Ted is now 17 months old. He gets 3 good 30 min walks every day. He mainly stays on his lead due to walking him next to roads and around our estate. We do take him to the beach every other week where he is allowed of lead and I take him on a long 15m line to the green area near where we live..I keep him on a long line as there are cliffs one side and a busy road the other side. His long line doesn't hinder his walk and feel happier that if he does wander too far I can catch hold of his line easily enough if he is distracted by sniffing.
Ted has always been laid back, he is a very friendly dog to humans and other dogs (usually).
About 6 weeks ago Ted was on lead on a walk and was involved in a scuffle with another dog... My husband had him out at the time, it was a walk they had done many times. He was caught unawares by a confrontational jack Russell. Leads got tangled and Ted got bit...we didn't realise this until 3 days later that he has a single puncture wound to his side, I thought it was dry skin as he had been suffering with a condition and was already on antibiotics for this. The vet confirmed the bite on his health check.
Since then Ted has developed a stalking type approach when other dogs are heading towards him. He doesn't do this every time but I would say 60-70% of the time. I walk him, my OH walks him and my mother walks him, he does this with us all.
Tonight my OH was walking him and Ted got into a scuffle with another dog whilst on lead. My OH says it seemed to be a simultaneous show of power between Ted and the other dog. It was too close to call which one had made the 1st move.. Ted seems unscathed this time.
I train Ted to walk on with treats after a quick sniff of a passing dog.
I'm a bit unsure how to handle and train Ted in this area, I'm not sure if he's been scarred in his nature by the original confrontation or is this a typical adolescent dog?
Ted is not neutered.
Your experiences and advice would be greatly appreciated...
Thanks
Wendy
