Jealous Dogs (again!)
Do you remember in January's issue I told you about the guy I met out walking who, by his own stupidity, caused his dog (a Weimaraner) to attack one of mine out of jealousy? Here's a variation on the theme, but the end result is pretty much the same - On Friday evening I was sitting with a friend in a local pub that welcomes dogs. My friend had his dog with him, which was on a lead that had been tied to the leg of the table. The dog was sitting quietly beside my friend. A man walked in with 2 labradors coupled together on an extremely long lead. It wasn't an extending lead, rather, it was fixed length, but it must have been 15' long. (Imagine bringing two dogs into a busy pub on a 15' lead - if that in itself isn't a recipe for disaster I don't know what is.) He was joined by a woman who the dogs obviously knew well as they were delighted to see her. They were sitting about 10 - 12' from where we were. Later on during the evening the woman came across to make a fuss of my friends' dog. She squatted down beside him and began stroking him gently, all the while cooing at him about how beautiful he is. I expect you know where I'm going with this, don't you? You guessed it, next moment two very angry labradors had traversed the 10 -12' gap between us in a fraction of a second and were hell bent on giving my friend's dog a good hiding. For a few seconds there was absolute pandemonium; snarling, barking, snapping, shouting, drinks flying, people cursing - the full monty. The woman on her knees had been right in the middle of it and one set of snapping jaws had missed her nose by no more than the width of a cigarette paper - she was incredibly lucky not to have been injured. There's no point trying to apportion blame. I simply want to give you yet another illustration of how dogs react when they feel jealous. If they see someone they regard as 'their' human making a fuss over somebody else's dog (especially if it's a really affectionate, loving fuss as opposed to just a cursory pat - which it was in this case) they will erupt. They'll just lash out in a jealous rage, telling the other dog in no uncertain terms to 'clear off'. So please, be aware of your dogs feelings. If it's within sight or earshot of someone else's dog, don't go making a big fuss of the strange dog whilst turning your back on and ignoring your own. Your dog will feel terribly hurt and probably react similarly to the labradors and Weimaraner I've told you about. Recommended reading - "Dog Training Blueprint To Success".
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