Santa

Zac escaped tonight. He was only out for about 10 seconds and came straight back when I called him but in the meantime my nasty neighbours saw him. He got out once before, 10 months ago, and they were fuming (not Doberman fans) and said if they saw him out again, they'd call the police. So, sure enough, tonight they called the police.
As it happens, the police were very nice and they understood that my neighbour was just being a bit of a cow, but Zac made things a whole lot worse - I brought the police over to meet him, to show them how UN-dangerous he is, and he went for the police!
I was holding onto him so it was fine, no damage done, not even a scratch, but it completely ruined my description of him as a soft and gentle dog. He NEVER goes for anyone, is completely soppy with strangers - and just to compound his misdemeanours, the whole time I was out there talking to the police, he was jumping against the door, barking, even growling!
He's fine now they've gone, all I can assume is that the uniforms freak him out.
Does anyone have any ideas what I can do about this? I can't have him terrorising policemen!

DobeSpell

When we have police over, king goes to another room. You don't want to mess with them .
There was one woman, police officer, who hugged and kissed King and he was OK with her, but not with a man other time. I think that policeman was afraid of dog and King felt that and barked.
We’re not taking any chances anymore. It's easy enough to prevent the contact.

Santa

Well I certainly know to keep him away from them now - the point of introducing them was to show how friendly he is, and he is! He has never reacted to anyone like that before. Keeping him away from them also doesn't help them to see that he's friendly
Is it worth going to the local station and explaining that he seems to be scared of their uniforms and asking if someone in their dog department can work with him on it?

Quita

What did the policeman say when your dog reacted in that way? I wouldn't contact the same police department and ask them if you can work your dog around them. I suggest checking your local events and see when the police, fire department, EMT workers, etc. are supporting local outdoor events. Maybe they are having fund raising activities, demonstrations, etc. Find local fairs and other events where you typically see uniformed people walking around. Then I suggest taking your dog out to these events and practice training while you are there. Take tons of your dog's MOST FAVORITE treats and do some obedience work. If people walk by at act interested in your dog, assuming he's behaving himself, you can let them feed him, give him treats, pet him, etc. Then when you see people in uniform walking around, do the same. If they seem friendly, give you a smile, etc., tell them that you want your dog to see that all people in uniforms are friendly. See if the person will give your dog a treat. Do this ONLY if your dog is well behaved. If your dog acts a bit nervous in crowds on a leash and not aggressive, I'd first work on just getting him used to being in the environment. Don't ask people to approaach, pet, feed him. Just walk him around, do some obedience work, and get him comfortable. Once he's very, very comfortable around a lot of different types of people, then let him get closer, let him say hello, let people approach him, etc. If you are not sure how your dog will react in such a situation, you might want to do some one-on-one sessions with a trainer who is used to dealing with such issues. You might find that your dog is perfectly fine away from home. In his own home, however, he might be a bit overly protective. If this is the case, I'd just make sure he's used to having lots of people come over... friends, family, etc. It could also be that the person was a bit scared of your dog. Dogs can TOTALLY sense that. I once had a friend come over in his police uniform, and my dog TOTALLY freaked out... barking and sounding all mean. I later found out that my friend was terrified of dogs. (Luckily, my dog was in his crate when this happend. He doesn't have a mean bone in his body, but something about my friend just set him off. I think it was because he sensed my friend's fear.)

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Santa

Thanks for that, some good advice there. He is comfortable in all kinds of environments and with all kinds of people, at home and away, usually even around those who are scared of him. I take him out to markets and fayres regularly and he's fine, but I will be more pro-active with those in uniform in those situations.

zeus and me

I think your dog senced that you where upset about what happened and what was going on.he knew your stress level was high and related it to the police officer.he knew you felt weak and not in control so he figured you needed back-up. I would get him out and about more often also....but I really think he just felt your stress.

K9Jarko

More then likely it was the "uniform" that set Zac off. As for going to the local station and explaining (why he acted the way he did)....I personally would not do this unless of course the officers wrote something about his reactions to them in their report. As you were a party in this report, you could request a copy from the PD...some PD's charge a nominal fees to obtain a copy of the report. The reason being is because they might not have mentioned his reactions at all in their report and with you going in there and "explaining" something that they (Desk Sgt, Patrol Supervisor, etc) did not even know happened - is definitely not in yours or Zac's best interest and might just put the officers who responded on the spot.

If your local police department has a K-9 unit - then I would attempt to contact that particular officer. Better yet......go visit the local fire department. Firemen (who wear uniforms also) are usually great and very receptive when it comes to the public - they usually have alot more down time in between calls .....unlike most officers who are normally responding to calls for service on a pretty steady basis.

Santa

There won't be a report - the police didn't even take my name, they basically told me my neighbour was just being difficult, but that is a great idea about the firemen - I'm perfectly happy to go and visit them As often as necessary!

DobeSpell

Why do you care they think he's friendly? Don't put your dog under more stress just to show the police he's friendly (dogs don't like uniforms). After all, there is no law saying you have to have a dog that doesn't bark at police.

Just make sure your dog is not out loose and everything will be OK. Btw even if he's friendly doesn't mean he can go around off leash. Here where I am I'd pay penalty regardless of dog's character.

I'd visit your neighbor and apologize and tell them that I understand their fear and that I'll do everything to prevent dog's escape in the future. I'd also invite them to come to my place and meet the dog. Once they know each other they will not panic if they see him again. As a result you may even develop a friendship .

Santa

He doesn't make a habit of going around off-leash at all - some new neighbours have moved in the house behind us and have fallen in love with him, so they invited him over to play, but hadn't secured their gate properly, so he got out by accident. It's also unusual because he's not the escape artist type.
The reason I wanted to show the police he's friendly is that the neighbour (who has a reputation for being difficult about people with dogs and a whole list of official complaints against her daughter for tormenting local dogs and cats! There's no chance of being friends with her, she's a madwoman - on Sunday she went in the street yelling about me because I was mowing my lawn on 'God's day' ) was talking absolute rubbish about this vicious beast who I allow to roam the neighbourhood. Fortunately all the other neighbours have come out against her and I wanted to show the police that he is as friendly as everyone says. I have apologised to her profusely and said I completely agree with her, he shouldn't be allowed out without his leash, there's no argument from me about that, but that just winds her up more because she likes an argument.
Spanish police are not the kind to mess with - there's corruption at all levels (although these two were very nice and professional), so I'd like to make sure he knows how to behave should we come across any more in the future.