HELP! Apollo attacked...(BlackLabbie)

Oh man, I am soooo sorry. I totally get how scary that must've been and how upset you must be now. I don't have any advice but I agree that talking to your vet is a good idea. I hope that this was a fluke, one-time thing too. (((HUGS)))

The guilt is killing me. I don't want to 'ruin' somebody else's puppy. I feel so bad. And I'm so upset with Apollo. I didn't show it, I took him by the collar, led him to my car, loaded him in my car, and I left him home all day. He seems like his normal self, but IDK, I feel like I'm looking at him like I don't even know him. He didn't try to aggress at the puppy after I pulled him off the pup. He was normal instantly.

I'm so surprised.  I can't offer any helpful insight on why he attacked the puppy.  Sending you hugs because I know you must be freaked out.  Best I can do is to tell you to try and go over every detail of what you observed in the minutes before he attacked the pup. 

Honestly, I know how dumbfounding it can be to see that kind of thing and it's hard not to look at your dog differently, but we have no way of knowing what Apollo saw that made him react that way. No excuses for it, but in his mind, he had a reason for what he did and that doesn't change how much you love him, It will likely change your comfort level though and that's what I feel awful about. I'm so sorry.

Towards the end, they really weren't even interacting much which is why we were going to leave. They looked burnt out and they really weren't paying much attention to each other. When I called my guys I know the pup started to run towards me/his owner, and that's when Apollo blocked him by standing over him.

 I don't have much to offer, but wanted to say how sorry I am!

 So sorry that happened.  I know how much you like so many of the members on here put so much effort into making are dogs good doggy citizens when out with public.  It really does sound eerie considering Apollo's never done anything before and had been playing with the pup earlier on.  It is also odd because it sounds like the pup was in the middle of dropping to the ground, even more so that there were punctures.  I don't have near enough experience to offer much advice, but I would give Apollo a very close check over looking for a possible injury.  Can't help but wonder if maybe he twisted funny or strained something while playing but then like so many animals tried his best to hide the problem.  But if he was worried about pain could be a reason he didn't want the pup bounding close to him.

Krissim Klaw

It is also odd because it sounds like the pup was in the middle of dropping to the ground, even more so that there were punctures. 

That's what I'm so confused and worried about. I just don't get it. The pup was very submissive to Apollo when Apollo blocked him. But, while they were playing the pup wasn't submissive, wasn't overly excieted.

When Jeremy comes home we're going to look Apollo over together with an LED flashlight. Maybe I missed something, I checked him when we got home.

BlackLabbie

feel like crying. That poor pup :( and IDK what's going on with Apollo. He has his annual coming up the middle of February, so I'm going to talk to the vet and get his thryroid checked.

 Boxer pups are notoriously obnoxious in their play style, so if Apollo was tired of it, it's not a big surprise that he corrected him.  However, the puncture on the pup's muzzle says this could have been more than a correction.  Without having witnessed it up close, there's no way to judge, and I'm not a behaviorist.  (Curious if this was a male or female pup.  I also assume Apollo hasn't been in any pain, or acting abnormally today/lately.)  But I want to say I'm betting the pup's owner is thankful you're an upstanding dog owner who paid the vet bill - we all know waaay too many times this doesn't happen.  I understand your guilt feelings, and I bet the notorious "He's never done this before!" came to your mind, whether the words came out or not.  (It's come from me about G before, so I understand the feeling!)  Stuff happens when dogs interact, some stuff we don't understand or can't control.  Does not make Apollo a bad dog.

If you really want to assuage your guilt, you could offer to pay for a behavior consult for the pup to make sure he overcomes whatever might or might not become of his behavior from this experience.  Boxer pups tend to be a bit more resilient, but can just as likely develop into neurotic adults (like Dobes)- if the owner is dilligent about exposing him to other adults in positive ways, and didn't feed into any "save-the-puppy-from-the-big-bad-world" actions, it should mitigate some of the potential issues.  This pup is technically just outside of the "fear imprint stage", but the possibility of affecting his behavior is still there.  A boxer with a bad attitude toward other dogs is not a good thing.

You can only move forward from here, and there's only so little control you have over the outcome of the pup.  Understanding what motivated Apollo to act that way is the next thing within your control, which we know you will work to explore, but who knows if he'd ever be triggered like that again.  ((((Calming hugs))))

Don't beat yourself up over this.  It sounds like you did everything right in the beginning.  Maybe Apollo felt like the little guy was coming towards you and was just protecting his master?  The initial movement to the ground might have startled him enough to jump first?  The behavior experts here will have a better idea I'd assume.

Things like this happen.

Hugs and calming vibes to you and Apollo.

The pup was a male. He was very obnoxious while playing at first (he rolled Patty right over doing a zoomie and proceeded to jump all over her). Apollo didn't seem to mind any of that type of play, he's a rough player too. He's been around many boxers and a few boxer puppies and has played with them without issue. When he's done playing he will usually lay down away from the other dogs or stick with me- he's never corrected another dog before. I did say "he's never done this before!", lol, idk if they guy believed me or not. He seemed very nice and down to earth on the phone and just said, "well, dogs will be dogs, and sometimes stuff like this happens. thanks for taking care of it.", he didn't pick his puppy up or baby him, just called him over to check him out (the pup was already bleeding then). I'm thinking of calling the owner this weekend to make sure the pup is OK, and to apologize again.

I am so sorry I know this has upset you so much!  {{{{{hugs}}}}}

 (((hugs))) I'm so sorry!!

I'm going to make a quick guess -- given that this involves a black dog.  No, I'm not black dog bashing.

BUT -- it is an absolute fact that black dogs are harder to "read".  You just don't get the contrast -- particularly in the "stiffness" of a reactive posture.  The PUP MISSED IT. 

My best guess is Apollo was on his best behavior.  But the pup was being a butt -- and Apollo (and probably Molson as well) were giving off some "mind your manners vibes.  But it's PATTY who is also black, right?  And the pup bowled HER over. 

This is a learning curve for a young dog and he's probably not getting any "help" -- given that you were at a distance you didn't see Apollo's cues *either* so you don't know what he gave -- but I'll betcha he gave plenty.  In fact, I'd betcha that the whole play thing cooled because Apollo was tired of his crap and tried to disconnect. 

But then the pup made the mistake of trying to claim YOU (responding to your call himself) and Apollo decided enough was enough and the proverbial dog poop hit the fan.  But I'd bet that even when the pup gave a submissive posture it was likely accompanied by something akin to a play bow or some  response that indicated that altho he was "sorry" it was too little too late and Apollo nailed him to cement a lesson.

that said?  What can you do?  dunno -- but I see with my own crew that OFTEN Tink misses Luna's signals -- and Luna -- almost 18 months later -- is FINALLY deciding that the pug needs to learn some manners!!  She hasn't hurt her yet -- she's literally following the typical "YELL OUCH LIKE IT REALLY HURTS" thing -- and Tink gets all "sorry" rreally quick. 

It takes a number of such encounters to teach a young dog manners.  Particularly if they are only sporadic from dogs at a dog park. 

We're back to why I don't go to dog parks.  to give the dog any real exercise you have to let them get SO far away from you that I'm never ever comfortable.  Nobody's dog is that well behaved.  (heck, *I* am not that well behaved)