I was at a dog beach yesterday and everything was fine until this boxer came up to Lycan, knock him to his back, pinned him down and was about to go for his throat. Lycan is a happy go lucky 7 month-old Malamute that doesn't know what is danger. He is already 84lbs and that boxer will not be able to knock him down if Lycan is just a little alert. Lycan thought that boxer was playing with him so he went down easily for cuddles and did not resist when that boxer pinned his weight on him. Me and my partner got there just in time to pull the boxer off him. When we pull the boxer off, it was still snapping and snarling the air. At that time the boxer had its jaw just a few inches from Lycan's throat. And the owner is just a few steps away.
Later on the owner had the nerve to blame it on Lycan saying that it's the breed that provoke her dog. Her boxer always does this to husky/malamutes/shepherds!! Well since she know that her dog has a tendency to go for these dogs' throat, shouldn't she put a muzzle on him or at least have a leash on when she is in the dog beach? I've seen other responsible owner in the dog beach putting a muzzle on their not-so-friendly dog so their dog can enjoy the beach as well.

Eh, if someone had the nerve to blame it on the breed, I'd blame it on the owner. I would not be afraid to say something that would offend the owner. He/she deserves it for being so ignorant.

Anyways, not sure what would help. I think something like that would be more instinct dependent than training.

I was too busy checking if there are any wounds on Lycan I did not bother to say anything to the women. Anyway now I'm kinda frighten to let him run around the dog beach freely. He wouldn't know what's danger and what's not.

He'll learn. You can't stop him from having fun because of one stupid dog and its owner, that's not his fault. He's got a sweet personality, you don't want to change that. And yes, if this woman knows that her dog goes for dogs like that she should at least leash it. The next time you go, be on the lookout for that dog. If its there, go somewhere else. It sucks, but its easier to do that then try to make her leave obviously because its never going to be her dog's fault.

Wow he's gotten so big!

I hope this experience doesn't taint your opinion of Boxers. They really are great dogs when raised properly.

I think it's all irresponsible ownership. As you said, if she knew that could be an issue, she should have muzzled him. There's a chihuahua mix that comes to our park all the time and he doesn't like puppies so the owner always has a muzzle on him, just to be safe.

I'm not sure about Lycan though. I would think it'd be instinct. Most dogs know when it's a play growl and when it's the real deal. Like the chi mix I mentioned, despite the muzzle, he still snarls and growls and Callie knows it means to back off. The only thing I can think of is that the boxer didn't give any warning for Lycan to pick up on.

I would like to know what kind of owner says "oh he doesn't like that breed." I didn't know dogs were racist...

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I would like to know what kind of owner says "oh he doesn't like that breed." I didn't know dogs were racist...

I didn't either til my friend with a GSD told me there's a dog at one of the parks that hates GSDs and always goes for them and went after her dog. She told the owner that if they know their dog is like that, they shouldn't bring it around when there are GSDs in the park.

calliegirl08 wrote:

I would like to know what kind of owner says "oh he doesn't like that breed." I didn't know dogs were racist...

LOL!!! That made me laugh!!

There's a small maltese type dog at my dog park that apparently is infatuated with small, white, fluffy dogs. Every time I go the little dog tries to hump Cloud.. the ENTIRE time. He will chase Cloud to the ends of the earth to hump him, so I always have to switch sides of the park when he's there xD

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I didn't either til my friend with a GSD told me there's a dog at one of the parks that hates GSDs and always goes for them and went after her dog. She told the owner that if they know their dog is like that, they shouldn't bring it around when there are GSDs in the park.

Maya's the opposite, she thinks GSDs are the easiest to knock over and pin to the ground. Most of the ones she plays with are kinda top heavy and all she has to do is give them a little nudge and they'll fall right over. So GSDs are her favorite dogs.

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So GSDs are her favorite dogs

Haha that's sooo funny!!! Karlie and Jade (my friend's GSD) are BFFs. We went on a walk with them and when one of the guys running the walk tried to pick Karli up (because she's such a cute little puppy) Jade got really close to him and kept an eye on him. No one was gonna hurt her buddy, that's for sure!

My chihuahua doesn't have any preferences on breed. Anything female he will hump.

There was one time that a dog came to the park and the owner of a pittbull had me look out for Callie because the dog didn't like the bully/boxer/mastiff type breeds. And he did try to go after her dog so I believed her. But the dog has come to the park a dozen other times and it turns out he just doesn't like anyone.

I guess it's possible if the dog had a bad experience with a certain breed then they wouldn't like any others but still. If you're the owner, you probably know that, so when you see a breed you know your dog doesn't like, step up to the plate a little!

Oh, but yes, Callie seems to love those GSDs. They're like twice her size though so I don't get it.

I am actually leaning towards the part where 'Lycan doesn't know whether it's a real growl or a playful one'. It's kinda hard to explain. I started socializing him at around 8 weeks old because I know he is going to get big. I teach him to be friendly with all kind of dogs. But recently I realised that he seem to be too friendly that he doesn't know how to protect himself. Before this boxer there is another issue with a black aussie in the beach. The owner told me that dog just like to growl at all other dogs but will not bite. So it was growling and snarling at Lycan, Lycan actually did a play bow to it.

Honestly, I feel like once a dog decides that they've had enough of playing, they'll let the other dog know. And it only takes one second of another dog playing too rough or even not playing for your dog to speak up and tell them to stop.

Pippa never made a sound at the dog park when she'd had enough of someone's playing. She would just run around with her tail down until the left her alone. The other day though, someone went too far and she yelped and they left her alone.

If something does happen and a dog isn't playing, I'd almost guarantee that Lycan will stick up for himself.

And sometimes, dogs really do growl when they play. Pippa looks like an idiot when she's trying to get a dog to play with her.