My Dog is Dog Aggressive

My Dog is Dog Aggressive

Davinia is my dog aggressive dog. There I said it outloud for the world to see. Davinia is the best most loving dog you will ever meet but she is dog aggressive towards white dogs (shhh! don’t tell her that her entire tail and tummy are white). She is opinionated in general but when it comes to white dogs in general she wants no part in that at all. When she was little it was always the little white dogs that were running around our apartment complex without a leash and would come running up to us not listening as their owner would call their name from the other side of the courtyard. It got to the point where when the little white dogs would come running over and the owner instead of running after them to retrieve their dog would let them run while they called feebly I began to pick her up. At one point the little dog tried to take a running leap off my leg to get at Davinia.

Needless to say Davinia had no time in her day for little white dogs and wasn’t too fond of big white dogs either and continued to grow into other dog colors and breeds.

When we moved to Hong Kong over the course of a few months and RESPONSIBLE dog owners Davinia’s dog aggression was practly cured and we were friends with all the dogs that hung out in the park in front of our apartment. It didn’t matter if it was the old lady Shih Tzu or the young Samyoed or the neighbors beagle puppyt that tried to chew on her ears when they hung out together she was happy and tolerant. It was like she was a new dog. Discovery Bay, Hong Kong really suited her. Unfortunately our time in Hong Kong came to an end and we came back to the US.







Things were good with her dog aggression issues for a while that was until she was viciously attacked to the point that she spent days fighting for her life at the Emergency Vet. It was two white dogs that attacked her and that was the end. Davinia is dog aggressive towards white dogs especially when I am with her. She thinks it is her job to protect me and keep me safe and I can’t change her mind about that. If a white dog so much as looks her way it sets her off and she goes nuts. Which means I get all sorts of looks and people telling me to train my dog and that I spoil her and she is acting out.

No Davinia has no use for that dog in her life and is letting you know in no uncertain terms to back the heck away she is not interested in playing. We do go out and about but only in very controlled situations. We go to the dog park when it is as empty as possible and if a big white dog happens to show up we leave. It has nothing to do with their size or breed it has to do with me trying to keep Davinia safe. Davinia will bark and growl and I don’t know if that will set your dog off a dog that is 3 – 5 times her size and could hurt her. It is not worth it to me and you. So instead of the dirty looks or the talking under your breath take a minute to think about it and realize it is not you or your dog and no it is not my dog being untrained. My dog is dog aggressive and I am trying to avoid a potentially dangerous situation.

In my opinion Davinia has the right to make her own judgement calls about your dog. Sure I wish that she did that in a less frantic, less aggressive, less out of control way but how would you react to something that scares you and reminds you of a really horrible time in your life? Now add the desire to protect someone else during that situation and you might understand why Davinia and countless other dogs like her act the way they do.

My dog is Dog Aggressive and at this point instead of trying to fix her as if she did something bad I do my best to keep her out of situations that would trigger the behavior.

We want to thank our friend Oz the Terrier for saying it is time to stop hiding this issue like it is a dirty little secret but instead to come out and share our story. If you have a reactive dog – one that reacts to any number of outside stimuli we highly suggest you join his facebook group called Woof Support so that you see you are not alone. If you are a Blogger there is a monthly Blog Hop to share your story and feel connected to others in a similar situation.