Our landlord is also our next door neighbor. They farm, and we rent the small house next door to theirs. Last year they rescued a young dog, which has turned out to be unpredictable. The first day they had it home they didn't leash it all the time. When she was off leash, she killed a hen. She did it again, as well, another time. She is off leash a lot, not in a fenced-in area. She is a fine friend for their other, barky and untrained but sweet and predictable dog. A male. My girls play with him all the time, and he is very trustworthy. Just barky.
Now, here is the problem. This younger dog is pretty much not trained at all - no voice control, no leash control, and she runs pretty much wherever she wants when they are not watching her. She has almost bitten me once when I was getting out of my car. She was on a leash but had free access to our parking area. She barked at me angrily, uncertainly, and I foolishly took a step toward her and she lunged. The other dog instantly wedged his body between us as I stepped back. No harm and I remembered a very important lesson!
She does bark a lot at us when we leave our house and approach our cars if she is leashed or sometimes in her pen.
Now yesterday, my 3yo went out on the front stoop to wait for her older sister to join her and play. The second dd2 went out and shut the screen door, I hear dogs running up the wooden stairs that lead down to our parking area from our front yard, and come up to our yard. I hear lots of barking and 3yo screams as only a very little, very scared person can: loudly and at the highest register. I run outside when I hear the dogs barking and the scream. Both dogs are out there barking but Sunny - the female - has her angry face on and her hackles up. I step onto the porch, order 3yo into the house, and firmly tell Sunny to back off and go home. She ignores me, hackles still up and barking with teeth showing. The male responds to me, though, and when he turns around and stops barking, she stops too.
At this point my landlord comes out of her house (probably after hearing the extreme barking) and sweetly calls "Sunny, come here. Suuuuunnnny..... Treats! Treats!" Which of course just reinforced all the bad things her dog just did...
My 3yo did nothing or said nothing except walk out the door. She didn't even see the dogs until they were running up the stairs. No one was hurt.
That night DP comes home, I tell him what happened, and he spoke to the other landlord - the husband. But he was not concerned, just said that she is like that and barks whenever the male barks. DP patiently and firmly explained that hackles up is aggressive behavior, not just barking. Landlord did not get it.
That was aggressive, right? I have cause to worry, right?
Why in the world would she and the other dog run up to our yard out of the blue and challenge my dd?
Now, here is the problem. This younger dog is pretty much not trained at all - no voice control, no leash control, and she runs pretty much wherever she wants when they are not watching her. She has almost bitten me once when I was getting out of my car. She was on a leash but had free access to our parking area. She barked at me angrily, uncertainly, and I foolishly took a step toward her and she lunged. The other dog instantly wedged his body between us as I stepped back. No harm and I remembered a very important lesson!
She does bark a lot at us when we leave our house and approach our cars if she is leashed or sometimes in her pen.
Now yesterday, my 3yo went out on the front stoop to wait for her older sister to join her and play. The second dd2 went out and shut the screen door, I hear dogs running up the wooden stairs that lead down to our parking area from our front yard, and come up to our yard. I hear lots of barking and 3yo screams as only a very little, very scared person can: loudly and at the highest register. I run outside when I hear the dogs barking and the scream. Both dogs are out there barking but Sunny - the female - has her angry face on and her hackles up. I step onto the porch, order 3yo into the house, and firmly tell Sunny to back off and go home. She ignores me, hackles still up and barking with teeth showing. The male responds to me, though, and when he turns around and stops barking, she stops too.
At this point my landlord comes out of her house (probably after hearing the extreme barking) and sweetly calls "Sunny, come here. Suuuuunnnny..... Treats! Treats!" Which of course just reinforced all the bad things her dog just did...
My 3yo did nothing or said nothing except walk out the door. She didn't even see the dogs until they were running up the stairs. No one was hurt.
That night DP comes home, I tell him what happened, and he spoke to the other landlord - the husband. But he was not concerned, just said that she is like that and barks whenever the male barks. DP patiently and firmly explained that hackles up is aggressive behavior, not just barking. Landlord did not get it.
That was aggressive, right? I have cause to worry, right?
Why in the world would she and the other dog run up to our yard out of the blue and challenge my dd?
