Aggressive Dogs On Walks

[katiedid1281]

My grey keeps getting approached by aggressive off-leash dogs on walks. It hasn't devolved into a fight yet, but I'm worried he's going to get hurt because even though he's usually larger than these dogs, he's very passive and wouldn't defend himself. I try not to go the ways there are loose dogs, but one surprised me yesterday at a house where I've never seen a dog before (I'm hoping it was just visiting). I carry dog spray, but it's been so windy lately that I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to use it without spraying myself and my grey as well. I have been considering also carrying enough treats to throw at an approaching dog and carrying a pop-open umbrella. Does anyone have any other suggestions?

[claudiav]

using the VOICE OF GOD, scream at the oncoming dog: "NO!! HEEEEYYYYY!!! STOP!!!!" make sure he knows you will defend yourself and your pup, and will not allow him to get anywhere near the two of you... I HATE loose dogs... i don't care how "friendly" they are!

[Remolacha]

I stomp my foot, take a step towards the dog yell No! Get away! Go home! So far it has worked, although I did have to throw a filled poop bag at one persistent Yorkie! I am just relieved that there are far fewer loose dogs in the neighborhood than there used to be. I tried carrying a stick, and would not hesitate to hit a dog that tried to get at mine, but handling two or three leashes, poop bags, and a stick, I need more hands

[JohnF]

The Voice of God can work, but if it's a bossy male dog then it's probably going to sneak around quicker than you think. I carry a stout walking stick in random loose dog areas and can and will use it if one comes at us with bad intent like a torpedo.

[Bizeebee]

Do you live/walk somewhere where it's legal for these dogs to be off leash and loose like that?

 

You obviously have to weigh the social consequences of doing this, but if this was me in my dogs-must-be-leashed neighborhood I'd be trying to take some video of the offending dogs, their behavior, and ideally the yards they are coming from and call the non-emergency police line or whatever local authority is appropriate to report this. Unless this is allowed where you are, dogs off leash and loose are, at best, a nuisance and at worst a safety concern for people and all dogs present.

 

If you know the people who own these dogs talking to them first is probably a good first step, but that's easier said than done sometimes.

 

My personal feeling is that irresponsible owners should be called out or fined for that kind of crappy (illegal?) behavior, especially if it is not a one-time-whoops situation. A reprimand or fine is much better than their dog being injured by a much larger animal, which is probably going to happen eventually.

[racindog]

You are exactly right about the spray getting on you and your dog more than the offender. That is exactly why my police dept. wrote policy to prevent individual officers from attempting to use it. Take a stun gun/wand or a club- like a baseball bat or Philapino fighting stick. Hit them as hard as you possibly can right between the ears on the top of the head. Remember-kill the head and the body will die and you can choke them or even stab them. I know this sounds extreme but it is not. It is real life. Real life is that they are trying to and will kill YOUR dog who is depending on you for protection. They will not be deterred by a minor low power defense. They will meet a weak defense with even more ferocity. It is your dog or them-you pick-you do what you have to. You will NEVER regret saving your dog regardless of outcome. As a LEO for many years and an ACO after that I have learned this is just the way it is. Be brave. Protect your dog. Just do it. Oh and I wouldn't concern myself or waste my time with the dogs owner(s). If they gave a crap about their dog or were decent people the dog would not be threatening innocents to begin with. 99% of such owners couldn't care less about their own dog much less yours. Its usually a good idea to notify Animal Control however so they can begin logging a history.

[Hubcitypam]

Voice of God and foot stomping has worked for us..but is very very seldom used.

[katiedid1281]

The dogs are definitely supposed to be leashed, but it's a rural area and no one seems to think anything of having dogs loose in unfenced yards. I guess I need to find some sort of stick that's easy to carry while juggling a dog leash! The one dog jumped out of the back of a car as their owner was loading things, the second was on a new way that I will not walk again and the third came running from a house on the route we always walk, but I haven't ever seen that dog or those cars before so I hope it was just a visitor. I won't count the tiny fourth dog who ran up to us and stopped about 10 feet away like "Whoa, you're huge." They've all happened in a short span of time and I feel quite nervous now!

[Bizeebee]

Even in a rural area, you can make reports to the authorities about violent dogs off leash. A paper trail is better than nothing, and law enforcement might enjoy having something to do if it's that quiet. And there should be Animal Control that would probably cover the whole county if you're in a sparsely populated area. Having to pay to pick up their dogs a couple times would maybe teach idiots to get a tie out line.

 

Something else you could try, if these dogs are more of the aggressively friendly variety, is to go on walks without your dog, with a stick or dog whistle and try to instill fear of you into the neighborhood dogs. No guarantees the fear would translate when you also had your dog with you, but maybe worth a shot? IF you'd feel safe doing that.

 

We had an issue with a small, yappy, basically untrained, white fluffy thing that used to live next door to us, and they would let him out off leash, unsupervised all the time. At that time we had a greyhound who would have killed that thing in two shakes if conditions were correct. When I hear people talk about aggressive dogs in your situation, my mind kind of defaults to that sort of scenario - where in the end it would have been seen as my dog's fault even though he wasn't the instigator because he would have easily "won" that altercation.

One good punt (only a couple feet) and that yapper got the message.

[BatterseaBrindl]

A dressage whip is lightweight and easy to carry.

Please report incidents that happen regularly. You can try talking to the owner first, but in my experience this proves to be futile.

'One-offs' can maybe be forgiven, but if it is the same dog again and again it needs to be reported.

I am very rural as well and we had a neighbours dog get increasingly aggressive a few years ago and the owner did nothing. It eventually led to an attack. Thankfully I had a large stick and heavy boots and my dogs were wearing their heavy winter coats (which ended up with tooth holes).

Owner stood at end of his driveway and did nothing except to tell me that he had warned me that this would happen if I continued to walk past his house.

We raced home and called authorities who came out right away. Owner was charged with a couple of offences, but the next day he chose to euth the dog. Seems the dog had been aggressive with others...including himself