25/12/2025
Today’s Christmas walk that’s full of lessons.
In the video, you’ll see our pack (4 adult AB XL, 3 puppies, and 3 French Bulldogs) on our private but freely accessible property. The situation is complicated by a young female starting heat cycle (Berta) and our three unneutered males.
👉🏻What happened? A familiar, dominant retriever blocked our path - a dog that often provokes ours through the fence. In the video, you’ll see: 🔹His provocative and territorial behavior 🔹The calm behavior of our adult bullies staying close to me 🔹The heart-stopping moment - my French Bulldog ignores recall and runs toward him. Fortunately nothing happened, but the risk was enormous 🔹Immediate response of my adult dog to recall when he ran toward the barking retriever 🔹Recalling the puppy, which worked on the third attempt
👉🏻What I learned and why I’m sharing: ✅1. PREVENTION IS KEY: Best solution would’ve been turning around immediately. Avoiding conflict is victory, not weakness (that’s what I do usually when we meet strange dogs which are not under control of their owner).
✅2. CONTROL EVERY DOG: My bulldog showed even small dogs without 100% obedience create huge problems. My mistake not having him leashed when I saw the dog from distance.
✅3. TRAINING PAYS OFF: Proud of our adult bullies. They stayed calm, and when one instinctively defended the pack, he returned immediately on command. E-collar alone won’t solve this - dogs must be well-socialized and reliably know commands.
✅4. E-COLLAR AS SAFETY NET: Our bullies wear them in video. Didn’t need to use them, but they serve as emergency brake when everything else fails.
✅5. ALWAYS ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT: With puppy recall, I could’ve used more joyful tone. Every situation teaches me too.
🔺You never know when you’ll encounter an uncontrollable dog. We must have ours under 100% control.
How would you handle this situation?
