So it has been awhile since I've needed council.

It is a grim subject to need advice on.

So it was a member of the H2M2 Michigan's birthday and they asked if anyone wanted to meet up at one of the usual meet parks.

Everything was fine for a while.
Then all of a sudden I hear extreme growling. I whip around to see what's going on, and there is some dog fighting with Okami! My husband saw it begin and said this dog wouldn't leave her alone, (trying to mount her and dominate her) and Okami gave a "back off" growl and walked away, but I guess that the other dog took it as a fight initiation because he then proceeded to attack her. The fight happened all of at least the longest 30-45 seconds of my life. At least half of it was me running toward the fight for I was on the other side of the park. I have to say though, Okami is quite the little ninja, she got away from him 3 times, and he proceeded to pursue her.... All I hear is others yelling at the other dog's owner to get his f***ing dog because he was just standing there like an idiot. Then one good Samaritan that was trying to separate the dogs finally got a hold of the other dog... I finally get there and had to get Okami back to reality.. she was full on anxious, tail between her legs, shaking... I finally get a hold of her... I am probably the luckiest person ever, as she is the luckiest dog ever... not a single wound on her.

So I had her on leash, handed her off to my husband, asked the other guy if his dog was okay, all fine... he proceeded to tell me that his dog had gotten into a fight previously in this trip as well.... I must have missed it, but my husband confirmed.... right when this guy got there, immediately after going through the gate his dog attacked another dog!
That should have been a sign to leave then and there in my opinion...
He then tells me, "I come here everyday, this never happens, I don't know what got into him."

I'm thinking, well obviously you are missing something....

Okay so here is what followed and why I am here telling this.

I kept her leashed for a good 5 minutes till she looked calmed down, gave her water, some pets... then let her back off the leash. She seemed just fine, till an excited dog that just came through the gate run up to her REALLY fast. She ducked her head, tail went between her legs and she cowardly dodged the other dog. I have never seen this in her before, ever. The, rest of the trip was uneventful, we stayed for another hour... she "seemed" to have forgotten the whole incident.

So here is my question. What do I do? What kinds of actions should I take if anything just gave her any sort of triggers? What kinds of things should I look out for if this gave her any behavoir changes and what do I do if anything arises? I am mainly just worried because of the coward dodge she did, which is very unlike her.
Thanks for any thoughts and advice.

Seems like just a build up of stress and tension from the fight.

Can you make a more private date with friends and have Okami play and interact with familiar dogs?

Link was attacked once within seconds of entering a dog park and his cheek got cut up pretty good. I managed to track the lady who owned the dog down and get her contact info, and followed up with her so she could pay for the emergency room visit in full.

I don't remember how long we stayed out of dog parks but it was probably about 3 weeks, but only because I was so fed up with the humans in them.

I did however make dates with his friends in private settings to gauge his interactions and he was fine.

I would think it is pretty normal to have that reaction shortly after a fight. Nerves and tension probably just got the best of her.

Sorry that happened.

She has one friend that she sees semi-often, I could set up a playdate and watch for any changes. I thought the same thing about her just being stressed, but I am no guru to dog body language so I just needed to put down as best I can the details so then anyone can try to see something I don't. I mean, I know enough about dogs-huskies, that I know my stuff, but this is out of my league, I've never had the displeasure of dealing with a dog fight till today/yesterday. (Well actually I have, but I was merely a bystander/witness to some young pitbulls trying to kill an older dog that my friend kept locked up, that accidentally got let out... why ignoring problems is terrible in my opinion)

Sorry about Link I am glad you got her to pay the bill... I am starting to feel the same way about dog parks... I mean it was an issue I have ignored cause it was really not too horrible (I get asked at least twice a park trip if she is white gsd, or wolf, or akita . That was 3 questions asked today alone as well!). Today crossed some lines. You never think it will happen till it does.

I agree Lucy, Miya was attacked on our property, so a little different. But she had the same reaction. The only weirdness from her for a couple of weeks, was waking up from a nap if she heard anything outside and then she would do her bark/woo. After a few weeks she was back to her confident self. I'm so sorry you had to deal with that, people need to monitor their pets better, and if they don't get along with all, then stay away from dog barks, just my 2 cents.

Thanks.

What threw me over the edge was when I confronted her with my WTF? and my demands, she told me that she is done with dog parks because her dog does this all the time.

