Re: Dealing with Aggressive off leash dogs I agree Julie, a little snap is understandable and I would chastise myself for allowing him to bound over, but a responsible owner should know their dog and if they are prone to more than a warning woof, then a muzzle, or basket perhaps should be worn. Its all about taking responsibility for your animal. On this forum however, I've not come across anyone who isn't responsible for their dogs (we're all angels ;D) but that unfortunately doesn't translate to the park.
Re: Dealing with Aggressive off leash dogs I know exactly what sort of ordeal you've been through as I've had a couple myself with Penny. Unfortunately these things happen and if owners of aggressive dogs are irresponsible enough to have them off lead around other dogs there's not much you can do to prevent an incident. Even keeping your distance and putting your dog on lead might not stop a confrontation but it can help. Your little pup will probably need a few nice interactions with big dogs to get over this so make sure you get back on the horse as soon as possible to help prevent him getting a phobia of large dogs. If it was me I would make sure I put my dog back on lead when I saw those dogs again and walk in the other direction. If the owners are amenable maybe ask them to put their dogs on lead while you pass. You can also put a complaint in to your local dog warden and encourage others to do the same if they've had a bad experience with those particular dogs. If it's bad enough the council can slap them with a dog control order. One incident that happened to Penny that sticks in my mind is when we were at the dog park with a group of dogs I know well. There was a whippet there that I hadn't seen before but the others knew. He was on an extendable lead and took a dislike to Penny. He ran after her and had a real pop at her. Without thinking I grabbed the lead to stop the dog chasing after her. If it had been a normal lead it would have been fine but being an extendable it just flew through my hand and cut up my hand really bad. Just saying be aware of on lead dogs too! I hope you're not too shaken up by this experience and that your pup gets over it soon too!
