Kell and Lucy were on their leads, as was the other dog. They wagged their tails and went to sniff but the other dog growled so they backed off. As I chatted to the guy his dog took a lunge forward and this is the outcome. The vet reckons the collar saved him from a very nasty injury

Oh dear, poor Kell!
Hope he is ok.

Ouch, poor wee soul. Hate to think what it would look like if Kell hadn't been wearing a broad leather collar. Hope he makes a speedy recovery

Gee Steve that is one shocker of a bite. Thank goodness for the broad non-slip collars.
What breed of dog was it?
We hope poor Kell recovers 110%.
Give him a great big cuddle from his football pal Jimmy.
Celia and Jimmy.

Goodness me. Poor Kell. I hope the owner of the other dog has offered to pay your vets bill!! Bet he hasn't.
Every owner knows there dogs, he must have known there was a possibility his dog might attack someone elses.

Although Ace seems fine with other dogs, I am always wary of them, you never know what can happen.

Hope he gets better really soon.

Karen, Pat and Ace

The guy had two dogs, both rescue. One was a very friendly Saluki cross, the other (the one that bit Kell) was a greyhound cross. This was the first time we'd met. The guy has only had the greyhound cross for two months. We had met up with another dog owner (Jim) initially before these dogs arrived. As some of you may know, Lucy was not the most sociable of dogs when we first took her on and it has been a process of socialisation with sympathetic dog owners (Jim in particular) that has brought her on.

Our idea was that by chatting to the guy and his two dogs with all dogs kept apart his greyhound cross might calm down and get used to the company of other dogs - this is what we've done with Lucy with considerable success. Sadly this time it didn't quite work out that way. The other guy was quick to reign his dog back and so they were seperated very quickly. It was dusk when this happpened so a quick check over Kell didn't reveal anything amiss. I'm sure you'll appreciate that finding a concealed wound on a black dog in the dark isn't the easiest of things to do! It was only when we got home that I noticed the damage to the collar and then the bite wounds.

I hope I see this chap again. From our conversation I have a feeling that he has not been given the same quality of advice that GRF owners are given. He was genuinely concerned for Kell and I have little doubt he would cover the vets fees if he knew the outcome of this encounter. The fees aren't desperately important to me - Kell needed no stitches, just a weeks course of antibiotics. Personally I bear this guy no bad feeling at all - I would be much happier to offer him a muzzle (I have a couple of spares from our last two) and help him to socialise his dog, and keep it safe. All the groundwork is in place - he had the dog on a lead and had the right attitude, unlike many dog owners who let their dogs run amok with little or no regard to the consequences.

In the meantime Kell appears to be back to his old self. He was a bit shaken after the event (understandably!), but after his trip to the vets he demolished his dinner and has been as friendly as ever. The odd bit of blood on the carpet is just one of those things and easily dealt with. I just hope he'll be the same happy go lucky dog when I take him out on his walk tomorrow. Lucy has been very concerned and supportive to him. I am also pleased that neither of them chose to retaliate.

Steve.

Well I take back what I said. As you say it sounds like this chap has not been given the quality of advice that he would have got from Celia and Jimmy. Lets hope that you do meet him again. I also hope that your dogs are not put back by the experience. Give Kell and Lucy a hug from us.

Take care

Karen, Pat and Ace

Just back from our morning walk. We bumped into a few dogs while we were out and fortunately Kell is still as friendly as ever. Lucy was calm and friendly with them all too. His wounds have dried up a little overnight and don't look quite so bad now, although his neck is still sore and a bit swollen, and he can't shake. He's a bit more tired than usual but that's hardly suprising.

We saw Jim again (he was there when this happened). His wife knows the other guy from dog walking, so the message will get back to him. We are in agreement his dog needs to be muzzled, so hopefully that's what will happen soon.

Anyway, Kell is on the mend and is still happy - that's the most important thing right now.

Thank you all for your kind messages.

Hi Steve

So glad Kell is ok and still ok with other dogs, as you say this is the main thing.

I would just like to add a word of caution about trying to socialise a dog without expert advice. The outcome of not being able to read a dogs body language or anticipate events such as the incident with Kell could have much more serious results. A muzzle is a must until he has become more sociable but the best way is avoid such incidents all together and give the dog positive encounters with other dogs to increase his confidence at the dogs pace.

I'm glad you have no bad feeling towards the owner, he needs help and advice and support from other hound owners.

Give Kell a cuddle from me!

Fiona

Glad to hear Kell is on the mend - its such a worry when something happens to them as at times they are so defenceless. And nice to hear the guy is taking measures to muzzle his dog

Aw poor Kell so glad to hear he is on the mend! Big hugs for all of u!! To be honest this is why my Bambi is still muzzled as there are days when she copes well with other dogs and days when she just doesnt and Ive seen how she reacts when she doesnt!! She doesnt mind the muzzle so I dont see the point in risking it trying to get it off - this way she is safe and so are other dogs. I know that some people have issues with the dog not being able to defend itself but hey think what could have happened if Kell was the kind of dog (like my Bambi!!!) who would defend themself?? Anyways glad to hear that Kell is doin ok now the wee soul and fab to hear that Lucy coped with it all calmly too!! x