Jackie and I were on our isual after dinner walk, on the route we always take, that passes by a neighbors house. we always make sure to walk on the onther side of the road when we pass, because they have a springer spaniel that has shown agressive guarding behaviour before. She's jumped their little hedge once to growl at us, but never actually moved off their plot before. Last night, we were on our way back home, passing by their house. It was very dark already and all I saw in the light of my headlamp was a pair of glowing eyes close to the ground which I assumed belonged to their friendly cat, so I just kept walking, Jackie sniffing about happily, tail wagging. Just as we got close enough that I could see white fur in my lamplight, she lunged across the street at us, snarling and snapping, as angry as I've ever seen a dog. I was shocked and frightened, but managed to pull a cowering Jackie behind me and I yelled a very firm "No!" at her, as she started circling us, teeth bare and growling. That must have alerted her owner, because just as she started preparing for a second rush at us, her owner recalled her. I don't know what happened after that, really, as I hightailed it out of there. I'll give her that she has an impeccable recall, but the whole thing was terrifying, and only my new anxiety medication kept me from having a panic attack. I was extremely careful on our morning walk, stopping a good distance away to check if the neighbours were home, which would increase the chance of encountering her, which they weren't. I don't know, she's almost never out when we pass, so I usually don't worry about it, but now that she's crossed that line... I think I'm going to have to find a new route. It will be hard as three of our routes all pass there, and there are more reactive dogs on the other routes. I just don't know what to do about this.
So sorry you had to encounter that. It's a difficult one, but I wouldn't change my route, just have a plan in place. Personally I would go and speak to the owners and ask for the dog to be supervised if in the garden as it can jump their fence. If they refuse I would mention that I would be contacting the dog warden. I would call the dog warden now as that could of been potentially serious and what would happen if you had a child with you! I hope you are ok x
I live Denmark, and I don't think we have a dog warden. As far as I know, the police handles problem dogs, but only if they've actually injured someone. I've tried talking to the owner before, after that time she jumped their fence, but they said that she was just doing her job as a guard dog, and that they have her under control.
I would speak to the owner again today as things escalated. You shouldn't feel scared to walk around your neighbourhood
Yes, I think you need to talk to the owner. That is no good at all; the dog shouldnt be off their property unattended anyway, let alone being aggressive and scaring you.
You could mention to the neighbour that you were concerned her dog rushed across the street and could get tun over!
We had a similar situation when Quinn was tiny (not quite as aggressive as what you've experienced but made me uncomfortable walking by) but neighbours would let their dog out to roam the neighbourhood and it would bark and chase at other dogs. We have a by-law in the City that requires dog be on least at all times unless in a licensed off leash area, so we called the City and they send a by-law officer to chat to the owners. Dog has not roamed since! Do you have anything like that in Denmark?
What twits (the owners). I'd do what Stacia suggests. Clearly the owners are stupid (guard dogs are supposed to stay on the property, no?), but if you frame it in a "I'm concerned that your dog might get hit by a car" rather than "your dog is a dangerous nuisance" you might get a better reaction. But if they still don't do anything I'd call the police. A dog should not be allowed to roam around and harass people/dogs.
Although I've never had to do it (thankfully!) I was advised to carry treats with me and throw them to the aggressor dog to distract them. While they're munching treats, you get away. And it might stop them being aggressive thereafter when they associate you with treats. The other thing you can do is assume a traffic cop stance when indicating Stop: stand tall with arm outstretched and hand up. And say "Get away" in a firm voice. Keep your dog behind you.
Awful and scary for you and Jack. Such a shame its a Springer, they are usually such wonderful 'work' focused dogs. Only time I've seen anything nasty is fear aggression. Doesn't sound as if the neighbours have got it quite right. Mind you, who am I to talk !! Hopefully you can change your route and avoid this.
Thank you all for your advice. After discussing the options with my father, and the neighbours neighbour, (that I met quite randomly at a feed store and had a chat with), I've changed my route temporarily. The problem neighbour is of the old-fashioned opinion when it comes to dogs, and I am concerned that if I confront the man, he might take it out on the dog. While it is so dark in the evenings, I will be cutting that entire area from our walks and go across field instead. I admit that my anxiety disorder is influencing my choice, because talking seriously to people face-to-face is terrifying.
Yes. This actually happened to me. It was awful. Little Westie who would run across the road every time we passed by, barking and aggressive, one time did it at the exact wrong moment....
This works! I've done it before, and it made the dog that was racing towards us stop....for a moment or two, then it rushed again, and I did it again, and it paused again...eventually the owner appeared and got the dog, so I'm not sure if it would keep on working, but saved our bacon that day!!
Yes, I've used it several times and am always amazed how a big dog wanting to have a go at my dog actually pays attention to me and stops in its tracks. I always put myself between the dogs thinking that the other dog doesn't want to attack me but rather my dog - and then afterwards think perhaps I was foolish. Anyway thankfully the really aggressive dogs are not a common occurrence.
I've discovered another thing that worked - but might be dependent on the dog. Most mornings we encounter Elvis, a beauty of a choc Lab. But he has a thing for Snowie and seeks him out on our mountain trail walk. And he's not coming to play - it's a power thing. He has had a go at Snowie's neck, teeth bared and trying to get on top of Snowie's back. Snowie stands stiff when Elvis approaches and has growled back. Anyway I decided to be friendly to Elvis and smiled at him. And he smiled back! I'm not referring to a human teeth-bared smile, but the typical Lab smile with ears and kind eyes and a relaxed face. It stopped him briefly from posturing around Snowie and briefly gave Snowie a chance to slip away. It's my trick I use now to disarm Elvis and it seems to be working. Maybe one day he'll stop the posturing altogether.
