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?
I am having this same problem! It is ridiculous. I have an American Bulldog, and this week, for like the 4th time, some dog came running off it’s lawn and charged at her. I have never received a decent apology from any of the owners, they act like I was crazy for screaming. They all say “oh, she’s/he’s friendly” yeah, sure, everyone thinks their dog is friendly, and they probably are, but they are also unpredictable animals, nobody can know they won’t bite. My Lily is very friendly but I’m scared to death of these other dogs. I think I’m just going to have to start taking her to a trail where leash laws are enforced. It’s a damn shame that nobody can walk their dog in their own neighborhood anymore.
Yeah, leaving a dog free to run loose is very dangerous for the dog as well, because he can get hit by a car. There are also seniors in my neighborhood who go out on walks, and it is dangerous to have a dog charge them, even if he is friendly. But some people …
Now, I try to take note of the houses with loose dogs, and I avoid them or cross the street, especially when their garage door is open. That is usually when the dog is out loose in the front yard. It is sometimes a pain, but better that than getting charged.
I have the same problem. I have a decker rat terrier who is a rescue with a past. I have chosen that since I cannot control the outside environment to primarily focus my training on teaching him to ignore other dogs. We have had some terrible run ins that led me to this decision. If dogs are merely across the street my dog does not respond unless they are in our direct path. I carry a fish whomper bat for emergencies and have had to use it only once on an actual dog in 5 years. A VERY large dog chained to a tree and jumping on top of the hood of the car next to it broke off the chain and came after us – nothing else I could do – not normal circumstance of course. I also truly felt sorry for that animal because if I were chained up all day I would be ready to get any and every spoiled animal around me too. Usually I use the small bat to hit the ground or a nearby tree and make myself seem bigger and more intimidating, no animals get harmed and I am safe as well if you know what I mean. I don’t recommend that anyone harm an animal but if it comes down to being between my life and my dogs life and a unsupervised pet then I am not going to end up at the doctor for them. I also wear a whistle that can draw attention to me and once I know an area is not dog friendly for whatever reason I try not to choose that route again and stick to the areas that I know are safer options.
Try walking three little dogs, a 6 lb, 8 lb, and 11 lb dog on one single leash, and have a loose pitbull in a campground aggressively approach you, with bent legs, tail pointing, and hair raised. The owners laughing as you yell out three times, RESTRAIN YOUR DOG, PLEASE RESTRAIN YOUR DOG! YOU ARE BREAKING THE BYLAWS OF THE CAMPGROUND ALLOWING YOUR DOG TO BE LOOSE! You calm down and 3 hours later opt to venture our of your camper again but go in the opposite direction. You get 5 lots away from your site and 2 more LOOSE dogs aggressively charge at you. By now you totally lose it. Your family is upset, and camping ends for the year because of IGNORANT PEOPLE! I’m sure that’s where the saying goes “RULES WERE MEANT TO BE BROKEN”. If my husband walks with me and a baseball bat in his arms, it’s amazing how people with LOOSE dogs suddenly grab their dogs and hold onto them. A WOMAN WALKING A LITTLE DOG ALONE IS MERELY A TEST FOR THEIR AGGRESSIVE DOGS TRAINING!
YOU are so right. I’M scared to take my little dog to far. You never know when you are going to be attacked by another dog not contained.
I’m wondering if you could help me out.
Three months ago we moved into a town from a secluded acreage with my 100% unsocilized runt female rotti/lab. She is also a very dominant dog. (Not to humans, just to dogs)
Where I live you are required to have complete control over your dog when in pubic but, many people let their dogs go loose. Dozens of dogs have approached my leashed dog.
Three times now I have thought that a fight would break out between the dogs. ( A GSD, Bulldog, And a dog that looked like a Rottweiler)
The most recent was this morning. My brother, dog and I were walking and my dog stopped and barked. A rotti cross started coming towards us, he seemed like a really nice dog but my dog was getting him riled. She was barking with her hackles up and just generally acting crazed. She even jumped up and put her paws on his face. As you might imagine he was NOT pleased about that and put his hackles up and growled. My brother (Who was trying to keep him away) Backed off so they had a clear space in front of each other. I was just going to let go of the leash and let them fight it out when my brother saw my predicament and told the dog to “get home”. Thankfully he listened.