I. Almost. Lost. My. Mind.

But she ended up complying completely with a check for 100% of the bill.

I think in your case the only thing you could have done differently was leave after the first incident and let Okami settle down. Nice long walk with just you.

I suspect she will be fine and have that goofy smile in no time Sounds like she just got overwhelmed.

I am surprised at myself for not loosing my mind and unleashing my fury inside, but I swallowed it and just asked if his dog was okay... but when he said, "I don't know what got into him!" I think I may have said something inaudible and sarcastic before walking away...

You're probably right we maybe should have left, in my mind at the time, I thought I should try to be normal, and show her that it "wasn't a big deal"- of course it is, but I just wanted to do what I thought would just make her forget about it. Which after the dodge, seemed to be the case. I did go to a different area of the park secluded with the pack we met up with, that had little interruption from outsiders.

Oh no, Miya too? She was okay right Sorry she went through that.

Does Okami have the classic assertive, confident, strong-willed personality?

Mostly, yes. She is, rarely though, the opposite. It depends on the dog she encounters.

Lucy, thank you. He was a pitt/mix somewhere around a hundred pounds, he was a rescue my neighbor adopted. He was trained to fight northern breed dogs aka wolves, the owner had believed he was rehabed,  he escaped his kennel and bee lined it to my house, before I could say anything he had rolled Miya to the ground. No growl, no teeth showing. My husband had to beat this dog off of her. Thank god for Miya's double coat, he scraped her skin, no blood, just scabs a week later. The owner showed us his rabies tags, etc. Offered to pay for me and Miya's medical bills(she bit me, poor thing had her eyes closed, yet was chomping at anything she could get to, not knowing she was biting me), my husband kicked, punched and finally put the dog in a choke hold. Owner got there as his dog was going to sleep. He put him down the next day. Miya, like Okami, was shaking and tail between her legs. My first thing I did the next day was take her to her boyfriends house to play, she was back to herself, except for the skittishness for a couple of weeks.

Btw, with Jeff's question, Miya is normally the assertive, confident one, almost dominate over all dogs she meets(not in a mean way), this dog came out of nowhere, she didn't see him coming.

Right.

I bet she'll be fine. Things are always so much worse in our minds than it is for them in theirs. They're way more resilient than we are.

Sounds like she was sorta sneak attacked too. Link hates that, but he is a pace setter, hands down. He's probably gonna run lead on a sled team. Three things he hates in dog parks: getting swarmed or sneak-attacked right at the entrance, herding dogs who moderate his play with other dogs, and getting humped.

All 3 just throw him off his game and derail his personality.

See, there's a pattern with just our 3. Damn Huskies.

Lol, she hates the hump attempts too you got me rolling on that.....Lucy, she'll be fine, like Jeff said, we get more upset than they do.

The only things at the park Okami gets upset about, she resource guards water. I am working with her on that. She thinks water is some golden super treat, even at home.

Being mounted. She literally yells everytime to the mounter to get the frick off.

And getting swarmed.

Renee, I would have been so scared! That is a horrid situation, no less the dog had been trained to fight wolves?! Some people just don't deserve dogs. I'm glad to hear she didn't get hurt too badly.

I really think it should be fine, I just hope that if a similar thing happens again she handles herself well again... she was very defensive and evasive, which in a way, proud mom moment.

Thank you Lucy. I was so worried for her, kept combing my hands through her fur, I just couldn't figure out how he didn't hurt her, it felt like an eternity, probably 5-10 minutes.

Although we don't do dog parks, Miya is similar to Okami and Link, she has to run the show, she steals the water (she'll knock it over rather than share), she's in charge of the game play, and mounting, she will do a butt punch and attempted mount back, scares the crap out of him and regains his manners quickly, lol. She plays best with him (husky) and the other husky she plays with, although their owners say that it takes at least a day to recoup from her.

I bet she will be just fine, and do you proud again, if it were to ever happen again.

Yet another reason for me to avoid dog parks I am paranoid that something will happen. Or that my boys will gang up on another dog. (This has never happened...but I am just hella paranoid that it COULD happen). Luckily we live in the county and have lots of options for play time and playmates.

I am glad she didn't get hurt. It is suprising how hard they can fight and not have a mark to show (Thankfully)

I am sure she will be fine soon