Category: Animal House
Hi! i was just wondering if anyone has ever come across an agressive guide dog before? Along with that, I was also wondering if anyone here has ever been chased or bitten by a dog and how you handled it?
I want to get a gd, but I'm afraid it'll turn on me without warning one day.
Let's just say I have a fear of dogs. I've only trusted a few dogs in my time. One was my own, a dog named Lady. Another one is my best friend's Golden retreiver, Kurbi as well as my friend's dog, Emily who is also a golden.
I have been chased by a dog before, twice.
My favorite breed of dogs are Brittneys, Golden retrievers and Saint Bernard’s. Yes, Beethoven was a household name or movie in our house. Along with 101 cute Dalmatians. LOL!
Anyway, every dog site I’ve been to talks about dogs communicating via body language. Have any of you out there had trouble communicating with dogs due to not being able to see their body language?
Let's just say mobility lessons outside for me were a struggle because my greatest fear was being chased or attacked by a dog. That fear actually came true seven years ago. I was on a mobility lesson when a small dog came after me out of nowhere. I’m sorry to say I panicked back then. I did what you’re not supposed to do and ran. Fortunately, the dog didn’t’ bite me, but he did chase me for a block and a half. The ironic thing is, I never figured out why he had come after me in the first place. I hadn’t been running before I heard him growling behind me, so I don’t know what he could have found interesting. Maybe it was the tapping sound of my cane.
Some people call my fear stupid, even immature, but I honestly don’t see it that way. The reason is, I know dogs communicate via body language, I don't know if I'm making eye contact with a dog or not and i don’t' want him or her getting the wrong message from me.
Over the holidays, my Dad and i were taking a walk and we were actually chased by a dog. We weren't even in his yard. We were just walking by. The dog started barking at us when we were a little ways away. I actually could sense something wasn't right, but my Dad insisted it was fine. I asked my Dad if the dog in question was behind a fence or on a lead. He told me no and insisted once again that it was fine. No sooner had I forewarned him, the dog came after us. I’ll admit I freaked out a little at first, but I managed to stay still this time around.
Fortunately, the dog lost interest after a minute or so and left. I was still shaken from the experience even after we passed the house on our way back.
Any advice or stories would be helpful.
First, I don't think your fear of dogs is stupid. I have a sighted friend who fears them too, from bad experiences. What I don't understand is why you want a guide dog, if you are so frightened of dogs in general? What is it that makes you want the very thing you say you are so afraid of?
I have never in my life heard of a guide dog turning on its owner. The only possible way I could even begin to see that happening is if the dog were mistreated or abused in some major way. As far as aggression in guide dogs go, that's fairly rare. If a dog shows any aggression during any point of its training, it is taken out of the program and not allowed to become a guide dog. After the handler has the dog, it's up to them to see that it behaves properly. But if there ever was any unprovoked aggression, that's when a harsh correction is in order, or if it continues, you call in the school for help.
Yes, it's true that often communicate with dogs through body language, but that doesn't mean you have to see it. Things like how a dog is holding its tail, or ears, head, etc will tell you a lot. And, it's amazing what cues you can pick up on while they're in harness. It takes practice, and it's not easy right away, but as you and the dog get to know each other, it works out.
But the bottom line is: I still have no idea why you want a dog if you are so afraid of them. How can you be a good handler if you're terrified of the very thing you need to trust?
I want to overcome it. I've trusted dogs in the past, but very few. And since Guide Dogs are very well trained and bred well, I have a better chance of overcoming it with one of those than I do with a regular dog.
its just my opinion but I don't think you should get a guidedog until you are completely over your fear. dogs can since fear easily and that makes them nervis edgey or afraid of you. over all not a good combination. a scared person with a worked up dog. also when you get a guide dog it will be a young playful dog my dog jumps on me and chases me around sometimes just to play or cause she's happy to see me. she's not a robot she runs like a crazy dog and plays and jumps so. yeah. I don't think this is the best idea for you right now but its just my opinion. doesn't matter. really
and they know when you don't trust them. Your apprehension will go directly from your arm down the leash and into that harness handle. You have to show the dog through your body language and your demeanor that you are the pack leader. It's a two-way street. You trust them, they will trust you, and vice versa.
fear of dogs is common; you are not alone on that score.
