[Russell]

hello again as you may know my puppy was attacked on saturday bitten on the leg, it was been checked out and all seems fine i have an antibiotic and pain killer to help him, my question is rex has been very shy and not at himself even with me... should this go away once the pain is gone and the shock?

how long do you think i dont want to put him under any pressure just time to recover etc.

 

[Toby'shuman]

hello again as you may know my puppy was attacked on saturday bitten on the leg, it was been checked out and all seems fine i have an antibiotic and pain killer to help him, my question is rex has been very shy and not at himself even with me... should this go away once the pain is gone and the shock?

how long do you think i dont want to put him under any pressure just time to recover etc.

I am so sorry your pup was attacked, he must have been terrified alongside you I do not doubt.

When my Terrier had a fight with my Dobe he was very nervous and subdued for a few days mostly I think because of the pain he was in and because, well, he had, had the stuffing knocked out of him.
My advice would be to ....

Not rush him.
Be patient.
Be gentle.
Be calm around him, no loud noises, unusual goings on, just normal living.
Be consistent.
Reward any positive response.

If you constantly react to his negative responses then that is likely all you will see.
If he comes to you, praise him, make him feel special for being so big and brave. If he is reacting negatively to something then you can either ignore it (I find this bit a shade too difficult, mainly because I am a big softie and because I know if I was fearful I would want someone to be there for me, so I always try to get him to respond to me positively) or use the old distraction technique, offer a toy or treat to get him to respond positively.

You are the only one who can truly gauge how your pup is, it is so hard for anyone removed to tell you how to react.

Most of all, give him your love and lots of it, when he is healed you can start his socialisation once more but avoid the dog that had hold of him at all costs.

:kiss: Get well soon little one

 

[Russell]

thanks so much yes he only comes to me now and no one else not for love nor money he just sticks to me like glue even when i brought him onto the grass backyard (where he usally goes beserk) he just lay beside me with them big puppy eyes. ive only had him for 5 weeks so i just feel like its back to square one

 

[kwhite30]

My puppy was very close to being attacked (my boyfriend oicked him up just in time. He got bit instead) and it had a similar impact. He was very nervous for a few days and really looked to me to protect him. He now is right back to being fine and happy with all dogs. He's still a little nervous of smaller dogs because that's what attacked him but even with them he is getting used to. It takes time. We just tried to make everyone fun again for him but didn't push him. If he felt uncomfortable we went back inside where felt safe and tried again later then one day he kind of just grew out of it.

I'm so sorry that happened to your pup. I hope he bounces back soon and I hope neither of you have to go through that again. Its a very scary thing.

 

[Beaumont67]

Amy was seconds away from being mauled by 2 GSD's...at a garage, as the pair got out of their fenced back yard (when she was about 10 months old).
Dad became the human shield (that moment), to protect my puppy.
My girl was so happy to see me & take charge...as I offered my arm as baite, to protect Amy from the pair...I stepped up to the plate & stopped the attack, with my confidence presence & voice.

I think that experience, while not as severe (as an actual bite)...bonded us even closer.
But for Amy, it may have turned into a great learning experience (in hind-sight).
When she grew out of puppyhood, she learned to protect and hold her own...with much bigger dogs, weighing 2x her weight.

Then 5 years after our bad puppy experience, she willingly submissed a bigger GSD/Lab mix from biting my wife.
Returning the favor / what I did to keep her safe (risking Dad's presonal injury) - she did the same (risking her personal dog injury...to keep my wife safe from another dog attack).

Life alone & life experiences with a dog, is a journey.
What may not seem good at the time, can make a dog stronger (for us, there was a bright side, to an earleir attack on our dober pup...a life lesson).

OP - play, play & play much with Rex to up his confidence level through training.
Mental stimulation and lots of tug-of-war & he wins the game...and exercises play growling, is always very good.
- dogs don't live in the past or future, they live in the present / build Rex's confidence, in the NOW

 

[Amelia_]

I'm glad to hear he's physically okay! I would really recommend joining a puppy class.

 

[Adara]

I would do as much positive socializing as you can being careful not to go over his threshold. If you have good puppy classes there I'd get him in one ASAP.

Was he like this at all before the attack? My youngest Vizsla was "attacked" but no blood shed thank goodness at about 9 weeks. He is an exremely soft vizsla even for the breed. He screamed for more than 5 minutes after the incident and ti toko him a while to get used to dogs again. However, it did not affect him with people or his behavior at home at all. That would concern me.

 

[Russell]

hey guys came home today tofind the place where he was bitten was swollen up the size of a goose egg so i rushed him to the vet again to check it and they gave him painkillers and an antibiotic and now even as i type this he is slowly coming back to himself poor boy must have been in pain but not openly showing it as i was rubbing his coat just this morning before uni and he just looked at me not a whimper or a groan.

as for puppy classes i wont be bothing as there is a grass mall in my area where i walk rex and it is full of dogs every night of the week all kinds small big and just last week we saw another doberman an old boy, and the good thing is its all on leash dogs no loose leash's are aloud so thats where i started his socilisation so i will restart it there to see how it goes.

also today at the vets he met an identical dog to the one that attacked him and he just acted completely normal with it just like he did before so i assume this is a good thing.

 

[EmilyB]

You can't replace the confidence gained by taking your pup to a good training environment. I also would recommend that. It really enforces the bond between you.