Hey guys, just need to share a scary incident that we went through over the weekend. Kaikoura was 10 weeks on Friday and has been doing very well in terms of her training and socialization. She is in an obedience class, has met many other dogs in our complex and family dogs. We obviously don't want to bring her to any dog parks, but we want to be sure she is around other dogs so she is properly socialized. A bunch of friends have also recently brought dogs into their life (puppies and adult rescue/adoptions). We decided to have a get together with a few of them, to cook out and have a dog party. My friends have a fenced in backyard, so we took the dogs off their leashes and let them play. Along with Kai, there was a puppy who was a mutt her age (they played great the whole time), a 7 month old puppy that was very large, a 5 year old dog and a 3 year old yellow lab. My friends picked up the yellow lab a week ago. All of the other dogs were fine with Kai, but not this lab. He didn't know how to play with puppies. He pinned her down, she cried, we pulled him off and then separated them. They seemed to be warming to each other a bit later, then all of a sudden we hear Kai scream louder than she ever has. He had her pinned down and was going for her neck. We all pulled him off ASAP, she ran inside and of course I ran after her. She continued crying and wouldn't let us touch the area where the lab attacked her. My fiancee and I quickly took her to the emergency hospital. Fortunately there were no puncture wounds and no gushing blood. She had a small cut on her lip from trying to fend off the lab, but it was all bruising on her jaw for the most part. She got pain meds and was in pain the next day and a half. It was incredibly scary and we're still shaken up by the incident. Suffice it to say, we are going to be much more careful about the dogs she plays with off leash until she's much larger. She is a very social dog that loves everyone. I was very worried this would traumatize her, but she doesn't seem to be phased that much. Walking her in our complex, we encounter dogs all of the time, many of which she has made friends with. We saw one of them yesterday (a large black lab). We carefully brought her towards him and she didn't hesitate to run up and hug the dog. She's doing much better, her energy levels and appetite are normal. But very scary and we were completely caught off guard. Yellow labs tend to not be aggressive like that (at least in my experience).

Has anyone had a scary puppy incident in the past like this?

That is pretty scary! We used to have a yellow lab and he wasn't aggressive at all, it makes me wonder what kind of life that dog had before he was adopted...

I'm so glad that she is okay, and doesn't seem to upset by the whole incident! That is very scary, when dogs get into fights cause you want that dog to get away from yours but you don't know how they will react while you try to get them apart. I'm sure that experience was more traumatic for you then her. Not saying that in a bad way, cause I know I probably would of been in tears but I'm sure she has forgotten all about it and won't hold a grudge to labs.

We have had this problem with Siku and this German Sheppard at the dog park, that we had to stop going to for a couple different reasons. Whenever we would get there no matter what time, the German Sheppard was always there and he would always pick on Siku, it was awful and the owner would do nothing about it. One day Siku was trying to get away from the German Sheppard and he pushed him really hard into the fence, at this time Siku was screaming and dog wouldn't get away from him. I had to go over and Siku got into my arms (had to carry him like you would carry a toddler) and he refused to get down until the dog got away from him and we left. It still breaks my heart to this day, that he was so scared but it was pretty funny how big of an adorable baby he was!

AMB wrote:

That is pretty scary! We used to have a yellow lab and he wasn't aggressive at all, it makes me wonder what kind of life that dog had before he was adopted...

Yeah, I've never met an aggressive yellow lab before. I think he had some rough stuff going on before being adopted as you suggested. Our friends who adopted him were horrified as one of their qualifications was for him to be good with other dogs (including small dogs). I think they went back to the adoption center for a further evaluation.

siku&nikolai wrote:

I'm so glad that she is okay, and doesn't seem to upset by the whole incident! That is very scary, when dogs get into fights cause you want that dog to get away from yours but you don't know how they will react while you try to get them apart. I'm sure that experience was more traumatic for you then her. Not saying that in a bad way, cause I know I probably would of been in tears but I'm sure she has forgotten all about it and won't hold a grudge to labs.