Agressive guide dogs are rare and the reality is that dogs turning on their owners unprovoked is incredibly rare as well - even pet dogs.
It would be possible for you to learn to trust and develop a relationship with your own dog, however when you have a guide dog you do then need to take other dogs into account. It's not uncommon for other off-lead dogs to come running to see an in-harnass guide dog, and not all dogs that do that want to play, and even the ones that do can be boisteress and hard to shake off if their owners don't have full control over them. If your fear of dogs is that great you run the risk of transferring that fear on to a guide dog and teaching it to either be afraid of or agressive towards other dogs.
Bad idea IMHO.
Agreed with everyone else here. Getting a guidedog simply to get over your fear of dogs is not a good idea. As others have said, dogs are incredibly sensitive to your emotions. When I was nervous about something, my dog would react to it. When I was angry, he sensed that, too. I personally think that if you get a dog now, feeling the way you do, it won't work out. But again, that's just my opinion. If you're going to look into this, be up front with the schools you talk to. Tell them the same things you have posted to us. They are the ones who would know best about this situation.
While getting a guide dog might not be best right now, it may help you to get over your fear if you spend time with dogs in controlled environments. Perhaps, you and a friend can dog sit together so that if something goes wrong, your friend could help you. See if you could find an ad about a friendly dog who needs to be watched for a few hours. Older ones tend to be calmer and a bit slower, so you may want to see about those. Maybe, you could spend time with the dogs of your friends or volunteer in an animal shelter/ask if you could just go and see a dog or two. Take small steps before the big one. And remember, neither you nor your fear are stupid.
Hi. I've dog sat with my friend Kim before and she's totally blind. Kurbi is an awesome dog and it went well. I'll take the shelter into consideration.
Thanks!
To the original poster, I completely understand your fear of dogs. If I am guessing correctly, you're more afraid of them when their owner isn't present, am I right?
I, too was chased as a boy, though my response was to run, climb a tree and begin throwing those green hard pine cones at it to drive it off. It left, I came down, and told nobody about it, but yes, your fear, especially of an unmanaged dog, is relevant.
Consider that anytime someone is mauled by a dog, the pro-doggie people come out and re-victimize the person who got mauled, minimize the impact, and claim there are no bad dogs, so it is in fact very easy to become fully disenfranchised with the whole thing.
I, too, have never heard of a guide dog turning on its owner. But others are right: it's the stray or unmanaged animal that comes barking and growling at your dog that is the problem. I agree with other people here, getting a guide isn't a wise choice. You're going to be its pack leader and thus it will depend on you not to show fear in volatile situations. It is only an animal, and thus cannot be expected to take your past situations into account.
And as far as I am concerned, the attitudes of the pro-doggy, PETA, Animal Liberation Front or whatever other groups that minimize victims, claim there is no bad dog, or whatever the case may be, do everything they possibly can to maintain a state of distrust in the general public about unmanaged animals, and the relief their victims may expect.
Ironically, many of their victims are other dogs, which illuminates the incredible logical fallacy of these people's methods. And, by definition, if there is no bad dog, there must not be a good one either; not if it's all up to the owner. And if that is the case, such animals are not to be trusted: that is the logical outcome of their argument.
Anyway your fear of dogs, especially unmanaged dogs, is not only common, but in light of the current political climate can be said to be rational.
Just remember, if you get a guide, it has had the aggression bred out of it, and while it may serve as your eyes, it has every reason to consider you its protector. You are its leader, so you will have to never show fear in its presence, or it, too will have reason to become afraid.
Gotcha. I want to overcome this so I can get a guide dog. And what does the political climate have to do with this?