My dog was on a leash but the other dog was not.
So my question is: What can I do about this? I’m afraid that one-day her aggression mixed with free dogs will end up with a fight.
Your brother has it right. It’s really the next-to-last thing to do. I find it very difficult to control two dogs when I’m on my own though.
Unfortunately, the last step is a physical intervention on the advancing dog. You can use an air horn or something. I’ve heard spray bottles with water work, but I bet spray bottles with vinegar work better.
With off-leash dogs I try to avoid them whenever possible. If I see them at a distance, I will take an alternate route.
If their owner is nearby, I ask them nicely if they could please leash up their dog because my dog is not friendly. If the dog is by himself and already approaching, I try to discourage him from coming nearer by shouting stop or stay-back in a commanding voice (Like your brother did with “Get Home”). Most of the dogs I see usually back-off when I shout “Stop”. Shouting will hopefully also alert nearby people.
I also did a lot of dog-to-dog desensitization exercises with my own dog so that he is less reactive toward other dogs. Most of the time, we just ignore the off-leash dogs we see, and they are happy to ignore us as well. I carry a cell-phone with me in case of emergencies.
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-to-dog-aggression#desensitize
Other possibilities –
1. Take our dog to an on-leash park for his walks. This may be the best option if there are a lot of stray dogs in the neighborhood. It would be a lot safer and also a lot more enjoyable.
2. Walk our dog at odd times, when we are less likely to meet off-leash dogs.
3. Air horn – only problem with this is that it could scare my own dog as well.
4. Walking stick – my neighbor tells me that if she just holds out a walking stick, off-leash dogs will usually back-off. I haven’t tried this so I am not sure how effective it is.
5. Dog pepper spray. Reviews seem mixed on this. Also, it could result in an argument/fight with neighbors.
I would also try calling up Animal Care and Control and see what they say. Personally, I would not physically engage any unknown dogs.
We have been struggling for a few months now with an owner who was walking their dog off leash in a public park (it’s against a city bylaw here). The dog approached ours and our warnings to the owner were not heeded. In the end, there was an altercation with the dogs. A month later we got a vet bill from them for $150 saying that it required antibiotics.
We’ve been telling them at each encounter that we won’t pay because their dog was not under control. Now they’ve hired a lawyer and are going to sue us for the vet bill, pain and suffering plus legal costs.
It’s not hurt dogs or dog altercations that I worry most about now when I see other off leash walkers. It’s the entitled ignoramus with the leash dangling around his shoulders that puts fear in me. If you’re not infuriated by off leash dogs, you should be.
I don’t see how they have a leg to stand on given that they are the ones who broke the law. Ignoramus is indeed appropriate.
Still, lame that you have to deal with this especially at this time of the year.
I thought I was the only one who was infuriated by off the leash dogs in public areas. I don’t own a dog. I like to walk. I don’t even like someones friendly dog coming up to me for a pet. It’s the dog owners at fault (obviously). I don’t know what to do about it. I guess carrying a walking stick is the only thing you can do. The owner will see your stick and realize you are “armed”. They should call the dog away from you then. That is, if they are in view of their dog. Dogs like to walk ahead of their owners. Protecting them from strangers. Dogs off leash ruins the walk for everyone. It usually ends up in some verbal altercation that accomplishes nothing other than ruining your day. I honestly figure many dog owners are just plain stupid, not to mention rude. Caring only for themselves, like it’s their own private world.
I know this post is years and years old but I wanted to comment because I am having an issue with off leash dogs at my apartment building. There is only one sidewalk in and out of my apartment and their is a guy with a growly, barky dog that thinks its okay to have his dog on the porch and is only holding his collar with a few fingers. Now my neighbor that is right next door is doing the same thing. I walked by and the dog growled and started coming towards me and she doesn’t have it on leash and is only holding it’s collar saying, ” relax, relax”. I reported it to the office, animal control, and non- emergency police number and they basically told me that until it attacks me there is nothing that can do.
