I made a mistake today and another dog has a broken leg and some nasty lacerations to show for it. I had my 3 yo female GSD out with me while I fed the horses this morning. She was not on a leash, but wearing her e-collar. She was sitting by the barn when I looked down. When I looked up, she was sprinting towards the other end of the pasture. I hollered at her to come back and tried to give a correction. It didn't work.

I heard a dog yell and the start of a nasty fight. I ran after my girl and found her hanging on to an older Brittany female. The owner and her King Charles were alternating between trying to break the dogs up and trying to stay out of the way. Using the technique in Ed's article, I pulled Jess off the Brittany. I got hold of her and told my neighbor I would put her in the house and come back with my car to take them to the vet.

The Brittany has a broken bone in her foreleg where Jess' tooth went through it. She will be at the vet's at least over the weekend and will possibly require surgery to fix the leg. I am, of course, assuming the cost of this as is right.
When I got home, I checked the collar and found the battery had died. I check the collar before I put it on her, but today I forgot. Usually I don’t take her to feed because she is all over. Today I did. I let my wander and when I looked back, she was too focused on her target for me to regain control. Ultimately it doesn’t really matter. I didn’t have control of my dog.

I am going back to the beginning with my girl with Ed’s articles and DVDs. I also have contacted a good trainer to help me. I could use any advice anyone has in case I am not thinking of something. You can also tell me how much I messed up. I’m in the self-flagellating mode right now anyway.

I hope if anyone out there has become complacent with their supervision or training, they will learn from my error rather than having to deal with this situation themselves.

Hi,

It sounds to me like you are taking responsibility for this sad event, which is good, since you should.

It also sounds like you have rededicated yourself to doing the work you need to do with this dog, which also is good.

Besides the training and work you have ahead of you, the thing you need to realize now is that you can never relax your vigilance with this dog. She may reach the point of being 95% reliable, but no matter how much training and proofing you do, she has seriously injured another dog, and you simply can not take that chance with her again. So, if you aren't able to supervise and manage her, don't take her, period.

It is always a mistake when you don't listen to what your dog is telling you. She is clearly telling you that she can not be left unsupervised. Listen to her. (And, by unsupervised, I mean that when you are with her in the world, your attention has to be focused on her and on what else is going on in the immediate environment, and you have to be in a position to control her behavior. Period. No exceptions. Anything else is asking for trouble, and it will find you again.)

Good luck,
leih

 Quote: leih merigian

Besides the training and work you have ahead of you, the thing you need to realize now is that you can never relax your vigilance with this dog. She may reach the point of being 95% reliable, but no matter how much training and proofing you do, she has seriously injured another dog, and you simply can not take that chance with her again. So, if you aren't able to supervise and manage her, don't take her, period.

In full agreement here. I had something similar happen years ago with two of my own dogs for a moment of inattentiveness. It resulted in serious injury to one dog, and a total of $1800 in vet bills. I know all about self-flagellation, but you need to move past it so you can focus on what you need to do.

Yup, you screwed up. But you can't 'live' there. Your energy needs to go where you are already directing it: You are taking responsibility for it and taking steps to see that it doesn't happen again. You are handling the 'fallout' with consideration and a sense of responsibility. Aside from developing some magical ability to turn back the clock, there's really nothing more you could do besides learn from the experience. We all make mistakes, just work diligently from here on out so that it never happens again.