My dog, Princess, is a Pit Bull/Boxer mix, and perhaps one of the most well-behaved dogs I've ever known. However, I've known her to growl at little kids, because they provoked her. My nephews sat on her head, drug her down to the ground by putting her in head locks, and hit her. They are 1 and 2 years old, and didn't know any better, and are still learning. Even then, she didn't bite them. My point is, most dogs won't act agressively unless provoked, and the ones that do were either trained that way, or just need to be humanely euthanized. With a little work, I know you can get over your fear.
Do you think spending time at the shelter around dogs or one that has been through temprement tests will help me?
That and / or spending time with people you know and trust who own and manage their dogs well. Try and remember most well-behaved dogs, like most well-behaved anything else, go unnoticed by fearful and confident people alike. The aggressors are by far not the majority.
I completely agree with everything that has been said...especially Leo's last post. right on!!
aLauren. Good luck. hugs. i used to be not used to dogs. before. i got my cerent.guidedog mya. we'bebeen a team. since 2009. and it worked fine 4 me. smile.
Thanks! I'll keep you guys posted, no pun intended. GOL!
I've actually known some people that have agressive guide dogs. You are not a good person to own one if you are afraid of them. Dogs need controling, so if you are not up to that task it be a really difficult relationship. No, the dogs I knew weren't agressive to the masters, but would and were protective. Dogs growl and such. They bark, and being scared of them gives them no control at all. For your sake stick to a different method.
But if I actually can overcome it, I think having one would be a good thing.
that's a different scenario altogether, though; I think that's what most replies are trying to get you to understand. owning a guide dog for the sake of overcoming your fear is a bad idea, but getting one after you're confident/secure in dogs/your abilities would be fine.
if you truly wanna overcome said fear, spend time with people you trust who have dogs. I can't stress enough that dogs sense when a person is scared...so it'll definitely take work on your end, but you can certainly change things for the better.
Definitely.
So go help out at your local humaine society. You can pet dogs, brush them and generally get use to them with supervised help around. Maybe you get snapped, growled at, or whatever, but you'll learn its not the end of the world. Smile.
i'm terrified of german shepherds. when i was a five year old, a retired police dog sort of attacked me. well, i was this tiny little fat blind kid, but wendy must have used all that police training to detect some latent criminal tendencies in me. i was walking down the sidewalk and she barged out her front door, jumped over a retaining wall and landed on me. knocked my fat butt on the ground and stood over me slobbering and growling. her daddy or whatever called her off, but I am very leery about this breed. in fact i never even thought of a guide dog because back in my ancient youth when dinosaurs freely roamed over the earth i was told that gsds were the only dog that could guide people. even when i knew better. i thought all schools had them as a choice. so, when i got my sarabelle you can be sure i went to a school which does not use gsds.
Aloha! I'll bet Sarabelle is awesome! Thanks for your story.
A well trained GSD is ten times safer than a poorly trained lab. There are no such things as bad dogs. There are no such things as good dogs. They are dogs, just dogs, in their natural behavioral patterns and ways. You are not stupid for being afraid of dogs, and your fear is not stupid, but getting a guide dog, at least for now, and maybe ever, would be a stupid move. Socializing with some well-behaved dogs is a great idea, but for god's sake not at a shelter where the dogs are unknown, untrained and unpredictable. That's a good way to freak out, get bitten and then that dog gets put to sleep for biting, when it was your fear and insecurity that pushed it over the edge. I would start with well trained pet dogs and guide dogs if you know any to visit with. It's really a shame that so many people still have stigmas about GSDs, as for some people in some situations they are the best guide dogs ever and all of those schools who have cut them out completely are ignorant and short sighted. GSDs aren't for everyone, and so offering goldens, shepherds, labs and other breeds is great, but cutting out any one breed is very limiting and unfortunate.
Gotcha.
I know someone who was terrified of dogs in the past. She now has a small dog as a pet and seems to have no regrets. So the fear can definitely be overcome, as long as you take baby steps, as others have said.
Good points already made, just try to keep in mind that growling/barking doesn't automatically mean aggression, or that the dog is ready to attack you. And chasing is a form of play.
My guide dog growls when she plays, and to someone unaccustomed to hearing her, it does sound fierce.
