Dog bitten by other dogs and traumatized?

Question

My two bichon frise mix dogs were attacked five days ago by two 90-lb. golden retriever/Australian shepherd dogs. One of my pups was severely bitten in three spots. She is recovering physically, but is extremely traumatized. She is hiding behind furniture and in closets, coming out only for food and water. Today she snapped at her mate when he came too close for comfort. How do I deal with this obviously frightened, hypersensitive dog? FYI: she has always been nervous and a little high-strung, but also playful and loving. I think she is still is quite a bit of pain from the attack. Thanks to anyone who has suggestions.

Answer 1

It is still early in her recovery. I would give her some time I mean if it were a person who had been attacked they would still be nervous. I would also keep the other dog away from her for a bit so she can calm down. When you are with her make sure you talk softly and move slowly and gently. As long as she is healing and there is no other problem, all I can suggest is time.

Answer 2

I hope your poor dogs will be ok. Is she on pain killers from the vet? If she has severe bites I'm sure she is. A dog who is in pain is often going to bite - and until she's feeling better, you have to treat her very gently and be patient. You might want to separate them when you see that your other dog is stressing her.

I don't think you can do much at this point except give her lots of love, talk softly to her to comfort her, sit with her and be patient. She's been through a horrible experience and will take time to recover. That's what it's going to take - time.

For a few days, I'd let her hide if that's how she's most comfortable, but then you need to try and coax her out to be with you because you don't want her to stay this way. You have to be the judge of when she's ready to be coaxed back to normal behaviour. Good luck with her recovery!

Answer 3

Your dog is going through a state of shock. While you need to be living and make sure she knows you're there, you need to give her some space. Don't try to hard to help. I know how hard that's going to be, but she trying to get over the shock of being viciously bitten by 2 dogs way bigger than she is. Never shut her up in a room, always leave doors open with a great view of the next room, that way she can see anything coming in advance. Always let her see you are coming a while off. And don't come straight at her or stoop down and look her in the eye! Those are both body signals that mean"I'm going to fight you". Hope your dog gets better as soon as possible.

Answer 4

Your dog is still recovering and may stay where its quiet and calm for a few more days. Be patient and loving. And carry on as usual other wise. You can sit quietly by her and if she attempts to come out, gently pet and talk to her in a soothing voice. No sudden moves. Etc....if she doesn't improve within an week I would take her back to the vet for further investigation. She may have something more going on... She is dealing with Doggie PTSD...If she is in pain..the vet can give you something to help with that.

Some dogs attack for all sorts of reasons...mostly they think the other dog is in their territory etc....If they aren't fixed...it can be a lot worse....un-neutered or spayed dogs can be very territorial....

Answer 5

get your puppy around friendly dogs don't keep her away from other dogs cuz then she'll be aggressive around other dogs i suggest to take her daily 30 min walks and play some ball but you always must show it's your house not hers then she'll walk all over you ooh and buy some of the callers that go high up on the neck like the show dogs have. You could watch The Dog Whisperer on The National Geographic Channel (he also has books you could read) =)

Answer 6

The only risk-free means i can see doing that is with a muzzle and with a reputable animal behaviorist assisting you. Another means could be too dangerous for your woman and any individual else too almost her. I might hate to peer you take the advice of anyone on the net, go at it on my own, and turn out to be in a tragic problem. If you shouldn't have the money for a respectable, then i might start saving and in the meantime maintain the muzzle on when different puppies will be around. For her safeguard as well as different dogs. Edit to add: If the class is geared specially to socialization, and you have talked to the trainers there principally about your canine's issue, admitting that she has attempted to chunk different dogs before, and they're comfortable with letting this kind of canine into one in all their classes, that would be a just right route to go. Nevertheless, I are not able to see a training 'center' being comfy (legal responsibility-shrewd) with allowing a biting canine into a category, with or sans muzzle. Nor would I anticipate different owners within the class being to thrilled when they have an understanding of a biting dog is in a category with their precious doggies who are still studying their manners. Which would be effortlessly apparent when your dog enters with a muzzle, it might be a rough factor to maintain secret. Plus your dog would not need exposure to more misbehaving pups who still need to study play manners, he needs optimistic experiences with accurately socialized puppies who will not be put off by a frightened aggressive canine like Sasha, but be adequately submissive and comprehend when to again off. A greater answer could be to ask if the core has personal lessons with a trainer inclined to deliver of their own dog to work one on one with yours, then graduate to a socialization classification as Sasha becomes extra positive.

Answer 7

Ouch - if that happened to me, I'd be hiding behind chairs, too! Just give her some time to readjust - but don't let her hole herself up, that could lead to problems. She herself could become the agressor. I know that she is frightened and may not want you to really handle her, you should. Don't irritate her, but make a point of petting her, carrying her around, coax her to play with toys or something, talk to her! Try to act like nothing tramautic happened - even though it did...she will be a bit snappy to her mate b/c she recently had a bad experience with other dogs and she feels vulnerable. I wish you luck!

Answer 8

It breaks my heart to hear of this incident. Dogs are no different from human. I guess the fear is still in them. The only way I guess is to give it some time and hope they will get over it. Imagine them as children in the same situation. Just give them time.. and all the best to you and your two bichons.

Answer 9

before the attack happened had either of them ever had contact with other dogs like at a park for dogs? Most of the time the only way one dog would do something so awful is because they know the dogs affraid of other dogs being around.

Answer 10

What did your bichon mixes do to the retriever/austrailian shepherds to provoke the attack? Dogs don't just attack for the h*ll of it. Bichons are nasty little ankle biters and nine times out of ten instigate the attack. One lives across the street from me and has tried to get into fights with my 90-pound Akita constantly.