Finding this site and reading the post and responses has been incredibly helpful. I have been caught up since adopting my first dog 6 months ago with irresponsible dog owners, and I thought I was the only one facing this. I had NO IDEA that there were so many dog owners who are thoughtless and inconsiderate. We’ve been chased nearly every week by an off leash dog while out on walks in my neighborhood. Yesterday my dog was attacked by a dog who is always sitting on his lawn off leash with his owner nearby. I always stop or cross the street and yell out to her to please hold on to her dog, but yesterday was the day I did not see them. Her dog came charging toward us. I screamed STOP! GO HOME! To no avail. Now, the 2 dogs are nose to nose and I try to relax and keep the leash loose hoping there wouldn’t be a fight. Within a split second, the other dog attacked my dog, biting his neck, which freaked me out! I was terrified that he would kill my dog. I screamed and pulled my dog away (which may not have been wise because now he couldn’t defend himself against this raging off leash beast.) I kicked and flailed my arms while screaming, NO, NO. His owner came over and got her dog then began hitting him. I asked her why she would hit her dog when it was her fault that any of this happened and I told her that there is a leash law. She said that she was sorry and that she didn’t know he was out, which was nonsense, since he was sitting directly next to her on her lawn. I told her that I knew this would eventually happen since her dog is never on leash. She said, “Well, you know, they are dogs.” OK, so what does that mean??? Anyway, my guy fortunately only had a small puncture wound on his rear leg, but it was bleeding and it broke my heart that it happened. I reported the incident to the Animal Control. It seems that all I do is call Animal Control reporting off leash dogs. I am so disheartened. I rescued my dog who had been beaten, strangled, starved and had his snout tied shut – he has the scars to prove it. I’d like to be able to walk with him and continue the work we’ve done in helping train him, but my neighborhood is like a mine field! I’m grateful to have a place to post this.
It is very good that Jack has now found a good home and a family who truly cares for him.
🙄 People like that just do not want to accept responsibility for their own actions. All they do is blame everybody else, including their dog.
Did Animal Control take any action? Please give us an update when you get the chance.
Just checking back…thanks for your reply.
The ACO quarantined the other dog for 10 days and issued a citation since the dog attacked my dog in the street.
I’ve just found out more on how the leash law works in my city.
It’s OK for a dog to be off leash on one’s own property, but if it is on the sidewalk or street or elsewhere, the leash law kicks in.
But I think it doesn’t make sense.
So, the dog can sit on its front lawn off leash and when another dog or person walks by and the owner is unable to grab onto the dog and it leaves the property, it is then against the law? Doesn’t seem rational. I think it would make more sense that the dog must be on leash even on one’s own property if there isn’t a fence to prevent the dog from leaving the property. This way the dog and everyone else is safe. I forgot to mention in my original post…this is a busy street where cars often speed by. I worry about dogs on the front lawns not on a leash. Another dog a few months ago, on the same street, came after me and Jack. It was a friendly little dog, so nothing happened. I didn’t grab on to it and in a second, it was charging back to its house and came within inches of being run over by a car that was speeding by.
Jack and I don’t walk down that street anymore and I’m trying to get a handle on my fear of coming across other loose dogs. I carry a walking stick now. My husband says that all I have to do it extend it toward an approaching off leash dog and it will prevent it from coming too close. I sure hope it works, because I could never strike a dog with it.
So far, I haven’t come across any other off leash dogs, but I admit that I am not taking many walks alone with Jack and wait for my husband to come home to walk with us. I’ve also taken to driving Jack to the park and walking around the park with him since I’ve never seen any off leash dogs there but it’s not the same as walking leisurely through the neighborhood where there are lots of great things for Jack to sniff : )
It’s 8 months now since we brought Jack home. He is so sweet and improving so much in training and listening. It warms my heart to know that he is happy and safe here with us. And he gets along famously with our 3 cats! Who would have thought?
Thanks for posting this follow-up.