I had a fear of dogs as a young child, because no one explained dog behavior to me, so I assumed that a dog leaping up and chasing was something to fear. I think it's a good idea to spend time with calm dogs, which was how I was able to overcome my fear. It's a good suggestion to spend time with older dogs, if you have friends who have them. Younger dogs are like young children, energetic and playful.
Mahalo for the advice.
Best of success with overcoming your fear! I myself am a bit leery of dogs...not terrified exactly, but a bit skittish and such. I think the gbest thing for you to do is to spend time with calm dogs. I've actually become a bit less afraid of dogs, 'cause my boyfriend has a really nice, calm lab for his guide dog. Spending time with Ezra has definitely helped me be less leery. Doesn't mean I want to get a guide; I'm just more of a cat person. Lol. I'm slowly getting used to dogs, though, and that's of the good. Again, I wish you luck. Any fear can be overcome, given time and small steps.
If a dog that is in a guide dog training program shows any signs of agression, he/she is removed from the program. A person going to a guide dog school will never be given an agressive dog. If a dog shows agression later while the team is working, it is that person's responsibility to notify the school so that they can either work on the problem or retire the dog. I have never been chased or bit by a dog, but I know people that have and it was usually their dog that got bit and not the person. You are not stupid or immature for being afraid of dogs though. Its cool that you have friends with dogs you trust. That should help you to get used to being around them. If you're going to the NFB convention, there's going to be a seminar with the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF GUIDE DOG USERS (NAGDU) that you can talk to and answer any questions you might have about guide dogs. I will be there. :)
A lot of these posters are correct, you aren't stupid for being afraide of dogs. There have been many times where I'm working my guide dogs, and dogs run up to us. I usally try to keep my dog moving, and tell the dog to go away firmly. It doesn't always work, but eventually, the dog goes away. Good luck with getting over your fear.
Another misplaced behavior is when dogs are trying to hump or mount. Obviously you don't want that, but as a boy, I misinterpreted that as a kill stance, and when I found out what it was, was too embarrassed to come clean with what I felt was really going on.
I too can't really tell the difference between their so called friendly or play growls and barks and the threatening one. People have always described it in terms of the animal's stance and position when they're doing this, / crouched ready to spring, or fur standing up, things we would not know without making some form of approach.
They are genetically-engineered wolves, all of them, no more and no less.
Yes, they are that. I get asked all the time, why'd your dog do that, why'd your dog do that? Does your dog bite? My answer is, he has teeth, and he's a dog. Dog's aren't perfect, and I'm amazed at how many people think their supposed to be. When I'm playing with my dog, I never forget he can hurt me, even if he's playing. I never do anything to make him feel he's dominant. I'm always on alert, and he knows I'm leader and respects me for it.
When I was little I used to be afraid of dogs. When I was 8, we got a toy poodle named Cocoa. Since we got him I was never afraid of dogs. We had to put him to sleep last year at the age of 16. So I know you will be able to overcome your fear and get a guide dog!
My next door neighbor has one of those. sorry for your loss.
I, too, used to be afraid of dogs as a child, especially big ones. I think it had to do in part with the fact that wen I was quite tiny, at the age when I was supposed to be learning to walk in fact, my parents had a dog, a Beagle I believe, named Pete. I realize now that he probably wasn't as big as I remember him being, but I imagine almost any animal might seem big to a very small child. But the only solid memories I have of him are fur, and lots of it, and tongue. And he always felt like he had more than one tongue in that head of his LOL. He was a sweet dog but rather too exuberant in his affection, particularly when it came to me. Anytime I'd so much as get up he'd run over, knock me down and start licking my face. So I was afraid of bigger dogs for a while. I don't remember exactly when I started to overcome that.
i have to agree with a lot of the posters on here you are not being stupid because of having a fear but the suggestions that have been given to you are good ones.
I had a german sherphard guide dog and he at times acted like he was a guard dog and i had to give him up in the end as he became to aggressive towards others and we didn't want any thing serious to happen to any body but he and i were a good match, stress got to him as well as being in a schooling environment didn't help matters.