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dog park problem

LFMax
October 28th, 2007, 06:58 PM
I need advice on a problem with my six year old male (neutered) rhodesian ridgeback and an unneutered male lab. For some reason this lab attacks my dog every time we are at the park together; he does so by relentlessly licking my dog's genitals. It is impossible to get him away and in spite of the fact that my usually complacent dog snarls, growls and (just recently) tries to bite him, the lab is undeterred.
This lab's owner is an older woman with a handicap that makes walking difficult and she is very slow to address the issue; which leaves me trying to separate the dogs and hold onto the lab until the owner can come to put him on a leash. She brushes all this off by insisting that the dogs are merely "playing," but my dog is clearly not enjoying this "play."
This is not the first time that other dogs have approached my dog in this manner... my vet has suggested that my dog just must have a "tasty" discharge and that nothing was "wrong" with him. However, with the exception of this determined lab, other dogs are rather easily turned away OR have owners that can control their animals.
Any suggestions out there? We've even tried to swab our dog's genitals with a "Wash n Dry" prior to our dog park walks, but that doesn't seem to work.
Help!

mummummum
October 28th, 2007, 08:26 PM
What the heck is Wash and Dry? Is it meant for this purpose? It sounds like a laundry detergent! :confused: The uro-genital tract is very sensitive and infections are easily come by, so unless this is a product specific to this purpose I would not be using it anywhere on my dog. If this is in fact a cleaning product, you could be expose the Lab to harmful toxins.

Is this an off-leash park? If so, there isn't much you can do other than to ask the Lab's owner to keep her dog away from yours or that is not possible, to not go to the park when you determine the Lab is present.

white wrabbit
October 28th, 2007, 09:01 PM
i have no idea if this is true or not but i was once told a neutered male dog to an unfixed male.. smells like a female.... don't quote me on it..

mafiaprincess
October 28th, 2007, 11:46 PM
Pretty sure wash n dry are towelettes for people.. I'm not sure I'd want that on my dog's crotch.. both have have UTI's in past.. I'd be afraid of causing one.

I don't do offleash parks much anymore, but when I did if my dog was being a problem I'd mildly keep myself in between her and the offendign dog. Or the dog she was offending. Keep sending her off to play with other dogs, and staying a good distance so if there was an issue I could separate and send her off to play more.

Maybe you need to pick different times of the day to go to avoid the lady and her lab, or choose a different park. Short of trying to keep them separated there's not much you can do. If your dog is growling, snarling and making an attempt to bite.. If your dog actually does harm the other dog, you would likely be the one in legal trouble, not her even though she was your problem. I'd be keeping that part in mind from here on out trying to decide what to do about the situation.