That is very interesting. I guess having the city say what we can do on our own property, can quickly become a slippery slope.
I think there should be stricter dog negligence laws though. From watching the Animal Cops show, currently such cases are extremely difficult to win. Even if the owner is found to be negligent, they just have to pay a small fine. One episode, there were these two women who threw a litter of puppies in the trash. After that, they just had to attend some sessions to teach them that doing something like that is not responsible. DOH!
Nobody wants to take responsibility for anything anymore.
On the good side, glad to hear that Jack is doing well! 😀
Hugs to Jack and have a Happy Holidays!
I am so sorry this happened to you. My partner and I were walking on our road with our three little dogs when three pit bulls came out and attacked. One of our little dogs was killed. Two of those pit bulls were subsequently put down, but now there is an Irish setter that is further down outlet road whose owners refuse to contain. I guess I will have to report them to animal control now. It is so discouraging
pepperspray works well but make sure the dog makes it to the street before spraying. call the cops from right outside the house and have them file a complaint against the unleashed dog’s owner.
Hi there,
I live in Norway and the problem is the same here too! Everyone thinks they are experts on dog behaviour and it is kind of embarassing listening to their ‘my dog is friendly’ and ‘I can control my dog off leash’ while their ‘friendly’ dog is snarling at mine, rnning around and ignoring frequent recalls…. Additionally, 95% of Norwegian dogs are not neutered (it is illegal, for some silly reason), so as you can imagine, the fight is always in the air…
I own a rescued dog with a lot of behavioural issues. I must say that those off leash dogs and their cocky and ignorant owners have seriously jeopardised the rehabilitation process to the point where I doubt I will ever be able to ‘straighten’ the dog completely. If my dog wasn’t neutered, it would be much more serious as he used to be very aggressive towards other, especially smaller dogs.
Nice to know I am not alone in my struggle to make those selfish people understand that it is not okay when their dog decides what to do with my dog!
Hello Eva,
Thanks for your very interesting post!
Wow I did not know that. Can female dogs be spayed or is that illegal as well? Are there a lot of accidental pregnancies or are people good about keeping in-heat females separated?
Are the dog shelters in Norway well funded? The ones here are usually over-full and poorly funded. Many dogs get euthanized as a result.
Well… I had a similar experience. I took my puppy out for a walk on her leash when all of a sudden I saw an old lady with a broom yelling “out of here”. At first I thought that she was yelling at us, but a few seconds after a mix-breed dog (the height of a retriever) came running from the patio of that lady. I am 5′ sharp and this dog really intimidated me. He stopped where we were and started to sniff my puppy. Then I noticed that he wanted to hump my puppy and I firmly said “STOP!”. It did not work. He was still trying so I just said “SIT” and he sat down. Very quickly I picked up my puppy and tried to protect her with my arms.
I started walking and the dog again started with his behavior. I got to the point where I had to stayed immobilized with my puppy in my arms and repeating “SIT!” every time that the off-leash dog tried to get closer to us. After 10 minutes the owner came out and tried to get his dog but the dog ran away. When he finally got his dog he told me “Why did you keep him out in here?”. I exploded and got so mad that I told him that I had been there waiting during 10 minutes yelling “STOP and SIT” and nobody came out. I told him that his dog tried to hump my dog and he interrupted me saying “She will survive”.
I came home feeling so mad. I do not think that the dog was aggressive. Indeed, the fact of having the dog bullying my puppy does not make feel as angry as the attitude of his owner. I decided to research what to do in a case like that and that is the way that I found this page.
But still my question is: Is there something that would “legally” stop neighbors from leaving their dogs off-leashed?
It is difficult to stop people from being irresponsible about their dogs. The ones who actually care about others or about their dog will usually do something after the first incident. The ones who don’t care will be extremely difficult to convince and will also be extremely defensive.
Some possibilities I have come up with so far –
1. I carry an air-horn with me during walks. Blowing it at a charging dog may startle him and stop him from coming nearer. At the very least it will get the attention of the owner, or people nearby who can help secure the dog.
