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?!

Off-Leash Neighborhood Dogs - 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?!

Off-Leash Neighborhood Dogs - 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?

How do we get our neighbors to keep untrained dogs on a leash?

His owner was not in sight, but shouts were coming from a nearby house, “Spencer”… “SPEN-cer” … “SPEN-CER” … over and over again. This was ignored by the GSD as he charged my Siberian who tried to bolt.

Charged by a Dog.

Since she was on-leash, she couldn’t, so she submitted to the GSD who was actually a handsome, and curious fella. He was interested in smelling her and not much else. After a bit of butt-sniffing, he decided to go home – probably in the hopes of stopping the continuous “SPEN-CER” shouting.

It is dangerous to let dog(s) roam freely on neighborhood streets without a leash.

While no dogs were physically hurt in the encounter, I cut my finger pretty badly when my Siberian tried to run away. I was dripping blood onto the sidewalk, so I had to cut my walk short, and go home to treat my hand.

It is dangerous to let dog(s) roam freely on neighborhood streets without a leash.

• We were next to a fairly busy road, and the GSD could have tried to charge across the road and gotten hit.
• My Siberian happens to be a very submissive dog, so it is unclear what would have happened if the GSD invaded the space of a more dominant dog.
• Shouting the dog’s name continuously from inside the house does not help, and may even make things worse.

In general, only let a dog off-leash when he is in an off-leash park and only if you have perfect voice control over him.

While your dog may be friendly, or seem harmless because he is small, you cannot be sure of the temperament of other dogs at the park. To keep your dog safe, keep him within voice distance at all times, and call him back to you when you see other dogs, especially dogs that are on leash.

While your dog may be friendly, or seem harmless because he is small, you cannot be sure of the temperament of other dogs at the park.

I have been charged more than a few times in my neighborhood.

Frequently, the owners come out running not too far behind their dogs. Sometimes it is an escaped dog who usually just avoids us. Whatever the case, off-leash neighborhood dogs are a danger to themselves, to pedestrians who may be very afraid of dogs, and to other on-leash dogs. If a fight occurs, there may be blood, tears, heartache, and a big lawsuit on your hands.

Keep your dog safe by keeping him inside the house, making sure your yard is perfectly secure, and walking him on-leash in the neighborhood.

Carry a cell-phone with you during walks, and perhaps even a walking stick, in case of emergencies.