Dog Problem

[asal]

hard to figure what to say.

friend is going away on a holiday and i had agreed to go around to check everythings ok at their place for them.

their neighbour has a maremma, its known me since the neighbours bought it. it accepts i know its name and when it threatens to attack, i say his name and he calms down, but now its 3 its becoming more agressive, it can access my friends place as it can walk through the fences and it regards both places as its territory.

it has bitten i belive some people, but not sure how hard, no one had made a complaint so probably like my hat, grabbed but no damage yet?

seems to go for your hands, i keep mine in my pockets and been ok, until now. the other day as i walked past it, fortunately carrying my hat, it suddenly growled and went for my hand and i kept the hat between it and my hand, it grabbed the hat hard enough to squash the hat against my hand and leave dints in it but not bite through the hat.

later as i went to walk back to my car it again bounced its feet, growled and went for my hands so quickly buried them in my pockets so he went behind me and bit my butt but didnt penetrate the material although i could feel his teeth. i froze and didnt move until he still growling under his breath finally stalked away and permitted me to walk to my car.

im now afraid of what could happen if i go to this persons place when no one is home and this dog is on the property. he is a very big powerful dog and i think im afraid of him now. up to now ive been able to call my friend to call the dog off as he does obey her if grudgingly, he does obey her better than his real owner it seems to me he thinks she is his leader rather than the man who does actually own him? until now i could enter her place when she wasnt home. tell him to go home and he would. now to me anyway i think he has decided im not allowed , even if he knows me and once obeyed me.

would carrying a cattle prod to touch him with if he went for me again discourage him or make him really attack? my fear is he would tear me to bits if really angry. hes big enough and the neighbour is rarely at home so no help from that quarter either.

not happy

Edited June 3, 2010 by asal

[Alyosha]

Is it actually getting out and accessing the property you have to be on? Perhaps you can drop a letter to the owner explaining the situation and asking of it can be contained a bit better?

[asal]

problem is talking rural area hundred acre properties and just cattle fences. no chance

its job is to protect the stock, sheep, chooks, geese and calves only its decided its job is to guard both properties

come to think of it probably thats how it started, the neighbours geese just love the bigger dam on my friends place soo where the geese go so does the dog

Edited June 3, 2010 by asal

[Dame Aussie]

Wow That's not good! I would be scared too, is the owner at home at all during the day?

I don't know what else you could do other than speak to him.

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

Most farmers on rural properties threaten to shoot dogs that wander onto the wrong property.

I think I'd talk to the owner first tho.

The Maremma needs to know you are no threat - unlike a fox. So what I used to do with a friend's dog was move slowly and stop if he seemed aggressive or overly interested in me and just wait for him to calm down. He never charged or touched me though. After a week of visiting he did let me give him tail rub.

[asal]

no thats whats freaking me out, much more chance of winning lotto than seeing anyone at home nxt door

Edited June 3, 2010 by asal

[Alyosha]

The owner probably needs to know just how serious it's getting. If it attacks a meter reader or other legitimate visitor they might not be so forgiving as you.

[asal]

Most farmers on rural properties threaten to shoot dogs that wander onto the wrong property.

I think I'd talk to the owner first tho.

The Maremma needs to know you are no threat - unlike a fox. So what I used to do with a friend's dog was move slowly and stop if he seemed aggressive or overly interested in me and just wait for him to calm down. He never charged or touched me though. After a week of visiting he did let me give him tail rub.

thats exactly what ive been doing and all seemed fine as

well that is until this weekend, but this has me scared now.

n remember hes known me from a pup?

n his behavour towards me has been to ignore me once he saw it was me come out of the car. was there when some strangers drove in the wrong gate by mistake and he went ballastic, they were so terrified they wound up the wondows and fled .

so his behavour towards me as up until now been ok.

n im talking some 3 years now so why the change?

Edited June 3, 2010 by asal

[asal]

The owner probably needs to know just how serious it's getting. If it attacks a meter reader or other legitimate visitor they might not be so forgiving as you.

as luck would have it he was home and i immediately went and showed him my hat, not only dented but covered in saliva so looked pretty full on attacked.

he didnt seem to understand that to me this was serious, he thought it was funny he drooled on my hat

[Cat]

The owner probably needs to know just how serious it's getting. If it attacks a meter reader or other legitimate visitor they might not be so forgiving as you.

as luck would have it he was home and i immediately went and showed him my hat, not only dented but covered in saliva so looked pretty full on attacked.

he didnt seem to understand that to me this was serious, he thought it was funny he drooled on my hat

That's terrible. :D did you mention that he bit you?

[asal]

The owner probably needs to know just how serious it's getting. If it attacks a meter reader or other legitimate visitor they might not be so forgiving as you.

as luck would have it he was home and i immediately went and showed him my hat, not only dented but covered in saliva so looked pretty full on attacked.

he didnt seem to understand that to me this was serious, he thought it was funny he drooled on my hat

That's terrible. :D did you mention that he bit you?

yes, told him i felt every tooth and was terrified he was going to sink them in but didnt. was very afraid the next time he would carry out the threat but he obviously thought i was overreacting as he just didnt seem to understand at all this was just short of outright attack that could land me in hospital :D

[Dogsfevr]

Sorry friend is an idiot for allowing it access & not addressing the issue with the owners.

I wouldnt be helping friend out with a dog like that in the equation ,if the dog attacks you who will pay the damages.dog owner?? or Friend who knows this dog is an issue .

If the owner doesnt care then that is even more scary & an accidient waiting to happen which is very unfortunate for the dog or any person who ends up being attacked

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

Given that you're checking your friend's place while they're away, it could be that some strangers have come around and stirred up the dog for some reason. Maybe that's why it's not fine anymore.

