Remy? Vicious?!?

Remy and Rosie's owners called me last night to let me know that Joel had received a ticket from the police for owning a vicious and aggressive dog. First off, J0el is not a true dog person; he loves Rosie and Remy, but he was not brought up with dogs or cats as pets. Rosie and Remy both pull when walking, and Nancy has an injured neck and back, and can no longer walk them herself. This past Sunday, Joel was walking both dogs near the elementary school. He saw an older woman walking towards them with an older, medium sized dog on her leash. As Rosie started to growl, the lady started to act extremely frightened. As she projected her fear, Rosie got more aggressive. Then Remy started up. (Remy was an abused dog for 18 months before he was rescued and rehabilitated and then adopted by Nancy.) When Rosie starts a barking frenzy, it turns some sort of switch in Remy. He begins barking hysterically, and biting anything within reach - Rosie, the leashes, the harnesses, your hands (if you put them in the way). Remy has bitten me twice in the past, but he never broke the skin, and it was during one of his frenzied moments.

Since Rosie had set Remy off, Joel concentrated on getting Rosie quiet... and somehow he let go of Remy's leash. Remy bounded toward the other dog and knocked it down, but didn't bite it. The older lady then staggered into the melee to protect her dog, and 65-pound Remy hit her across her thighs. She fell backwards onto her behind. Joel had Rosie quiet and sitting, and as soon as he grabbed Remy's leash, Remy sat down and calmed down. Joel then began to try to assist the woman. She didn't want him or the dogs anywhere near her and her dog. Joel apologized at great length, and gave the lady his name, address and phone number, telling her that if she or her dog suffered any ill effects from their tumbles, he would be happy to cover any medical or vet expenses. What he didn't know was that the lady went home and called the police to report him for having a mean, vicious, and aggressive dog not under control. On Wednesday afternoon, the police arrived at Joel's house and ticketed him, plus delivering a summons to appear in court.

Joel informed me that he is now leery of taking both dogs out for a walk at the same time. I told both he and Nancy about how I start to twitch the leash on Rosie's collar/harness when she first starts to take any aggressive posture, telling her there is no reason to growl. If her growl starts to escalate, I "walk up" the leashes, shortening them. If she continues, then I have the leashes very short, with my hands above both Rosie and Remy's shoulders. If they stiffen, or give me any warning that they are going to bark or attack, I grab the harnesses where they cross their shoulders; and, if necessary, I pick up the harness, raising their front feet off the ground, which nullifies any forward movement on their part. I want to take Joel out on a walk with me, so I can show him what I do to control the kids. They are not truly vicious - although I can definitely understand the older woman's reaction to them. My poor Remy - who best loves to turn up on his back in his bed and then snore - has now been labeled a vicious creature. Woe is me.