happen once with an un-neutered male. Surprised the heck out of me. Now, even neutered, I keep him on a short leash, just in case he decides someone is not worthy. It doesn't happen much anymore thankfully. I don't take him to the dog park anymore either.
 
M

mabel lou

Guest
My nephew came over two days ago and my girls were outside as usual with me while talking to him. He brought his pug over who is like 9mths old and Benji is a good boy who loves to play with Mabel. But let me tell you this, Thelma never had met him before this day where as Mabel did and wow the second he came upon the patio and he wanted to merely sniff her she took off after him like a bat out of hell. Just enough for him to jump back but he came back and just kind of stood their wanting to approach her and she did it again. Poor Benji he didn't know what to think. But Thelma was told NO from me in a stern voice because she cannot be aggressive to any animals that come over here and when I said that she calmed down and just sat by herself pouting lol. I gave her hugs and gave Benji hugs to reassure her that he is not here to harm her or me or Mabel. We continued with our visit .
 

JeannieCO

Queenie
Mar 11, 2011
12,680
873
Tip of the Mitt, Michigan
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Emma, Charlie, Milo, Peekaboo and Jack
Simple play can turn into a dog fight quite suddenly. The signs are there if one know what to look for. My two males pittys, Ace & Orion, who have since passed got along wonderfully (they were litter mates) but ever since they were young they absolutely could not play/rough house together. They might start to play but within seconds/minutes what appeared to be harmless play would turn into a a full on fight. They would always break up though. Even if they were running together on a trail, at the lake, etc. if they got to close to one another during that excitement time a fight broke out, almost 100% of the time.
 

Sherry

New member
Jan 15, 2011
5,183
477
Denver PA
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Jack , Dolly, Grizz, Peggy Sue, and Scrimps
I watch the dogs head, ears and tail. These are my flag areas. Not so much the tail on the EB but other breeds, definitely.
 

bulldogs4me

Crazy Bulldog Lady
Community Veteran
Sep 25, 2012
2,923
175
Texas
Country
United States
Bulldog(s) Names
Klava
Bull Terriers are a strong breed just like our beloved Bulldogs and just like our bulldogs bull terriers are clownish in personality ... but because two strong breeds where playing it can often happen one will want to claim the dominate position in play along with in fight ... play walks a fine line in our bulldogs, at least in my experience, and can turn from a simple play bought to a full on fight in seconds. I know my own dogs signals and when in a community setting I watch them closely, if I see that one of them is start to posture I correct it before it ever escalates to something more. In a park setting it's difficult but all you can do is pay attention to your dogs signals and try to keep on top of it that way, there is no way of knowing the other person or their dog :/
 
OP
ModernFemme

ModernFemme

Arts'y bulldog farts'y
Community Veteran
Oct 5, 2012
882
61
Delaware
Bulldog(s) Names
Sir Remington (Remi)
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #8
Thanks for the comments, everyone. I'm going to check out that book list and get to town. Does anyone have any favorites?
 

Corlando465

New member
Feb 16, 2012
365
23
Lexington, KY
Bulldog(s) Names
Tank
Tank loves other dogs, too, but it always takes some time for other dogs to warm up to him. I read somewhere that the "dog rules of socialization" is that dogs do not make eye contact with another dog until they have properly met, sniffed and approved each other. However, EBs are an exception and usually use eye contact first when they approach other dogs, which can immediately cause negative reactions. I always stay close to Tank when he is around unfamiliar dogs and monitor both of them for any signs that might lead to a fight.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 

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