2. Another possibility is to carry dog mace or dog pepper spray. Based on the reviews though, it seems unclear how effective this is.
3. Some people suggest using a riding crop to discourage a charging dog, but again, this could possibly enrage the dog and make the situation even worse.
4. I have also considered reporting repeat offenders to Animal Care and Control. At the very least, they will have a record of the irresponsible owners and if enough people complain, they may take action.
5. I also try to avoid such people whenever possible. I cross the road while passing their house just in case and I try to identify when they walk their dog so that I am not out at the same time.
Another possible course of action is to print out flyers of their dangerous off-leash dog and paste them all over the neighborhood. This could embarrass them enough to prompt some kind of action. However, this will also greatly piss-off a neighbor and it could trigger retaliatory action that leads to even more unpleasantness. I personally would not go down this route.
I feel so much better after reading all these comments. I thought my preoccupation of off leash dogs and their idiot owners was just me 🙂
I have always been a dog owner and just recently moved to a property behind a leash free park with a onleash park next door.
I will not use the leash free park because daily I hear dogs being attacked. I prefer to walk my german short haired pointer x around the leashed park.
Problem is people use this park as well ‘off leash’. Its like having to negotiate a minefield on a daily basis. Dodging, changing direction, stopping and waiting ….. all to keep away from untrained, aggressive dogs.
It is very stressful and I know my boy feels my stress which makes the whole walk not very pleasant for either one of us.
I have told the local council twice of this and they have not taken any action. I don’t know why I have to feel like this when I am obeying the law.
I have started to act dumb and ask the owners ‘Is this a leash free area also ? ‘ (I have also asked this question in the street ! ) I am hoping it will embarras them enough to put their dogs on a leash.
LOL, I like that idea! 😀 What kind of responses are you getting when you do this?
My lovely sweet Rottie Princess and I have been attacked in public parks; she is the best but I leash her on runs and walks and today a stupid woman with a shephard chow mix ran up tp us and started to attack Princess I yelled at this woman who would not walk fast enough to retrieve this Ellie dog and luckily Princess was not hurt…She had the audacity to blame me that I have a rottie I said but my dog was attacked by your off leash dog/ you are at fault…my son is a police officer and cousin an attorney I know the laws…she refused to listen to me…said I would call the sheriff…and dont leave til I get your info in case Princess is hurt..rman dumb to her…I was really upset all she did was say I had a rottie…this was her knowing I could have her ticketed by police in Rochester NYS…why and also loose pit bulls; they are way more aggressive than a rottie who is ACK working dogs…owned 3 females best dogs so gentle…however I leash my pet and third attack was a little aggressive schnoodle who also unleashed ran after my leashed dog I ran across street to get away from that little terror and the babysitter came out and apologized…People are so stupid with off leashed dogs; I take my dog to a tennis court to play ball or have another friendly large sized dog play with her in contained areas off leash but never in a public park or allow her to roam free…she is a submissive dog who loves me…but I respect others…I think even cats need containment…they roam everywhere. Really lady even when I told her my son is a cop I know the law my large dog is leashed and yours was not…clearly the person with off leashed dog is in the wrong…
Hi, i stumbled onto your site looking for tips on bonding with your dog and i have just been hooked on reading your posts 🙂 I live in a small semi-rural community. When i walk my dog, Beary(chow chow/pit bull mix) through our neighborhood i always have him on leash. There is a large piece of undeveloped land next to out house and i do let him off leash out there. His recall is not 100%, but he will sit and wait on command, so when he starts heading somewhere he shouldn’t, i’ll have him sit and wait.
Anyway, i would not ever let him run through our neighborhood streets off leash, and i really can’t understand why all the people who live withing 2 houses of me let their dogs roam free. Seriously, every morning and evening when i want to take Beary out i check to make sure none of them are hanging around. They are all small breed dogs, and they always bark and growl at Beary incessantly. He is a friendly dog, and very intelligent. When faced with an aggressive animal(dogs and on one occasion when he startled my cat Ember) he turns and runs the other direction. If he can’t do this, he is tolerant to a point, but once you pass that line i can see him start to get aggressive back at the offender. He is a powerful and strong dog, and even though he has never been the aggressor, if something would happen he would be the one getting put down because a tiny dog would not survive a bite from him.
