The fact that she was muzzled the first time we met her at the rescue centre didn’t stop us falling in love with her amber eyes. She had been in kennels for 10 months and was the most “fear-aggressive” dog they’d ever taken in. So we were aware of her limitations. She’s a great indoors dog. Someone loved her once. We try not to think what she went through to become such a scared animal.
In the year we have had her, she has come on leaps and bounds, and we thank our friends and family for their tolerance and endless supply of cheese. She is starting to repay their understanding, but we don’t think she’ll ever overcome her nervousness with other dogs.
We always do the sensible thing: she’s always on a lead outside the house; we walk her at odd times; if the local park has a dog off the lead, we skirt around the edges and go elsewhere. But still, other dog owners, seeing her on her short lead, watch their dog bound over, and shout, “It’s OK, he just wants to play” or, “Don’t worry, he won’t bite.” There is at least one incident every week where a dog goes out of its way to make friends with her. She doesn’t want dog friends. It becomes a stressful incident for all involved, usually ending in a “Sorry, love” from the other owners, who can’t recall their dog effectively and then scarper, embarrassed.
My beautiful, loving, doting, gentle rescue dog is a staffie, and chances are the blame for any incident will be put on her, despite her being the one on the lead and under control. I implore you, if you see a dog on a lead, it’s not just for our sake – it’s for yours, too.
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