Neighbour's Dalmation

[JoM]

I'm not sure if I've mentioned him before, I may well have done Long story short, a family moved into the house two doors down from us around Easter and have a Dalmation who is a month older than Billy. Poor thing really does have problems. I run into the woman who lives there quite a lot and she was saying that he was fine at their old house but they put him into kennels whilst they moved and the people from the kennels picked him up from home and since then he's had a total distrust of strangers and a dislike of other dogs, in fact he's got a distrust of anyone who goes to their door, stranger or not. When you walk past their house he launches himself at the front window, barking. They've tried meds from the vet to try and calm him down and have also seen a dog behaviourist but nothing has really worked.
I saw her a few weeks ago when I was walking back from the gym and she was walking him. He seemed happy enough, I was talking to him and I went to give his head a tickle and he snapped at my hand. The lady was so apologetic and I was trying to reassure her that there was no harm done, I do feel sorry for her as they're doing everything they can to try and stop this behaviour.

So...this morning John and I were taking Billy over the common, we walked past their house and there was the usual commotion at the window - barking, banging, blinds flying all over the place - and just as we got between their house and the one next to them, he was out of the house He was running around us, barking, growling and snapping. The woman and her daughter were out trying to catch him, and he was running into the road whilst circling us - thankfully the close is pretty quite traffic wise now the sales office has closed. Billy was on his back legs and had reared up against me so I was holding him, maybe not a wise move, as Billy was who he was after, but it was an instinctive one to protect him. It probably took a minute for him to be caught and taken in. We stood talking to the woman and her daughter afterwards and they were giving Billy lots of fusses which he lapped up, I do feel for them because he's been part of their family for nearly 2 years and they're really at the end of their tether as to what to do next

Billy's got a small wound on his leg where the Dalmation must've caught him when he first ran out at him and took us by surprise so we'll keep an eye on that. Apart from that though he's no worse for wear and happily went past their house tonight, it left me and John feeling pretty shaky though!

[Diflower]

Oh how awful, like you I really feel for the people they must be feeling dreadful
They sound nice, and have done nothing wrong, but what can they do now

It's horrid when your dog gets attacked, don't know if you remember the dog from the plant nursery at the fields had a go at Minnie, one of the other dog-walking friends waded in but it left Minnie quite shaken up, and me too
Dalmations aren't generally aggressive, so there may still be a cure, but it seems they've already tried

[debih]

That's horrible Jo. Poor Billie.

Maybe they could try a dog psychologist. There seems to be plenty around now.

[Ally]

Poor Billy..and yourselves too Jo.

I would be a total jibbering wreck if a dog came barking round me.

[Kaz]

Sounds as though he might have been mistreated in some way at the kennels, if he was ok before The kennel people came to the door, took him away, and then something horrid happened - and he's determined to stop it happening again.......Or it may be that it triggered terrible separation anxiety......

Poor dog, and poor everyone else, especially the owners Hope Billy is ok, you and John too xxxxx

Pepper barks madly when anyone comes to the door, or even goes past, but that's all she does do, and it's typical terrier behaviour........If she was snapping I don't know what we would do I hope they can sort this, Dalmations are large dogs and if he actually bites someone that might be the end of things

[miasmum]

Dalmatians might not be aggressive but they are extremely highly strung dogs, they are also very intelligent.

I don't think he was ill treated at the kennels, I think he was in the only home he knew, was picked up by the kennel people, put in a kennel and they went back to somewhere totally different. No wonder he is screwed up.

I think he needs some doggy behaviour treatment, but I don't think this will be quick or cheap sadly.

I have never had a barker and couldn't cope with a dog that barked every time someone went past, it would drive me nuts

[meriad]

Poor dog and poor owners.

I wonder if they can try something quite radical - ie take him back to a kennel, leave him there for a bit (and I'm only talking an hour or so, no more) and then back home and keep repeating that until he realises that what happened is OK, he WILL come home again and also with each time, just extending the kennelling time by an hour?

It's basically working on the principal of separation anxiety; cannot remember which programme it was but it was US based where a couple had a huge problem with their dog suffering from separation anxiety and everytime they left the house this dog would go mad; howl and bark and destroy what could be destroyed. They then were told to leave the house, but for no longer than 10 minutes and come back in and do that a few times; and gradually extending the time they were away. The dog soon did twig on that it was OK and they were going to come back and after about 5 mins or so of barking he'd settle and sleep. No more howling / destroying things.

You'd have to speak to the behaviourist to see if this kind of approach would work in this instance as well, and make sure you have a very understanding kennel but it could be worth a go?

[Kaz]

Shell I did mention separation anxiety as possibly being the cause too - hopefully it is 'just' that as I'd hate to think he was mistreated It was just me running through the possibilities in my head and 'thinking out loud'

Ria has some great suggestions there - I suppose the bottom line is how much time, effort and money they are prepared to invest to sort this out, as obviously they can't go on with the dog as he is

I feel very sorry for those poor owners, what a rotten situation to be in

[JoM]

That sounds like quite a good idea Ria, I think I'll try and bring that into the conversation next time I speak to the lady.

Billy howls and barks when we go out, not when we all go out together - he's fine with that - but when one of us goes out alone. I wonder if it's because he feels he's our protector and if we're all together we'll be okay and can look out for each other but one of us going astray worries him.

[Diflower]

That may well be it Jo, and I'm not sure what you could do about it Presumably he's part collie and it's that herding instinct.
Minnie - I know it's boring - having always been the perfect dog, more or less, misses each of us but doesn't get distressed.