I think that is what makes me the most angry about small dogs(and even larger dogs) being left to wander where they please. If you are so unconcerned with your dogs well being, i guess the well being of your neighbors isn’t even on your priorities.
Very well said. I have noticed this as well. Sometimes the owners come out but they always have some kind of lame excuse.
There is a partially blind woman who lives in the neighborhood and she goes on frequent walks with her service dog. She tells me that dealing with loose dogs is a frequent issue for her and is one of the most common topics discussed in the service dog workshops she attends.
One time, she asked one of the owners to please put his dog on leash because it is against the law to disrupt a working service dog. This individual replied – “Rules are meant to be broken.”. When she tried to say more, this man said, “I have had enough of this!” and walked away. Wow!
Nowadays I just try to avoid such people and such houses. Just let them stew under their constant dark cloud. Much better to spend my time with the good and positive people in the neighborhood. 😀
Love the air horn idea. Really one of my biggest pet peeves. I have a large pit-lab mix that’s been attacked twice and has some on-leash dog aggression issues. We go to an on-leash class almost every weekend to work with him on it and I feel like my neighbors are ruining the training. In my neighborhood it’s almost always little yappy things that are not trained at all and their owners put them off-leash because they’re so small and no real threat. Well, my guy could swallow some of these dogs whole. I feel like he could greet them and be fine 99% of the time given his on-leash training but if anything goes wrong it will still be our fault. I go back and forth between letting him greet and putting him on lockdown while I shoo the dog away. Still looking for an answer. This happens every couple of weeks.
Hi Mark,
Yeah, I think the little yappy things are in all neighborhoods. 😀
Usually though, the little dogs are all bark. Most of the ones in my neighborhood will not approach, especially after I put out my arm and say Stop!.
I am not a fan of letting my dogs meet little yappy dogs. Many of these dogs are over-excited, not very well socialized, and often fearful. This is a very bad combination, and can make the little yappy dogs seem a lot like prey to many larger dogs. Also, as you say, if anything goes wrong, the bigger dog will pay the price.
Mark, my situation is just like yours. Thanks so much for this post! My American Bulldog mix has on-leash aggression issues as well, and when off-leash dogs charge us, there is nothing I can do if they get in his face. In fact I’m starring at his beautiful white face covered in puncture wounds and blood right now, through my tears. He just came across a young pit bull who ran at us across a large park. My boy seems fine, but I’m completely sick of the conflicts. Dogs who get out of their yards, yappy little things that no one bothers training, young dogs that aren’t kept on leash at parks. After reading through all of these posts I have now ordered an air horn and a retractable walking stick, but wanted to thank you especially because your dog sounds so much like mine.
“to harm” should be “no harm.” If their dog wanted to hurt us he would have already.
This has happened so many times to me!
More than once a large dog that lives near me has gotten lose and made a beeline for Buffy, my shiba. I think he just wants to play, but I always have to grab her up, because she really doesn’t like other dogs and is quite leash-reactive.
The dog must weigh well over 100lbs, bumps into me trying to get to Buffy, and the owners see this and just get their two small children to run after it and yell commands (which the dog of course ignores).
When I spoke to them they said “oh, well he’s very friendly,” but my dog is not!
I don’t really know what to do. I don’t want to kick or use dog spray on a dog that really means to harm, but the owners are just so incompetent and I’m really afraid that if Buffy doesn’t back down then there will eventually be a fight. 🙁
Ugh, to make matters worse, whenever he gets out and the kids run after him, they scream his name, which is “Shiba.”
Yeah, in my neighborhood many people seem to think that if their dog pulls, especially if he is a big dog, then the best solution is to let him go off-leash. After all he is happy off-leash and the owners don’t have to deal with their dog pulling. Of course the dog also has no recall.
There is no consideration for the safety of their own dog, the safety of other dogs, and also the safety of pedestrians, especially seniors and young children.