Uncharacteristic behavior - hoping other corgi parents can weigh in
Hi all,
Sorry for the long story but I'm hoping someone can offer me some insight and/or advice about this issue.
My boy Milo is one of the sweetest, most gentle little guys. He's the kind of dog who gives sweet little good morning licks and takes food from your hand really softly. He's a total cuddle bum, easy to walk, friendly to other people and other dogs. We've had him since he was a pup and he's always been on the submissive side - he has a sister he always defers to (to the point where she can take food or toys right out of his mouth and he'll do nothing.)
Anyway, yesterday our dog walker called to tell me that Milo had done what to me, is unthinkable. She said that he had viciously attacked another dog while playing ball, bitten her on the hand when she tried to break up the dog fight and bitten her assistant on the leg, tearing his pants "half off". I was of course, horrified. She said all this as if I should have an explanation for it and I just didn't. I've never ever seen a hint of aggression in him. I've taken him to dog parks three days a week for the last year and he's played ball with other dogs and other dog owners and he's never even tried to take a ball away from anyone, let alone attack another dog or bitten another owner.
She basically said our relationship was dissolved because of this incident and I can't help but feel hurt and frankly, angry. I feel like I'm not getting the whole story here. I did notice she wasn't appreciative of me pointing out that she's changed the scenario on my dogs a lot in the last couple months, bringing a new assistant and new dogs into the mix (they walk with 6-8 dogs at a time).
My thought is that she and her assistant have spread themselves too thin taking on that many at a time and didn't have full control of them/weren't able to watch them carefully enough. It seems reasonable that that might have played at least a part in this whole thing. I know we can't ever know 100% what our dogs will do if the circumstances are right, but I find it really hard to believe that Milo up and became a biter without any motivation.
Has anyone else experienced this kind of thing with their corgi? If so, what should I do from here? I admit I'm really upset, thinking something's seriously wrong with my sweet little boy. Thanks so much.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Ellen Cilley on
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Milo does not like this dog walker and/or assistant. For some reason, they are making him feel stressed and are not properly controlling situations.
I have had three corgis and in my opinion this breed is a WONDERFUL judge of character, no offense to the dog walkers.
My 2 year old male D'Arby is also on the submissive side and loves playing with other dogs in a controlled setting. Still, in my experience, when you have no control over the other dogs also visiting, anything is possible as some owners continue to bring aggressive dogs to these venues. I have a hard enough time watching D'Arby to be sure play is safe, never mind watching like 5 or 4 or 3 or even 2 dogs!
Another thought I have is to be sure they took his leash and/or collar off before releasing him. It's weird but D'Arby and his BIG DOG BUDDIES (and I mean big) play constructively for hours, but once those leashes go back on for whatever reason, they get grumpy, although nothing like what your dog walker has described has transpired. Just grumpiness...(:o)
Whatever you do, I would not over-react to this one incident and would continue to bring Milo to these venues while trying not to be too stressed out or nervous yourself until there is a real need to. If you do, he will sense it and because corgis are so intelligent and perceptive, the aggressive behavior pattern in such venues could be inadvertently reinforced.
D'Arby says he would love to play with Milo and he is not scared! (:o)
Good luck and please let me know how this turns out.
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Permalink Reply by NJohnson on
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Well, I haven't seen any residual weirdness from him so far. He seems OK. I'm just thinking that that being jammed into a car with 8 other dogs isn't for him and I'm changing their walker to avoid that. I'm not trying to throw the walker under the bus - I'm saying that when we hired her, she was hired to walk just them and since then, has changed things so that mostly she's taking them to dog parks to run loose with a big gaggle of dogs. That's not what I signed up for and obviously, is a bad choice. Thanks for the answer!
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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on
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I wouldn't be happy with a dog park instead of a walk either:(
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I agree, Jane.
It is important to have a combination of both: daily walks being what sets the corgi up in a routine around and about his home turf, and dog parks being a special treat: NOT a substitution.
It is hard to convince some owners of this, even if they are NOT professional dog walkers.
Nice to see you recognize the difference Corgis LOVE and CHERISH walks with their owners and always will..Even if we might be too old to provide a viable herding opportunity. (;o)
BE SAFE BE WELL.
-Elle & D'Arby-
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Yup, they need the walks, especially with us. We have a dog walker take 'em out twice a week in the middle of the day, but they get morning and evening with me and my husband and midday with me M-W-F. :)
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Permalink Reply by John Wolff on
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I thought I had a perfectly behaved dog until Al was about 2, when he started attacking other dogs without provocation. Often, there would be a ball or something involved, but a number of cases were utterly unprovoked. Sometimes he might have been guarding the ball; but a couple times it looked more like unprovoked bullying. It's always a dog his size or larger. He has not drawn blood, but the attacks are quite impressive and look nasty. My perfect little guy, a monster.
I do not understand the behavior, so it's hard to do anything about it. Our breeder said that he must be on a short leash with other dogs, I must watch him carefully and not give him an opportunity to fail. So I am always, always on the lookout for this. He has no tail to signal body language, and I've never seen his hackles rise, but he does curl a lip (hard to see 'cause he's below, facing away). At least now, he usually snarls a bit before striking. It can happen almost without warning. I have to be alert for this possibility all the time.
Again, it took me by surprise because it did not appear until about his second year.
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Permalink Reply by Geri & Sidney on
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Now that you mention it, John, the same thing happens with Sidney. It started when he was three. Like Al, it's always bigger dogs and typically unprovoked. As soon as the bigger dog sniffs at his hind end ...SNARK! He snaps at the bigger dog's face. Also like Al, he's never drawn blood but it looks scary. His trainer says he's "reactive" and he's communicating with the other dogs, basically telling them 'back off, I don't want you near me". So now I keep our distance from bigger dogs, and if we have a friendly meeting, he gets plenty of praise. He's getting better about it, but I am always watchful and vigilant around other dogs.
This started just after his hip surgery, so it could be he's protecting his sore joints.He's also been attacked four times by loose big dogs in our neighborhood, so it could be he's been traumatized.
Or it could be it's just the way he is.
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Wynn used to do this with bigger dogs too. I finally figured out that with him ( 2nd or 3rd time) that after it happened once I was nervous and "on guard". Once I "convinced myself" to not be so worried I must have sent the right message as Wynn no longer does this. Could I have added to the problem? I think I did.
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