I was on a stroll through the city when I heard barking and saw two women hastily walking away from a dog that had gotten off-leash. They were both terrified and sobbing. I made a split-second decision to walk past them and draw the dog’s attention to myself instead.
For reference, this was not a small dog. It looked to be an adult boxer terrier of some kind.
I know – stupid. I immediately realized I had no idea what to do next.
The women safely got into their car, while the dog started following me, barking and lunging, though it always stopped just short of making contact.
I tried to stay calm and walked at a slow, steady pace. I’d occasionally make eye contact, which would cause the dog to pause—but then it would start following and barking again. This pattern repeated itself until more bystanders noticed and, with more people around, the dog’s focus shifted. I eventually found refuge on a kind stranger’s porch.
Meanwhile, the owner showed no urgency. She stayed cool and calm the whole time, slowly following behind and saying in a soft voice, “Come on back, Dog. I’m sorry. He’s a rescue. Come on back, Dog.” Eventually, her partner (I think) came out and wrangled the dog.
I felt completely powerless – especially given the social dynamics of escalating a situation involving someone else’s pet (in a city, no less).
Apart from the obvious “don’t engage at all,” what should I have done?
EDIT: added type of dog
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Report to the authorities. Next time it might be a child who is attacked.
I’m a dog lover (and owner of two Auzzies) but this type of owner (allowing an aggressive dog in public off leash) who refuses to physically restrain it (a leash duh) deserves to be chastised by the community.
You take out your phone and record the dog and its owner and then give the date, time, location and recording to the police.
I love dogs (and all animals) but I had a few situations with aggressive dogs. What worked in almost all occasions was to shout in a deep voice (you don’t need to bark, just do some loud wo-ho! wo-ho!) while raising your arms as if you were opening your wings. This is usually enough to make the dog retreat. When that was not enough, I was able to deter dogs in three occasions with a solid kick. One dog was hit in the leg, another in the ribs, and the third one I don’t recall exactly as it went really fast. The idea is not to incapacitate the dog forever, but make it understand that it made a wrong choice by attacking, and it was enough to make them give up. Of course that often results in an argument with the owner. I love dogs, but I love my life and my body as well, so if I don’t have any other option I would definitely engage. I don’t know how that would work against a cane corso or a mastiff, though.
That is terrifying. Good on you for putting yourself out there. Story time: When I was a kid, I got attacked by a dog. We were spending the day with family friends, and it was their dog. He got my nose and back, no stitches. Came to find out that I was victim #2. Victim #1 got 25 stitches to her face. A year or so later, we got a visit from the attorney of victim #3, a four-year old boy who was terribly disfigured and lost both his eyes in the attack. Moral of the story: Do not fuck around. Report that dog. As an aside, I have carried a taser and pepper spray to protect my dog from other dogs. People suck.
No advice just empathy. My dog was a 90lb mastiff mix. He was attacked by a neighbors dog that got loose, another large muscular dog. They instantly locked faces. I have never felt more powerless. Once the other owner showed up, she ran directly behind her dog, and we both had our dogs they released, or the attacking dog released, mine did not have the grip. My dog needed minor surgery but was OK. It was terrifying and unfortunately after that experience I was unable to walk my dog any distance without gripping fear. It could have been much worse if the other owner was not present, I felt completely helpless to protect my dog. This happened literally at my front gate. There was not way to get away fast enough and the dogs were stronger than we, the owners, were. I am glad you were not hurt.
I carry a POM pepper spray everywhere. That would be my go-to if I had an aggressive dog that wasn’t responding. It won’t hurt them permanently, but they will get the message that they are barking up the wrong tree.
Thumb in the rectum works well.
In Thailand, whenever there’s an aggressive dog, people usually just grab a flip-flop off their foot and pretend they’re about to throw it. Sounds funny, but it almost always works. I tried it myself once when two stray dogs came charging at me, barking like crazy. Both turned around instantly and ran off.
>Meanwhile, the owner showed no urgency. She stayed cool and calm the whole time, slowly following behind and saying in a soft voice, “Come on back, Dog. I’m sorry. He’s a rescue. Come on back, Dog.”
Tell her that if she does no immediately come and get her dog that you will shoot it.
She does not know that you do not have a gun but that will give her some urgency since in the US there is a realistic chance that you do have a gun.
Pepper spray. It’s a wall of OUCH! that will deter most animals.
The old Boy Scout way of dealing with an aggressive dog is to put your hat between you and the dog (preferably using a walking stick/umbrella/etc.) and then roundhouse kick it right off this mortal coil when it lunges. That, uh-h-h… that isn’t the “safe” option, and the owner probably won’t want to see that, so that’s probably best as plan ‘B’
You did the right thing, by asserting dominance, you can call the dog’s bluff by not backing away. Putting yourself in-between the dog and women was a good start. Using your voice to tell it to go home. All of these things could help, but be prepared to defend yourself if the dog wants to escalate the situation. Watch Cesar Milan videos on YouTube he is great
this might help – there are several products that emit the ultrasonic sound that stops dogs in their tracks (i have a couple). they are handheld and on a wrist strap.
As a teenager I was walking home from a party at dawn and a massive mastiff came out of a garden and ran at me barking and growling aggressively and I pointed at it and said loudly”go back!!” And the MF did just that! I was so surprised. I must have had the same tone as his owner or something.
In this situation where the owner was present and trying to get the dog back, did you try walking to the owner? That’s what I would have done. Not saying it would have worked, but it’s the first thing I’d try.
if they go to bite you shove your arm in their mouth and hold the back of their head with your other hand .They have no teeth in the back and wont be able to bite down hard
I was walking with my two small terriers a long time ago. Two off leash Rottweilers started to approach us, and I picked them up and put them in a garbage can, put the can between me and the dogs and backed myself, dragging the can, into a tree. (Really threw them in the can). Screaming the entire time, and someone came out and scared the dogs away. Pick up your dog and look for higher ground, cars, porch, or picnic tables, or garbage can. It’s funny now, but I’m very leary of big dogs. Now, I also carry pepper spray.
I was walking alone in the mountains near our house and was separated from my wife.
I topped a hill and 5 dogs (3 small 2 large ) saw me and came running. As they got closer in my beat Morgan Freeman voice of God I yelled SIT!!!
And they sat. Their owner topped the hill and apologized.
There are plenty of YouTube videos on how to handle the situation if a strange dog approaches you. Just put “how to survive a dog attack” in the search box and you will find lots of good information.
Everyone should watch these videos because anyone can find themselves in this situation. Knowing what to do ahead of time helps prevent panic so you can stay cool and take the right actions to avoid getting injured or killed. People should teach their kids what to do, also. This is a basic survival skill that everyone can benefit from learning.
It’s also not a bad idea to carry some kind of pepper spray when going for walks or bike rides. Halt! is a good choice. This is what postal workers carry. I always carry this when I go for walks.
I carry a heavy walking stick and a can of pepper spray when I walk. I’ve used the spray twice in several years. It was very effective both times.
My dad and his wife when they go bike riding they carry those popper things, not sure the name, that you throw on concrete and they make a loud popping sound just for that reason.
Kick it.