A few weeks ago, I was walking home with my Siberian Husky after a nice neighborhood walk. Suddenly, I hear some heavy barking, and a pit-bull charges out from one of my neighbor’s backyard and starts barking at us crazily.
If he were a truly aggressive pit-bull, we would have been toast.
Instead, I backed away from him slowly and shouted out to my neighbor. Of course, he was doing yard work at the time, and did not hear me over the noise of his lawn mower. He had left his gate open so that he could get easy access to his recycling bin.
Dude! … I mean really?!
Luckily another neighbor heard me, came out, and secured the dog.
Several days later, I was charged by an Akita. She came over, and started bullying my Husky girl. A boy came running after the dog, and then just stood there. He did not know what to do.
I raised my voice and said Stop to the Akita, which surprisingly, she did. Maybe she was just momentarily startled. I asked the boy to please remove his dog, but he just hit his dog on the muzzle. Since the dog did not have a collar on, the boy was unable to effectively remove her.
However, since the Akita was no longer focused on my dog, I was able to move away, and then Akita Inu finally followed the boy home.
Dude! … I mean really?!
And then today, I was charged by a large Labrador. He was being walked off-leash in the neighborhood even though he had 0% recall.
Then one of the owners said, “Don’t worry, he is not aggressive”.
Another one said, “I am doing off-leash training with my dog and I did not see you.”
Dude! … I mean really?!
- Point – Someone who lets an untrained dog run about off-leash in public neighborhood streets has no understanding of dogs. I very much doubt they know whether their dog is aggressive or not.
- Point – Leaving a dog with no recall, off-leash, is dangerous to other people, other dogs, and to the dog himself. There are not too many cars in my neighborhood, but all it takes is just one.
- Point – Perhaps the Labrador is not aggressive, but then my dog could be aggressive. In which case, a fight could have broken out when the Labrador invaded my dog’s space and forced a butt sniff on her.
- Point – One DOES NOT do off-leash training on public neighborhood streets. Find a private enclosed area to start recall training, and once the dog is more advanced, take him to an off-leash hiking park.
What to Do When Charged by Off-Leash Neighborhood Dogs?
I usually just ignore the owners and walk away as soon as they get control of their dog.
I don’t really want to converse with them, because I would likely lose my temper and that would upset the dogs even more.
I am not sure if that is the best thing to do though. I would like to try and convince them not to leave their untrained dogs running around off-leash.
What do you think?
- What do you do when charged by off-leash neighborhood dogs?
- How do we get our neighbors to keep untrained dogs on a leash?
But respectively Shibashake, dogs who are being trained off-leash are being trained to walk off-leash in their neighborhood. Now I don’t know the behavior of that lab you met, and the owner probably didn’t have a clue what he was doing, but many dog owners are responsible and their dogs are equally intelligent to walk themselves. Plus, off-leash walking has benefits for the dog – including constant command discipline from owner which keeps them from destructive behavior. My dog and I have a great communicative connection (again, most owners might not have this) so my dog is well-rehearsed in sidewalk discipline, human interactions, and social cues. He’s also mastered the art of kindness so there’s no more chance of him biting a person than me biting a person.
To your points:
1. Someone who does let a dog off leash in public areas even for a minute, may have a lot of knowledge about their dog’s aggression. It’s sad that many neighbors ruin this though and I believe some folks in your neighborhood have not trained their dogs. How aggressive a dog is also depends on the perspective of the person the dog is running towards. Many folks thinks a fast moving, larger dog is dangerous when that’s not true.
2. I agree that off leash dogs could be a danger to others or other dogs but why use the argument for “dangers to himself?” Owners who do this should accept responsibility and that’s no one else’s business. If say my dog was hit by a car, I would be traumatized and pissed at giving my dog so much liberty and trust and I would grieve personally for months if not years. Horrible tragedy. But I would explain to the driver that it is not their fault and I would grieve the same way I would grieve if my dog fell off a cliff ledge off-leash. If a person cannot have integrity to do what’s right, that’s what the law is for. Either way, intentional hit by the vehicle or not, the driver would always win the case because of the leash law. Most hikes also require dogs to be on leash anyways. I’ve lived in 5 states all around the country and more and more hikes are mandating it.
3. If your dog is aggressive after a butt sniff that can either be completely acceptable or not acceptable. It depends on how aggressive we’re talking about. This is why we (humans) can speak to each other and talk it out to one another. Dog’s loyalty and territory will drive them to snap at other dogs who come up fast on them and their owner. But a quick neck tuff or hump to gain control is natural between dogs. Dogs crying is like a baby crying or a child screaming. It’s excruciating to hear and we think they are being killed. But they’re usually okay and they can walk away from a bloodied fight. I don’t think I’ve ever seen blood after two dogs get into a tussle at the dog park. Ever. If you have seen your dog draw blood on other dogs before then you should kneel down and clamp her/his mouth shut. It only takes 2 seconds.
4. I already said what I wanted to say up top.
Thanks. I don’t know. I’ve ran into folks who are very fearful of dogs and then other folks who see dogs as just another animal which could cause them no more risk than a drunk and disorderly human walking out of a bar. I never view a dog as a threat. Only the owner. Therefore, if I was bit, my blame goes to the owner. But I would never suit an owner for a bite because bites heal. Dogs don’t kill except in extremely rare cases and those cases are not worth painting such hyperbolic opposition to dog aggression, which then begins to warrant reckless, unjustified laws. We should all be a more courageous and shake off these fears of a dog bite. We have hands and arms for a reason to hold dogs away. Bitten hands can heal. I know from experience after purposefully putting myself in harms way trying to save a dog in pain. 22 stitches later. Still painting to this day.
If we fear dogs, we will start to show prejudice against them, and if we do that, we will begin to openly discriminate towards loving members of someone’s family. How is this okay when racism is not?
Thank you!
You have every right to walk within your neighborhood and feel secure.
I have a large GSD and I keep him secure on a leash and was recently charged by two dogs -neither on leash. I was able to restrain my dog and the owners were able to secure their dogs.
You should be able to walk on a public street and feel safe. I do not want my dog to fight, I don’t want him hurt nor do I want another dog hurt.