It might need to re-learn that you're ok while other strange humans may not be.

If you're really afraid - get the owner to come with you while you do your check. The dog may be better behaved and re-assured that you're ok, if the owner comes too for a few visits. If it's not, the owner gets a first hand view of the change in the dog. Welding gloves are good at reducing the impact of a dog grab. Better than a hat anyway. But the cattle prod might be a good back up.

However - dogs tend to match violence with violence ie if you're gentle and calm, it is easier for them to be gentle and calm too, but if you hurt the dog, it is more likely to hurt you back.

and there are the basic calm the dog signals, no direct eye contact, licking lips, sideways, oblique approach not front on. I wouldnt recommend sniffing the ground or rolling over (what my dog does in addition, for non-threatening greeting) tho.

[skip]

Unless you are caring for some animals on the property I would be contacting your friend and telling her about the problems you are having. I'll bet she would be surprised and surely understand you cannot keep visiting the property.

Besides the fact sounds like the dog won't be letting anybody else in either. Is that maybe why your friend lets him hang around/visit?

The dog is getting more and more confident. I wouldn't be going near him.

[persephone]

Yoiks! I would certainly be photographing /filming to show the dog's owner .. ( Can u film using welding gloves? ) :D I too am not sure of the cattle prod ..it may well send him running- but it may also aggravate him

:D a bit scary - there by yourself with a large aggressive dog... I wouldn't do it.

[asal]

thanks all, i had a feeling borrowng a cattle prod could be more dangerous than doing nothing, but ive got to the stage im afraid now.

n my gut instinct is this is not going to end well if i go there while no one is there.

much as i hate to let my friend down i dont think i can face it.

thanks for helping me formulate what had been just a bad feeling but couldnt get my head round. well maybe dont like the idea of admitting fear.

ive never been bitten by a dog despite growing up with a yard full of savage dogs, my dad used to deliberately advertise for wanting to buy savage dogs. as he had a yard where stuff would walk overnight otherwise.

soo from childhood learned not to attract their guard tendencies. heck in a couple of months id made pets of most of em. n he used to buy em as fully grown adults, foaming at the mouth on arrival? know this dog from a pup? but this boy it aint working as of this week . normally if i strike a dog on guard i back out of its boundary area n alls well, but this guy has included her place as his boudary area sooo i cant enter and check if im backing off the place can i?

Edited June 3, 2010 by asal

[Andrea]

Actually the most sensible thing to do is to get the neighbours to watch/check the property while the owners are not home.

It doesnt matter if you know the dogs name, dog's read body language and can now sense your fear (very understandable, by the way) and it will escalate if you dont heed the dog's warning.

Did you ever visit the property when the owners were absent before??

Im also going to assume that unlike other visitors (or the metre reader) who go straight to the house, you are walking around the rest of property, ie sheds and paddocks, which is why you are attracting the dogs attention.

Obviously the owners of the property understand the dog and are accepted by it, I bet the dog treats both families as it's owners, and when they return he will again treat you as you thought he would in their absence.

When confronted by the dog, DO NOT look it in the eye, as it will see you as challenging him. I have had to physically back away from my fair share of 'working dogs', even Im not brave enough to show them my back, but I also understand that I am in THEIR territory in the absence of anyone else.

Maybe you could discuss with the owner/neighbour of the dog, set times that you will visit so that he can arrange to contain the dog so that you can check the place in peace.

thanks all, i had a feeling borrowng a cattle prod could be more dangerous than doing nothing, but ive got to the stage im afraid now.

n my gut instinct is this is not going to end well if i go there while no one is there.

much as i hate to let my friend down i dont think i can face it.

thanks for helping me formulate what had been just a bad feeling but couldnt get my head round. well maybe dont like the idea of admitting fear.

ive never been bitten by a dog despite growing up with a yard full of savage dogs, my dad used to deliberately advertise for wanting to buy savage dogs. as he had a yard where stuff would walk overnight otherwise.

soo from childhood learned not to attract their guard tendencies. but this boy it aint working as of this week . normally if i strike a dog on guard i back out of its boundary area n alls well, but this guy has included her place as his boudary area sooo i cant enter and check if im backing off the place can i?

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

I googled aggressive Maremma dog

Looks like the cattle prod would be a very bad idea.

It is slightly possible that the maremma was trying to play with you, according to the articles I found, they can be a bit rough.

This article suggested they are more alert and aggressive at night when threats are usually worse. So I wondered - are you visiting after dark? Maybe changing to day time visit or morning visit might help.

http://www.kelownaalpaca.com/LGD%20Maremma.htm

[asal]

I googled aggressive Maremma dog

Looks like the cattle prod would be a very bad idea.

It is slightly possible that the maremma was trying to play with you, according to the articles I found, they can be a bit rough.

This article suggested they are more alert and aggressive at night when threats are usually worse. So I wondered - are you visiting after dark? Maybe changing to day time visit or morning visit might help.

http://www.kelownaalpaca.com/LGD%20Maremma.htm

hey thanks.

yes it was at night, n there was a bowl of food he was eating when i walked past.

ive came often at night before no problem. but never when food was around that i can recall.

although he seemed in a general all round bad mood. as he also rolled and really threatened the owners really old boxer who wasnt doing anything to warrant it. n he was nowwhere near the food when he copped it, the boxers owner had to tell him to leave him alone, he wasnt going to let the boxer get up until she yelled at him.

[Earthdog]

Whose place was the bowl of food on?

No matter 100acre properties and stock fencing, the dog needs to be contained on its own place. You are way more forgiving than me, I would have reported the bite. Dog's owner sounds like a tool.