We have had this problem with Siku and this German Sheppard at the dog park, that we had to stop going to for a couple different reasons. Whenever we would get there no matter what time, the German Sheppard was always there and he would always pick on Siku, it was awful and the owner would do nothing about it. One day Siku was trying to get away from the German Sheppard and he pushed him really hard into the fence, at this time Siku was screaming and dog wouldn't get away from him. I had to go over and Siku got into my arms (had to carry him like you would carry a toddler) and he refused to get down until the dog got away from him and we left. It still breaks my heart to this day, that he was so scared :(but it was pretty funny how big of an adorable baby he was!

I think it was definitely more traumatic on us than it was on her. We had heard some horror stories about young dogs being attacked by larger dogs, so a lot was going through our minds. You're right, she's probably already forgotten the incident! Like you were saying, it was frightening to see just how scared she was. When we were at the hospital, she was on the table waiting for the doctor after the technician looked at her, and her eyes look so sad. My hand was on the table and she put her paw on my hand, it was adorable and heartbreaking. All of the emotions of having a puppy!

That kind of stinks; I hope everything can work out for your friend and like Erica said I'm glad Kaikoura doesn't seem to be traumatized by the incident.

Yes, definitely something to watch out for when the puppy is playing with any other dog. You never really consider at first that you and your friends dogs might not get along with yours.

My cousin had a yellow that turned. He was penned up too much. I think he picked it up from another dog (Chesapeake Bay Retriever) that tended toward aggression that he lived with. He got better once he was adopted out and was away from the other dog, but it took time. I haven't had any of my puppies attacked but I have owned a dog that hated puppies and kids (pitbull/lab/collie/st. bernard mix- I know, weird combo). I used to take him to the park in the middle of the day when no one else was around but one day me and Dagoney (dog) were just sitting by the river minding our own business when a small child holding a puppy (double whammy) came running up to pet my dog. *Que gasp and me bear hugging my dog*. I think that was the last time my dog ever got to go to the park since people don't seem to teach their kids to ask about a dog before grabbing for them. I'm glad your puppy is okay and not scarred for life.

How scary! Glad your pup was ok. I don't trust dogs from shelters with other dogs until the owner knows for sure. We had an incident like this when Pongo was around 5 months old at the dog park. Some person just adopted this black lab and decided to just let it loose in the park without knowing how it did with other dogs. I literally had to carry Pongo out of the park as this dog was drying to jump up and get him. I don't go to dog parks anymore unless there are other huskies lol

Lynn.Karpati wrote:

How scary! Glad your pup was ok. I don't trust dogs from shelters with other dogs until the owner knows for sure. We had an incident like this when Pongo was around 5 months old at the dog park. Some person just adopted this black lab and decided to just let it loose in the park without knowing how it did with other dogs. I literally had to carry Pongo out of the park as this dog was drying to jump up and get him. I don't go to dog parks anymore unless there are other huskies lol

Same here. Ive not had issues with dogs picking on mine but I've seen it happen too often, and when I got Link I kept him on a leash at the dog park for the first couple days, then let the leash drag, and after a couple weeks eventually removed the leash. I can't stand people who just get a dog and let the dog loose without any regard for the other dogs and how theirs may behave.

That is scarey. We've never had an incident like that, but when Karli was a puppy we took her to the park for her first time (she was about 5 months old) and this weird poodle looking dog would not leave her alone. Kept going after her to the point that my hubby picked her up to get her away from the dog. The owner thankfully leashed him up and left shortly after.

One thing to keep in mind as your pup gets older, huskies play ROUGH. And it can sound scarey. This was not the case here, the lab was obviously attacking, but huskies in general are rough players and have thick neck fur to boot. And while this dog may be good with little dogs, puppies don't really count as little dogs. Some dogs do not do well with puppies. There is a husky female at our local dog park who played way too rough with Karli when she was little but now that she's bigger, they love each other. Its all about testing the waters. I'm glad your pup wasn't traumatized by the incident.

While I'm not going to say that there is never a mean lab, it is very unusual to hear of a lab attacking anything. But unfortunately being number one dog for so many years have brought about a rash of byb's breeding god knows what into the breed. In my house it is the opposite, it is Loki that plays to rough with my Lab Ruby lol.

Good bred labs are known for their gentleness with humans and other dogs. It's unfortunate that this happened, glad Kai is ok.